HUNGARY, PUSKAS AND PICHICHIS

15th June Hungary v France at the Puskas Arena, Budapest 5pm. Those who are true anoraks will know all about Ferenc Puskas. According to some he was the World's greatest goalscorer.

1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) 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 prolific forward, he scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary and played four international matches for Spain (no goals!) and scored 514 goals in 529 matches in both  country leagues leagues. He became an Olympic champion in 1952 and led his nation to the final of the 1954 World Cup. After playing for Bucharest Honved (350apps 358 goals), he won three European Cups(1959, 1960, 1966) playing for Real Madrid (180apps/156 goals), 10 national championships (5 in Hungary and 5 Spanish Primera) and 8 top individual scoring honours. In 1995, he was recognized as the greatest top division scorer of the 20th century by the IFFHS^] With 808 goals in official games scored during his career, he is the 3rd top goalscorer of all time. 

Puskás started his career in Hungary playing for Kispest and Budapest Honved. 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 his country, known as the Mighty Magyars. In 1958, two years after the Hungarian Revolution, he emigrated to Spain where he played for Real Madrid, where Puskás won four Pichichis (an award for goalscoring) and scored seven goals in two European Champions Cup finals. Romeo Pichichi (below) was a top goalscorer in  Spain, a frail footballer who played for Athletico Bilbao and in his short career (he died at 29 from typhus) he played between 1911-22, making 89 apps scoring 83 goals. For Spain he made only 5 apps/1 goal 

After retiring as a player, Puskas became a coach. The highlight of his coaching career came in 1971 in Greece, when he guided Panathaniakos  to the European Cup Final, where they lost 2–0 to Ajax. In 1993, he returned to Hungary and took temporary charge of the Hungarian national team. In 1998, he became one of the first ever FIFA/SOS Charity ambassadors. In 2002, the Népstadion in Budapest was renamed the stadium after him in his honor. He was also declared the best Hungarian player of the last 50 years by the Hungarian Federation in the UEFA Jubilee awards in November 2003. In October 2009, FIFA announced the introduction of the FIFA Puskas Award, awarded to the player who has scored the "most beautiful goal" over the past year. He was also listed in Pele's 100 top players. He died in November 2006 aged 79.