Ignác Molnár

Ignác Molnár (born 1 October 1901 – 9 March 1986), also spelled Ignáce Molnár, was a Hungarian footballer and football manager.

Ignác Molnár
Personal information
Full nameIgnác Molnár
Date of birth(1901-10-01)1 October 1901
Place of birthBudapest, Austria-Hungary
Date of death9 March 1986(1986-03-09) (aged 84)
Place of deathVienna, Austria
Position(s)Forward
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1924Bocskai
1924–1925Vincenza8(3)
1925–1927Roman5(5)
Managerial career
1931–1932Willem II
1932–1934XerxesDZB
1933Quick den Haag
1934–1936Antwerp
1936–1939XerxesDZB
1937RFC Rotterdam
1939Torino
1947–1948Fenerbahçe
1948Turkey
1957–1959Fenerbahçe
1959Turkey B
1959–1960Turkey
1960–1961Hapoel Petah Tikva
1961–1962Maccabi Tel Aviv
1962–1963Salzburg
1965–1966Vefa
1966Altınordu
1967–1969Fenerbahçe
1969–1970Adanaspor
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

A journeyman manager, Molnár managed teams in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Israel and Austria. Molnár is best known for his three stints with Fenerbahçe, especially the 1967–1968 season wherein he helped the team win 5 trophies.[1]

Managerial career

Molnár had a brief career as a footballer, playing in Hungary and Italy.[2][3]

Molnár begun his managerial career with various teams in the Netherlands.[4][5] He was so well liked by his players at Royal Antwerp F.C., that 7 members of the team left when Molnár was fired.[6] Molnár moved to Torino in Italy to replace the Jewish-Hungarian Ernest Erbstein who has facing racial discrimination – his tenure ended at the start of World War II.[7]

After the World War, Molnár managed Fenerbahçe and won the 1947–48 Istanbul Football League. Molnár then had two spells coaching the Turkey national football team and coached them during 1948 Summer Olympics.[8] Molnár returned to Fenerbahçe again almost 10 years later, winning the inaugural Turkish National League in 1959. Molnár moved to Israel in 1960 with Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. in the Liga Leumit (then the premier Israeli division),[9] and won his debut season with one of the most dominant teams in Israeli history.[10] Molnár returned to Fenerbahçe, and in his first season back won almost every competition the team participated in; the Turkish National League, Turkish Cup, Spor Toto Cup, and Balkans Cup were amongst the trophies won.

Honours

Managerial

Fenerbahçe
Hapoel Petah Tikva

References