One of the greatest legends of Hungarian football, András Törőcsik, died at the age of 67 after a long illness. The 45-time national team striker was a three-time champion and three-time cup winner with Újpest, and his elegant tricks and sensational goals will forever be remembered by the fans. Törőcsik has been sick a lot in the last decade, suffered several times between life and death, and drew strength from the matches of the Hungarian national team. The brilliantly talented footballer was one of the best Hungarian strikers of all time and a world star, for whom football meant everything in his life.
András Törőcsik was born on May 1, 1955 in Budapest. He started playing football at the age of twelve in the BVSC, and was certified by the Újpesti Dózsa in 1974. With the club, he became Hungarian champion three times (1975, 1978, 1979) and won the Hungarian Cup three times (1975, 1982, 1983). In the 1983/1984 Cup Winners' European Cup (KEK) season, Újpest reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to the previous year's winner, Aberdeen from Scotland. The player, also nicknamed Kesene, became the favorite of the purple and white fans with his unrecognizable tricks and spectacular kicking technique.
The legendary "Dance, Törő!" was born in connection with his virtuoso playing. his rhymes, individual solutions, and clever tricks are still mentioned by fans decades after his career ended.
He participated with the Hungarian national team in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina and the 1982 World Cup in Spain, scoring 12 goals in 45 national team matches. His trickery, situational awareness, changes in rhythm and explosiveness were predestined for an outstanding career at the international level, but - often due to external factors - he failed to realize even a fraction of these opportunities. His career was hindered by two major fractures, his exhibition at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, and his serious car accident in 1979, in which he injured his left hip, and as a result, he was unable to fulfill the invitation to the world team.
He moved abroad in 1985, played for one year in the French Montpellier team, and from 1986 he played in Canadian indoor soccer teams (Toronto, North York Rockets). After returning home, in the spring of 1987, he signed a contract with Honvéd in Budapest, but did not get a chance to play in a single match there. After that, he first became a player for the second-class Bp. Volán, then for the first-class MTK-VM, but he was injured in his second match here, and did not play on the field several times.
His career was overshadowed by furor suspects, he did not always live in a manner worthy of a sportsman.
“A buddy of mine once told me that every bottle of beer I drink is a thousand dollars off my life,” he said.
In 2011, he returned to Újpest and worked as the association's supply coordinator.
His health was not the same at that time, he was in the hospital several times, sometimes for hip surgery, sometimes for head injuries.
He was treated for years at the Honvéd Rehabilitation Institute in Budakesz after he fell in March 2014 and hit his head so badly that he fell into a coma. During the operation, a hematoma was removed from his brain. Later, István Pintér, who worked as a masseur, took care of the football legend in his vacation home in Venice and helped him recover.
Törőcsik watched almost all the matches of last year's European Championship, and drew strength from the matches of the Hungarian national team to recover.
"When he watches the matches, he is noticeably in a better mood, fortunately, football dumping lifts his mood. I don't want to use big words, but football is one of the best remedies for his recovery.
When he sees the Hungarian national team playing, his eyes sparkle. If the players wearing the cherry red jersey of the national team appear, he immediately starts smiling"
- said last year István Pintér, who helped András Törőcsik's recovery for many years.
András Törőcsik/Source: MTI
At the end of 2020, the former excellent footballer caught the coronavirus, from which he fully recovered, but later his condition worsened and finally his body could no longer fight the pneumonia.
The soccer player, who was also referred to as the last Hungarian world star, was chosen by the Hungarian FourFourTwo magazine in the 21st place among the 50 best Hungarian players of all time.
Source: origo.hu
Featured image: Magyar Nemzet/MTI
