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Josef Masopust (9 February 1931 – 29 June 2015) was a Czech football player and coach. He played as midfielder and was a key player for Czechoslovakia, helping them reach the 1962 FIFA World Cup Final. He was capped 63 times, scoring ten goals for his national team.
He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1962. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, Masopust was selected as his country's Golden Player by the Football Association of the Czech Republic as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. He is regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time.
When he eventually went abroad in 1968, he helped Crossing Molenbeek win promotion to the Belgian first division as player-coach. His coaching career continued at Dukla, however his only Czechoslovak league title as a coach came with Zbrojovka Brno in the 1977–78 season. Later, between 1984 and 1987, he led the Czechoslovakia national team, overseeing a total of 27 matches. He subsequently had a spell in Indonesia where he coached their national Olympic football team with Milan Bokša between 1988 and 1991.
In 1962, Masopust led the Czechoslovakia team that reached the 1962 FIFA World Cup Final, losing to Brazil. He scored the opening goal in the Final, but Brazil came back to win 3–1. Because of his performance at the World Cup Finals, he was named European Footballer of the Year in 1962.
Having represented the World XI against England in 1963, Masopust was invited to play for a Europe XI in the farewell match for Stanley Matthews, when the 50-year-old Matthews retired from football in 1965. Czechoslovakia failed to qualify for the 1966 World Cup; Masopust had only played in one qualification match, a 1–0 defeat against Romania in May 1965. His last international appearance was in May 1966, in a friendly match against the Soviet Union. Overall, he was capped 63 times for his national team, scoring ten goals.
Masopust was in a similar mould to that of the Hungarian József Bozsik; a workhorse of his team, who also created attacking opportunities. He had excellent ball control, which he utilised for both recovering the ball in defence and dribbling past opponents. Like Bozsik, Masopust was also an excellent passer of the ball. He was not great at tackling opponents, but he compensated for this by anticipating his opponents' actions and intercepting their passes.
Shackled by Czechoslovakia's "no-risk" style philosophy, Masopust's natural inclination for attack was limited, yet he still managed ten goals in 63 caps for his national team. At club level, he scored 79 times in 386 appearances for Dukla Prague. Many of his Dukla teammates also played for the national team, which gave them a greater understanding than some of their opponents.
Individual
International career
Masopust made his international debut in October 1954, in a friendly match against Hungary. He helped Czechoslovakia qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but the team were knocked out after a play-off match against Northern Ireland. He then went on to finish the 1955-60 Central European International Cup as winner in 1960. Czechoslovakia then finished in third place in the new tournament 1960 UEFA European Football Championship, losing to the Soviet Union in the semi-final and defeating France in the third place match.
Style of play
Early in his career, Masopust played as a left half. By the time of the 1962 World Cup, he had moved to the centre half position.
Legacy
A statue of Masopust was built outside Dukla's Stadion Juliska and was unveiled in June 2011.
Death
Masopust died on 29 June 2015 at his home in Prague at the age of 84. Although no cause of death was given, Czech Television stated that he had been fighting an unspecified long, serious illness.
Career statistics
FK Teplice 1950 Czechoslovak First Divison 4 0 — — — 4 0 1951 24 3 — — — 24 3 1952 26 7 — — — 26 7 Dukla Prague 1953 Czechoslovak First Divison 14 3 - - - - - - 14 3 1954 12 0 - - - - - - 12 0 1955 19 1 - - - - 6 2 25 3 1956 17 0 - - - - 2 1 19 2 1957 21 4 - - - - 3 1 24 5 1957-58 18 1 - - 2 - - - 20 1 1958-59 20 4 - - 4 1 - - 24 5 1959-60 21 9 - - - - - - 21 9 1960-61 26 11 2 - - - - - 28 11 1961-62 26 3 2 2 6 - - - 34 5 1962-63 25 8 1 - 6 1 - - 32 9 1963-64 26 4 1 1 6 1 - - 33 6 1964-65 20 1 3 - 5 1 - - 28 2 1965-66 19 5 4 2 - - 4 1 27 8 1966-67 16 8 4 1 8 1 - - 28 10 1967-68 13 1 4 - - - - - 17 1 Crossing Molenbeek 1968-69 Belgian First Division 27 8 - - - - 3 - 30 8 1969-70 14 1 - - - - - - 14 1
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and year Czechoslovakia 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 0
+ List of international goals scored by Josef Masopust 1955–60 Central European International Cup Friendly Friendly 1955–60 Central European International Cup Friendly EURO 1960 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification 1962 FIFA World Cup Final Friendly 4–0
Honours
Dukla Prague
Notes
External links
Categories: 1931 Births, 2015 Deaths, Uefa Golden Players, Footballers From Most, Czech Men's Footballers, Czechoslovak Men's Footballers, Czechoslovakia Men's International Footballers, Ballon D'or Winners, Fifa 100, 1958 Fifa World Cup Players, 1960 European Nations' Cup Players, 1962 Fifa World Cup Players, Fk Teplice Players, Dukla Prague Footballers, Czech Football Managers, Czechoslovak Football Managers, Czechoslovakia National Football Team Managers, Dukla Prague Managers, Fc Zbrojovka Brno Managers, Recipients Of Medal Of Merit, Czechoslovak Expatriate Men's Footballers, Czechoslovak Expatriate Sportspeople In Belgium, Expatriate Men's Footballers In Belgium, K.v.v. Crossing Elewijt Players, Men's Association Football Midfielders, Czechoslovak Expatriate Sportspeople In Indonesia, Fk Dukla Prague Players, Fk Baník Most 1909 Players
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