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.[1] He was capped 63 times, scoring ten goals for his national team.[2]
Masopust's first club was lowly ZSJ Uhlomost Most, but ZSJ Technomat Teplice (renamed to ZSJ Vodotechna Teplice in 1951) signed him as a 19-year-old left-half and gave him his top-flight debut. Then, in 1952, he joined a Czechoslovak Armed Forces football club under name of ATK Praha (renamed to ÚDA Praha in 1953 and to Dukla Prague in winter 1956). Masopust won eight league championships and three national cups with Dukla.[3] They also reached the semi-finals of the 1966–67 European Cup, losing to the eventual winners of the competition (Celtic).[3]
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.[4] Later, between 1984 and 1987, he led the Czechoslovakia national team, overseeing a total of 27 matches.[5] He subsequently had a spell in Indonesia where he coached their national Olympic football team with Milan Bokša between 1988 and 1991.[5]
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.[4] Because of his performance at the World Cup Finals, he was named European Footballer of the Year in 1962.
Having represented the Rest of the World team against England in 1963, Masopust was invited to play for a European International XI in the farewell match for Stanley Matthews, when the 50-year-old Matthews retired from football in 1965.[3] Czechoslovakia failed to qualify for the 1966 World Cup;[3] Masopust had only played in one qualification match, a 1–0 defeat against Romania in May 1965.[6] His last international appearance was in May 1966, in a friendly match against the Soviet Union.[3][6] Overall, he was capped 63 times for his national team, scoring ten goals.[3][6]
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.[3] 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.[3]
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.[3]
Legacy
A statue of Masopust was built outside Dukla's Stadion Juliska and was unveiled in June 2011.[1]
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.[7]
Career statistics
International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[6]
^ abJeřábek, Luboš (2007). Český a československý fotbal – lexikon osobností a klubů (in Czech). Prague: Grada Publishing. pp. 120–121. ISBN978-80-247-1656-5.
