Born: April 2, 1927, Kispest
Original name: Ferenc Purczeld
Club-carreer: 1942-49 Kispest, 1949-57 Bp. Honvéd, 1958-67 Real Madrid.
Position: Inside left

Hungary’s and to many, the world’s premier football-wonder, top-class player of the „Golden Team”. The only one who managed to rise to the top even abroad, leading Real Madrid to the glory of winning the European Cup, playing for both the Hungarian and later the Spanish national team. He was the only one of the defecting „Golden Team” members who was truly forgiven by politics. Although the forgiveness only came after 25 years, but when Puskás returned to Hungary in 1981 he was applauded by even the VIP section of the stadium before the Hungary–England game. Puskás started playing football in the Kispesti AC with the aid of his renowned-coach father and he went on to stay with the club (and it’s legal successor: Bp. Honvéd) until his defection. He was first called up for international duty with Hungary in 1945, at the age of 18 and obtained 84 caps until 1956 scoring an astonishing 83 goals for the National Team. (Making him the top goal scorer int he Hungarian team’s history). Captain of the 1952 Olympic champion hungarian team, 5 times hungarian champion with Honvéd, 4 times top goalscorer scoring an astonishing amount of 358 golas in 394 league matches for Honvéd while making his statistics 155 goals in 179 matches as a Real Madrid player. To list the assets of the „Gallopping Major” that made such an exceptional carreer possible is not an easy task. Brilliant shooting and dribbling ability, perfect technique, witty decisions, fine passing all characterized the playing of the explosive inside left. He’d already had weight problems when he left Hungary in 1956, but once abroad, Puskás managed to lose weight and adjust to the spanish style and despite being over 30 his playing was sometimes better than ever. He ended his playing carreer nearing 40 and started anew as a manager. He trained teams from Greece to Saudi-Arabia, Chile and Egypt all over the world his most memorable achievement being, that he led Panathinaikos to the European Cup’s final. He has been spending more and more time in Hungary since 1981 and has been continuing to receive numerous honors from the government and both the national and international football associations. In acknowledgement of his achievements, goals and enhancement of Hungary’s reputation Puskás was given the freedom of the district of Kispest in 1991.