Ferdinand DauÃÂÃÂk (also known as Fernando Daucik; 30 May 1910 â 14 November 1986) was a Slovak football player and manager. DauÃÂÃÂk was the manager of several La Liga clubs, most notably Barcelona, Athletic Club de Bilbao, Atlético Madrid and Real Zaragoza. During his career, he managed La Liga clubs in 488 matches, won three La Liga titles and won the Copa del GeneralÃÂsimo on six occasions, including three La Liga/Copa doubles. He died in Alcalá de Henares.
DauÃÂÃÂk played as a defender for 1. ÃÂsà  K Bratislava, Slavia Prague and the Czechoslovakia national team. He was only the third Slovak player ever to play for Czechoslovakia. He was part of the squad at both the 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cups, and although he didn't play in the 1934 tournament, he was the only Slovak to play in the 1938 competition.
DauÃÂÃÂk coached à  K Bratislava between 1942 and 1946 and again in 1948. In 1948, he coached Czechoslovakia for two matches. After the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, the Communist regime arrested DauÃÂÃÂk for espionage. He spent two years in jail and later was interned in a prison camp in Nováky, where he coached a team composing of the prisoners. In late 1949 DauÃÂÃÂk managed to flee the country by crossing the Morava River on an inflatable boat. Later that year, DauÃÂÃÂk arrived in Spain as coach of Hungaria, a team made up of refugees fleeing the various Communist regimes of Eastern Europe. The team included his brother-in-law, Ladislao Kubala, who had married DauÃÂÃÂk's sister, Anna Viola DauÃÂÃÂk, in 1947. Hungaria played a series of friendlies against Madrid Select XI, a Spain XI and Español and during these matches, Kubala was spotted by Josep Samitier, then chief scout at Barcelona. Kubala was offered a contract and as part of the deal, DauÃÂÃÂk became Barcelona coach in 1950.
DauÃÂÃÂk coached Barcelona during one of the club's most successful periods. As well as Nicolae SimatocâÂÂKubala, the team also included Juan Zambudio Velasco, Antoni Ramallets and Joan Segarra. During his four seasons in charge, the club won two consecutive La Liga/Copa del GeneralÃÂsimo doubles in 1952 and 1953. In 1952, Barcelona won five different trophies, including La Liga, the Copa del GeneralÃÂsimo, the Copa Latina and the Copa Eva Duarte. His contract ended in 1954 and after clashing with some players, he left the club.
DauÃÂÃÂk subsequently joined Athletic Bilbao, where he won the Copa del GeneralÃÂsimo in 1955 and his third Liga/Copa del GeneralÃÂsimo double in 1956. With a squad that included AgustÃÂn GaÃÂnza, Armando Merodio and Jesús Garay, DauÃÂÃÂk then led Athletic to the 1956 Latin Cup final and to the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1957. En route to the final, they eliminated Porto and Honvéd before losing 6âÂÂ5 on aggregate to Manchester United.
The 1957âÂÂ58 season saw DauÃÂÃÂk take charge of Atlético Madrid and lead them to second place in La Liga. This resulted in Atlético qualifying for the 1958âÂÂ59 seasons European Cup since the winners, Real Madrid, were also the reigning European champions. Inspired by Vavá and Enrique Collar, Atlético reached the semi-finals after beating Drumcondra FC, CSKA Sofia and Schalke 04. In the semi-finals, they met Real Madrid, who won the first leg 2âÂÂ1 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium while Atlético won 1âÂÂ0 at the Metropolitano. If away goals had counted double, Atlético would have progressed to the final. However, the tie went to a replay and Real won 2âÂÂ1 in Zaragoza.
DauÃÂÃÂk remained in demand as a manager throughout his career. After leaving Atlético Madrid in 1959, he had a spell at Porto during the 1959âÂÂ60 season. He then spent two years at Real Betis between 1960 and 1962. While there, he gave a La Liga debut to his son Yanko Daucik. DauÃÂÃÂk then had a season each with Real Murcia and Sevilla before he joined Real Zaragoza in 1966. He took over Real towards the end of the 1965âÂÂ66 season, leading them to victory in the Copa del GeneralÃÂsimo final when they beat Atlético Bilbao 2âÂÂ0. They also reached the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final, but after beating Barcelona 1âÂÂ0 in the home-leg, Real eventually lost 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate.
In 1967, DauÃÂÃÂk moved to Canada to coach the Toronto Falcons of the National Professional Soccer League. This proved to be something of a family reunion as he was joined at the club by his son Yanko, son-in-law Ladislao Kubala and grandson Branko Kubala. After returning to Spain, he had spells at Elche, Espanyol and Colonia Moscardó, among others. A book about him, "ÃÂtek na laviÃÂku Barcelony" (Escape to the Bench of Barcelona), was published in 2017 by Slovak football writer MojmÃÂr Staà ¡ko.
Barcelona
Athletic Bilbao
Zaragoza