Hungarian soccer legend Ferenc Puskas died today in Budapest’s Kutvolgyi Hospital following six year suffering from Alzheimer. He was 79.

Born in April 1927, he was the brain of the “Magical Magyars”, Hungary’s wonder team which beat England by 6:3 to be the first ever foreign side to win at Wembley. In six years during the 1950s, the team only suffered one loss—that is at the 1954 World Cup final against Germany.


Ferenc Puskas in action

In 1958, he joined Real Madrid, won six domestic titles and conquering Europe afterwards. In 1960, Real won the European Cup for 7-3 over Eintracht Frankfurt. He scored four goals in the particular match. He retired in 1967, went on to coach clubs in several countries. He led Panathanaikos to the European Cup final in 1971.

In 2000, he was admitted to hospital with arteriosclerosis and was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which left him struggling with financial problems since then. On August 14, 2005, Real Madrid travelled to Budapest to play a testimonial in his honor. The game had supposedly been conceived as a means of helping to pay for his treatment. However, Real Madrid reportedly commanded expenses of £892,000 to play the game And when the sums were done, the Puskas family received just £7,000.


Ferenc Puskas Stadion

The International Federation for Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) classed Puskas as the most successful first-division player of all time, having scored 511 goals in 533 first-division matches. We mourn his death and express our condolences to his loved ones.