Mátyás Tóth

Personal information
Date of birth	(1918-04-01)1 April 1918
Place of birth	Békés, Austria-Hungary
Date of death	12 February 2002(2002-02-12) (aged 83)
Place of death	Halmstad, Sweden
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1936–1941	Újpest	65	(21)
1938–1939	→ Phöbus (loan)	24	(9)
1941–1944	Nagyváradi AC	89	(43)
1944	Nemzeti Vasas	9	(6)
1945–1946	Carmen București
1946–1947	ITA Arad	24	(13)
1947–1949	Vasas	44	(9)
Total		255	(101)
International career‡
1939–1948	Hungary	16	(6)
1946	Romania	2	(1)
Managerial career
1951–1955	Köpings
1956	Örnsköldsvik
1957–1959	Bodens
1960	Eskilstuna
1961–1962	Oddevold
1962–1963	Mo-Domsjö
1963–1964	Mora
1964–1965	Halmia
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 November 2019 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 November 2019

Mátyás Tóth (also known as Mátyás Tóth III; 1 April 1918 – 12 February 2002) was a Hungarian–Romanian footballer who played as a forward for teams such as Újpest, Nagyváradi AC, ITA Arad or Vasas, among others.^[1]

Tóth was born on 1 April 1918 in Békés, Austria-Hungary and began playing football in 1936 at Újpest in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I.^[2][3][4][5] After a short period between 1938 and 1939 when he played for Phöbus, Tóth returned to Újpest where he stayed until 1941.^[3][5] Afterwards he went to Nagyváradi AC with whom he won the 1943–44 title in which he contributed with 14 goals scored in 30 matches under coach Ferenc Rónay.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Shortly after winning the title, Tóth went to Nemzeti Vasas.^[2][3][4][5] Subsequently, in 1945 he played for a short while for Romanian side Carmen București.^[2][3][5] Afterwards he joined ITA Arad with which he won the 1946–47 Divizia A championship, working with three coaches, Zoltán Opata, Zoltán Blum and Gusztáv Juhász, under whom he played 24 games and scored 13 goals.^[2][3][5][7] He returned to Vasas in 1947 where he ended his career two years later, totaling 231 appearances with 83 goals in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I.^[3][4][5]

Tóth played 16 matches for Hungary, scoring six times, making his debut on 22 October 1939 under coach Dénes Ginzery in a 1–1 friendly draw against Romania in which he scored his side's goal.^[5][8][9]

In 1946 he played two games for Romania in the Balkan Cup, even though he did not have Romanian citizenship.^[5][8] He scored a goal in his first match under coach Virgil Economu in a 2–2 draw against Bulgaria.^[5][8][10]

Afterwards he returned to play for Hungary, his first game being a 3–0 away victory against Romania during the 1947 Balkan Cup.^[8] Tóth's last five games for The Magyars were in the 1948 Balkan Cup in which he scored once in a 6–2 win over Poland and in his last game he captained the team in a 1–0 away loss to Bulgaria.^[8][11] He was also part of Hungary's squad in the 1936 Summer Olympics, but he did not play in any matches.^[5][12]

Scores and results list Hungary's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tóth goal.^[8]

List of international goals scored by Mátyás Tóth for Hungary

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	22 October 1939	Stadionul ANEF, Bucharest, Romania	Romania	1–0	1–1	Friendly match
2	12 November 1939	Stadion Beogradski S.K., Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Yugoslavia	2–0	2–0	Friendly match
3	1 November 1942	Üllői úti Stadion, Budapest, Hungary	Switzerland	3–0	3–0	Friendly match
4	15 September 1943	Helsingin Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	1–0	3–0	Friendly match
5				3–0
6	15 September 1948	Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland	Poland	5–2	6–2	1948 Balkan Cup

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tóth goal.^[8]

List of international goals scored by Mátyás Tóth for Romania

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 October 1946	Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania	Bulgaria	2–2	2–2	1946 Balkan Cup

Tóth coached several modest teams in Sweden such as Köpings, Örnsköldsvik, Bodens, Eskilstuna, Oddevold, Mo-Domsjö, Mora and Halmia.^[3][5]

In 1949 after communism took over Hungary, Tóth left the country and fled to Italy.^[5] The Hungarian Football Federation suspended him for life, thus ending his career at age 31 even though he had offers to play for A.S. Roma and Lazio Roma.^[5] As a fugitive, he was placed in a camp where his health was negatively affected by improper living conditions.^[5] To escape his situation, Tóth decided to ask Crown Prince Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden for help.^[5] He had met the Prince in September 1943 before a Hungary away game against Sweden.^[5] At that time, knowing the prince would shake the players' hands, Tóth had made an effort to learn some Swedish phrases so he could talk to him.^[5] He wrote a letter to him, explaining his situation.^[5] In it, he falsely stated that he was Protestant, despite actually being Catholic.^[5] He also attached a picture of himself.^[5] Three weeks later the prince sent him money and an airplane ticket to go to Sweden.^[5]

Tóth remained in Sweden until the end of his life.^[5] He coached a few modest teams and organized the Swedish prison championship.^[5] He died on 12 February 2002 at the age of 83 in Halmstad.^[5][8]

Nagyváradi AC

• Nemzeti Bajnokság I: 1943–44^[2]

ITA Arad

• Divizia A: 1946–47^[2]

• Mátyás Tóth at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
• Mátyás Tóth at WorldFootball.net