 | February 2008 Review "Ferenc Puskas Captain of Hungary"
Ferenc Puskas Captain of Hungary
This enjoyable autobiography benefits from it been written whilst fresh in Puskas's mind in 1955-this no ghost written modern offering this a straight forward recounting of the facts from an extraordinary player who had such a big impact on the British game.
In the years before the Hungarian uprising, Ferenc Puskas scored an unbelievable 83 goals in 84 appearances for his country - but then again, the Hungarian team of the 1950s was pretty unbelievable in itself, revolutionising the game of football on their way to the Olympic final of 1952 and the World Cup final of 1954. This book, Puskas' autobiography, smuggled out of Hungary in the mid-1950s, gives his account of growing up in Soviet-occupied Hungary, travelling the world with the national side and army team Honved, and of the never-to-be-forgotten achievements of a true legend of the international game.
In November 18th 2006 David Lacey wrote in Guardian a tribute to Puskas following his death the day before:
"In a murky November afternoon in 1953 Ferenc Puskas, who died in Budapest yesterday aged 79, helped to rouse English football from a complacency born of insularity and blinkered thinking. The awakening was rude and embarrassing. In winning 6-3 Puskas's Hungarians not only became the first foreign team to beat England at Wembley; they changed English football thinking forever.The most memorable moment of that match has been replayed over and over again. For Hungary's third goal Puskas had Billy Wright tackling thin air as he dragged the ball back from the England captain's challenge before turning to beat Gil Merrick with a shot from a left foot which Francisco Gento, a team-mate at Real Madrid, later described as being "like a hand, he could do anything with it". For Geoffrey Green of the Times Wright had been a fireman going to the wrong fire.
Yet for all their conquerors' individual brilliance, the principal lesson for England was that at international level football was becoming a game of movement. As Puskas observed in his autobiography: "The result was determined by the unpreparedness of England's defence for the method of attack adopted by our forwards."
Martin Westby
These books are all published by Stadia, the sports imprint of the History Press Ltd www.thehistorypress.co.uk. They can be purchased directly from THP on 01453 883300.
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