Real Madrid: "Ferenc Puskas passed away on November 17, 2006 in Budapest at 79 years old. One of the best players of his time, the forward has gone down in history as a legend of world football. With countless spectacular performances he scored 242 goals in eight seasons with Real Madrid, the fourth top scorer in the club’s 111 years of history, and won three European Cups, an Intercontinental Cup, five Ligas and a Spanish Cup with the Whites"

Arriving at Madrid at the age of 31, Ferenc Puskas went on to score 242 goals in 262 games for Real Madrid, up until the age of 39. He is the highest scorer in the European Cup Final, with 7 goals, and won the Pichichi four times with Real Madrid. His honors with Real Madrid include 5 consecutive La Liga triumphs, 1 Copa del Rey, 3 European Cups, and 1 Intercontinental Cup. Prior to his Spanish career, he had played for Budapest Honved, and scored 374 goals in 358 games for them. His Hungarian honors include 5 Hungarian League triumphs.

His international career blossomed 84 goals in 85 games, and along with Sandor Kocsis, Jozsef Bozsik, Zoltan Czibor, Nandor Hidegkuti, and Gyula Grosics, he formed the Mighty Magyars, who remained unbeaten internationally for 6 years. Their famous run ended in the 1954 World Cup final, which Puskas was playing with a fractured bone in his ankle, against West Germany. Puskas had scored the first goal, but went on to lose 3-2 to the Germans. He also appeared to score a goal 2 minutes from time, but was famously ruled offside. The team was also largely credited for forming the basics of what would later be known as "Total Football" by the Dutch.

"The Match of the Century"

Hungary went to England in 1953, in what would later be known as the "match of the century". England had never been defeated at home by a team outside of the British Isles, and Hungary were already considered the best team in the world (England were ranked as 3rd best in the world at the time). Hungary scored in the first minute, and went on to win 6-3 at Wembley, goals courtesy to a Hidegkuti hattrick, a Puskas brace, and a Bozsik solo. England went to play a rematch at Hungary one year later, and succumbed 7-1, marking England's heaviest ever defeat.

Unfortunately, after the Hungarian civil war broke out, many players left the country. Puskas himself went to Spain to join Real Madrid, and the rest is history.

Remarkably noted as one of the greatest players of all time, here are his statistics. NOTE: Puskas initially played as a central midfielder. He only switched to striker at Real Madrid, because Di Stefano dominated his position at the time. So his goals for Hungary and Budapest Honved represent his goal-scoring traits from a relieved position.

Budapest Honved - 374 goals in 358 games (aged 16-28)
Real Madrid - 242 goals in 262 games (aged 31-39)
Hungary - 84 goals in 85 games (aged 18-29)
Spain - 0 goals in 4 games (aged 34-35)

Total Career Stats - 700 goals in 709 games

Puskas had also won the Golden Ball of the 1954 World Cup and the Bronze Boot of the same edition. He also had the honor of having "Puskas Award" named after him in 2008, an award attributed to the player who scores the most "beautiful" goal every year. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed in 2000 with Alzheimer's, and passed away in 2006 of pneumonia. His funeral marked the only time all of Hungary was silent, as millions of people marched onto the streets to attend his funeral. He is regarded as the most famous Hungarian citizen to have ever lived.

Here is a video marking his legend.

'Arriving at Madrid at the age of 31, Ferenc Puskas went on to score 242 goals in 262 games for Real Madrid, up until the age of 39.

WOW. No one these days could do that. Legend.

Legend, and he even not benefit from writing Football history...

@Rama

Moreover, he played the World Cup final with a fractured bone in his ankle. He even scored a goal with that injury IN the World Cup final (he actually scored 2, but one was ruled offside). Trautmann as well, once played a match with broken bones in his neck. Nowadays, you have players falling and clutching their body parts as if they have been shot from just the slightest contact.

Haha, in case people did not read the entire post, Puskas scored all his goals for Hungary and Budapest Honved as a midfielder. His original position was a playmaker, but got switched to forward after arriving at Real Madrid because Di Stefano DOMINATED the midfield at Madrid.

So in truth, his 242 goals in 262 games at Madrid came as a 30+ year old striker, and in his youth and prime, he scored 458 goals in 443 games as a midfielder. :)

WOW. UN-REAL.

I feel saddened by the fact that I didn't get to watch many of the greatest footballers play and that ones from older generations have very little footage. I think people are too quick to forget the feats of past greats. I am happy everytime one of them is commemorated/remembered. These men helped make the game we love what it is now. They should always be remembered.

On another note, I always found it interesting how different things could've been if a player were to have been discovered younger or played for his famous team for a longer time.

I'm most certainly not comparing him to the great Puskas but it reminds me of the point I always like to make about Ian Wright. He is Arsenal's second highest goal scorer of all time scoring 185 in 288 appearances for the club (eclipsed only by Henry) but the most amazing part is that he only began playing for Arsenal at the age of 28. Like Puskas, I wonder how different that record would've been had he come earlier.

To me he is one of the best players to ever grace the game, When I was younger I used to always read about him and the amazing things he used to do. Question though, When did when did he play for spain and why?

@charlie

He played 4 games for Spain between 1961 and '62. He did so because the Hungarian Revolution was going on at the time, and all of Hungary's "Mighty Magyars" left the country or refused to play for them (as the national team was funded by the government regime). So after attaining Spanish citizenship, he chose to play a few games for them, as he was adored by the Spanish crowd, and was eligible to represent Spain at the 1962 World Cup.

And he could have won the World Cup if not for cheating Germans... Legend.