Ladislas Smid

Ladislas Smid is undoubtedly one of the players who will have known one of the craziest destinies in the history of football. And surely one of the most unusual transfers of all time.

Trophies

Goals

321

Games

1933/34 Attila FC Miskolc (HUN) 12 matches, 4 goals

1934/50 RC Lens (FRA) 305 matches, 37 goals

With the National Team :

4 caps

(Friendly matches: 4 caps)

1st cap: April 8, 1945 against Switzerland (0-1)

Last cap: December 15, 1945 against Belgium (1-2)

Ladislas Smid

Born on May 1, 1915 in Budapest (HUN)

Died on September 24, 1990 in Corbie (FRA)

Hungarian/French, Central-midfielder, Defensive-Midfielder, 1m66

Nickname: Siklo

A completely crazy transfer and destiny

Ladislas Smid was born on May 1, 1915 in Budapest, Hungary, he began his football career at the age of 18 for the club Attila FC Miskolc, a club that played at the time in the first division of Hungarian football. Ladislas Smid plays as a midfielder.

With his Hungarian club, he takes part in a European tour that ends with a match against RC Lens on October 7, 1934. But the young player will be forced to stay in France. The reason? His club thought it was doing a good financial deal by doing this tour, the reality is quite different, the club does not even have the means to pay for the train tickets for the return to Hungary.

To overcome this problem, the leaders of Attila FC Miskolc will have an original idea, to sell one of their players to the RC Lens club. They then ask the French club if one of the players interests them, the choice will fall on Ladislas who will therefore be left in France, alone. Finally, he was bought for 13,000 francs by the French club.

One of the greatest legends of RC Lens

But this crazy transfer will allow him to reach a much higher salary than the one he would have received in Hungary even if he was a doctor. Gradually establishing himself in the Lensois eleven, the Hungarian player will finally take French nationality.

During the Second World War, he lives a complicated period but which is also one of the golden ages of RC Lens which is then one of the best French teams of the time. His record fills up little by little. In 1941 and 1942, he wins the Forbidden Zone War Championship. Then in 1943, he wins the Coupe des Blasons and the Northern Zone War Championship.

Nicknamed "Siklo", he would eventually establish himself as one of the best players in the French championship and in 1945, he had 4 selections for the French team, a crazy destiny. He finally retired in 1950, at the age of 35, in the shoes of one of the greatest legends of RC Lens.