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== Career statistics ==
== Career statistics ==
=== Clubs ===
=== Clubs ===
<!----------------------------- PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THESE CAREER STATISTICS ----------------------------------

– ALL THE FIGURES HAVE BE VERIFIED WITH THE BELOW REFERENCES AND FOOTBALL ASSOCIATIONS - ON THE WHOLE MATCH THE RSSSF WORK IN 2006. BICAN TOTAL GOALS IS ~805 IF YOU INCLUDED HIS INTERNATIONAL GOALS.
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Revision as of 15:50, 5 January 2021

Josef Bican
Personal information
Full name Josef Bican
Date of birth (1913-09-25)25 September 1913
Place of birth Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Date of death 12 December 2001(2001-12-12) (aged 88)
Place of death Prague, Czech Republic
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1923–1928 Hertha Vienna II
1928–1929 Schustek
1929–1931 Farbenlutz
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1931–1935 Rapid Vienna 49 (54)
1935–1937 Admira 26 (17)
1937–1948 Slavia Prague 211 (403)
1949–1951 FC Vítkovice 58 (74)
1952–1953 FC Hradec Králové 9 (19)
1953–1955 Dynamo Prague 31 (22)
Total 399 (616)
International career
1933–1936 Austria 19 (14)
1938–1949 Czechoslovakia 14 (12)
1939-1951 Bohemia and Moravia 1 (3)
Managerial career
1954–1956 Slavia Prague
1956–1959 TJ Slovan Liberec
1959–1960 TJ Spartak ZJS Brno
1963–1964 TJ Baník Příbram
1964 FC Hradec Králové
1967–1969 SONP Kladno
1969–1972 KSK Tongeren
1977 Benešov
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Josef "Pepi" Bican (25 September 1913 – 12 December 2001) was an Austrian-Czech professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the most prolific goalscorer of all time in league matches, first level championships matches, official matches and total matches (considering only players who mostly played at the highest level and taking into account goals scored in official matches played with national teams at all age levels and clubs in all divisions) according to Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF).[1] RSSSF estimates that he scored more than 652 league goals, 589 first level championships goals, more than 805 goals in official matches and more than 1468 goals in total matches including friendlies.[1] In 1998, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) awarded him a 'Medal of Honour' for being among the world’s most successful top division goalscorers of all time.[2] In 2000, IFFHS awarded Bican the "Golden Ball" as the greatest goalscorer of the 20th Century.[3][4]Bican is Slavia Praha's all-time top goalscorer with 534 goals in 291 official matches,[1] and also holds the record for being the all-time top goalscorer in the Czechoslovak First League with 483 goals[5] in 304 matches. Bican was a member of the Austrian Wunderteam of the 1930s and was the season's highest scorer in the whole of Europe on five separate occasions. He had the ability to play with both feet,[6] had considerable pace and was able to run 100 metres in 10.8 seconds, which was as fast as many sprinters of the time[citation needed].

Early life

Bican was born in Vienna to František and Ludmila Bican. He was the second of three children.[7] František was from Sedlice in Southern Bohemia, and Ludmila was Viennese Czech. Josef's father František was a footballer who played for Hertha Vienna. He fought in World War I and returned uninjured. However, František was to die at the age of just 30 during 1921 because he refused an operation to treat a kidney injury sustained in a football match. His mother worked in a restaurant kitchen. The family's poverty meant that Bican had to play football without shoes, which helped him improve his ball control skills. Bican attended the Jan Amos Komenský school, a Czech school in Vienna. Four years after his father's death in 1925, twelve-year-old Bican started to play for the Hertha Vienna junior team, Hertha Vienna II. When he was 18, Bican was spotted by Rapid Vienna, who were a big club in the city at the time.

Club career

When Bican first joined Rapid, he received 150 schillings, but, by the age of 20, Rapid wanted to keep him so much that they paid him 600 schillings.

During 1937, Bican left Vienna to join Czech club Slavia Prague.[7] He played for Slavia throughout World War II, while many of his football rivals were at war. During eight league seasons he would score 328 goals, including 57 in 26 matches one particular season. Three times in his career, Bican scored seven goals in a game.[8] In a 1939–40 league match against Zlín, Bican found the net seven times as Slavia ran out 10–1 winners.[8] During the 1940–41 season, Bican matched his feat of the previous season, again against Zlín, scoring seven times, as Slavia won by a 12–1 scoreline.[8] It was 1947–48 before Bican managed his third seven-goal match, as Slavia defeated České Budějovice in a game which finished 15–1.[8]

He was, in the leagues that he played, the top-scorer 12 times during his 27-year career and Europe's top scorer in five consecutive seasons, from 1939–40 to 1943–44 while the most of players and the physically fit young men were in the war.

In the devastated Europe after the war, several of Europe's biggest clubs should have wanted Bican. Juventus offered him handsome terms to join them, but he refused, supposedly after he was advised that Communists might control Italy. He stayed in Prague, but the Communists came to power there during 1948. Bican refused to join the Communist Party, just as he had refused to join the Nazi Party in Austria.

Bican tried to improve his standing with the Communists[6] by joining steel works Železárny Vítkovice. During 1951, he joined FC Hradec Králové, but, on 1 May 1953, the Communist Party forced him to leave the city and, therefore, the club. After being forced to leave, he returned to Slavia Prague, or, as it was known then, Dynamo Prague. He finally retired from playing, still at Slavia, at the age of 42 during 1955. He was the oldest player in the league at that time.

Career statistics

Clubs

Club Div. Season League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
S.K Rapid Amateur Amt. 1931 2 3 — — 2 3
S.K Rapid Reserve Res. 1931–32 13 24 — — 13 24
Rapid Wien 1 1931–32 8 10 2 2 — 10 12
1932–33 16 11 2 6 — 18 17
1933–34 22 29 5 5 3 1 30 35
1934–35 3 4 — — 3 4
Total Rapid 49 54 10 14 3 1 61 68
Admira Wien 1 1935–36 15 7 2 3 2 2 19 12
1936–37 11 10 — — 11 10
Total Admira 26 17 2 3 2 2 30 22
SK Slavia Prague 1 1936–37 1 4 — — 1 4
1937–38 19 26 8 10 1 4 28 40
1938–39 20 29 2 2 — 22 31
1 1939–40 22 50 3 5 1 1 26 56
1940–41 22 38 5 11 4 7 31 56
1941–42 22 45 5 10 3 8 30 63
1942–43 20 39 1 0 3 7 24 46
1943–44 26 57 1 3 5 16 32 76
1 1944–45 — 6 20 9 16 15 36
1945–46 16 31 6 5 — 22 36
1946–47 23 43 — 1 1 24 44
1947–48 13 20 — — 13 20
1948–49 7 21 — — 7 21
Total Slavia 211 403 37 66 27 60 275 529
Sokol Vítkovice Železárny 2 1949 17 44 — — 17 44
1 1950 23 22 — — 23 22
1951 18 8 — — 18 8
Total Vítkovice 58 74 0 0 0 0 58 74
Sokol Škoda 2 1952 9 19 4 5 — 13 24
Total Sokol Škoda 9 19 4 5 0 0 13 24
Dynamo Praha 1 1953 9 7 — — 9 7
1954 14 11 — — 14 11
1955 8 4 — — 8 4
Total Dynamo 31 22 0 0 0 0 31 22
Career total 399 616 53 88 32 63 483 766
Sources: Rapid Wien - Slavia Praha - HistoricalLineups - IFFHS - Český a československý fotbal - RSSSF - ARFTS - ARFTS2 - ARFTS3 - ARFSH - ARFSH2

International career

On 29 November 1933, aged 20 years and 64 days, Bican made his debut for Austria in a 2–2 draw against Scotland. He later played for them at the 1934 World Cup, when the Austrian Wunderteam reached the semifinals. His solitary goal in the tournament came in extra-time in the Austrians' 3–2 win over France.

At the time Bican was playing for Slavia Prague, he applied for Czechoslovak citizenship. However, when he eventually became a Czechoslovak citizen, he discovered that a clerical error meant he couldn't play at the World Cup during 1938. In total, he scored 29 goals in 34 international matches for 3 teams (Austria, Czechoslovakia and Bohemia & Moravia). His final national team appearance was for Czechoslovakia in a 3–1 defeat against Bulgaria on 4 September 1949.[9]

However, his success did have a disadvantage. Other members of the team became jealous of the tall, handsome Bican's success, and he was sometimes called abusive names, such as "Austrian bastard".[10]

In addition to representing Austria, Czechoslovakia and the region of Bohemia & Moravia. Bican also played a number of fixtures playing for teams consisting of the best players from a league or town between 1939 - 1949. For the Cesko-Moravska league team in 1939 he played 6 games scoring 9 goals, for the Cesko league team in 1940-1944 he played 8 games scoring 11 goals, for Praha from 1938-1948 he played 6 games scoring 1 goal and Ostrava in 1949 he played 1 game scoring 1 goal.[11] Bringing Bican's total number of official goals outside of club football to 51 goals in 55 games.

International goals

Austria
Year Apps Goals
1933 2 1
1934 6 5
1935 5 3
1936 6 5
Total 19 14
Czechoslovakia
Year Apps Goals
1938 6 8
1947 4 4
1948 2 0
1949 2 0
Total 14 12
Bohemia and Moravia
Year Apps Goals
1939 1 3
Total 1 3
Total
Year Apps Goals
Total 34 29

Goals for Austria

Austria's goal tally[12]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 10 December 1933 Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Netherlands 1–0 1–0 Friendly
2. 11 February 1934 Charmilles Stadium, Geneva, Switzerland   Switzerland 1–0 3–2 1933–35 Dr. Gero Cup
3. 3–2
4. 15 April 1934 Hohe Warte Stadium, Vienna, Austria  Hungary 4–2 5–2 Friendly
5. 5–2
6. 27 May 1934 Stadio Benito Mussolini, Turin, Italy  France 3–1 3–2 1934 FIFA World Cup
7. 6 October 1935 Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria  Hungary 1–1 4–4 1933-1935 Dr.Gero Cup
8. 2–2
9. 3–4
10. 19 January 1936 Estadio Metropolitano de Madrid, Madrid, Spain  Spain 1–0 5–4 Friendly
11. 26 January 1936 Campo da Constituição, Porto, Portugal  Portugal 3–1 3–2 Friendly
12. 22 March 1936 Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria  Czechoslovakia 1–1 1–1 1936–37 Dr. Gero Cup
13. 5 April 1936 Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria  Hungary 1–1 3–5 Friendly
14. 2–3

Goals for Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia's goal tally [9][12]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 August 1938 Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden  Sweden 2–0 6–2 Friendly
2. 3–0
3. 5–2
4. 28 August 1938 Stadion Concordije, Zagreb, Kingdom of Yugoslavia  Yugoslavia 2–0 3–1
5. 4 December 1938 AC Sparta Stadion, Praha, Czechoslovakia  Romania 1–2 6–2
6. 3–2
7. 4–2
8. 6–2
9. 11 May 1947  Yugoslavia 1–0 3–1
10. 3–1
11. 31 August 1947  Poland 1–0 6–3
12. 2–0

Goals for Bohemia and Moravia

Bohemia and Moravia's goal tally [9][12]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 12 November 1939 Hermann Göring Stadium, Wroclaw, Nazi Germany  Germany 1–0 4–4 Friendly
2. 3–0
3. 4–2

Life after retirement

Tombstone of Josef "Pepi" Bican at Prague's Vyšehrad cemetery
Josef Bican's grave, plus a headstone for his wife Jarmila, who died exactly ten years after him.

During the spring of 1968, Bican was told that he would be allowed to have a coaching job abroad. He impressed the Belgian team Tongeren and they hired him as a coach, where he had some success taking them from Division 4 to Division 2.

Around this time, Pelé was getting ready for his 1000th goal and many journalists were searching for another player who had scored a thousand goals. Former Austrian player Franz "Bimbo" Binder suggested Bican, who he claimed had scored 5000 goals.[10] When reporters asked Bican why he hadn't made more of a fuss about his goalscoring feats, he simply said, "who'd have believed me if I said I'd scored five times as many goals as Pelé?" However, to score this 5000 goals he should have kept an average of 185 goals/year along all his 27 years of career, but only counting goals in official matches, Bican scored at least 805.[1] Bican's goal-scoring feats are often forgotten because he did not make a big fuss about it in the media. His record is often overshadowed by Pelé's 1283 goal record, including goals in unofficial matches. But shortly before his death in 2001, IFFHS based on RSSSF statistics declared Bican with 643 league goals, the most prolific scorer of the 20th Century.[13][14] This was judged by the number of times a player had been top scorer in his domestic league. Bican managed this feat 12 times, more than any other player in football history.[3]

In the 1990s, the retired footballer spoke to Czech TV: “When I talk to young reporters, they always say, ‘Mr Bican, scoring was easier back in your day.’ But I ask them, ‘How come? Look, are there opportunities today?’ And they tell me, ‘Of course there are, many of them’. And I say, ‘There you go. If there weren’t opportunities, it would be difficult. But if there are, scoring is the same as it was a hundred years ago, and will be the same in a hundred years’ time, too. It will always be the same.” [14]

Josef "Pepi" Bican spent the last few months of his life in hospital with heart problems. He had hoped to be home for Christmas, but died less than 2 weeks before that, at the age of 88.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kolos, Vladimir (21 January 2016). "Prolific Scorers Data". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  2. ^ Admin, IFFHS (12 November 2017). "TOP DIVISION GOAL SCORERS OF ALL TIME : FERENC PUSKAS LEADS THE RANKING". International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Josef Bican". Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Josef Bican : world's greatest goalscorer". Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  5. ^ Slavia Top Scorers of All Times Archived 4 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine SK Slavia Praha
  6. ^ a b "Josef Pepi Bican – The Lonely Man at the Top". Goalden Times. 6 June 2017. Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b Nováček, Ondřej (25 September 2008). "Legendární fotbalový kanonýr Bican by se dožil pětadevadesáti let". Česká televize (in Czech). Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  8. ^ a b c d Jeřábek, Luboš; Palička, Jan (7 October 2007). "Brazilcovo šílenství: sedm gólů za zápas". idnes.cz (in Czech). Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  9. ^ a b c Josef Bican at FAČR (in Czech)
  10. ^ a b Willoughby, Ian (23 January 2002). "Czechs in History: Josef "Pepi" Bican". Czech Radio. Archived from the original on 28 December 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  11. ^ "Bican RSSSF (Official Matches)". www.rsssf.com.
  12. ^ a b c Josef Bican - International Goals Archived 20 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine. RSSSF
  13. ^ "Josef Bican". Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Legendary footballer Pepi Bican inducted in Czech FA's Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.

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