Béla Guttmann

Béla Guttmann
Guttmann in 1953
Personal information
Full name Béla Guttmann
Date of birth (1899-01-27)27 January 1899
Place of birth Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Date of death 28 August 1981(1981-08-28) (aged 82)
Place of death Vienna, Austria
Position(s) Centre-half
Youth career
1917–1919 Törekvés SE
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1919–1920 Törekvés SE 17 (0)
1921–1922 MTK Hungária 16 (1)
1922–1926 Hakoah Wien 96 (8)
1926 Brooklyn Wanderers
1926–1929 New York Giants 83 (2)
1929–1930 New York Hakoah 21 (0)
1930 New York Soccer Club 22 (0)
1931–1932 Hakoah All-Stars 50 (0)
1932–1933 Hakoah Wien 4 (0)
International career
1921–1924 Hungary 4 (1)
Managerial career
1933–1935 Hakoah Wien
1935–1937 Enschede
1937–1938 Hakoah Wien
1938–1939 Újpest
1945 Vasas
1946 Ciocanul București
1947 Újpest
1947–1948 Kispest
1949–1950 Padova
1950–1951 Triestina
1953 Quilmes
1953 APOEL
1953–1955 Milan
1955–1956 Vicenza
1956–1957 Honvéd
1957–1958 São Paulo
1958–1959 Porto
1959–1962 Benfica
1962 Peñarol
1964 Austria
1965–1966 Benfica
1966–1967 Servette
1967 Panathinaikos
1973 Austria Wien
1973 Porto
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Béla Guttmann (Hungarian: [ˈbeːlɒ ˈɡutmɒnn]; 27 January 1899 – 28 August 1981) was a Hungarian footballer and coach. He was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, and was Jewish. He was deported by the Nazis to a Nazi slave labor camp where he was tortured; he survived the Holocaust. Before the war, he played as a midfielder for MTK Budapest FC, Hakoah Vienna, and several clubs in the United States. Guttmann also played for the Hungary national team, including at the 1924 Olympic Games.

Guttmann coached in ten countries from 1933 to 1974, and won ten national championships and two consecutive European Cups with Benfica. He also coached the national teams of Hungary and Austria, having also coached club football in the Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, Uruguay, and Portugal. He is perhaps best remembered as a coach and manager after the war of AC Milan, São Paulo FC, FC Porto, Benfica, and Peñarol. His greatest success came with Benfica when he guided them to two successive European Cup wins, in 1961 and in 1962.

Guttmann pioneered the 4–2–4 formation along with Márton Bukovi and Gusztáv Sebes, forming a triumvirate of radical Hungarian coaches, and is also credited with mentoring young Eusébio at Benfica. Throughout his career, he was never far from controversy. Widely travelled, as both a player and coach, he rarely stayed at a club longer than two seasons, and was quoted as saying "the third season is fatal". He was sacked by Milan while they were top of Serie A, and he walked out on Benfica after they reportedly refused a request for a pay rise, leaving the club with a "curse".