Pál Csernai

The native form of this personal name is Csernai Pál. This article uses the Western name order.

Pál Csernai

Personal information
Date of birth	(1932-10-21)21 October 1932
Place of birth	Pilis, Kingdom of Hungary
Date of death
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1952–1956	Csepeli Vasas
1956–1958	Karlsruher SC
1958–1959	La Chaux-de-Fonds
1959–1965	Stuttgarter Kickers
International career
1955	Hungary	2	(0)
Managerial career
1968–1970	Wacker 04 Berlin
1970–1971	SSV Reutlingen 05
1971–1972	Royal Antwerp
1973–1977	North Baden FA
1978–1983	FC Bayern Munich
1983–1984	PAOK
1984–1985	Benfica
1985–1986	Borussia Dortmund
1987–1988	Fenerbahçe
1988	Eintracht Frankfurt
1990	Young Boys
1990–1991	Hertha BSC
1993–1994	North Korea
1994–1995	Sopron
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Pál Csernai (21 October 1932 – 1 September 2013) was a Hungarian football player and manager.

Career

Playing career

Born in Pilis, Kingdom of Hungary, Csernai played club football in Hungary, Germany and Switzerland for Csepeli Vasas, Karlsruher SC, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Stuttgarter Kickers.

He also earned two caps for Hungary in 1955.

Management career

After retiring as a player, Csernai managed clubs in Germany, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Switzerland and Hungary; he also managed the North Korean national team.

Known for wearing his trade mark silk scarf, he is considered to be the inventor of the so-called "Pal system", a combination of the man-to-man and the zone defenses.

Later life and death

Csernai died on 1 September 2013, after a long illness.