János Biri

János Biri
Personal information
Date of birth (1901-07-21)21 July 1901
Place of birth Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Date of death 29 March 1983(1983-03-29) (aged 81)[1]
Place of death Budapest, Hungary
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1920–1925 Kispest AC 62 (2)
1925–1927 Padova 35 (0)
1927–1928 MTK Budapest 2 (0)
1928 33 FC 5 (0)
1929 Sabaria 3 (0)
1930–1931 Pécs-Baranya 18 (0)
1931–1932 Kerületi 20 (2)
1933 Amiens
1933–1936 Boavista
International career
1924–1934 Hungary 5 (0)
Managerial career
1935–1936 Porto
1937–1939 Académico Porto
1939–1947 Benfica
1947–1949 Estoril Praia
1949–1951 Guimarães
1951–1952 Atlético
1952–1955 Setúbal
1955–1956 Oriental
1956–1957 Fabril Barreiro
1957–1958 Oriental
1958 Lusitânia
1958–1959 Académica
1959–1960 Lusitano Évora
1960–1961 Setúbal
1965–1966 Lusitano Évora
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
The native form of this personal name is Biri János. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

János Biri (21 July 1901 – 29 March 1983) was a Hungarian footballer and coach. Biri played as a goalkeeper for a number of clubs, most notably Padova and MTK Budapest FC, also representing Hungary in the 1924 Summer Olympics.[2] He is best known for his coaching career in Portugal which spanned more than three decades.

Career

1924 Maygar team; Károly Fogl, Zoltán Opata, Ferenc Hirzer, Rudolf Jeny, József Eisenhoffer, Béla Guttmann, Gyula Mándi, Gábor Obitz, József Braun, György Orth, János Biri, and Gyula Kiss

Born in Budapest, Biri career in football started in a hometown club, Kispest AC at the age of 19. His performances earned him a place in the Hungary squad for the 1924 Summer Olympics.[3] In 1925, he moved to Italy, representing Padova in the early days of what was to known as Serie A. After two seasons in Italy, he returned to Hungary, passing through several teams,[4] without much success, having short spells in France and Portugal, retiring in 1936, at age 35.

Shortly after, Biri started coaching Porto, winning Campeonato de Porto and coming runner-up in Primeira Liga in his only season there. After a brief spell with Académico Porto, he was then hired by Benfica's President, Augusto da Fonseca Jr. In the eight seasons he spent there, he successfully challenged Sporting dominance, claiming 3 Primeira Liga titles and 3 Taça de Portugal.[5][6]

He held the record for most games managed and won, for over 75 years, until Jorge Jesus surpassed him in 2014. However, he still has the highest winning percentage of any other coach with at least 100 games and the second longest reign with 8 years, after Cosme Damião.[7] After Benfica, János managed eleven other teams, retiring as coach in 1966, after more than 30 years in managerial roles.[8]

Managerial Record

Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Benfica[7] 1 August 1939 2 July 1947 272 194 25 53 071.32

Honours

Porto
  • Campeonato do Porto: 1935–36
Benfica[9]

References

  1. ^ Profile of János Biri (in Hungarian)
  2. ^ "János Biri". Olympedia. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Janos Biri". Olympic.org.
  4. ^ János Biri profile, nela.hu; accessed 15 October 2017.(in Hungarian)
  5. ^ Carlos Perdigão (2004). 100 Anos de Lenda (in Portuguese) (1 ed.). Diário de Noticias. pp. 139–144. ISBN 972-9335-52-4.
  6. ^ "100 anos: Janos Biri: TREINADORES HISTÓRICOS (IV)" (in Portuguese). Record. 7 May 2003.
  7. ^ a b Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. 2012. pp. 157–207, 764. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.
  8. ^ "János Biri". Finalball.com. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  9. ^ Carlos Perdigão (2004). 100 Anos de Lenda (in Portuguese) (1 ed.). Diário de Noticias. p. 143. ISBN 972-9335-52-4.