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Ferenc Puskás

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Ferenc Puskás
File:Puskas Ferenc.jpg
Personal information
Full name Ferenc Puskás Biro
Position(s) Forward

Ferenc Puskás (April 2 1927–November 17 2006), also referred to as Puskás Ferenc (Hungarian), Ferenc Puskas Biro (Spanish), or Purczeld Ferenc, was a Hungarian footballer and coach born in Budapest Hungary. He is considered one of the best footballers ever, having scored 84 goals in 85 career international matches for the Hungarian national team.

Puskás played for Honvéd and Hungary before joining Real Madrid and going on to play for Spain. During the 1950s, in a Hungarian team that also included Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he was captain of the legendary Mighty Magyars. After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution he moved to Spain where he became part of the legendary Real Madrid team that also included Alfredo Di Stéfano, Francisco Gento, Raymond Kopa and José Santamaria.

Puskás, with a powerful left-foot shot, was a prolific goalscorer throughout his career, and in 1995 he was recognized as the top scorer of the 20th century by the IFFHS[1][2][3] . He was top scorer in the Hungarian League on four occasions and in 1948 he was the top goal scorer in any European league. While playing with Real Madrid he won four Pichichis and scored seven goals in two European Cup finals. After retiring as a player he became a coach and in 1971 led Panathinaikos to the European Cup final. In 2002 the Népstadion in Budapest was renamed the Stadion Puskas Ferenc in his honour. He was also declared the best Hungarian player of the last 50 years by the Hungarian Football Federation in the UEFA Jubilee Awards in November 2003[4]. Puskás, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2000,[5] was admitted to intensive care in a Budapest hospital on September 13, 2006[6] and died on November 17, 2006[5] from pneumonia.

The Galloping Major

Puskás began his career as a junior with Kispest AC where his father was a coach. Legend has it that he played under the pseudonym Miklós Kovács before officially signing as a twelve year old. Among his early team-mates were his childhood friend József Bozsik. In 1949 the club was taken over by the Hungarian Ministry of Defence and it became the Hungarian Army team and the club was became known as Honvéd. As a result football players were given military ranks and Puskás eventually became a major which led to the nickname The Galloping Major. As the army club Honvéd were also allowed to conscript the best Hungarian players which led to the them recruiting Zoltán Czibor and Sándor Kocsis. During his career at Honvéd, he helped the club win five Hungarian 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 also the top goal scorer in any European league.

The Mighty Magyars

Puskás made his debut for Hungary on August 20 1945 and scored in a 5-2 win over Austria. He went onto play 85 games and scored 84 times for Hungary. His international goal record included two hat tricks against Austria, one against Luxembourg and 4 goals in a 12-0 win over Albania. Together with Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he formed the nucleus of the legendary team that went unbeaten for an incredible 32 consecutive games. This record still stands today.

During this run they became Olympic Champions in 1952, beating Yugoslavia 2-0 in the Helsinki final. Puskás scored four times at the Olympic tournament including the opening goal in the final. They also twice gave England a footballing lesson. In 1953 they stunned England with a 6-3 win at Wembley Stadium and then in 1954 they gave them a 7-1 hammering in Budapest. Puskás scored two goals in each game against England. In 1953 they also won the Dr. Gerõ Cup, a nations cup for Central European teams. The tournament began in 1948 and took five years to complete. Hungary eventually emerged top of the table with 11 points. Puskás finished the tournament as top scorer with 10 goals and scored twice as Hungary claimed the trophy with a 3-0 win over Italy in Rome in 1953.

The unbeaten run came to an end in the 1954 World Cup Final when Hungary lost 3-2 to West Germany. The game saw Puskás playing even though he was not fully fit. Despite this he put his team ahead after only 6 minutes, and with Czibor adding another two minutes later it seemed destined that the pre-tournament favourites would take the title. However the West Germans pulled back two goals before half time and the tide began to turn. The second half saw telling misses from the Hungarian team and then with six minutes left the West Germans scored the winner. Puskás then had a goal disallowed with two minutes left before the game and Hungary’s unbeaten run was ended.

Honvéd World Tour

In 1956 Honvéd entered the European Cup and in the first round they were drawn against Atlético Bilbao. Honvéd lost the away leg 2-3, but before the home leg could be played, the Hungarian Revolution had erupted back in Budapest. The players decided against going back to Hungary and arranged for the return with Atlético to be played at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. Puskás scored in the subsequent 3-3 draw but Honvéd went out 6-5 on aggregate. Elimination left the players in limbo. The players summoned their families from Budapest and, despite opposition from FIFA 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.

Real Madrid

After refusing to return to Hungary, Puskás initially played a few unofficial games for RCD Español but then received a two-year ban from UEFA which prevented him from playing in Europe. He moved to Austria and then Italy, where both AC Milan and Juventus attempted to sign him. However in 1958 he joined Real Madrid and at the age of 31 he embarked on the second phase of his remarkable career. During his first La Liga season, 1958/59, he scored four hat-tricks including one in his second game against Sporting de Gijón on September 21 1958. In January 1959 Puskás and Alfredo Di Stéfano ran riot against UD Las Palmas, both of them scoring hat-tricks in a 10-1 win. During the 1960/61 season he scored 4 in a game against Elche and the following season he scored 5 against the same opponents. In 1963 he scored two hat-tricks against CF Barcelona, one at the Bernabéu and one at the Camp Nou. During eight seasons with Real, Puskás played 180 La Liga games, scoring 156 goals. He also won the Pichichi four times in 1960, 1961, 1963 and 1964 scoring 26, 27, 26 and 20 goals respectively. He also helped Real win La Liga five times in a row between 1961 and 1965 and the Copa del Generalísimo in 1962. He scored both goals in the 2-1 victory over Sevilla CF in the Copa final.

Puskás also played a further 39 games for Real in the European Cup, scoring 35 goals. He helped Real reach the final of the 1959 European Cup, scoring in each of the two legs of the semi-final against Atlético Madrid, but missed the final due to injury. However, the following season he would make up for it. He began Real’s 1960 European Cup campaign with a hat-trick against Jeunesse Esch and in semi-final against CF Barcelona, he once again guided Real into the final with three goals over two legs. In the final itself, regarded by some as one the greatest finals ever, Puskás and Di Stéfano once again ran riot. Real beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 with Puskás scoring four goals and Di Stéfano scoring three. In subsequent European campaigns he would score a further three hat-tricks including one in the 1962 final against Benfica which Real lost 5-3.

While also playing for Real, Puskás played four times for Spain and represented them at the 1962 World Cup. For once his goalscoring form deserted him and he failed to score any goals for Spain.

Honours

Player

Olympic medal record
Football
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki Men's Football

Hungary

Honvéd

Real Madrid

Manager

Panathinaikos

South Melbourne Hellas

Notes and references

  1. ^ "FIFA President: FIFA to help the Galloping Major". FIFA. 2005-10-12. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
  2. ^ "Coronel Puskas, el zurdo de oro" (in Spanish). AS. 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2006-11-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Mackay, Duncan (2005-10-13). "Lineker tees up another nice little earner". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2006-11-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Scroll down to subhead "Puskas memories for sale".
  4. ^ "Golden Players take centre stage". UEFA. 2003-11-29.
  5. ^ a b "Hungary legend Puskas dies at 79". BBC. 2006-11-17.
  6. ^ "Puskas 'taken to intensive care'". BBC. 2006-09-13.

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