Josef Bican – Bio, Life Story, Nationality, Age, Career, Official Goals, Wife, Family, Parents, Death Date, Height, Teams Played, Wiki, Awards, Kids

Josef “Pepi” Bican was an Austrian-Czech professional football player who played as a striker. According to Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, he is the most prolific goalscorer in the recorded history with over 805 goals scored in at least 530 official matches and a total of 1468 goals including friendlies. The tally of 805 goals is recognized by FIFA. He started playing football from the youth sector of Hertha Vienna II in 1923. He also played for the youth sectors of Schustek and Farbenlutz. He began his professional career at Rapid Vienna in 1931. After four years in Rapid, he moved to local rivals Admira Wien in 1935. In 1937, he then moved to Slavia Praha where he played until 1948 and became the club’s all-time top goalscorer. He, later on, played for FC Vitkovice, FC Hradec Kralove, and Dynamo Prague, retiring in 1955 as the all-time top goalscorer in the Czechoslovak First League with 447 goals.

On the international level, he has represented Austrian, Czechoslovakia, and Bohemia & Moravia national teams. He 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. He 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.  In total, he scored 29 goals in 34 international matches for 3 teams (Austrian, Czechoslovakia, and Bohemia & Moravia).

What is Josef Bican Famous For?

• All-time top goalscorer in the Czechoslovak First League with 447 goals.
• Being the world’s most successful top division goalscorer of all time.
• IFFHS Golden Ball in recognition of his status as the greatest goalscorer of the 20th century.

Source: @sportskeeda

Where is Josef Bican From?

Josef Bican was born on 25 September 1913. His birthplace is Vienna, Austria-Hungary. He was one of the three children of Frantisek and Ludmila Bican where he grew up with his brother Vilem Bican and Frantisek Bican. His father Frantisek was from Sedlice in Southern Bohemia, and his mother Ludmila was Viennese Czech. His father was a footballer who played for Hertha Vienna and fought in World War I and returned uninjured. However, in 1921, his father dies at the age of just 30 because he refused an operation to treat a kidney injury sustained in a football match. His mother worked in a restaurant kitchen. He holds both Austrian and Czechoslovakian nationality. His horoscope sign is Libra.

Josef Bican Football Career Timeline

• He started playing football from the youth sector of Hertha Vienna II in 1923. 
• He also played for the youth sectors of Schustek and Farbenlutz. 
• He began his professional career at Rapid Vienna in 1931, where he received 150 shillings, but, by the age of 20, Rapid wanted to keep him so much that they paid him 600 shillings. From 1931-1935 he made 62 appearances and scored 78 goals for the club.
• After four years in Rapid, he moved to local rivals Admira Wien in 1935, where he made 26 appearances and scored 17 goals for the team.

Source: @fifa

• In 1937, he then moved to Slavia Praha where he played until 1948 and became the club’s all-time top goalscorer. From 1937-1948, he made 210 appearances and scored 602 goals for the team. 
• In 1949, he moved to FC Vitkovice and played until 1951, where he made 58 appearances and scored 74 goals for the team.
• In 1952, he moved to FC Hradec Kralove. On 1 May 1953, the Communist Party forced him to leave the city and, therefore, the club. There he made 9 appearances and scored 19 goals for the team.
• In 1953, after being forced to leave, he returned to Slavia Prague, or, as it was known then, Dynamo Prague, and played until 1955, where he made 31 appearances and scored 22 goals for the team.
• In 1955 at the age of 42, he finally retired from playing football. He was the oldest player in the league at that time.

Josef Bican International Career

• He has represented Austrian, Czechoslovakia, and Bohemia & Moravia national teams. 
• On 29 November 1933, aged 20 years and 64 days, he made his debut for Austria in a 2-2 draw against Scotland.  
• He was also 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. 
• At the time he was playing for Slavia Prague, he applied for Czechoslovak citizenship. 
• When he finally 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.
• On 4 September 1949, his final national team appearance was for Czechoslovakia in a 3-1 defeat against Bulgaria.
• In total, he scored 29 goals in 34 international matches for 3 teams (Austrian, Czechoslovakia, and Bohemia & Moravia).

Source: @wikipedia

Life after Retirement

After his retirement from playing, he became a manager and coached various teams from 1954 to 1977. He managed the teams like Salvia Prague, TJ Slovan Liberec, Spartak Brno ZJS, TJ Banik Pribram, etc. During the spring of 1968, he was told that he would be allowed to have a coaching job abroad. He impressed the Belgian team Tongeren and they hired him as a coach, where he had some success taking them from Division 4 to Division 2. In 1998, he was given a “Medal of Honour” by the (IFFHS) for being among the world’s most successful top division goalscorers of all time. In 2000, the IFFHS awarded him the “Golden Ball” in recognition of his status as the greatest goalscorer of the 20th century.

Josef Bican Wife and Family

Josef Bican was a married man. He got married to Jarmila Bicanova. The couple has not got any children.

Josef Bican Height

Josef Bican stands at a height of 1.74m i.e. 5 feet and 7 inches tall. He has an athletic body build. He has a bodyweight of 77kg. His eye color is blue and his hair color is blonde. His sexual orientation is straight.

Josef Bican Cause of Death

Josef Bican spent the last few months of his life in hospital with heart problems. He had hoped to be home for Christmas, but died less than 2 weeks before that, at the age of 88. In September 2013, which would have been his 100th birthday, Slavia Prague commemorated him by wearing shirts that featured a replica of his signature on them.