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Puskas: Madrid, Magyars and the Amazing Adventures of the World's Greatest Goalscorer

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Ferenc Puskas was the greatest goalscorer football has known, but that is only part of his story.

He was the star of the state-sponsored army team of Hungary, Honved, and the national team that won Olympic gold, reached the final of the World Cup and humiliated England 6-3 and 7-1 in matches that became landmarks in world football.

As Budapest burned with the Hungarian Uprising of 1957, Honved were in Vienna preparing for a match in Madrid.

With tensions on the rise and the hard-line communist regime enforcing its authority, Puskas was one of the players who chose exile - and a possible death sentence if he ever returned to his beloved homeland.

His second career began after he turned 30 and had endured a year out of football due to an Eastern Bloc-sponsored FIFA ban.

As a Real Madrid player alongside Di Stefano and Gento, he became Spanish champion six times, the Spanish league's top goalscorer four times, European Cup winner three times and an Inter-continental champion.

After he stopped playing Puskas travelled the world as a coach and, after the Iron Curtain came down, was able to return to Hungary, where he remains the nation's most famous and celebrated son.

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£8.99
Product Details
BackPage Press
1909430218 / 9781909430211
eBook (EPUB)
30/10/2015
English
88 pages
Copy: 10%; print: 10%