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Ferenc Puskás[pron 1] (néPurczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian footballer and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar.[5] A forward and an attacking midfielder, he scored 84 goals in 85 international matches forHungary and later played four international matches forSpain as well. He is theEuropean all-time top assist provider in international football (53). He became an Olympic champion in1952 and led his nation to the final of the1954 World Cup. He won threeEuropean Cups (1959, 1960, 1966), ten national championships (fiveHungarian and five SpanishPrimera División) and eight top individual scoring honors. Known as the "Galloping Major",[6] in 1995, he was recognized as the greatest top division scorer of the 20th century by theIFFHS.[7][8][9] Scoring 802 goals in 792 official games during his career, he is the seventh top goal scorer of all time by theRSSSF.[10]
He was the son of former footballerFerenc Puskás Senior. Puskás started his career in Hungary playing for Kispest andBudapest Honvéd. He was the top scorer in theHungarian League on four occasions, and in 1948, he was the top goal scorer in Europe. During the 1950s, he was both a prominent member and captain of theHungary national team, known as theMighty Magyars. After theHungarian Revolution, Puskás served a two year ban fromUEFA. Despite failing to sign forEthnikos Piraeus in 1957 under pressure from rival clubs,[11] in 1958, he emigrated to Spain where he successfully signed forReal Madrid at the age of 31. While playing with the club, Puskás won fourPichichis and scored seven goals in twoEuropean Cup finals, winning the competition three times with the club and claiming five consecutive La Liga titles. He scored 619 goals in 618 matches in theHungarian andSpanish leagues and National Cups.
After retiring as a player, he became a coach. The highlight of his coaching career came in 1971 when he guidedPanathinaikos to theEuropean Cup final, where they lost 2–0 toAjax. He also led the club to thechampionship in1972, becoming an icon in the country. Afterward he'd have spells at various countries and clubs, including Spain, Paraguay and the Saudi Arabia national team, with varying success. He returned again to Greece to manage an exceptionally strongAEK team for the1978–79 season. In 1993, he returned to Hungary and took temporary charge of the Hungary national team.[12] In 1998, he became one of the first ever FIFA/SOS Charity ambassadors.[13] In 2002, theNépstadion in Budapest was renamed thePuskás Ferenc Stadion in his honor.[14] He was also declared the best Hungarian player of the last 50 years by theHungarian Football Federation in theUEFA Jubilee Awards in November 2003.[15] In October 2009, FIFA announced the introduction of theFIFA Puskás Award, awarded to the player who has scored the "most beautiful goal" over the past year. He was also listed inPelé'sFIFA 100.
Ferenc Purczeld was born on 1 April 1927[1][16] to aGerman (Danube Swabian) family inBudapest and brought up inKispest, then a suburb, today part of the city. His mother, Margit Biró (1904–1976), was a seamstress. He began his career as a junior withKispest Honvéd,[14] where his father, who had previously played for the club, was a coach.
In 1937, his father changed the family name to Puskás. He initially used the pseudonym "Miklós Kovács" to help circumvent the minimum age rules[17] before officially signing at the age of 12. Among his early teammates was his childhood friend and future international teammateJózsef Bozsik. He made his first senior appearance for Kispest in November 1943 in a match againstNAC.[18] It was here where he received the nickname "Öcsi" or "Buddy".[19]
On 19 February 1949, Puskás scored seven goals for Kispest in a 11–3 win againstGyőr.[20] Kispest was taken over by theHungarian Ministry of Defence in 1949, becoming theHungarian Army team and changing its name toBudapest Honvéd. As a result, football players were given military ranks. Puskás eventually became a major (Hungarian:Őrnagy), which led to the nickname "The Galloping Major".[21] As the army club, Honvéd used conscription to acquire the best Hungarian players leading to the recruitment ofZoltán Czibor andSándor Kocsis.[22] During his career at Budapest Honvéd, Puskás helped the club win fiveHungarian League titles. He also finished as top goal scorer in the league in 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950 and 1953, scoring 50, 31, 25 and 27 goals, respectively. In 1948, he was the top goal scorer in Europe.[23]
Puskás made his debut forHungary team on 20 August 1945 and scored in a 5–2 win overAustria.[24] He went on to play 85 games and scored 84 times for Hungary. His international goal record included two hat tricks against Austria, one againstLuxembourg and four goals in a 12–0 win overAlbania.[25] Together withZoltán Czibor,Sándor Kocsis,József Bozsik, andNándor Hidegkuti, he formed the nucleus of theGolden Team that was to remain unbeaten for 32 consecutive games.[26] During this run, they becameOlympic Champions in 1952, beatingYugoslavia 2–0 in the final inHelsinki. Puskás scored four times at the Olympic tournament,[25] including the opening goal in the final. They also defeatedEngland twice, first with a6–3 win atWembley Stadium,[24] and then7–1 in Budapest. Puskás scored two goals in each game against England. In 1953, they also won the1948-53 Central European International Cup. Hungary won the championship after finishing top of the table with 11 points. Puskás finished the tournament as top scorer with ten goals and scored twice as Hungary claimed the trophy with a 3–0 win overItaly at theStadio Olimpico in 1953.[27]
Puskás scored three goals in the two first-round matches Hungary played at the1954 FIFA World Cup. They defeatedSouth Korea 9–0 and thenWest Germany 8–3. In the latter game, he suffered a hairline fracture of the ankle after a tackle byWerner Liebrich, and did not return until the final.[28]
Puskás played the entire1954 World Cup final againstWest Germany with a hairline fracture. Despite this, he scored his fourth goal of the tournament to put Hungary ahead after six minutes, and with Czibor adding another goal two minutes later, it seemed that the pre-tournament favorites would take the title. However, the West Germans pulled back two goals before half time, with six minutes left the West Germans scored the winner. Two minutes from the end of the match Puskás scored a late equalizer but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call.[29] Ending the Golden years with a silver medal at the1955-60 Central European International Cup, making it a grand total of two gold/titles and two silver for the Mighty Magyars.
Ferenc Puskás' statistics at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics
The scores contain links to the article on1954 FIFA World Cup and the round in question. When there is a special article on the match in question, the link is in the column forround.
Budapest Honvéd entered theEuropean Cup in 1956 and were drawn againstAthletic Bilbao in the first round. Honvéd lost the away leg 2–3, but before the home leg could be played, theHungarian Revolution erupted in Budapest and was subsequently brutally repressed bySoviet forces. The players decided against going back to communist Hungary and arranged for the return with Athletic to be played atHeysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.[26] Puskás scored in the subsequent 3–3 draw, his first European Cup goal ever, but Honvéd were eliminated 6–5 on aggregate, and the Hungarian players were left in limbo. They summoned[41] their families from Budapest, and despite opposition fromFIFA and the Hungarian football authorities, they organised a fundraising tour of Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Brazil. After returning to Europe, the players parted ways. Some, including Bozsik, returned to Hungary while others, including Czibor, Kocsis and Puskás, found new clubs in Western Europe.[42] Puskás did not return to Hungary until 1981.[43]
After refusing to return to Hungary, Puskás initially played a few unofficial games forEspanyol.[44] At the same time, bothAC Milan andJuventus attempted to sign him, but then he received a two-year ban fromUEFA for refusing to return to Budapest,[45] which prevented him from playing in Europe. He moved to Austria and then Italy.[26] After his ban expired, Puskás tried to play in Italy but was not able to find a top-flight club willing to sign him, as Italian managers were concerned about his age and weight.[22] He was considered byManchester United to strengthen a squad ravaged by theMunich air disaster in 1958, but because ofFA rules regarding foreigners and Puskás' not knowing the English language, stand-in managerJimmy Murphy could not fulfill his wish of signing the Hungarian. However, a few months later, Puskás joinedReal Madrid and at the age of 31 embarked on the second phase of his career.[46]
During his firstLa Liga season, Puskás scored four hat-tricks, including one in his second game, againstSporting de Gijón on 21 September 1958. In the game againstLas Palmas on 4 January 1959, Puskás andAlfredo di Stéfano scored hat-tricks in a 10–1 win.[47] During the 1960–61 season, Puskás scored four times in a game againstElche and the following season, he scored five goals against the same team. Puskás scored two hat-tricks againstBarcelona in 1963, one at theBernabéu and one at theCamp Nou. During eight seasons with Real, Puskás played 180 La Liga games and scored 156 goals. He scored 20 or more goals in each of his first six seasons in the Spanish league, and won thePichichi four times: in 1960, 1961, 1963, and 1964, scoring 25, 28, 26 and 21 goals, respectively. He helped Real win La Liga five times in a row between 1961 and 1965 and theCopa del Generalísimo in1962. He scored both goals in the 2–1 victory overSevilla in the Copa final.[46]
Puskás also played a further 39 games for Real in theEuropean Cup, scoring 35 goals. He helped Real reach thefinal of the1958–59 European Cup, scoring in the first leg and in the decisive replay of the semi-final againstAtlético Madrid, but missed the final due to injury. In the following season he began Real's1959–60 European Cup campaign witha hat-trick againstJeunesse Esch and in the semi-final against FC Barcelona, as Puskás once again guided Real into thefinal with three goals over two legs. In the final itself, Real beatEintracht Frankfurt 7–3 with Puskás scoring four goals[14] and di Stéfano scoring three. In subsequent European campaigns, he would score a further three hat-tricks, including one in the1962 final againstBenfica, which Real lost 5–3. In 1965, he scored five goals over two games againstFeyenoord as he helped Real Madrid to the1966 European Cup final – Real won the game againstPartizan Belgrade, but Puskás did not play.[46]
In 1962, Puskás became a naturalized Spanish citizen,[48] and subsequently played four times forSpain. Three of these games were at the1962 World Cup. In Spain, he was known as Cañoncito Pum (the booming cannon).[43] On 28 October 1963, Puskás appeared in a game for theMadrid football team at theFFM Trofeo Bodas de Oro, and he scored two late goals in a 4–0 win overAndalusia.[49] In 1967, at the age of 40, he appeared in a fundraising friendly game forSouth Liverpool, the Englishnon-League side, in front of a 10,000-strong sell-out crowd at the club'sHolly Park stadium.[50]
Statue of Ferenc Puskás inBudapest inspired by a photograph taken in Madrid in which the legendary player was teaching an ad hoc course inkeepie uppie to street children
After retiring as a player, Puskás became a coach and managed teams in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
In 1971, he guidedPanathinaikos of Greece to theEuropean Cup final. This was the first time a Greek club has reached a European final, and this would remain the only time for more than half a century, untilOlympiakos reached thefinal of theUEFA Europa Conference League in 2024. En route to the final, Panathinaikos beatEverton in the quarter-finals on away goals, then defeatedRed Star Belgrade in the semis, to become the only amateur football team to reach the European Cup/Champions League final. In the final, Panathinaikos lost 2–0 toJohan Cruyff'sAjax.[51]
During his four-year tenure at Panathinaikos, Puskás helped the team secure oneGreek Championship in 1972. At Panathinaikos he retained the nickname "Pancho" from Spain and is considered greatest ever manager of Panathinaikos, in the same esteem with his predecessorStjepan Bobek and has entered the Greek football pantheon after Panathinaikos' run to the Wembley Final. A few months after leaving Panathinaikos in 1974, he took overReal Murcia, placed last in La Liga when he was appointed in December, failing to save the club from relegation in hisonly season in charge, while the following year he coachedSaudi Arabia and in the same year he also managedColo-Colo, where he spent two years, without experiencing notable success.[52]
In the summer of 1978 he returned to Greece and took the wheel of the domestic double winners,AEK Athens, where he reunited with his former captain at Panathinaikos,Mimis Domazos. Puskás led the club to its biggest ever victory in the European Cup, a 6–1 defeat of Portuguese championsPorto in Athens, before their continental run was cut short in the second round by eventual competition winnersNottingham Forest 7–2 on aggregate.[53][54] However, in March 1979 the club's management, fearing the eventual loss of the league, replaced him with his assistant,Andreas Stamatiadis, on an interim role for the final 11 games until the end of the season, due to the unstable performances of the team, which saw them drop to third place in the league table.[55] The club of Athens eventually won the championship with Stamatiadis in charge in a play–off match that was never contested, asrivalsOlympiacos refused to play.[56]
Despite his wide travels, his only other silverware came withSol de América, where he led the club to its first ever league title in1986, andSouth Melbourne Hellas, with whom he won theNational Soccer League title in 1991, as well as theNSL Cup in1990, the NSL League Cup in 1990 and twoDockerty Cup titles in 1989 and 1991, becoming the club's most successful manager.[57] While managing the Australian club, one of his players was future South Melbourne,Australia andTottenham Hotspur managerAnge Postecoglou, who has spoken of the influence Puskás' all out attacking approach and tactical acumen had on his coaching style.[58]
WhenWolverhampton Wanderers opened their renovated stadiumMolineux in 1993, Puskás visited the newly opened stadium as an honorary guest to watch the friendly match between Wolves and Budapest Honvéd, which was a match to christen the new opening of the stadium. This was because in the 1950s, Wolves played a game against Honvéd in a memorable friendly match, which Puskás played in. Wolves won the 1954 match 3–2, with the 1993 match ending in a 1–1 draw.[59]
Puskás returned to Hungary for the first time in 1981 and in 1990, he made Budapest his home again.[43] In 1993, he took charge of theHungary national team for four games, including a 4–2 friendly victory against theRepublic of Ireland in Dublin, where Hungary came from two goals down to eventually beat their opponents.[60]
Puskas had excellent ball control, mostly with his left foot, and had a great first touch of the ball giving very quick and precise passing and crossing. He was also able to maneuver and change positions quickly on the pitch by moving from inside left to centre forward. He was also able to dummy his opponents with fake dribbles and would confuse his markers by pretending to go one way before going another. He did this toBill Eckersley andHarry Johnston when Hungary beat England 6–3 at Wembley.[24] Puskas also used to move the ball in different directions and sideways to go past his opponents with ease. Puskas was also excellent at set pieces, often scoring powerful direct free-kicks. He also scored directly from a corner kick. Puskas had one of the most powerful left footed shots in history and often scored from 30 to 35 metres from goal.
A street named Újtemető utca near Stadium Bozsik in the Hungarian capital of Budapest (specifically the district of Kispest) was renamed after Puskás precisely one year after the footballer's death.
He appears in one scene in the Egyptian movieGhareeb fi Bayti(English:A stranger in my house) while he was watching the football match in the stands. At the time of the film, he was a coach for the Egyptian clubAl Masry.
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^Corkhill, Barney (29 September 2008)."A Tribute To...Ferenc Puskas".Bleacher Report. USA.Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved27 August 2011.
^abcHosking, Patrick; Wighton, David (17 November 2006)."Ferenc Puskas".The Times. London. Archived fromthe original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved10 December 2006.
^Bujtor, István (1 May 1986),Az elvarázsolt dollár (Comedy, Crime), Moviecoop,archived from the original on 11 April 2023, retrieved13 October 2021
^Almási, Tamás (12 March 2009),Puskás Hungary (Documentary, Biography, Sport), Filmplus, Next Station Productions,archived from the original on 12 September 2022, retrieved13 October 2021
