On December 13, 1954, probably few people imagined that the meeting between Wolverhampton and Budapesti Honvéd, one of the greatest clubs of the era, if not the greatest, would become a match of historic significance.
Background:
England performed surprisingly poorly at the 1950 World Cup. Thanks to a better goal difference they still finished second in their group behind Spain, but they suffered a shock defeat to the United States, and at the time second place in the group did not mean qualification. On English soil, however, they maintained an imposing home record for a long time: the Three Lions were first beaten there by a continental European side on November 25, 1953, namely the Hungarian national team. After that, our national side enjoyed enormous respect in England, while the popularity of Wolverhampton Wanderers was also growing. During the 1950s the club began staging international friendlies under floodlights (which were still a novelty in football at the time), and Honvéd's visit received huge publicity as part of this series. That was hardly surprising, since Honvéd players formed the backbone of the Golden Team (Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, Zoltán Czibor, József Bozsik, László Budai, Gyula Lóránt), so it was understandable that the British press framed the fixture as a chance for revenge.
The match:
Honvéd needed just 14 minutes to take a 2-0 lead, displaying the same fluid, innovative style the national team had shown a year earlier in the famous 6-3. Our tactical and technical superiority was unquestionable, but according to Wolves sources, manager Stan Cullis ordered the pitch to be watered at half-time to slow down Honvéd's quick passing game. It ultimately proved a turning point, as Wolves came from behind through a Johnny Hancocks penalty and a brace from Roy Swinbourne. The victory over Honvéd remains one of the most cherished moments in the Wolves' history and ultimately lit the spark that led to the creation of Europe's most prestigious club competition.
The legacy:
The match generated enormous attention not only beforehand, but afterwards as well:
Gabriel Hanot, a journalist at the prestigious French sports daily L’Équipe, gained renewed impetus for his proposal for what was then generally called the European Cup after Honvéd's match away to Wolverhampton. While the Hungarian press and the coaching staff who travelled to England – Gusztáv Sebes, Gyula Mándi and Jenő Kalmár – criticised the team's performance, The Times was full of praise: “The mud was our ally. In the first half only Honvéd really played enjoyable football; during that period they displayed their brilliant skill, indeed their artistry.”
Cullis was almost beside himself with joy after beating Honvéd: “There is no doubt, ours is the best club in Europe,” said the Wolves manager. Hanot, however, wrote in L’Équipe that the claim would only be true if there were a return match and the English team could avoid defeat in Budapest as well. He also argued that Wolves could not be called the best team in the world until they had faced European giants such as Real Madrid or AC Milan. Football literature holds that this episode gave Hanot the idea of creating international club competitions. Less than a year later, the tournament for champion clubs began: the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the forerunner of today's Champions League. As is well known, Hanot and his L’Équipe colleague Jacques Ferran were the main driving forces behind the creation of the competition we now know as the Champions League.
Keeping the tradition alive, ties with Wolverhampton:
From Wednesday, our club is organising a temporary exhibition in which Honvéd's 1954 visit to Wolverhampton will be among the topics presented to visitors. The exhibition can be visited from 18:00 on Wednesday, November 27 at the Magyar Futball Akadémia.
At the same time, we are delighted to have received an invitation from Wolverhampton, who plan to commemorate the events of 70 years ago at their Premier League match against Ipswich on December 14. To mark the occasion, Wolves have also created a dedicated website on the subject, where they present the line-ups (now in a corrected version), the background to the match and what happened during it. They also report that Wolves will unveil a specially commissioned statue commemorating the European club competition and the legends who took to the pitch at Molineux Stadium that evening. The artwork, designed and created by artist Luke Perry, will be placed in front of Molineux and unveiled on December 13, 2024. In addition, a special limited-edition shirt has been produced for the occasion (1954 pieces, in reference to the year), one of which will be sent to our club and displayed at the Kispesti Futball Ház. The shirt itself costs £60, while Wolves have also launched a £125 package including a variety of excellent programmes. Buyers will also be entered into a draw to win a three-day trip to Budapest for one of our team's league matches in February. The two clubs have been coordinating details for months, and we will provide further information in the new year.
