The CR7 juggernaut just keeps rolling as Cristiano Ronaldo continues to rewrite record books in Football and that too in emphatic fashions. Making a return to Manchester United this year, the club which nurtured a teenage prodigy, chiseled his talent to carve out a phenomenal player and then released him to conquer the world. Ronaldo befittingly scored a hattrick in a pulsating encounter against Tottenham Hotspur last week to become professional football’s all time leading scorer with 807 goals surpassing Josef Bican’s 805. Ronaldo scored the 49th hat-trick of his Club career and became the second oldest player to score a treble in the English Premier League History.
To make news is Ronaldo’s second nature. Such is the stature of the player on or off the field. However this post today is not about Ronaldo but about the seemingly reticent Josef Bican who has too snatched a bit of limelight in the past few days, though after two decades of his demise. The Austro-Czech footballer was born in Vienna in 1913 just before World War I. His father left to fight the war and though he was back uninjured, an unattended kidney ailment led to his death at a young age of 30.
Josef was a gifted athlete and sports particularly football and athletics came naturally to him. His broad and strong frame made him an imposing and formidable opponent. His skill matched with amazing speed made him an outstanding forward with an amazing ability to score goals. Akin to Ronaldo, Josef had that rare sense of timing and anticipation and more often than not was able to position himself to meet the ball and score. He also had a special talent of being equally dominant with both feet. Inspite of all the skill and natural talent bestowed on young Josef, the going was rather tough.
The passing away of his father at a very young age post WWI, the Bican family was hit with poverty and Josef was raised in difficulties ( fairly similar to Pele ) so much so that Josef could not even afford a pair of shoes and played bare foot. This was a blessing in disguise as Josef improved his control on the ball which later would be of immense consequence in his goal scoring sprees.
Josef Bican became a name to reckon with when he joined Rapid Vienna in 1931. The word was spreading fast with each passing year . The growing reputation attracted other clubs and as a consequence Josef was picked by Slavia Prague in 1937 for whom he played for 11 years and scored more than half of his goals in that period. After leaving the club for a while he came back to play at the club which was now named Dynamo Prague and eventually retired in 1955 aged 42.
Josef always kept a low profile and though his achievements were second to none he remained a humble servant of the game. He represented the national team of Austria in the 1934 FIFA World Cup before switching allegiance to the Czechoslovakian National Team. He picked up coaching assignments and managed several clubs in a span of 20 years. Josef Bican finally succumbed to a recurring heart ailment in 2001 aged 88 in a hospital in Prague just a few days before Christmas.
A true legend of the game Josef Bican survived extreme hardships, believed in his ability, never lost focus and eventually triumphed. His life is another success story which has the same recipe seen and heard time and again. I am certain whenever the story of Cristiano Ronaldo is written it would not be much different. But make no mistake this recipe is extremely difficult to prepare and needs unrelenting persistence over long periods of time. It is a long haul. Are you prepared for the long haul is what eventually matters.
I have added another name to my bookshelf of legends today in Josef Bican . The bookshelf stands…enriched.