Gyula Lóránt

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

Gyula Lóránt

Lóránt in 1953
Personal information
Birth name	Gyula Lipovics
Date of birth	(1923-02-06)6 February 1923
Place of birth	Kőszeg, Hungary
Date of death	31 May 1981(1981-05-31) (aged 58)
Place of death	Thessaloniki, Greece
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Defender / midfielder
Youth career
1939–1941	Kõszeg SE
1941–1942	Szombathelyi Haladás
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1942–1943	Szombathelyi Haladás
1943–1944	Nagyváradi AC	28	(11)
1944	Nemzeti Vasas	7	(0)
1945	Libertatea Oradea	9	(1)
1946–1947	ITA Arad	20	(0)
1947–1950	Vasas	82	(1)
1951–1956	Honvéd	85	(0)
1956	Budapest Spartacus
1956–1957	Váci Vasas
Total		231	(13)
International career
1949–1955	Hungary	37	(0)
Managerial career
1962–1963	Honvéd
1963	Debrecen
1964	SV Rheydt
1965–1967	1. FC Kaiserslautern
1967–1968	MSV Duisburg
1968–1969	Tasmania Berlin
1969–1971	1. FC Kaiserslautern
1971–1972	1. FC Köln
1972–1974	Kickers Offenbach
1974	Freiburger FC
1975–1976	PAOK
1976–1977	Eintracht Frankfurt
1977–1978	Bayern Munich
1979	Schalke 04
1980–1981	PAOK
Medal record Representing Hungary Olympic Games 1952 Helsinki FIFA World Cup Runner-up 1954 Switzerland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gyula Lóránt (born Gyula Lipovics, 6 February 1923 – 31 May 1981) was a Hungarian footballer and manager of Croatian descent. He played as a defender and midfielder for, among others, UTA Arad, Vasas SC, Honvéd and Hungary.

During the 1950s, he was a prominent member of the legendary Hungarian national team known as the Mighty Magyars, which also included Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti.

After retiring as a player, Lóránt became a coach, most notably with Honvéd, FC Bayern Munich and PAOK Thessaloniki FC. While at PAOK, he guided them to a Greek Championship title in 1976. On 31 May 1981, while still working as coach, he suffered a heart attack, watching PAOK play Olympiacos CFP and died at the game, aged 58.

Early life

The son of a policeman, who fought as a volunteer in World War II on the German side, Lóránt turned professional footballer at the age of 16; in parallel, he then also studied economics at university in the 1950s.

Gyula Lóránt began his career as a youth with his hometown club, Kõszeg SE, after encouragement from a local trainer. He then played for Nagyváradi AC and UT Arad in Romania. It was while at Vasas SC, where his teammates included Ladislao Kubala, that his career prospered. However, in January 1949, as Hungary became a communist state, Kubala fled the country in the back of a truck and formed his own team Hungaria to play exhibition friendlies. The team was made up of fellow refugees fleeing Eastern Europe. Lóránt also attempted to escape and follow Kubala, but was captured and ended up in a detention camp.

Hungarian international

Lóránt was released from detention after the intervention of Gusztáv Sebes, the national team coach, who regarded him as pivotal to his plans. Lóránt then made his debut for Hungary on 19 October 1949 in an away game against Austria. Sebes personally guaranteed the country's Interior Minister and future Prime Minister, János Kádár, that Lóránt would not abscond while in Vienna. Kádár agreed and Lóránt responded with a superb performance as Hungary won 4–3. He subsequently joined Honvéd where together with six of his fellow internationals, he helped the team win three Hungarian League titles. As one of the legendary Mighty Magyars, he helped Hungary become Olympic Champions in 1952, Central European Champions in 1953, defeat England twice and reach the 1954 World Cup final.

Death

Lóránt died on 31 May 1981, while working as a trainer of PAOK, during a game against Olympiacos CFP. He suffered a heart attack in the 16th minute of the match after PAOK's Giorgos Koudas headed a cross into the side of the net from close range. He was tried to be resuscitated on the spot and then moved to the club doctor's room but died before the ambulance arrived. PAOK players were told in the break that he had to be transported to the hospital and his death was revealed only after the game. PAOK eventually won the match 1–0 with the goal of the substitute Vassilis Vasilakos who sat next to Lóránt on the bench when he collapsed. The autopsy revealed that he had at least two more previous heart attacks, the second one at longest one week before his death.

Lóránt was buried in Endingen, Germany, but in 2011 at the request of his widow, his ashes were transported to Hungary and reburied in his birth town, Kőszeg.

Honours

Player

Hungary

• Olympic Champions: 1952
• Central European Champions: 1953
• World Cup runner-up: 1954

Nagyváradi AC

• Hungarian Champions: 1944

UTA Arad

• Romanian Champions: 1947

Honvéd

• Hungarian Champions: 1952, 1954, 1955

Manager

PAOK Thessaloniki FC

• Greek Champions: 1976

External links

• Bio at www.uefa.com
• Hungary Stats
• Gyula Lóránt Greek
• Gyula Lóránt at National-Football-Teams.com

Sources

• Behind The Curtain – Travels in Eastern European Football: Jonathan Wilson (2006) [1]
• Gyula Lóránt at eintracht-archiv.de