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Pál Csernai (21 October 1932 – 1 September 2013) was a Hungarian football player and manager.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2013) |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 October 1932 | ||
| Place of birth | Pilis, Kingdom of Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 1 September 2013 (aged 80) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1952–1953 | Budapesti Postás | 46 | (2) |
| 1954–1955 | Csepeli Vasas | 46 | (0) |
| 1956–1958 | Karlsruher SC | ||
| 1958–1959 | La Chaux-de-Fonds | ||
| 1959–1965 | Stuttgarter Kickers | ||
| International career | |||
| 1955 | Hungary | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1968–1970 | Wacker 04 Berlin | ||
| 1970–1971 | SSV Reutlingen 05 | ||
| 1971–1972 | Royal Antwerp | ||
| 1973–1977 | North Baden FA | ||
| 1978–1983 | Bayern Munich | ||
| 1983–1984 | PAOK | ||
| 1984–1985 | Benfica | ||
| 1985–1986 | Borussia Dortmund | ||
| 1987–1988 | Fenerbahçe | ||
| 1988 | Eintracht Frankfurt[1] | ||
| 1990 | Young Boys | ||
| 1990–1991 | Hertha BSC | ||
| 1993 | North Korea | ||
| 1994–1995 | Sopron | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
Born in Pilis, Kingdom of Hungary, Csernai played club football in Hungary, Germany and Switzerland for Budapesti Postás,[2] Csepeli Vasas, Karlsruher SC, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Stuttgarter Kickers.[3]
Management career
After retiring as a player, Csernai managed clubs in Germany, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Switzerland and Hungary.
In the early 1990s, he was involved with the North Korean national team. In June 1991, he signed a six-month contract with the PRKFA, acting as a technical adviser to manager Hong Hyon-chol.[4][5] During this time, North Korea beat the United States 2–1 in a friendly match.[6] After Hong's sacking in October 1993, the PRKFA turned to Csernai to become the national team's manager. The team left for Qatar to participate in the final round of the Asian qualifiers for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. They started positively, with a 3–2 win over Iraq, but lost the other four matches, with the final one being a 3–0 loss to rivals South Korea. Despite the North Korean authorities' insistence for him to stay on as manager, Csernai returned to Hungary, concerned over their efforts to have him acquire citizenship.[7]
Known for wearing his trade mark silk scarf, he is considered to be the inventor of the so-called "Pal system", a combination of the man-to-man and the zone defenses.[8]
Csernai died on 1 September 2013, after a long illness.[9]
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