Ferenc Puskás

Ferenc Puskás was born Ferenc Purczeld on 1 April 1927 in Budapest and died on 17 November 2006. Known as the "Galloping Major," he is considered one of football's all-time greats, the finest Hungarian player ever, and the sport's first true international star. Playing as a forward or attacking midfielder, he netted 84 goals in 85 appearances for Hungary and also earned four caps for Spain. He holds the European record for most international assists, with 53.

Puskás won an Olympic gold medal in 1952 and took his country to the 1954 World Cup final. His club trophies include three European Cups (1959, 1960, 1966), ten domestic league titles (five in Hungary and five in Spain's La Liga), and eight top-scorer awards. In 1995, the IFFHS named him the greatest top-division scorer of the 20th century. According to the RSSSF, his 802 goals in 792 official matches place him seventh on the all-time scoring list.

Puskás began his career as a junior at Kispest Honvéd, where his father—a former player—was a coach. His mother, Margit Biró, worked as a seamstress. In 1937, his father changed the family surname from Purczeld to Puskás. To get around minimum age rules, the young Ferenc initially used the alias "Miklós Kovács" before officially signing at age 12. One of his early teammates was childhood friend József Bozsik. He made his senior debut for Kispest in November 1943 against NAC, earning the nickname "Öcsi" (Buddy).

In 1949, the Hungarian Ministry of Defence took over Kispest, renaming it Budapest Honvéd and turning it into the army team. Players received military ranks, and Puskás became a major, inspiring his "Galloping Major" nickname. Honvéd used conscription to bring in top talents like Zoltán Czibor and Sándor Kocsis. Puskás helped the club win five Hungarian league titles and finished as the league's top scorer four times (1947–48, 1949–50, 1950, and 1953), with tallies of 50, 31, 25, and 27 goals. In 1948, he was Europe's leading goal scorer.

In 1956, Honvéd entered the European Cup and faced Athletic Bilbao. After losing the first leg 2–3 in Spain, the Hungarian Revolution erupted, and Soviet forces crushed it. The players refused to return to communist Hungary, arranging for the second leg to be played in Brussels. Puskás scored in a 3–3 draw, his first European Cup goal, but Honvéd lost 6–5 on aggregate. Stranded, the players summoned their families and, despite FIFA and Hungarian authorities' opposition, went on a fundraising tour through Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Brazil. Afterward, the squad split: some, like Bozsik, went home; others, including Czibor, Kocsis, and Puskás, sought clubs in Western Europe. Puskás did not return to Hungary until 1981.

After refusing to go back to Hungary, Puskás initially struggled to find a club. A move to Ethnikos Piraeus in 1957 fell through due to pressure from rival clubs. In 1958, at age 31, he emigrated to Spain and successfully signed for Real Madrid. There, he won four Pichichi Trophies as La Liga's top scorer and scored seven goals across two European Cup finals. With Madrid, he won three European Cups and five consecutive La Liga titles. In total, he scored 619 goals in 618 matches across the Hungarian and Spanish leagues and national cups.

After retiring as a player, Puskás became a coach. His greatest achievement came in 1971, when he led Panathinaikos to the European Cup final, where they lost 2–0 to Ajax. He also guided the club to the Greek championship in 1972, becoming a national icon. He later coached in Spain, Paraguay, and the Saudi Arabia national team, with mixed results.

He returned to Greece to manage a strong AEK Athens side in the 1978–79 season. In 1993, he briefly took charge of the Hungary national team. He became one of the first FIFA/SOS Charity ambassadors in 1998. In 2002, Budapest's Népstadion was renamed the Puskás Ferenc Stadion.

In November 2003, the Hungarian Football Federation named him the country's best player of the last 50 years as part of the UEFA Jubilee Awards. In October 2009, FIFA introduced the Puskás Award for the most beautiful goal of the year. In 2004, Pelé included him in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living footballers.