Legendary Hungarian football player and Olympic champion Laszlo Fazekas has died at the age of 79, according to the official website of his former club Antwerp. Earlier, legendary former coach of Shakhtar and Dynamo Mircea Lucescu passed away.
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“In recent years, Fazekas suffered from the muscular disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). He was beaming with happiness when he was finally able to visit the Boswell Stadium at the start of this season, and our fans welcomed him with great warmth and hospitality. Laszlo Fazekas is a club legend,” reads an obituary published by Antwerp.
The striker nicknamed Kapa spent the best years of his career at the Újpest Doja club, becoming a 9-time champion, a 3-time winner of the Hungarian Cup and the country's best footballer in 1970. The forward was the top scorer of the Hungarian championship three times, and in 1980, with 36 goals, he won the European Silver Boot, second only to the Belgian striker of Lierse Erwin Vandenberg (39 goals).
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Laszlo Fazekas (left) with the Silver Boot
Fazekas was almost 33 when he signed with Antwerp, where he played four seasons and won the national championship bronze medal. In 1988, the famous Hungarian took Belgian citizenship and stayed there, coaching, among others, Antwerp, Racing, Aalst and Union Saint-Gilloise.
The 1968 Olympic champion Fazekas played 92 matches for the Hungarian national team and scored 24 goals (the sixth highest scorer in the history of the national team), taking part in the 1972 European Championship, as well as the 1978 and 1982 World Cups. His two goals against El Salvador at the 1982 World Cup helped the Hungarian team win the biggest victory in the history of the world championships – 10:1.
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In recent years, the seriously ill Laszlo Fazekas was cared for by his wife Judith.
Previously, “FACTS” reported that legendary Hungarian football player Imre Komora had passed away.
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Photo by Belga, from social media