János Szőcs

The native form of this personal name is Szőcs János. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

János Szőcs (born 18 February 1933, Ikervár) is a former Hungarian footballer and coach. He played as a right back and later managed several Hungarian teams. In 1975, he was the acting head coach of the Hungary national football team for one match.

János Szőcs

In 2009
Personal information
Date of birth	(1933-02-18) February 18, 1933 (age 92)
Place of birth	Ikervár, Hungary
Position(s)	Right back
Youth career
Years	Team
1949–1956	Zalaegerszegi Zrinyi SE
?–1955	Pécsi VM
1955–1957	Pécsi Dózsa
1958–1962	Bp. Honvéd	56	(2)
1962–1965	Komlói Bányász	55	(4)
Managerial career
1965–1967	Komlói Bányász
1968–1978	Zalaegerszeg
1975	Hungary
1978–1981	Pécsi MSC
1981–1982	Zalaegerszeg
1983–1985	Nagykanizsa
1985–1987	Keszthelyi Haladás
1996	Zalaegerszeg

Career

Club career

Szőcs began his football career at Zrínyi SE, although he also excelled in other sports. In 1948–49, he participated in the national high school basketball championship final four as a student from Zalaegerszeg.

After graduating from high school in 1951, he played for Zalai Építők, and then for Vörös Meteor, the Nemzeti Bajnokság II predecessor of ZTE. Between 1952 and 1953, he played there before moving to Pécsi EAC, a regional-level team, while studying in the teacher training college in Pécs. When Pécs gained top-tier rights in 1955, he joined Pécsi Dózsa and became one of the team's key players until 1958.

His performance drew the attention of Budapest Honvéd, who signed him in 1958. He played with them until 1962. By then, most members of the "Golden Team" had already transferred abroad, but Bozsik, Budai, Kotász, and Szőcs remained. One of the highlights of this era was winning the 1959 Mitropa Cup.^[1]

Coaching career

While at Honvéd, Szőcs earned the highest coaching qualification available at the time. In 1962, he joined the NB I team Komlói Bányász as a player, staying until 1965. He then became their head coach (1965–1967).

In 1968, he joined Zalaegerszegi TE as both a PE teacher and city sports inspector, with the additional responsibility of coaching the football team. He accepted the role at half his previous salary due to his commitment to Zala football. He led the club to great success during his decade-long tenure.

Under his leadership, ZTE reached NB I in 3.5 years. In 1975, he managed the Hungarian national team for one match – a European Championship qualifier against Wales on 16 April. He later coached Pécsi MSC (1978–1981), returned to ZTE (1981–1982), then managed Nagykanizsai Olajbányász SE, Keszthelyi Haladás, and had a brief final stint at ZTE in 1996.

Achievements

Bp. Honvéd

• Hungarian First Division (as player)
  • Third place: 1958–59

Zalaegerszeg

• Lifetime Achievement Award, ZTE Blue-White Gala (2002)
• Pro Urbe Zalaegerszeg award (2003) for outstanding contribution to the city's sports life^[2]
• MLSZ Gold Medal of Merit (2009), awarded by UEFA and FIFA leaders for his dedication to Hungarian football