He is regarded as one of the finest European defenders of the 1940s and a close friend of Ferenc Puskás within Hungarian football circles.
Not every love story finds a happy ending, especially when the world of passion clashes with the strict codes of a regime. Sandor Szucs loved deeply, took risks for feelings that stirred his heart, and paid the ultimate price. The death certificate would suggest that love ended his life, yet the official records declare a different cause, noting that he was executed for attempting to desert in Communist Hungary.
Who was Sandor Szucs? Why did his fate unfold in such a tragic way? To understand the story, one must start with the man. Born in 1921, Szucs emerged as one of Europe’s top defenders in the 1940s, part of a brilliant generation of international stars who could not claim a World Cup title because the tournament was suspended from 1938 to 1950 due to World War II.
Szucs, a trusted ally of a Real Madrid legend like Ferenc Puskás, played for the Hungarian national team and shone with Újpest FC, a club that dominated domestic leagues with three consecutive championships from 1945 to 1947.
What seemed an ideal tale through the eyes of outsiders and the press began to tilt in the spring of 1950 in Budapest. Szucs became entwined with Elizabeth Kovács, known by her stage name Erzsi, a 21-year-old singer and actress who had already begun to gain national recognition under a government increasingly influenced by the Soviet Union.
Szucs was married with two children, and Erzsi was likewise bound by marriage. In fact, Erzsi’s husband, a football enthusiast and Ujpest admirer, hosted gatherings that brought many of the club’s players into their home for a casual afternoon together.
THE ELUSIVE BOND—AND THE SHADOW IT CAST
Glances grew bold, remarks sharpened, and proposals became risky. Szucs and Erzsi fell in love. The passion was so intense that they chose to pursue an extramarital relationship, a fact almost impossible to conceal given their public profiles. The ensuing scandal shook the nation, drawing the attention of Hungary’s security service, the AVH. The government’s moral standards clashed with the couple’s feelings, and the regime’s censorship and image control intensified the scrutiny.
One option the couple considered was escape to Italy, a plan that required smuggling routes through Yugoslavia. The risk was enormous—life itself hung in the balance as the details were worked out with meticulous care.
Yet the escape plan was eventually compromised. The AVH intercepted moves, and suspicion swirled around a potential anonymous complaint that pointed toward a possible insider within Újpest’s dressing room.
Arrests followed on March 6, 1951, the same day the escape operation began. The couple was taken to a notorious venue at 60 Andrassy Street, the center of the secret police. They endured torture, a harsh trial, and on May 16 the verdict arrived: Szucs received a death sentence, Erzsi Kovács was sentenced to four years in prison and five years of public activity deprivation.
Puskás could not prevent the tragedy of his friend’s execution, even as pleas for clemency were made on Szucs’s behalf.
ERZSI’S LIFE AFTER THE TRIAL
Following her release, Erzsi’s music career surged, achieving platinum status with tens of millions of copies sold. In 1964 she moved to Germany, then to Sweden, and eventually returned to Hungary, living until 2014 when she passed away in Budapest at the age of 85.
WHAT BECAME OF PUSKÁS?
Puskás’s legacy is widely celebrated: he became one of Real Madrid’s most iconic players and remains among the club’s top all-time scorers. With Hungary, he featured in two World Cups, finishing as a runner-up in 1954 and later competing in 1962.
WHAT HAPPENED TO COMMUNIST HUNGARY?
The communist era in Hungary spanned from 1949 to 1989. The 1956 Hungarian Revolution aimed to break free from Soviet influence, but the revolt was ultimately crushed, cementing a long period of control until broader reforms began decades later.