Ferenc Puskás
Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian footballer and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward and an attacking midfielder, he scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary and later played four international matches for Spain as well. He is the European all-time top assist provider in international football. He became an Olympic champion in 1952 and led his nation to the final of the 1954 World Cup. He won three European Cups, ten national championships and eight top individual scoring honors. Known as the "Galloping Major", in 1995, he was recognized as the greatest top division scorer of the 20th century by the IFFHS. Scoring 802 goals in 792 official games during his career, he is the seventh top goal scorer of all time by the RSSSF.
He was the son of former footballer Ferenc Puskás Senior. Puskás started his career in Hungary playing for Kispest and Budapest Honvéd. He was the 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 Hungary national team, known as the Mighty Magyars. After the Hungarian Revolution, Puskás served a two year ban from UEFA. Despite failing to sign for Ethnikos Piraeus in 1957 under pressure from rival clubs, in 1958, he emigrated to Spain where he successfully signed for Real Madrid at the age of 31. While playing with the club, Puskás won four Pichichis and scored seven goals in two European 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 the Hungarian and Spanish leagues and National Cups.
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 Ajax. He also led the club to the championship in 1972, 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 strong AEK Athens team for the 1978–79 season. In 1993, he returned to Hungary and took temporary charge of the Hungary national team. In 1998, he became one of the first ever FIFA/SOS Charity ambassadors. In 2002, the Népstadion in Budapest was renamed the Puskás Ferenc Stadion in his honor. 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. 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. He was also listed in Pelé's FIFA 100.
Career in Hungary
Early years
Ferenc Purczeld was born on 1 April 1927 to a German family in Budapest and brought up in Kispest, then a suburb, today part of the city. His mother, Margit Biró, was a seamstress. He began his career as a junior with Kispest Honvéd, 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 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 NAC. It was here where he received the nickname "Öcsi" or "Buddy".
On 19 February 1949, Puskás scored seven goals for Kispest in a 11–3 win against Győr. 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". As the army club, Honvéd used conscription to acquire the best Hungarian players leading to the recruitment of Zoltán Czibor and Sándor Kocsis. 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.
Goldteam
Puskás made his debut for Hungary team on 20 August 1945 and scored in a 5–2 win over Austria. 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. 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. 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, including the opening goal in the final. They also defeated England twice, first with a 6–3 win at Wembley Stadium, and then 7–1 in Budapest. Puskás scored two goals in each game against England. In 1953, they also won the 1948-53 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 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 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. Ending the Golden years with a silver medal at the 1955-60 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 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 | 90 min. | 2–1 | 0 | — | — | Kupittaa, Turku | ||
| 2 | 1st R | 21 July 1952 | 90 min. | 3–0 | 0 | — | — | Pallokenttä, Helsinki | ||
| 3 | QF | 24 July 1952 | 90 min | 7–1 | 2 | 4–0 6–1 | Urheilukeskus, Kotka | |||
| 4 | SF | 28 July 1952 | 90 min | 6–0 | 1 | 1–0 | Helsinki Olympic Stadium | |||
| 5 | Final | 2 August 1952 | 90 min | 2–0 | 1 | 1–0 | Helsinki Olympic Stadium |
Ferenc Puskás' statistics at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland
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 | 90 min. | 9–0 | 2 | 1–0 9–0 | Hardturm Stadium, Zürich | |||
| 2 | Group 2 | 20 June 1954 | 90 min | 8–3 | 1 | 2–0 | St. Jakob Stadium, Basel | |||
| – | QF | 27 June 1954 | Did not play | 4–2 | 0 | – | — | Wankdorf Stadium, Bern | ||
| – | SF | 30 June 1954 | Did not play | 4–2 | 0 | – | — | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne | ||
| 3 | Final | 4 July 1954 | 90 min | 2–3 | 1 | 1–0 | Wankdorf Stadium, Bern |