Ferenc Puskás

Ferenc Puskás was a forward who could also play as an attacking midfielder, and he could slip quickly from inside left into the centre-forward role. He grew up in Kispest, the son of a former player, and as a boy he turned out under the false name "Miklós Kovács" to get around the age rules. When Kispest became the army side Budapest Honvéd in 1949, its players were handed military ranks. He rose to major, which is where the nickname "the Galloping Major" comes from. He did most of his work on the ball with his left foot. His ball control and first touch were so clean that the next pass or cross could come almost at once, and it usually arrived where he meant it to. His dribbling was built on deception: fake dribbles, shaping to go one way before going the other, and sideways touches that took him around defenders. When Hungary won 6–3 at Wembley, England's Bill Eckersley and Harry Johnston were both sold that kind of dummy. Then there was the shot. His left-footed strike is rated among the hardest the game has seen, and he regularly beat goalkeepers from 30 to 35 metres out. Dead balls suited him too. He hit powerful direct free kicks and even scored straight from a corner. In Spain they called him Cañoncito Pum, "the Booming Cannon". Real Madrid signed him at 31, yet he still finished as La Liga's top scorer four times and scored four in the 7–3 European Cup final win over Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960. He was a creator as much as a scorer. He stands as Europe's all-time leading assist provider in international football, on top of 84 goals in 85 games for Hungary. He captained the Mighty Magyars, the side that won Olympic gold in 1952, went 32 matches unbeaten and beat England twice, with Puskás scoring two in each game. The 1954 World Cup showed how determined he was. A tackle by Werner Liebrich in the group match against West Germany left him with a hairline fracture of the ankle, yet he played the entire final against the same opponents, scored after six minutes, and had a late equaliser ruled out for offside as Hungary lost. There were setbacks too. After the 1956 revolution he refused to return to Hungary, served a two-year UEFA ban, and found Italian clubs put off by his age and weight. Madrid's faith was repaid with five straight league titles and a hat-trick even in the 1962 final defeat by Benfica, although an injury kept him out of the 1959 final. As a coach he took Panathinaikos to the 1971 European Cup final, and Ange Postecoglou, who played for him in Australia, has spoken about how his all-out attacking approach shaped his own ideas. The FIFA award for the year's most beautiful goal carries his name.