1. Josef "Pepi" Bican was an Austrian-Czechoslovakian professional footballer who played as a striker.
49 Facts About Josef Bican
1. 2.
Josef Bican is regarded by some to be the greatest goalscorer in the history of the sport.
3.
Josef Bican scored 591 goals in 301 official games for Slavia Prague across his 11-year playing career at the club.
4.
Josef Bican won four league titles during his time in Austria, moved to Slavia Prague in 1937, where he stayed until 1948, and became the club's all-time top goalscorer.
5.
Josef Bican later played for FC Vitkovice, FC Hradec Kralove, and Dynamo Praha, retiring in 1955 as the all-time top goalscorer in the Czechoslovak First League with 447 goals.
6.
Josef Bican was a member of the Austrian Wunderteam of the 1930s and represented the nation at the 1934 FIFA World Cup, where they reached the semi-finals.
7.
Josef Bican later switched allegiance to the Czechoslovakia national football team, but a clerical error related to his transfer of national team precluded him from playing in the 1938 FIFA World Cup.
8.
Josef Bican was a tall and powerful player, with the technical ability to play with both feet, and had considerable pace.
9.
The award was based on how many times a player had been top scorer in his domestic league, a feat which Josef Bican achieved 12 times.
10.
Josef Bican was born in Favoriten, Vienna, Austria-Hungary, to parents Frantisek Bican and Ludmila Kopecka, at Quellenstrasse 101.
11.
Josef Bican was the second of three children, Frantisek, Josef and Vilik.
12.
Josef Bican's father was from Sedlice in Southern Bohemia, and his mother was a Viennese Czech.
13.
Josef Bican's father Frantisek was a footballer who played for Hertha Vienna.
14.
Josef Bican fought in World War I and returned uninjured.
15.
The family's poverty meant that Josef Bican initially had to play football without shoes, which helped him improve his ball control skills.
16.
For entertainment Frantisek and Josef Bican would make a football out of old material and sometimes Ludmila would be left without one stocking.
17.
The players at his school would whistle and call to Josef Bican to get him to come to a match that day.
18.
Josef Bican lived one story up, but this didn't stop him.
19.
Josef Bican climbed out the window and played the game.
20.
Josef Bican's older brother, Frantisek, was a good footballer, as he started playing for Hertha Vienna, aged 11.
21.
In 1925, at the age of twelve, Josef Bican was already playing in the youth set-up of Hertha Vienna, his father's beloved club, and where his idol, Matthias Sindelar had begun his career.
22.
Josef Bican was the smallest of the boys there his ability to score goals caught the attention of everyone around.
23.
At the age of 15, in the autumn of 1928, Josef Bican made his debut for Schustek.
24.
Near to where Josef Bican lived, Roman Schramseis resided and after seeing Josef Bican play on several occasions, Roman offered him the chance to train at Rapid Wien.
25.
Josef Bican was invited to watch a training session with the amateur team, but as soon as he and his friend watched the others play they got scared and headed home.
26.
The next Tuesday, Josef Bican was to play a training game between the junior team and the amateur team.
27.
In 1931, when Josef Bican first joined Rapid Vienna, he received 150 schillings, but, by the age of 20, Rapid wanted to keep him so much that they paid him 600 schillings.
28.
In 1931, for Rapid Vienna's Reserve team, Josef Bican scored 30 goals in 16 games.
29.
In 1932 Josef Bican scored 51 goals in 42 games for Rapid Vienna.
30.
In total for Rapid Vienna, Josef Bican played 156 games and scored 201 goals.
31.
Rapid however, refused to release his registration, and Josef Bican went nine months without playing a game.
32.
When he was allowed to leave, Josef Bican won championships in both his seasons with the Vienna club, but his heart was set on his family's homeland.
33.
Josef Bican's contract had already ended for Admira Vienna, in 1936, however he was still allowed to play for them.
34.
However, Josef Bican did not back down and was adamant to leave.
35.
Josef Bican was again the top scorer of the league, this time with 29 goals, but Sparta Prague, Slavia's greatest rival, won the championship again.
36.
The third year, Josef Bican's won his first of four Championships along with the third of 10 consecutive goal scoring accolades.
37.
Josef Bican played for Slavia throughout World War II, while many of his football rivals were at war.
38.
Josef Bican's record stood for 73 years until it was broken in 2013 by Lionel Messi.
39.
Three times in his career, Josef Bican scored seven goals in a game.
40.
Josef Bican continued to play for Dynamo until retiring from playing at the age of 42 in 1955.
41.
Josef Bican was the oldest player in the league at that time.
42.
Josef Bican later played for them at the 1934 World Cup, when the Austrian Wunderteam reached the semifinals.
43.
At the time Josef Bican was playing for Slavia Prague, he applied for Czechoslovak citizenship.
44.
Grandfather Frantisek's second son Josef Bican, died during the war and for financial support they took 50 koruna per month.
45.
Josef Bican's refusal is described in the book: "I was born in Vienna, but my father was Czech, just like my mother," he finally declared.
46.
Josef Bican's record is often overshadowed by Pele's 1303 goal record, including goals in unofficial matches.
47.
Josef Bican managed this feat 12 times, more than any other player in football history.
48.
Josef Bican's game is excessive, his assists are difficult to achieve due to their unsaved accuracy.
49.
Josef Bican's dribbling, fine ball control, and deceiving his opponents were a real feast for the eyes of the spectators.