Nandor Hidegkuti, the man who revolutionized football and the role of striker

Nandor Hidegkuti was part of the Hungarian national football team dominant in the first half of the fifties. Although he is lesser known than other attacking stars such as Sandor Kocsis and the legendary Ferenc Puskas, he was no less important.

Hidegkuti, often forgotten by mainstream football fans, played one of the most important roles in changing the way the game was played. He essentially created a footballing revolution with his playing style.

Hidegkuti's unorthodox positioning

The Hungarian national team was famously known as "The Magnificient Magyars" for their footballing exploits.

Nandor Hidegkuti was not your average orthodox striker who waited in the penalty box and pounced on the opportunity to score. He played a flexible role in the opposition's half.

Hungarian coach Gusztav Sebes created a cunning team formation that exploited the weaknesses of the W-M formation, quite popular in those days.Sebes used Hidegkuti as the Trojan Horse to open up the opposition's defense.

Traditionally, in the W-M formation, the team's center-back marks the opposition's center-forward. To exploit this, Sebes made Hidegkuti, the main striker, play deep so as to draw the opposition's center-back out from his position.

Once the center-back was drawn out from his position by Hidegkuti, the other talented attackers such as Puskas and Kocsis would raid the attacking space. This formation made the opposition's defense crumble. They were simply powerless as they watched the Hungarian players wreak havoc on their team, and their dignity!

The genius of Hidegkuti and his footballing revolution

In England's match vs Hungary, Hidegkuti demolished the English by scoring a hattrick

Hidegkuti had fantastic vision and exceptional ball-distribution skills. He could pass the ball to the other attackers creatively. In any other football team, the coach would have made him a midfielder, taking his passing skills and vision into account. But Sebes made him a center-forward, and he did justice to his role.

Hidegkuti's role in the Hungarian setup led to the innovation of the concept of false-nine in footballing formation. His positional awareness and the hide-and-seek that he played with the opposition's defense made him a monster.

Nandor Hidekguti's impact in football will be forever felt by the players and the managers

His position revolutionized the game as football teams started following Hungary's style and broke away from the W-M formation. Brazil famously adopted this formation, which helped them win the World Cup in 1958.

Given the significance of his role in the evolution of the beautiful game, Hidegkuti is still a relative unknown, for the most part. However, his impact and revolution can be felt in matches around the world even today. So, the next time you see a team playing a false-nine, try and remember the great legend who was the pioneer of that role.