Ladislao Kubala - The tale of a refugee who became Barcelona's greatest
Barcelona have a famous slogan, "Mes Que un club" - which translates to more than just a club and is considered as a symbol of identity for the Catalan people. Over the years, the Spanish giants have won every possible trophy that is available and have nurtured some of the best players to ever play the game.
Whenever there has been a debate over who the greatest player to wear a Barcelona shirt, one name that takes the honour over Lionel Messi or Johan Cruyff is that of Ladislao Kubala Stecz, a Hungarian playmaker who received the adulation of the Catalan people that no one can even come close to.
Kubala was an emotion of the Catalan people in the 1950s, he was their pulse who brought the glory days back to Catalunya. Along with his popularity, he was a sensational player who reinvented set pieces, as we know it today.
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The Hungarian-born player was a wanderer, a nomad who travelled Europe in search of football and also to save himself from forced military duty. He once said, “I am a man with no home because my country is under communism.” As he roamed around Europe to find a place he could call his home, Barcelona accepted him as it's own and made him their favourite son.
Kubala's story is an amazing tale of strength and perseverance with fate playing a role in the refugee born behind the Iron Curtain, to become the greatest ever player to play for Barcelona.
Early life
Born in Budapest on 10th June 1927, Kubala came from a very humble background where his father was a bricklayer and his mother working as a factory worker. His family could not afford to buy a football for him at that time, so he used to make one using cardboard and paper. In his neighbourhood, Kubala came to be known as "the boy with the ball".
His mother, Anna, was always sceptical about her son's inclination towards football over education. But Kubala proved he had something special in him by excelling through age groups and signing his first professional contract with Hungarian club, Ganz TE at the age of 17 in 1944. He moved to Ferencvarosi FC a year later and scored 27 goals for them.
In 1946, he moved to Czechoslovakia to play for ŠK Slovan Bratislava and also represented his adopted country at the international level. Kubala stayed for two seasons with Bratislava, during which period he got married and had a son named Branko.
The Kubala family returned to Hungary in 1948. He was supposed to sign for Vasas FC but chose to flee the communist regime of his country, fearing the propaganda of the regime. He and his wife had decided to meet again in Italy with the two having to endure a lot before reaching to a safe haven.
The journey to Italy
Kubala and some other Hungarian men disguised as Russian soldiers started the journey to Austria in a truck in bitterly cold weather. They left the truck a few kilometres before the border and had to travel the remaining distance on foot in sub-zero temperatures.
As a result of starting his career at a young age and scoring tonnes of goals for his club and country, Kubala had become a well-known figure. When this group of men reached Innsbruck, the guards who were checking the visas and documents, turned out to be football fans and recognised Kubala. They arranged for a visa to Italy for their beloved player and helped him reach Italy safe and sound.
Kubala's time in Italy and a near miss with death
Kubala then signed for Pro Patria and started the thing he knew best - to score and create goals. His performances saw him recognised by all of the Italian giants of football and hence was invited to play a testimonial match for Torino against Benfica in Portugal.
It was a huge honour for Kubala to be included in the squad of players which was at that time the best in the world. It was the 'Il Grande Torino' which wanted Laszlo Kubala to play for them which was also considered as a dress rehearsal for him to join the club.
But on the brink of his departure to Portugal, his exhausted wife arrived in Italy with his son who was very ill at that time. His wife had swum a long distance to reach the shores of Italy and carried baby Branko in the tube of a tyre. Kubala took the decision of staying with his ailing son which proved to be the most important decision of his life.
During Torino's return after the game, the plane carrying 31 people crashed into the Superga hills and all the people aboard were tragically killed. Kubala was lucky as that figure would easily have been 32 if he had gone to play.
After this incident, Hungarian federation with the help of FIFA banned Kubala for one year due to his unexpected departure. This ended his spell at Pro Patria which led the rebel that Kubala was, to form his own club and name it "Hungaria".
This club consisted of Hungarian, Czechs, Croatians and Russian refugees who came together for their love of football. It was at this club where he got reunited with the manager and his brother-in-law, Ferdinand Daucik, who followed him to his most important adventure of his life, at FC Barcelona.
A life changing tryst with Spain
Kubala's team went on to Spain to play friendlies with a number of Spanish clubs. It was in one of such games were the Bernabeu crowd got the first taste of this genius and were eager to get him on board. Kubala had one condition to sign for the Los Blancos and it was that the club would sign Daucik as the head coach, which Real Madrid were reluctant to agree upon.
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Real Madrid's loss turned out to be a god-given gift for Barcelona as they lured both Kubala and Daucik to Les Corts.
There are many conspiracy theories as to how the Catalans persuaded Kubala to sign the contract. One says that he was too drunk when he signed on the dotted line, while another says that Kubala took the contract papers from Real Madrid and presented it before Barcelona and asked them to match it.
His impact at FC Barcelona
After signing with the club in 1950, Kubala had to wait till 1951 to make his debut for Barcelona because of the FIFA ban. During his first seven games, Kubala scored six goals and won the Copa Del Generalísimo (now known as the Copa Del Rey). People thronged to the stadium to see their costliest ever signing live and he didn't disappoint them. He became a superstar in no time and soon Les Corts, the club's old stadium with a capacity of 60000, became too small to hold the supporters.
His first full season at the club became the team's most successful campaign of that era as the 1951-52 term saw Barcelona lift five trophies. He scored 26 goals in 19 games that season, including a seven-goal haul against Sporting Gijon which is still an untouched La Liga record. Along with the league title, the partnership of Kubala and Daucik saw Barcelona win the Copa del Generalísimo, Copa Eva Duarte, Latin Cup and the Copa Martini Rossi.
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This team went down in the history books as 'El Barca de Les Cinc Copes' (The Barca of the Five Cups). They also had a famous chant for this historic feat which went like - “There are six things that shine more than the sun – Barcelona's five cups and the s**t that is Espanol.”
The next season saw Kubala suffer from a life-threatening bout of tuberculosis for which the doctor told him that he would never be able to play football again. The fighter in him rose to the challenge as he made a trip to the Alps to undertake altitude training. This was the second time he travelled there to save his life, the first being his expedition to free himself from the communist government of Hungaria.
Astoundingly, Kubala made a return to the first season in the same season as he helped Barcelona to a league and cup double. When he returned, Barcelona were fourth and had no chance of surpassing Real Madrid at the top.
When Daucik left the club in 1954, Kubala stayed at his new home and went on to etch more chapters in his fairytale at the club. He went on to stay with the Catalans for 11 years and notched 280 goals in 345 appearances. These humongous numbers translated into trophies for the club but this not was the only influence of Kubala for Barcelona.
Kubala's long lasting influence on FC Barcelona
We can safely say that Kubala changed the face of Spanish football. He was the first player who curled the freekick over the opposition wall and taught the world how to score beautiful set piece goals. The Kubala curl came to the world's attention when he was playing for the Catalans. Kubala encouraged scouting of the opponents, tactical preparation and set piece innovation which is evident in each team's preparations till now.
In Sid Lowe's book titled, Fear and Loathing in La Liga, he described Kubala's style as a bullish and robust playmaker who combined his physical prowess with his delicate skills. Lowe also described him as "Hulk-like" which may have derived from his love for boxing. Kubala’s style of play was a unique blend of power and technique and was never a selfish player. He also supposedly missed just one penalty in his entire career.
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Helenio Herrera, one of the greatest managers in the world could not get away with benching Kubala in an important game as the board had to decide between the player and the manager. And as was expected, the board decided to keep hold of their prized asset and let Herrera leave. This was just one of the many examples of his influence at the club.
The need for a bigger theatre to watch the maestro at work was identified by the club and hence the construction for Camp Nou was initiated. It was Laszlo Kubala who made Barcelona shift from Les Corts to one of the most iconic football stadiums – Nou Camp. He brought the glory era back to the club and was Barcelona's answer to “Franco's team” – Real Madrid.
Kubala didn't receive the recognition from the people outside Barcelona as he lacked the European Cup in his cabinet but it has to be remembered that Barcelona played for the first time in that competition in 1959, when Kubala was well past his prime. He never even had the chance to play in a World Cup as he rejected the opportunity to represent Hungary and an injury led him to miss the 1962 World Cup with Spain. The 1962 World Cup would then have seen him and Alfredo Di Stefano play in the same team.
For Barcelona fans – this refugee and nomad – did more than any local boy had ever done and they accepted him as one of their own. Because of their love for him, Kubala was adjudged as Barcelona's player of the century in 1999.
One article had a beautiful line on Kubala which read, “Kubala’s influence at Barcelona stretched far beyond goals, assists and even trophies, and there were lots of all three.” How true that turned out to be! A bronze statue of the player will always serve as a beautiful reminder of his achievements for the club and its people.
Though Lionel Messi might go down as the best footballer of all time when he hangs up his boots, but one player will forever remain in the hearts of Catalans despite being in the Argentine’s shadow – the phenomenon named Ladislao Kubala.
His contribution to this great club can be said in one line as - “Mes Que un jugador“ - More than just a player.