Jimmy Hogan
What do the 1930s Austrian Wunderteam, the 1950s Hungarian Mighty Magyars and the tactical philosophies of German and Dutch football all have in common? Answer: Jimmy Hogan.
I am heavily plagiarizing this excellent article, but Englishman manager/trainer/pioneer Jimmy Hogan, generally unwelcomed in his own country, would take a fantastic journey across Central Europe sowing the tactical seeds of what would one day become known as “Total Football.”
Before hanging up his cleats in 1913, Jimmy Hogan already had high-level managing experience, coaching the Dutch national side in 1910 and instilling a greater professionalism and more advanced tactical and technical thinking that would later inspire Jack Reynolds and Rinus Michels who would further develop Total Football at Ajax. Hogan had a consuming desire for self-improvement and fitness at a time when formalized conditioning regimes and training were generally frowned upon.
Hogan was recruited by Hugo Meisl to help prepare the Austrian national team for the 1916 Olympics. The outbreak of World War I led to the cancellation of that tournament and also stranded Hogan behind enemy lines in Austria-Hungary territory. Hogan was rescued by Baron Dirstay, the British vice-president of Budapest club MTK Budapest FC, who took Hogan on as coach in order to prevent him being taken to a prisoner of war camp. With Hogan’s developments, MTK and the great Alfréd Schaffer won league titles in 1917 and 1918. While his time in Hungary was brief, he left the blueprint for the great Hungarian side of the 1950s. On November 25th, 1953, Ferenc Puskás, József Bozsik and the rest of the Mighty Magyars would humble the English national team who thought themselves unbeatable. Hungary tore apart England’s rigid W-M formation with a mesmerizing display of synchronized ability. Following the match, the president of the Hungarian FA, Sandor Barcs, would proclaim to the English press, “Jimmy Hogan taught us everything we know about football.” Gusztáv Sebes, manager of the Mighty Magyars, said of Hogan, "We played football as Jimmy Hogan taught us. When our football history is told, his name should be written in gold letters.”
Following his stint at MTK, Hogan attempted to return to English football, but was rebuffed. Over the next few years, he spent time coaching in Switzerland, Hungary and Germany. In Switzerland, Hogan was one of three coaches who prepared the Swiss national team for the 1924 Olympics. The Swiss lost to Uruguay in the final match of the tournament, the greatest success in Swiss footballing history. Hogan’s time in Germany, also brief, was quite influential. Upon on his death in 1974, Hogan’s son received a letter from the German Football Federation describing him as “the father of modern football in Germany.”
As the political climate in Germany grew concerning in the 1930s, Hogan returned to Austria to work with Hugo Meisl and the national side’s star Matthias Sindelar. It was Hogan who instilled the tactical intelligence that the side was lacking, employing a defensive yet fluid version of the W-M formation and quick pass-and-move game that would take the Wunderteam to the semi-finals at the 1934 World Cup in which the side lost to eventual champions Italy. Hogan coached the Austrians in the 1936 Olympics where they lost in the final match, again to Italy.
Hogan was finally welcomed in England in 1936 where he was hired by Aston Villa following the club’s first-ever relegation. Within two seasons, Hogan guided Villa back to the top flight.
Without Jimmy Hogan, football likely wouldn’t be the tactically diverse, organized and professional game it is today. He was a wandering footballing prophet and his ideas remain enshrined as the alpha of modern football, directly influencing the development of football programs in Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. |
Album by Mark M. 1 - 7 of 7 Total. 79 Visits. |
|
