The Football tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics was won by Hungary.
The games signalled the arrival (to Western Europeans at least) of the Hungarian national football team â the "Magical Magyars". Ferenc Puskás later said of the 1952 competition: "It was during the Olympics that our football first started to flow with real power." It was during the Games that Stanley Rous of English Football Association invited the Hungarians to play a friendly at Wembley the following year.
The preliminary round saw Hungary record a narrow victory against Romania, whilst there was an 8âÂÂ0 victory for Italy against the United States, and a 5âÂÂ1 victory for Brazil against The Netherlands. Great Britain succumbed to Luxembourg 5âÂÂ3, whilst Egypt defeated Chile 5âÂÂ4. Yugoslavia were drawn against the Indians and won 10âÂÂ1. <section begin=A1 /><section end=A1 />
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The first round saw Scandinavian countries join the competition; Austria, the Netherlands Antilles, Turkey and West Germany also received byes. Hosts Finland were beaten 3âÂÂ4 by Austria, whilst Sweden defeated neighbours Norway 4âÂÂ1. The game of the round was between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union; Yugoslavia had been 5âÂÂ1 ahead with 30 minutes of the match to go, only for the Soviet captain Bobrov to score a hat-trick and inspire his team to an eventual 5âÂÂ5 draw. A replay resulted in a 3âÂÂ1 victory for Yugoslavia; the Soviet side had been expected by Moscow to win the 1952 Games, and their defeat by Yugoslavia was not mentioned in the Soviet press until after Stalin's death the following year. <section begin=B1 /><section end=B1 />
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Sweden defeated Austria to ensure a Scandinavian presence in the semifinals. Germany surprisingly beat Brazil 4âÂÂ2 after extra time, whilst Yugoslavia won comfortably in a 5âÂÂ3 defeat of Denmark. Hungary demolished Turkey 7âÂÂ1 to complete the four semifinalists. <section begin=C1 /><section end=C1 />
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In the first semifinal, Hungary saw off Sweden with a comprehensive 6âÂÂ0 victory, whilst Yugoslavia beat Germany 3âÂÂ1 to set up a Hungary-Yugoslavia final. <section begin=D1 /><section end=D1 />
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There was some consolation for the Scandinavian countries as Sweden defeated Germany 2âÂÂ0 in the third place play-off to secure the bronze medal. <section begin=E1 /><section end=E1 />
Two goals from Puskás and Zoltán Czibor saw Hungary beat Yugoslavia and take the gold medal. <section begin=E2 /> <section end=E2 />
The first meeting between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia is still the most famous one. On the political level, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito split in 1948, which resulted in Yugoslavia being excluded from the Communist Information Bureau. The origin of the conflict was Tito's refusal to submit to Stalin's interpretations and visions of politics and in process becoming a Soviet satellite state. Before the match, both Tito and Stalin sent telegrams to their national teams, which showed just how important it was for the two head of states. Yugoslavia led 5âÂÂ1, but a Soviet comeback in the last 15 minutes resulted in a 5âÂÂ5 draw. The match was replayed, Yugoslavia winning 3âÂÂ1. The defeat to their archrivals hit Soviet football hard, and after just three games played in the season, CDKA Moscow, who had made up most of the USSR squad, was forced to withdraw from the league by Joseph Stalin and later disbanded. Furthermore, Boris Arkadiev, who coached both USSR and CDKA, was stripped of his Merited Master of Sports of the USSR title.