Mátyás Tóth (also known as Mátyás Tóth III; 1 April 1918 – 12 February 2002) was a Hungarian–Romanian footballer who played as a forward for teams such as Újpest, Nagyváradi AC, ITA Arad or Vasas, among others.

Club career Tóth was born on 1 April 1918 in Békés, Austria-Hungary and began playing football at Újpest. He made his Nemzeti Bajnokság I debut on 30 August 1936 under coach Béla Jánossy in a 3–0 away loss to Budai 11. On 11 October, he scored his first goal in the competition in a 4–3 victory against Hungária. Tóth played four matches in the 1937 Mitropa Cup, scoring one goal to help Újpest get past Venus București in the opening round, before exiting in the quarter-finals against Austria Wien. Subsequently, Tóth spent the 1938–39 season playing for Phöbus, managing to score a hat-trick in an 11–0 win over Zuglói, after which he returned to Újpest. He then played in a 4–0 loss to Građanski in the 1940 Mitropa Cup quarter-finals.

In 1941, Tóth joined Nagyváradi AC, where in his first season, he scored a career-best 17 goals. He helped the club win the 1943–44 title by contributing 14 goals in 30 matches under coach Ferenc Rónay. Shortly after winning the title, Tóth went to play for Nemzeti Vasas. Subsequently, in 1945 he played for a short while for Romanian side Carmen București. He then joined ITA Arad, making his Divizia A debut on 25 August 1946 in a 5–1 away win over Libertatea Oradea. In his single season spent with ITA, Tóth helped them win the championship, working with three coaches, Zoltán Opata, Zoltán Blum and Gusztáv Juhász, under whom he played 24 games and scored 13 goals. He returned to Vasas in 1947. There, he made his last Nemzeti Bajnokság I appearance in a 2–1 loss to Szombathelyi Haladás, totaling 231 appearances with 83 goals in the competition.

International career Tóth played 16 matches for Hungary, scoring six times, making his debut on 22 October 1939 under coach Dénes Ginzery in a 1–1 friendly draw against Romania in which he scored his side's goal.

In 1946, Tóth played two games for Romania in the Balkan Cup, even though he did not have Romanian citizenship. He scored a goal in his first match under coach Virgil Economu in a 2–2 draw against Bulgaria.

Afterwards, he returned to play for Hungary, and his first game was a 3–0 away victory against Romania during the 1947 Balkan Cup. Tóth's last five games for The Magyars were in the 1948 Balkan Cup in which he scored once in a 6–2 win over Poland. In his last game, he captained the team in a 1–0 away loss to Bulgaria. Tóth was also part of Hungary's squad in the 1936 Summer Olympics, but he did not play in any matches.

Managerial career Tóth coached several modest teams in Sweden such as Köpings, Örnsköldsvik, Bodens, Eskilstuna, Oddevold, Mo-Domsjö, Mora and Halmia.

Later life and death In 1949 after communism took over Hungary, Tóth left the country and fled to Italy. The Hungarian Football Federation suspended him for life, thus ending his career at age 31 even though he had offers to play for A.S. Roma and Lazio Roma. As a fugitive, he was placed in a camp where his health was negatively affected by improper living conditions. To escape his situation, Tóth decided to ask Crown Prince Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden for help. He had met the Prince in September 1943 before a Hungary away game against Sweden. At that time, knowing the prince would shake the players' hands, Tóth had made an effort to learn some Swedish phrases so he could talk to him. He wrote a letter to him, explaining his situation. In it, he falsely stated that he was Protestant, despite actually being Catholic. He also attached a picture of himself. Three weeks later the prince sent him money and an airplane ticket to go to Sweden.

Tóth remained in Sweden until the end of his life. He coached a few modest teams and organized the Swedish prison championship. He died on 12 February 2002 at the age of 83 in Halmstad.

Career statistics + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsHungary193922194110194221194352194710194851Total166Romania194621Total21

International goals Scores and results list Romania's and Hungary's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tóth goal. + List of international goals scored by Mátyás Tóth # Date Venue Opponent Score Result CompetitionHungary goals 1 22 October 1939 Stadionul ANEF, Bucharest, Romania 1–0 1–1 Friendly match 2 12 November 1939 Stadion Beogradski S.K., Belgrade, Yugoslavia 2–0 2–0 3 1 November 1942 Üllői úti Stadion, Budapest, Hungary 3–0 3–0 4 15 September 1943 Helsingin Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland 1–0 3–0 5 3–0 6 15 September 1948 Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland 5–2 6–2 1948 Balkan CupRomania goals 1 8 October 1946 Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania 2–2 2–2 1946 Balkan Cup

Honours Nagyváradi AC Nemzeti Bajnokság I: 1943–44 ITA Arad Divizia A: 1946–47

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