Bican, Josef

Bican, Josef, 1913–2001, Czech soccer player, b. Vienna. A forward with over 800 competitive goals, he is considered by many to be soccer's greatest scorer. Known as “Pepi,” Bican joined Rapid Vienna in 1931, where he scored 49 goals in 52 appearances before moving to Admira (1935–37), another Austrian club. There he helped the team win two consecutive league titles. Bican subsequently played for Slavia Prague (1937–48) and other Czech teams, returning to Slavia Prague (then known as Dynamo Prague) in 1952; he retired in 1953. With Slavia Prague, he scored 534 goals, including 57 goals in 24 games over one season. In 1938 he helped Slavia win the Mitropa Cup, the only international club competition at the time. He also played with the national teams of Austria (known as the “Wunderteam,” 1933–36) and Czechoslovakia (1938–49). After retiring, he coached for several teams in Czechoslovakia, including Dynamo Prague (1954–56), and Belgium's Tongeren.

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