Gyula Zsengellér (27 December 1915 – 29 March 1999) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker. A legend of Újpest FC, he is most famous for his part in taking the Hungary national team to the 1938 World Cup Final. He was that tournament's second-highest scorer, behind Leonidas of Brazil.

His first international cap came on 2 December 1936, when Hungary lost 6–2 to England. In total, he gained 39 caps for his country, scoring 33 goals. This makes him the eighth-highest goalscorer of all-time for the Hungary national side.

Gyula Zsengellér

Zsengellér also played 325 games in the Hungarian league and scored 387 goals between 1935 and 1947, making him the third-highest goalscorer of all-time in the Hungarian league. He began his career at Salgótarjáni TC, then moving to Újpest FC in 1936. Zsengellér spent 11 years serving Újpest, when in 1947 he joined Italian side A.S. Roma. In the 1949–50 season Zsengellér played for Ancona and he finished his career playing for Colombian Deportivo Samarios between 1951 and 1952.

Gyula Zsengellér

He was the Hungarian league's top-scorer in five seasons: 1938, 1939, 1943, 1944 and in the spring season of 1945. He was Europe's top goalscorer in 1939 and 1945. He was also the top scorer of the 1939 Mitropa Cup (9 goals).

Gyula Zsengellér

After his retirement, Zsengellér started a long and successful managerial career, working mainly in Italy and Cyprus. He won the Cypriot First Division with Pezoporikos Larnaca in 1954 and the Cypriot Cup with APOEL FC in 1976. He died in 1999 aged 83.

IFFHS named Zsengellér the 7th most successful Top Division Goal Scorer of all time.

Career statistics

Honours

Újpest

Nemzeti Bajnokság I: 1938-39, 1945, 1945-46, 1946-47

Mitropa Cup: 1939

Hungary

Balkan Cup: 1947

1938 FIFA World Cup: Runner-up

See also

List of men's footballers with 500 or more goals

References

External links

IFFHS link

1915 births

1999 deaths

Hungarian people of German descent

Hungarian men's footballers

Serie A players

Categoría Primera A players

Újpest FC players

AS Roma players

AC Ancona players

Unión Magdalena footballers

Anorthosis Famagusta FC managers

Expatriate football managers in Cyprus

Expatriate men's footballers in Italy

Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia

1938 FIFA World Cup players

Hungary men's international footballers

Hungarian expatriate men's footballers

Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Italy

APOEL FC managers

Apollon Pontou F.C. managers

Cyprus national football team managers

Hungarian football managers

Hungarian expatriate football managers

Men's association football forwards

Nea Salamis Famagusta FC managers

APOP Paphos FC managers

Pezoporikos Larnaca FC managers

Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia

Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus

Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Greece

People from Cegléd

Footballers from Pest County