Nandor Hidegkuti, 80; Gold Medal-Winning Hungarian Soccer Player

Nandor Hidegkuti, 80, a member of Hungary’s “Magical Magyars”--the soccer team that won Olympic gold in 1952, lost in the World Cup final to Germany in 1954 and was the first overseas side to defeat England at home--died Thursday of heart and circulatory complications at a hospital in Budapest.

In the game against England at Wembley Stadium in London in November 1953, Hidegkuti scored a hat trick as Hungary beat the home side, 6-3.

He also helped revolutionize the center-forward position, moving it deep out of the mouth of the goal and acting more like an attacking center-half.

Following Hidegkuti’s example, teams began to change their tactics to emulate the Hungarian formation, with many of them playing with deep-lying center-forwards, or at least forwards who did not play rigidly in one area of the field as they had before.

Hidegkuti turned to coaching after he quit playing, leading Italy’s Fiorentina to the European Cup title in 1961.