Ferenc Puskás: A Timeless Genius. | OneFootball

He didn’t look like your typical superstar. Short, stocky, and balding by his mid-twenties, Ferenc Puskás wasn’t built to dazzle on posters. But give him a football, and the entire pitch became his canvas. Left foot like a rifle, vision like a chess grandmaster, and a knack for goals that bordered on ridiculous. In an era before commercial hype and global scouting networks, Puskás became a household name through sheer brilliance, a man who made goal-scoring look like second nature and left defenders either on the ground or in disbelief.

On April 1, 1927, in the 14th district of Budapest, one of the greatest footballers of all time was born. Ferenc Puskás. Dubbed ‘the galloping major’, he scored 83 goals in 84 games for the Hungarian national team and 706 goals altogether in a 23-year career across two clubs and two national teams, as well as winning three European Cups with Real Madrid.

Rising Star of Honved

Growing up on the outskirts of Budapest, before World War II, he first played for his local team, Kispest, at the age of 16 after being scouted at the age of 10. Once the war had concluded, Kispest became known as Budapest Honvéd, which is where Ferenc made his name. At Honved, he won five Hungarian championships and was the top scorer in Europe in 1948, amassing 50 goals in the Hungarian domestic league and 357 goals in 354 games for Honved in 13 years with the club from 1943 to 1956. In 1949, Honved were taken over by the Hungarian Ministry of Defence, with players gaining military ranks, and the Hungarian was given the title of ‘major’. This led to Puskás getting his famous nickname, ‘The Galloping Major’.

Magical Magyars and International Glory

He made his debut for the Hungarian national team in 1948 at the age of 18, and due to his exceptionally accurate left-footed strike, he caught the attention of many around the globe. Standing at 5’8″, the Hungarian was small but had a stocky build, and his remarkable agility mixed with excellent ball control skills made him the focal point of one of the greatest national teams ever.

This led to Ferenc being the captain of one of the most famous national teams ever, known as the “Magical Magyars”. The Hungarian national team at the time had a record of one loss in six years between 1950 and 1956 and was known as a team that revolutionised football. During this period, Puskás earned a gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games after scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 win over Yugoslavia, sparking joyous celebrations in Hungary.

The Match That Shook Wembley

In 1953, unbeaten in 22 games, the reigning Olympic champions visited Wembley to play against an England side that boasted the likes of Stanley Matthews and a team that had never lost at home to a team from outside the British Isles. Prior to the game, Hungary had drawn 2-2 with Sweden, which was an embarrassing result for the team, and on this game, Puskás recalled: “We played terribly against the Swedes and got chastised by the Hungarian press and fans. They said, “Don’t bother going to Wembley; England will murder you.”

A then 20-year-old England fan in attendance and future England manager Bobby Robson said, “We didn’t know about Puskás. None of these players meant anything to us. They were men from Mars as far as we were concerned.” England were 1-0 down within 50 seconds. After an equaliser from England and a goal from Nándor Hidegkuti to restore Hungary’s lead, Ferenc Puskás scored a goal that was etched into footballing history.

He picked up the ball at the corner of the six-yard box, with England’s legendary defender Billy Wright charging at him. ‘The Galloping Major’ produced a subtle drag-back, sending the England defender scampering before rifling the ball past a helpless Merrick in the England goal. The Hungary captain then made it 4-1 in the 27th minute, with the difference between the two sides really starting to show. Watch the goal below.

Dubbed “the match of the century”, Puskás scored two as Hungary romped to a 6-3 victory at Wembley in front of 105,000 spectators, leading to England having a review of training and tactics, which then potentially led to helping England win their first and only World Cup in 1966.

Just six months later, the two sides met again but in Budapest, producing an even bigger but less shocking scorelineas Hungary romped to a 7-1 victory with Puskás netting just the one on that occasion.

Heartbreak in Bern

However, the Olympic medal was to be his only international accolade, as the only loss during this period was the 1954 World Cup Final, when the Magyars lost 3-2 to West Germany after going 2-0 up inside eight minutes with goals from Puskás and Czibor. But in a mighty turn of events, West Germany scored three goals to come back and win, two in the first half and one six minutes from time in the second half, creating one of the biggest shocks to this day in international football history. Making matters even more agonising, though, the Magyars beat West Germany 8-3 in the group stage of the competition just weeks prior to the final.

The Hungarian called an end to his career with the national team two years later, in 1956, due to the Hungarian Revolution; he scored 83 goals in 84 games over a period of eight years for the ‘Magical Magyars’.

Exile and Reinvention in Spain

In 1956, when Puskás was playing a match in Spain with Honved in a European cup tie, the Hungarian Revolution broke out, and this led to him defecting to Spain alongside many other players from the squad. The Hungarian football federation at the time tried to stop the team from playing, but as captain of the side, Puskás said the team no longer recognised the authority of the federation, as well as vocalising his support for the Hungarian revolution. With no previous public political stance, the Hungarian captain’s willingness to openly support the revolution showed how important this was going to be for the country.

From 1956 to 1958, Puskás was without a club, and this was by choice. He refused to sign a contract with anyone until his wife and daughter had escaped Hungary. But, as he travelled round Western Europe waiting for this to happen, Ferenc was gaining weight, and no Italian club would sign him due to this. At the age of 31, things didn’t look great for the legendary striker until, in 1958, Real Madrid decided to take a punt on the unfit Hungarian, and this punt proved to be one of the best decisions Los Blancos would ever make.

A New Era at Real Madrid

Puskás began his new life in Spain, free from the shackles of the Hungarian Football Federation. However, the Spanish team’s fans saw the arrival of Ferenc as an aberration because he was seen as an old and overweight man and out of his depth in a Real Madrid team that dominated European football. However, this was not the case.

Furthermore, signing for Real Madrid meant the move created one of the most dangerous strike partnerships in football history, as he linked up with elite Argentinian striker Alfredo di Stefano.

With the best left foot to ever be seen at the Santiago Bernabéu, and to the surprise of the Madrid fans, the Hungarian scored 242 goals in 262 games in seven years for Los Blancos. He was pivotal in Real Madrid’s five consecutive league-winning run that lasted from 1961 to 1965, as well as helping the side win three European titles. He also won La Liga top scorer four times, as well as one intercontinental cup and one Spanish Cup, etching his name into Real Madrid history.

Becoming Spanish, Playing for La Roja

Puskás became a Spanish citizen in 1961 after spending five years in Spain, two without a club and three with Real Madrid. This made him eligible for the Spanish national team. He represented Spain at the 1962 World Cup in Chile as the Spaniards finished bottom of their group, winning only one game. At the age of 35 and past his best, he failed to score a goal in his only four appearances for the nation.

From Goals to Dugouts

For a man whose left foot could settle games, transitioning to the technical area was never going to be straightforward. Ferenc Puskás wasn’t the type to bark orders or impose strict tactical frameworks. His genius had always been instinctive, almost subconscious. But after hanging up his boots in 1966 at the age of 39, he couldn’t quite walk away from the game that had defined him.

His coaching career began modestly in Spain with Hércules in 1967, though it was in unfamiliar corners of the footballing world that Puskás made the biggest impression. In the 1970s, he managed clubs in the United States, Canada, Greece, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Paraguay, and Australia. Language barriers never seemed to bother him much, because football was its own kind of language and Puskás spoke it fluently.

His most notable success came in Greece with Panathinaikos, where he led the club to the 1971 European Cup Final, the only time a Greek side has ever reached that stage. Although they lost 2–0 to Johan Cruyff’s Ajax, Puskás’ achievement was remarkable. He built a cohesive, attacking team capable of punching well above its weight, doing so with charm rather than ego. Panathinaikos fans still speak of that side with reverence and of Puskás as a man who elevated their club to the global stage.

Despite his nomadic managerial path, he never took a job for money or status. If anything, he seemed to enjoy taking on projects in places where others wouldn’t look. Whether it was South Melbourne in Australia, where he coached a young Ange Postecoglu, or Cerro Porteño in Paraguay, Puskás always brought humility and a sense of joy to his work. He was rarely credited as a tactical innovator, but his understanding of the game, his calm demeanour, and his influence on young players left a quiet legacy.

It wasn’t until 1991, more than three decades after he left Hungary, that Puskás permanently returned to his homeland after the fall of communism. Yet, in 1993, he would take charge of the national team, even if just for four matches. Symbolically, it closed the circle on a life that had been fractured by politics, war, and exile. He didn’t need to prove anything by then. His presence on the touchline, grey-haired and smiling, was enough to stir memories of a golden era that had long since passed.

Legacy of a Legend

In 1998, Puskás was inducted into the FIFA Hall of Champions, and in 1999, he was voted as the 6th best player of the 20th century, which really encapsulates how good and how influential he was to the sport of football. In 2006, Ferenc Puskás sadly passed away at the age of 79, and three years later, FIFA honoured an award recognising ‘the most beautiful goal’ scored in the previous year. It was named the Puskás Award in recognition of his astounding goal-scoring record and his overall contributions to the game of football.

In a career that was damaged by communism, hailing from a country that was divided by political ideology, Ferenc Puskás is a figure that all Hungarians and football fans from around the globe can respect and revere for eternity, thanks to his incredible footballing ability.