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Jewish soccer legends who fled the Holocaust shaped modern football, exhibit shows

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth From a news agency Context piece
  • A new exhibit at the Holocaust Museum LA highlights the significant but often overlooked contributions of Jewish soccer legends who fled the Holocaust.
  • The exhibit, opening at the museum's expanded Goldrich Cultural Center, showcases how figures like coach Béla Guttmann brought revolutionary tactics, such as the 4-2-4 system, to Brazil, influencing the country's rise to soccer prominence.
  • It explores the intersection of Jewish life, the Holocaust, and the sport's development, revealing how Jewish innovators shaped its modern style and culture.

The Holocaust Museum LA is set to unveil a new exhibit, "The Beautiful Game... The Untold Story," at its recently expanded Goldrich Cultural Center. The exhibition shines a light on the profound, yet largely unrecognized, impact Jewish individuals had on the world of soccer, particularly those who escaped the Holocaust.

Central to the narrative is Béla Guttmann, a Hungarian Jewish coach who, after facing persecution and narrowly escaping a Nazi forced-labor camp, introduced the groundbreaking 4-2-4 formation to Brazil in 1957. This tactical innovation is credited with helping Brazil win its first World Cup in 1958 and shaping the "joga bonito" style of play that became synonymous with the nation's soccer prowess.

It was in the same intellectual level as jazz, as art and everything modern and progressive.

— Allon SanderJournalist Allon Sander, who helped curate the exhibit, described Jewish participation in European soccer before World War II.

Curators emphasize that the exhibit delves into the "unknown history" of Jewish involvement in European soccer before World War II and its subsequent influence globally. "The origin of the game and how it intersects with Jews and the Holocaust and the impact that these Jewish footballers and coaches had to shape the game and help popularize the sport is so fascinating," said Beth Kean, the museum's CEO. The exhibit aims to connect the sport's evolution to the intellectual and cultural contributions of Jewish innovators, drawing parallels to other progressive art forms like jazz.

The origin of the game and how it intersects with Jews and the Holocaust and the impact that these Jewish footballers and coaches had to shape the game and help popularize the sport is so fascinating.

— Beth KeanBeth Kean, the museum's CEO, spoke about the exhibit's focus on the intersection of Jewish life, the Holocaust, and the sport's development.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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