Real Madrid's Golden Age striker and captain of the Mighty Magyars — one of the greatest scorers in football history.
Ferenc Puskás was born in Budapest in 1927 and spent his early career at Kispest/Honvéd (1943–1956), scoring 358 goals in 350 appearances including 84 goals in 89 Hungary caps — a world record at the time. He led the legendary Mighty Magyars who went unbeaten for 32 matches including an 8-3 defeat of England at Wembley in 1953. After defecting following the 1956 Hungarian Revolution he joined Real Madrid (1958–1966), scoring 242 goals in 262 appearances and winning 5 La Liga titles and 3 European Cups — including 4 goals in the 1960 final against Eintracht Frankfurt in a 7-3 victory. He scored 746 career goals in 752 appearances — one of the highest ratios in the sport's history. He was naturalised Spanish and earned 4 caps for Spain, appearing in the 1962 World Cup. He covered 10.2 km per game with a top speed of 29.1 km/h. He scored 514 competitive goals for Real Madrid and Honvéd combined. FIFA named his award for the best goal of the year the Puskás Award in his honour. He died in 2006. His left-foot shot was considered the most powerful of his era.
European Cup 1959, 1960, 1966 (Real Madrid)
Career Honours
- European Cup 1959, 1960, 1966 (Real Madrid)
- La Liga 5x (Real Madrid)
- Hungarian Championship 5x
- Spanish Championship 1962
- Top scorer European Cup 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964