Top facts about Ferenc Puskas, the Pancho

Ferenc Puskás (April 1, 1927 - November 17, 2006) was a Hungarian soccer player and coach who is generally considered as one of the game's best talents and its first worldwide celebrity.

Ferenc Puskas’ age

was 79 at the time of his death.

Puskas was a striker who netted 84 goals in 85 international appearances for Hungary, four international games for Spain, and 514 goals in 529 league matches in Hungary and Spain. In 1952, he won the Olympic gold medal and led his country to the World Cup final in 1954.

He was the winner of three European Cups (1959, 1960, 1966), ten national titles (five Hungarian and five Spain Primera División), and eight best personal performance awards.

The IFFHS named him the best top division scorer of the twentieth century in 1995. He is the fourth best striker of all time, having scored 806 goals in 793 official games.

He was the son of Ferenc Puskás Senior, a former player. Puskás began his professional career in Hungary, where he played for Kispest and Budapest Honvéd. He was the best goal scorer in the Hungarian Division four times and the best goal striker in Europe in 1948.

He was a key player and leader of the Hungarian national team, nicknamed as the Mighty Magyars, in the 1950s. He moved to Spain in 1958, 2 years after the Hungarian Revolution, and played for

. Puskás earned 4 Pichichis with Real Madrid and netted 7 goals in 2 European Champions Cup finals.

Top facts about Ferenc Puskas:

An important

fact about Ferenc Puskas

is that he became a coach after quitting as a player. His managerial career culminated in 1971, when he led Panathinaikos to the European Cup final, where they were defeated 2–0 by

.

Ferenc Puskas early life

Ferenc Purczeld was born in Budapest on April 1, 1927 to a German (Danube Swabian) family and raised in Kispest, which was then a suburban but is now part of the city. Speaking about

Ferenc Puskas parents

, it should be mentioned that Margit Biró (1904–1976), his mother, was a tailor.

Regarding

Ferenc Puskas childhood

, it is worth mentioning that he started his career as a youngster with Kispest AC, where his father was a coach and had formerly featured for the club.

Ferenc Puskás became his new name. Before formally signing at the age of 12, he utilized the alias "Miklós Kovács" to get around the minimum age requirements. József Bozsik, a boyhood buddy and future international player, was one of his early teammates.

Ferenc Puskas personal life

In 1950, Erzsébet married Ferenc Puskás. Erzsébet was a handball player at the time, and they were club mates at Kispesti AC. Anikó, their daughter, was born in 1952 and died in 2011 in Valencia, Spain.

Erzsébet and her daughter fled communist Hungary for Austria in 1956, then went to Italy to rejoin with Ferenc, who was on a tour as the captain of the Budapest Honvéd football team. Ferenc Puskás' life narrative concluded in 2006, after he and his wife had been married for 56 years.

In 2000, Puskás was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In September 2006, he was taken to a Budapest clinic and died of pneumonia on November 17, 2006. He died at the age of 79, leaving behind his 57-year-old wife Erzsébet and their daughter Anikó.

His coffin was carried from Puskás Ferenc Stadion to Heroes' Square for a military salute in a state funeral. On December 9, 2006, he was buried under the dome of Budapest's St Stephen's Basilica.

Ferenc Puskas professional career

Ferenc Puskas is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He was a great and sharp forward who scored 84 goals for his International Hungary side and 514 goals for the clubs he played for.

Puskas ended his successful career with

with a remarkable 84 goals in 85 matches, becoming one of the most prolific international strikers of all time.

Ferenc Puskas club career

An important fact about Ferenc Puskas is that in November 1943, he made his senior debut for Kispest in a match against Nagyváradi AC. It was here that he earned the nickname "Ocsi" or "Buddy."

He played 262 games with Real Madrid and went on to become the oldest player to play for the Los Blancos, wearing the all-white kit at the age of 38 and 233 days.

Budapest Honvéd

In 1949, the Hungarian Ministry of Defence took over Kispest, renaming it Budapest Honvéd and renaming it the Hungarian Army team. Football players were awarded military ranks as a consequence. Puskás rose through the ranks to become a major (rnagy in Hungarian), earning the moniker "The Galloping Major."

Honvéd, being an army club, utilized conscription to attract the greatest Hungarian players, including Zoltán Czibor and Sándor Kocsis. Puskás led Budapest Honvéd win five Hungarian League championships during his time there.

In 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950, and 1953, he was the league's leading goal scorer, with 50, 31, 25, and 27 goals, respectively. He was Europe's best goal scorer in 1948.

Budapest Honvéd was drawn versus Atlético Bilbao in the first round of the European Cup in 1956. Honvéd lost the away game 2–3, but the Hungarian Revolution occurred in Budapest before the home leg could be contested. The players opted against returning to Hungary and instead scheduled a reunion with Atlético at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.

In the ensuing 3–3 tie, Puskás struck, but Honvéd were ousted 6–5 on aggregate, leaving the Hungarian players in limbo. They summoned their families from Budapest and organized a fundraising trip of Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Brazil, despite resistance from FIFA and the Hungarian soccer officials.

The players split up after returning to Europe. Some, like Bozsik, returned to Hungary, while others, like Czibor, Kocsis, and Puskás, moved to Western Europe and established new clubs. It was not until 1981 that Puskás returned to Hungary.

Real Madrid

An important

fact about Ferenc Puskas

is that both

and

tried to recruit him at the same time, but he was banned from playing in Europe for two years by UEFA (for refusing to return to Budapest). After that, he went to Austria and then Italy.

Puskás attempted to play in Italy after his suspension, but was unable to find a top-flight team ready to sign him due to Italian managers' concerns about his age and weight.

Manchester United wanted to recruit him to bolster a team that had been devastated by the Munich Air Disaster in 1958, but due to FA regulations surrounding foreigners and Puskás' lack of English language skills, stand-in manager Jimmy Murphy was unable to do so.

Puskás, on the other hand, joined Real Madrid a few months later and began the second part of his career at the age of 31.

A notable

fact about Ferenc Puskas

is that he netted 4 hat-tricks in his debut La Liga campaign, notably one in his second game versus Sporting de Gijón on September 21, 1958. On January 4, 1959, Puskás and Alfredo di Stéfano both struck hat-tricks in a 10–1 victory versus UD Las Palmas.

Puskás scored four goals versus Elche CF throughout the 1960–61 year, and 5 strikes versus the same club the next season. In 1963, Puskás had two hat-tricks versus Barca, one at the Bernabéu and the other at the Camp Nou.

An important fact about Ferenc Puskas is that he netted 156 goals in 180 La Liga matches during his eight seasons with Real. In each of his first six seasons in the Spanish league, he scored 20 goals or more, and he earned the Pichichi four times: in 1960, 1961, 1963, and 1964, he netted 25, 28, 26, and 21 goals, respectively.

Between 1961 and 1965, he led Real capture La Liga five times in a row and the Copa del Generalisimo in 1962. In the Copa final, he netted both goals in a 2–1 win against

.

Puskás also scored 35 goals in 39 appearances for Real Madrid in the European Cup. He scored in the first leg and the crucial replay of the semi-final versus Atlético Madrid to help Real reach the final of the 1959 European Cup, but he was injured and missed the final.

He started Real's 1960 European Championship run with a hat-trick versus Jeunesse Esch, and he led Real to the final with three goals over two legs in the semi-final against

. Real Madrid defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 in the final, with Puskás hitting four goals and di Stéfano scoring three.

He would score three more hat-tricks in future European campaigns, including one in the 1962 final versus Benfica, which Real lost 5–3. He led Real Madrid reach the 1966 European Cup final by scoring five goals in two games against

in 1965. Real won the game against Partizan Belgrade, although Puskás did not participate in the final.

He played in a charity friendly game for South Liverpool, an English non-League team, in front of a 10,000-strong sell-out audience at the team's Holly Park stadium in 1967, at the age of 40.

Ferenc Puskas international career

A notable fact about Ferenc Puskas is that on August 20, 1945, he made his Hungary debut, scoring in a 5–2 victory against Austria. He went on to make 85 appearances for Hungary, scoring 84 goals. Two hat tricks versus Austria, one versus Luxembourg, and four goals in a 12–0 victory against Albania are among his international goals.

He comprised the core of the Golden Team, which went undefeated for 32 games, alongside Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik, and Nándor Hidegkuti. In 1952, they won the Olympic gold medal after defeating Yugoslavia 2–0 in the final in Helsinki. Puskás scored four goals in the Olympic competition, including the game's first goal.

They also beat England twice, the first by a score of 6–3 at Wembley Stadium, and the second by a score of 7–1 in Budapest. In each of the games against

, Puskás scored two goals. They were also crowned Central European Champions in 1953.

After finishing first in the standings with 11 points, Hungary won the title. Puskás led the tournament in scoring with ten goals and two assists as Hungary won the tournament 3–0 against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in 1953.

In Hungary's two first-round games at the 1954 FIFA World Cup, Puskás netted 3 goals. They won 9–0 against South Korea and then 8–3 against West Germany. After a tackle by Werner Liebrich in the latter game, he sustained a hairline fracture of the ankle and did not return until the final.

With a slight fracture, Puskás completed the whole 1954 World Cup final versus West Germany. Despite this, he netted his fourth goal of the event after six minutes to put Hungary up, and with Czibor scoring two minutes later, it seemed like the pre-tournament favourites would win.

However, the West Germans pulled two goals back before halftime, and with six minutes remaining, they scored the game-winning goal. Puskás scored a late equalizer two minutes before the conclusion of the game, but the goal was disallowed owing to an offside call.

In Spain, he was also known by the moniker Pancho. Puskás originally played a few unauthorized games for RCD Espanyol after refusing to return to Hungary.

An important fact about Ferenc Puskas is that he became a Spanish citizen in 1962 and went on to play four times for his country. Three of these matches took place during the 1962 World Cup. Caoncito Pum was his Spanish name (the booming cannon).

Ferenc Puskas managerial career

A notable fact about Ferenc Puskas is that he went on to coach clubs in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and

after quitting as a player.

He led Panathinaikos of Greece to the European Cup final in 1971, the only time a Greek club has ever made it to the final. In the qualifying stages, they overcame Everton on away goals in the quarter-finals, then Red Star Belgrade in the semi-finals. Ajax, led by

, defeated Panathinaikos 2–0 in the final.

During his four years at Panathinaikos, Puskás was instrumental in the team's victory in the 1972 Greek Championship. Puskás, however, failed to translate his success as a player to his coaching career, with the noteworthy exception of his time at Panathinaikos.

Despite his many travels, his sole major achievement was winning the National Soccer League championship with South Melbourne Hellas in 1991.

When Wolverhampton Wanderers' rebuilt stadium Molineux opened in 1993, Puskás was invited as an honorary guest to witness a friendly game between Wolves and Budapest Honvéd, which was held to commemorate the stadium's reopening.

This was due to a famous friendly encounter between Wolves and Honvéd in the 1950s, in which Puskás took part. The 1954 encounter ended in a 3–2 Wolves victory, while the 1993 match ended in a 1–1 tie.

In 1981, Puskás went to Hungary for the first time, and in 1990, he moved to Budapest. He coached the Hungarian national squad for four matches in 1993, including a 4–2 friendly win over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, when Hungary fought back from two goals behind to defeat their opponents.

Ferenc Puskas Legacy

In 2002, Budapest's Népstadion was renamed the Puskás Ferenc Stadion. In 2001, asteroid 82656 Puskás was found by Krisztián Sárneczky and Gyula M. Szabó and named after him. The Minor Planet Center issued the official naming citation on August 9, 2006. (MPC 57425).

In the Hungarian city of Budapest (particularly the neighborhood of Kispest), a street called jtemet utca near Stadium Bozsik was renamed after Puskás exactly one year after his death.

His name is on the new Puskás Aréna, its metro station, the Puskás Akadémia FC, the Puskás Cup, and the FIFA Puskás Award.

In 2017, a monument of Puskás was placed outside the now-demolished Olympic Park Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, where he managed South Melbourne Hellas to the 1991 NSL Championship.

Ferenc Puskas Style of play

The criteria for determining greatness are becoming more quantitative. Trophies won, goals scored, and appearances accumulated are used to evaluate players. Is it possible to reduce such a malleable architecture to numbers alone?

True greatness, surely, is a combination of footballing dominance and something more ethereal. A really great player transcends statistics and has cultural importance that extends beyond the playing field. This subtle perspective is encapsulated by Ferenc Puskás.

As a player, the Hungarian had composure, power, flair, and one of the game's most deadly left foot. More poignantly, he offered individual inventiveness and joie de vivre amid an age of rigid tyranny.

These qualities persuaded the Communist apparatus to form a squad around the ‘Galloping Major,' who was raised on a rural piece of land near Kispest, where he and his boyhood friend József Bozsik would play with a rag ball.

Apart from his extraordinary abilities, Puskás is known for his authoritative leadership, which is complimented by his generosity of spirit and sportsmanship. “He was a terrific player and a superb reader of the game,” Puskás said of teammate Nándor Hidegkuti.

He was ideal for the job, sitting in the center of midfield, making crucial passes, causing the opposing defense to lose shape, and scoring goals with spectacular runs.”

It's not only about his technical prowess. That has happened to other players. It's not even his role in two of the most famous games ever played on British soil: Hungary's 6-3 win over England at Wembley in 1953 and Real Madrid's 7-3 victory against

in 1960. It's the reality that that talent was paired with a mind that knew how to effectively use it to the team's benefit.

Because he was so excellent at marshalling his side towards a single objective, his nickname, the 'Galloping Major,' was so fitting - even though he rarely galloped and was just a lieutenant at the time it was given.

"If a competent player gets the ball, he should be able to see three alternatives," Jeno Buzanszky, a full-back, remarked. "At least five were always seen by Puskas."

Teammates grumbled about Puskas's power over coaches and his frequent hectoring on the field, but no one ever accused him of being self-centered. He was a brilliant leader, in addition to everything else.

Some argue that Puskas was a left-footed player. He was, but it didn't take anything away from him. He once remarked, "You can only kick with one foot at a time." "If you don't, you'll fall on your bottom." You just have to look at the game against England in 1953 to see how he transformed a weakness into a strength.

Ferenc Puskas and politics

Honved was on tour in Spain for a European Cup game at the time of the Hungarian uprising. Puskás, like many other players who backed the revolt, defected to Spain. The Hungarian Soccer Federation tried to prevent Honved from participating, but Puskás, the squad's captain, said that the team no longer acknowledged the Hungarian Soccer Federation's authority.

In addition, he expressed his support for the Hungarian Revolution. His criticism of the Hungarian Soccer Federation was noteworthy. Under communist countries, sportsmen seldom expressed their political sentiments. Furthermore, Puskás had no prior record of political outspokenness.

Puskás' willingness to publicly support the Hungarian Revolution demonstrates how popular the cause was inside Hungary, despite the fact that it was doomed to fail.

Puskás moved throughout Western Europe from 1956 to 1958, refusing to join with another club until his wife and children had fled Hungary. Puskás acquired weight and was unable to find a team in Italy to sign him. At the age of 31, he was regarded beyond his peak.

Puskás was eventually signed by Real Madrid, and his new life began. Puskás won three European Cups while at Real Madrid. Real Madrid won the Spanish league every year from 1961 to 1965. Puskás scored 324 goals in 372 games throughout his Real Madrid career.

Puskás became a naturalized Spanish citizen in 1961, and he even represented his new nation in the 1962 World Cup in Chile. Puskás eventually retired in 1966, at the age of 39.

Puskás did not return to Hungary until after Communism ended, afraid for his safety if he did so sooner. Puskás was admitted into the FIFA Hall of Champions in 1998, and named the sixth greatest player of the twentieth century in 1999.

Communism had an irreversible impact on his career. Puskás was a hero that all Hungarians could admire and adore for his extraordinary football talents in a nation that was severely divided over political philosophy.

Some quick facts about Ferenc Puskas

Ferenc Puskas came to Hungary in 1993 and took over as interim coach of the Hungarian national team. He was one of the original FIFA/SOS Charity ambassadors in 1998.

The Budapest Népstadion was named the Puskás Ferenc Stadion in his honor in 2002. In November 2003, the Hungarian Football Federation named him the greatest Hungarian player of the past 50 years at the UEFA Jubilee Awards.

FIFA established the FIFA Puskás Award in October 2009, which would be given to the athlete who has netted the "most beautiful goal" in the previous year.

included him in his FIFA 100 list.

A notable fact about Ferenc Puskas is that he made his national team debut at the age of 18 and scored his first goal. Puskas was a natural scorer. Throughout his brilliant career, he averaged more than a goal per game, scoring 87 goals in 85 appearances for Hungary.

Four of these occurred in the 1954 World Cup, when Puskas proudly donned the captain's armband and scored the game's first goal after just six minutes against West Germany. Unfortunately, he wasn't completely ready for the match after suffering a hairline fracture in the group stage against the same opponents. Hungary suffered a major shock by losing the final 3-2.

The political climate in his country, on the other hand, gave Puskas even greater problems. He decided not to remain in Hungary after the 1956 revolution and instead pursued a career overseas.

Unfortunately for him, a later UEFA suspension prevented him from playing for Real Madrid for another two years.

With 242 goals in 262 games, he became one of the club's most prolific scorers despite joining at the age of 31 in 1958. His collaboration with Alfredo Di Stefano was really stunning, but he outlasted the great Argentine, remaining with the company until 1966.

Spain became his second home, and Puskas even competed in the 1962 World Cup for them, although unsuccessfully. In both Budapest and Madrid, his legacy is revered, and his distinct style, scoring record, and longevity affirm his status as one of the best players in history.

In his lone European Cup final appearance, Puskas scored four goals — all in the second half – as Real Madrid defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 at Hampden Park in 1960. He'd missed the last final due to injury in 1959, and he didn't start when Madrid won the final title of his career in 1966.

Ferenc Puskas social media

Regarding

Ferenc Puskas social media

, it should be mentioned that he did not have any pages on any social media platforms.

Ferenc Puskas body measurements

Speaking about

Ferenc Puskas body measurements

, it should be mentioned that he was 5 ft 8 in (172 cm) and 165 lbs (75 kg).

Ferenc Puskas net worth and salary

Ferenc was one of the wealthiest soccer players and one of the most popular ones during his playing days.

Ferenc Puskas' net worth

was estimated to be $1.5 million. His main source of income was playing soccer and then managing.

Speaking about Ferenc Puskas net worth it should be mentioned that he also appeared in some movies so he also earned money from acting.

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