Kálmán Mészöly (16 July 1941 – 21 November 2022) was a Hungarian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. He played his entire career at

Vasas SC Vasas SC () is a Hungarian sports club based in Budapest. Members of the ''Hungarian Union of Iron Workers'' founded the club as ''Vas- és Fémmunkások Sport Clubja'', the "Sport Club of Iron and Metal Workers", on 16 March 1911. The club ...

, where he operated as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. His nickname was "The Blond Rock". Mészöly played a total of 61 matches and scored six goals for the Hungary national team. He participated in the

1962 FIFA World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the 7th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place between ...

, the 1964 European Championship, and the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

. He helped his team, Vasas, become Hungarian champions in 1961, 1962, 1965 and 1966. He also was part of Hungary's squad for the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

, but he did not play in any matches. Mészöly played in several World All-Stars games during the 1960s and 1970s. He later had three spells as head coach of the Hungary national football team: 1980–83, 1990–91 and 1994–95. He led Hungary to the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...

. Mészöly died on 21 November 2022, at the age of 81. His son, Géza Mészöly (born in 1967), is also a former football player and coach.

References

1941 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Budapest Hungarian men's footballers Hungary men's international footballers Hungarian football managers Hungarian expatriate football managers Hungary national football team managers Olympic bronze medalists for Hungary Olympic medalists in football Olympic footballers for Hungary Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1964 European Nations' Cup players 1966 FIFA World Cup players Vasas SC players 1982 FIFA World Cup managers Fenerbahçe S.K. (football) managers Turkey national football team managers Vasas SC managers Békéscsaba 1912 Előre managers Expatriate football managers in Turkey Altay S.K. managers Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) managers Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Men's association football defenders Zalaegerszegi TE managers Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Nemzeti Bajnokság I managers 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen Budafoki MTE managers {{Hungary-footy-defender-stub