Like Johan Cruyff, the story of Ferenc Puskas is the story of a team. Possessing possibly the best left-foot shot in the history of football, the man known as the 'Galloping Major' - by virtue of his playing for army team Honved - was the skipper of a team that were just about everybody's favourite to win the World Cup.
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The Galloping Major, talisman of a glorious Hungarian team
(HultonArchive/Allsport) |
At the 1954 tournament in Switzerland, Hungary arrived having been unbeaten for four years in international football. With players like Kocsis, Hidegkuti, Bozsik and Czibor, the Hungarians had taken on all-comers and beaten them.
England had been beaten 6-3 at Wembley and 7-1 in Budapest and few could envisage anyone stopping them at the World Cup finals.
Playing at inside-forward Puskas gave men of a certain bodyshape hope by being the world's best player while at the same
being short, stocky, barrel-chested, overweight, unable to head and one-footed. Other than that he was absolutely magnificent.
The Hungarians set out their stall with a 9-0 win over South Korea, following that with an 8-3 despatching of West Germany. Puskas starred as the Hungarians racked up the goals and points. However he picked up an ankle knock in the German game and missed both the quarter and semi-final.
His team didn't seem to miss him and beat both Brazil and Uruguay 4-2. In the final, a return game against the Germans, there was much doubt over whether he would be fit to play.
But, despite being nowhere near match fit, he turned out in his familiar inside-left role and seemed to have shaken off any of the doubts when he scored a trademark left-foot blockbuster after just six minutes. Three minures later winger Czibor put Hungary 2-0 up and all seemed to be going to plan.
However, in the greatest shock of any final, the Germans fought back to equalise within ten minutes. After that, despite several good chances, the doubts about Puskas were proven as he faded badly in a time when there were no substitutions. And when Helmut Rahn scored with six minutes to go the Hungarians could find no answer.
It was the last chance the World Cup would have to see the 'Marvellous Magyars' as, within two years, Puskas and several other players had defected to the West to escape the Hungarian revolution.
Puskas would have an Indian summer as a European Cup winner with Real Madrid when his waistline had even further expanded but he will be forever associated with the glorious failure of that team of 1954.
