Bรฉla Guttmann
Hungary
27 January 1899
midfielder
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, Sรฃo Paulo FC, FC Porto, Benfica, and Peรฑarol. His greatest success came with Benfica when he guided them to two successive European Cup wins, in 1961 and in 1962.
Guttmann pioneered the 4โ2โ4 formation along with Mรกrton Bukovi and Gusztรกv Sebes, forming a triumvirate of radical Hungarian coaches, and is also credited with mentoring young Eusรฉbio 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\".
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