The brightest star of my country ever has passed away...
A brief summary of his illustrious career:
He was born on the 2nd of April, 1927 in Budapest, and was an active footballer from 1943 until 1967.
His debut in the Hungarian league was at the age of 16, playing for his local team, Kispest. He made his debut for the national team 1 month before his 18. birthday, on the 2nd of March, 1945 and immediately scored a goal vs Austria.
His last game for the national team was on the 14th of October, also against Austria and he scored again, giving a nice frame to his 11 and a half year NT career, during which the team never lost a game on home soil. During this time he won 5 championships and 4 top goal scorer awards with Kispest, and as captain of the NT he won an Olympic gold (1952 Helsinki) and a World Cup silver medal (1954 Switzerland), plus scored twice in the historical 6-3 match in the Wemblen in 1953.
Between 1943 and 1956 he scored 358 goals in 349 appearances (!!!) in the Hungarian league, and scored 83 goals in 83 caps (!!!) for the NT. For this fantastic feat, the Gazzetta named him the best goal scorer of the 20th Century.
Due to the revolution agains communism and the soviet intervention, he didn't return home from his clubs South-American tour, as did other members of our golden NT, the "Magnificent Magyars", which fell apart. After a 2 year-pause in his career he signed for Real Madrid overweight at the age of 32. After hard training he made his debut in the 1958/59 season. Before his first match for Real he talked to the legendary Alfredo di Stefano, and since he didn't speak spanish yet, he somehow explained to di Stefano that when he hears the scream "Stefi!", he should run towards the goal and he'll get a "present". It happened and Puskas delivered a wonderful assist to di Stefano who only had to finish into the empty net.
The audience quickly accepted him and gave him the nickname "Pancho", as he became top goalscorer in the 1959/60 season, scoring 25 goals in 24 games. His stats were even more impressing in the European Cup, where he scored 49 goals in 39 games (!!!) in the EC. The peak was the Champions Cup final in 1960 in the Hampden Park, Glasgow, where Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3, with Puskas scoring 4, di Stefano 3 goals.
He got Spanish citizenship in 1961 but never again could he perform like his old self in the NT, having 4 caps without any goals.
After his retirement he coached at various clubs in Spain, Greece, Egypt, Chile, Saud-Arabia, Austria, USA, Paraguay and Hungary. His best result was with Panathinaikos, where in 1971 he reached the EC final were they lost to the Cruyff-led Ajax. He returned home first in 1981, from 1992 he was director of youth teams at the Hungarian Football Association, was the NT coach for 4 months in 1993. In 1997 he was merited by the International Olympic Committee with the Olympic Cross.
In 1997 the IFFHS merited him due to the fact that in the world he scored the most goals in first division leagues ever: 489.
In 1999 he was elected honorary ambassador of Hungarian sport. In 2001 he was voted the best Hungarian male athlete of the 20th Century in Hungary.
In 2000, he finished fourth in the IFFHS vote for "The European Footballer of the Century". Not everyone agreed though, as f.e. BBC voters elected him the best player.
Since 2nd April, 2002, his 75. Birthday our largest Stadium, the former People's Stadium wears his name. The spanish NT played a friendly in honor of his birthday, and not long ago Real Madrid played a charity match in Budapest in honor of Ferenc Puskas.
In 2004 he was elected "Athelte of the Nation". FIFA gave him the Order of Virtue, given only to one person per nation in the centenary year of the organization. He also received UEFA's Golden Badge, given to the best players of the past 50 years.
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer-disease in 2000.
His day of burial will be a national mourning day in Hungary. Since the collapse of the communist regime, this will only be the 3rd such day in Hungary, the first two were after a violent bank robbery with several people killed and the death of Pope John Paul II.
Here's the official statement from Real Madrid:
Heartfelt gratitude, admiration and respect for the late Ferenc Puskas
Real Madrid wish to express their deepest grief for the passing away of Ferenc Puskas, legendary player of our Club from 1958 to 1967 and to convey their heartfelt gratitude, admiration and respect for one of the biggest stars in the history of the Madridista pantheon.
In the minds of all Madridista fans, the name of Puskas is linked to the biggest domestic and international successes of Real Madrid and most specifically to the European Cup. An entire generation grew up watching the feats of this brilliant Hungarian player, his sole mention reminiscent of their younger years, trading picture cards, black and white TV sets and sepia-toned photography.
On this painful hour, Real Madrid wish to thank a person and player that gave everything for his Club, and express their admiration for his footballing talent and their respect for a phenomenal human being.
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