Friday, December 27, 2024
Dance, Toro, Part 2
Andras Torocsik's ban from the Hungarian national side following his indiscretions in Argentina proved to be a temporary one, with national team coach Lajos Baroti successfully arguing his case at the highest levels. By way of celebrating his return to the fold, Torocsik scored what is still spoken of as one of the finest goals ever scored in Hungary, in a UEFA Cup tie for Ujpest Dozsa against Athletic Bilbao. Starting from near the left touchline, some 40 yards from goal, he danced his way past three defenders before sending a sublimely cheeky chipped lob over the keeper José Iribar. Even the Bilbao club magazine described it as "a goal you could watch 300 times over".
With Torocsik restored to the Hungarian side in late 1977 for the World Cup playoff against Bolivia, the Magyars simply stormed past their South American opponents. Torocsik scored a classic off-the-shoulder striker's goal in the first leg in Budapest, and gave a repeat performance in the second leg as well as setting up the second goal beautifully for Istvan Halasz. With his new strike partner Bela Varady in commanding form as well, and Tibor Nyilasi a constant danger from midfield, the Hungarians won the tie by 9-2, and were off to the World Cup for the first time in twelve years.
They landed in an extremely tough group. Facing hosts Argentina, Enzo Bearzot's talented young Italian side and a Platini-inspired France, the Magyars were not favoured to qualify for the second round. Much would depend on their first-up encounter with the hosts in Buenos Aires; would the Argentinian side, most of whom lacked prior World Cup experience, suffer an attack of opening-night nerves?
It was a pivotal match in Andras Torocsik's life and career. The chance to shine on the biggest stage of all, with European club scouts present in droves, may have been just as important a spur as the opportunity to pull off a memorable result for his country. True, the rules in Eastern bloc countries prevented a move to a western club until a player was already in his declining years, but the rules could be bent sometimes (as they were for Zbigniew Boniek a few years later). But the match ended in bitter disappointment, in more ways than one.
Many fans in Hungary have blamed the Portuguese referee Antonio Garrido for the harsh treatment meted out to Torocsik in the course of the match, but this is not the whole story. Garrido was certainly a weak referee who was far too indulgent with the cynical fouling which was a constant feature of the game. But much of this fouling, particularly in the first half, was perpetrated by the Hungarians. They had clearly decided to rattle the young Argentine players, especially the fragile-looking Osvaldo Ardiles, from the outset. By way of retaliation, the albiceleste did their share of deliberate body-checking and tripping as well. And Torocsik, as the lone man up front, bore the brunt of it.
Significantly, Bela Varady, who had formed a promising attacking partnership with Torocsik during the playoffs, was injured, leaving the Ujpest Dozsa man an isolated figure. Torocsik's reputation as a dangerman had clearly preceded him as well, with the result that he often found himself surrounded by three opposition players whenever he received the ball.
There was an early goal for each side, Karoly Csapo's neat finish on the rebound being answered by a scrambled goal from Leopoldo Luque following a thumping free kick from Mario Kempes. The rest of the first half was goalless and indecisive: if Argentina were the more fluent side in attack, Hungary often posed danger on the break. But Torocsik was being policed with extreme diligence. In one significant moment, Garrido offered him a hand to help him get back up after another foul, and Torocsik rebuffed him with obvious hostility.
Early in the second half, perhaps frustrated at his peripheral role, he pounded the ball angrily against the turf when denied a throw-in, and Garrido issued him with a yellow card. It's not only in the present day that referees are more inclined to give a caution for petty rather than substantial reasons; several sly and even violent tackles had gone without punishment prior to Torocsik's minor act of petulance.
Argentina gradually assumed the upper hand, but they only broke through seven minutes from the close, when the battling Luque made a goal out of relatively little for the substitute, Daniel Bertoni. It was a fair reflection of the balance of the contest, but all was not lost for the Hungarians. There were still Italy and France to come. Sadly, though, they would be deprived of their most dangerous player for the following game...and it was so unnecessary.
With five minutes to go and Andras Torocsik deeply frustrated, the midfielder Americo Gallego beat him to a ball in the middle of the park. Torocsik angrily applied a kick to him on the way through, and he was off. And suspended for the next game, which the Hungarians had to win. To make matters even worse, Nyilasi also got himself dismissed in the very last minute for a high tackle on Alberto Tarantini; now Baroti would be without Nyilasi's drive in midfield and penalty-box prowess as well.
The rest of the tournament was an anti-climax for Hungary. Well beaten in the following game by Italy, who would have put far more than three goals past them had Roberto Bettega been in better form, they lost their last, meaningless game to France in an entertaining dead rubber which became well-known for somewhat comical reasons. Torocsik was back for this game, but he was plainly depressed and played well below his usual level.
The World Cup had been, in a word, disastrous both for country and player. But life went on, and the following year, charged with putting together a World XI to play against Argentina in Buenos Aires, Italy manager Enzo Bearzot invited Torocsik, whom he had long admired, to be a part of the side.
It was a precious opportunity. But another of the "incidents" which dotted Torocsik's life got in the way. More in Part 3.
