Ferenc Puskás

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Personal information
Full name	Ferenc Purczeld
Date of birth	(1927 -04-01)1 April 1927
Place of birth	Budapest, Hungary
Date of death	17 November 2006(2006-11-17) (aged 79)
Place of death	Budapest, Hungary
Height	1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Inside-left[1]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1943–1949	Kispest	177	(187)
1949–1955	Budapest Honvéd	164	(165)
1958–1966	Real Madrid	182	(157)
1943–1966	Total	523	(509)
National team
1945–1956	Hungary	85	(84)
1961–1962	Spain	4	(0)
Teams managed
1967	San Francisco Golden Gate Gales
1968	Vancouver Royals
1968–1969	Alavés
1970–1974	Panathinaikos
1975	Murcia
1975–1976	Colo-Colo
1976–1977	Saudi Arabia
1978–1979	AEK Athens
1979–1982	Al-Masry
1985–1986	Sol de América
1986–1989	Cerro Porteño
1989–1992	South Melbourne Hellas
1993	Hungary
Honours Competitor for  Hungary Men's football Gold 1952 Helsinki Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Ferenc Puskás (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈfɛrɛnt͡s ˈpuʃkaːʃ]; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927^[2] – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian footballer and manager. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary,^[3] and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues.^[3] He became Olympic champion in 1952 and was a World Cup finalist in 1954. He won three European Cups (1959, 1960, 1966), 10 national championships (5 Hungarian & 5 Spanish Primera División) and 8 top individual scoring honors. He is regarded as the best Hungarian football player ever and one of the best football players of all time.

Puskás started his career in Hungary playing for Kispest and Budapest Honvéd. He was top scorer in the Hungarian 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 the Hungarian national team, known as the Mighty Magyars. In 1958, two years after the Hungarian Revolution, he emigrated to Spain where he played for Real Madrid.

While playing with Real Madrid, Puskás won four Pichichis and scored seven goals in two European Champions Cup finals. In 1995, he was recognized as the top scorer of the 20th century by the IFFHS.^[4][5][6]

After retiring as a player, he became a coach. The highlight of his coaching career came in 1971 when he guided Panathinaikos to the European Cup final, where they lost 2–0 to AFC Ajax. Despite his defection in 1956, the Hungarian government granted him a full pardon in 1993, allowing him to return and take temporary charge of the Hungarian national team.^[7] In 1998, he became one of the first ever FIFA/SOS Charity ambassadors.^[8] In 2002, the Népstadion in Budapest was renamed the Puskás Ferenc Stadion in his honor.^[9] 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.^[10] In October 2009, FIFA announced the introduction of the FIFA Puskás Award, awarded to the player who has scored the "most beautiful goal" over the past year. Puskas' successful career led him to become one of the greatest footballers whoever lived. He was listed in Pelé's FIFA 100 as the only Hungarian in history.

Career in Hungary[link]

Early years[link]

Puskás was born as Ferenc Purczeld in Budapest and brought up in Kispest, then a village near the city. His father, Ferenc Sr. was a Danube Swabian of German ethnicity, who Magyarized his family surname to Puskás in 1937.^[11][12] He began his career as a junior with Kispest AC,^[9] where his father, who had previously played for the club, was a coach.

He initially used the pseudonym Miklós Kovács to help circumvent the minimum age rules^[13] before officially signing at the age of 12. Among his early teammates was his childhood friend and future international teammate József Bozsik. He made his first senior appearance for Kispest in November 1943 in a match against Nagyváradi AC.^[14] It was here where he got the nickname "Öcsi" or "Buddy".^[15]

Kispest was taken over by the Hungarian Ministry of Defence in 1949, becoming the Hungarian Army team and changing its name to Budapest Honvéd. As a result, football players were given military ranks. Puskás eventually became a major, which led to the nickname "The Galloping Major".^[12] As the army club, Honvéd used conscription to acquire the best Hungarian players, leading to the recruitment of Zoltán Czibor and Sándor Kocsis.^[16] During his career at Budapest Honvéd, Puskás 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 the top goal scorer in Europe.^[17]

Mighty Magyars[link]

Puskás made his debut for Hungary team on 20 August 1945 and scored in a 5–2 win over Austria.^[18] He went on to play 85 games and scored 84 times for Hungary. His international goal record included two hat tricks against Austria, one against Luxembourg and four goals in a 12–0 win over Albania.^[19] Together with Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik, and Nándor Hidegkuti, he formed the nucleus of the Golden Team that was to remain unbeaten for 32 consecutive games.^[20] During this run, they became Olympic Champions in 1952, beating Yugoslavia 2–0 in the final in Helsinki. Puskás scored four times at the Olympic tournament,^[19] including the opening goal in the final. They also defeated England twice, first with a 6–3 win at Wembley Stadium.,^[18] and then 7–1 in Budapest. Puskás scored two goals in each game against England. In 1953, they also became Central European Champions. Hungary won the championship after finishing 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 at the Stadio Olimpico in 1953.

Puskás scored three goals in the two first-round matches Hungary played at the 1954 FIFA World Cup. They defeated South Korea 9–0 and then West Germany 8–3. In the latter game, he suffered a hairline fracture of the ankle after a tackle by Werner Liebrich, and did not return until the final.

Puskás played the entire 1954 World Cup final against West Germany with the 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 appeared to score an equalizer but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call.^[21]

Ferenc Puskás’ statistics in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics[link]

The scores contain links to the article on football in the Helsinki Olympics and the round in question.

Game no.	Round	Date	Opponent	Puskás’ playing time	Score	Puskás’ goals	Score	Times	Venue	Report
1	Prel. R.	15 July 1952	Romania	90 min.	2–1 (1–0)	0	—	—	Kupittaa, Turku	[22]
2	1st R	21 July 1952	Italy	90 min.	3–0 (2–0)	0	—	—	Pallokenttä, Helsinki	[23]
3	QF	24 July 1952	Turkey	90 min	7–1 (2–0)	2	4–0 6–1	54'  72'	Urheilukeskus, Kotka	[24]
4	SF	28 July 1952	Sweden	90 min	6–0 (3–0)	1	1–0	1'	Helsinki Olympic Stadium	[25]
5	Final	2 August 1952	Yugoslavia	90 min	2–0 (0–0)	1	1–0	70'	Helsinki Olympic Stadium	[26]

Ferenc Puskás’ statistics in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland[link]

The scores contain links to the article on 1954 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 for round.

Game no.	Round	Date	Opponent	Puskás’ playing time	Score	Puskás’ goals	Score	Times	Venue	Report
1	Group 2	17 June 1954	South Korea	90 min.	9–0 (4–0)	2	1–0 9–0	12'  89'	Hardturm Stadium, Zürich	[27]
2	Group 2	20 June 1954	West Germany	90 min	8–3 (3–1)	1	2–0	17'	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel	[28]
–	QF	27 June 1954	Brazil	Did not play	4–2 (2–1)	0	–	—	Wankdorf Stadium, Bern	[29]
–	SF	30 June 1954	Uruguay	Did not play	4–2 (a.e.t.) (2–2, 1–0)	0	–	—	Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne	[30]
3	Final	4 July 1954	West Germany	90 min	2–3 (2–2)	1	1–0	6'	Wankdorf Stadium, Bern	[31]

Honvéd World Tour[link]

Budapest Honvéd entered the European Cup in 1956 and were drawn against Atlétic Bilbao in the first round. Honvéd lost the away leg 2–3, but before the home leg could be played, the Hungarian Revolution erupted in Budapest. The players decided against going back to Hungary and arranged for the return with Atlético to be played at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.^[20] Puskás scored in the subsequent 3–3 draw but Honvéd were eliminated 6–5 on aggregate, and the Hungarian players were left in limbo. They 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.^[32]

Spanish career[link]

Real Madrid[link]

Puskás's player licence, showing his mother's maiden name Biró as a second surname in accordance with Spanish naming customs

After refusing to return to Hungary, Puskás initially played a few unofficial games for RCD Espanyol^{[citation needed]}. At the same time, both AC Milan and Juventus attempted to sign him, but then he received a two-year ban from UEFA (for refusing to return to Budapest ^[33]) which prevented him from playing in Europe. He moved to Austria and then Italy.^[20] After his ban, 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.^[16] He was considered by Manchester United to strengthen a squad ravaged by the Munich Air Disaster in 1958, but because of FA rules regarding foreigners and Puskás' not knowing the English language, stand-in manager Jimmy Murphy could not fulfill his wish of signing the Hungarian. However, a few months later, Puskás joined Real Madrid and at the age of 31 embarked on the second phase of his career.

During his first La Liga season, Puskás scored four hat-tricks, including one in his second game, against Sporting de Gijón on 21 September 1958. In the game against UD Las Palmas on 4 January 1959, Puskás and Alfredo di Stéfano scored hat-tricks in a 10–1 win.^[34] During the 1960–61 season, Puskás scored four times in a game against Elche CF and the following season, he scored five goals against the same team. Puskás scored two hat-tricks against FC Barcelona in 1963, one at the Bernabéu and one at the Camp 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 the Pichichi four times: in 1960, 1961, 1963, and 1964, scoring 26, 27, 26 and 20 goals, respectively. He 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 FC 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 the first leg and in the decisive replay of the semi-final against Atlético Madrid, but missed the final due to injury. In the following season he began Real's 1960 European Cup campaign with a hat-trick against Jeunesse Esch and in the semi-final against FC Barcelona, he once again guided Real into the final with three goals over two legs. In the final itself, Real beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 with Puskás scoring four goals^[9] 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. In 1965, he scored five goals over two games against Feyenoord as he helped Real Madrid to the 1966 European Cup final - Real won the game, but Puskas did not play in the final.

Spanish national appearances[link]

In 1962, Puskás took Spanish nationality,^[35] and subsequently played four times for Spain. Three of these games were at the 1962 World Cup. For once, his goalscoring form deserted him and he failed to score any goals for Spain.

Appearance for South Liverpool[link]

In 1967, at the age of 40, he appeared in a fundraising friendly game for South Liverpool, the English non-league side, in front of a 10,000-strong sell-out crowd at the club's Holly Park stadium.^[36]

Coaching career[link]

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 guided Panathinaikos of Greece to the European Cup final, the only time a Greek club has reached a European final to date. In the qualifying rounds they beat Everton in the quarter-finals on away goals, then defeated Red Star Belgrade in the semi's. In the final Panathinaikos lost 2–0 to Johan Cruyff's Ajax.^[37] During his five-year tenure at Panathinaikos, Puskás helped the team secure two Greek Championships. However, with the notable exception of his spell at Panathinaikos, Puskás failed to transfer his success as a player to his coaching career.

Despite his wide travels, his only other success came with South Melbourne Hellas, with whom he won the National Soccer League title in 1991.

When Wolverhampton Wanderers opened their new stadium Molineux 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 match 3–2.

In 1993 he took charge of the Hungarian national football team for four games, including a 4-2 friendly victory against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, where Hungary came from two goals down to eventually beat their opponents.^[38]

Later life and death[link]

Puskás was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2000.^[39] He was admitted to a Budapest hospital in September 2006^[40] and died on 17 November 2006^[39] of pneumonia. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Erzsébet,^[41] and their daughter, Anikó.^[42] In a state funeral, his coffin was moved from Puskás Ferenc Stadion to Heroes' Square for a military salute. He was buried under the dome of the St Stephen's Basilica in Budapest on 9 December 2006.

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.

Honours[link]

Club[link]

• Budapest Honvéd
  • Hungarian League: 1949–50, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955
• Real Madrid
  • Intercontinental Cup: 1960
  • European Cup: 1958–1959, 1959–1960, 1965–1966
  • Spanish League: 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65
  • Spanish Cup: 1961–1962
    • European Cup Runners-up: 1961–1962, 1963–1964

Country[link]

• Hungary
  • Olympic Champions: 1952
  • Central European Champions: 1953
  • World Cup Runners-up: 1954
  • Balkan Cup: 1947