Ferenc Puskás

The native form of this personal name is Puskás Ferenc. This article uses the Western name order.

Ferenc Puskás

Personal information
Full name	Ferenc Purczeld
Date of birth	April 2, 1927(1927-04-02)
Place of birth	Budapest, Hungary
Date of death	November 17, 2006(2006-11-17) (aged 79)
Place of death	Budapest, Hungary
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1943–1949	Kispest	177	(187)
1949–1955	Budapest Honvéd	164	(165)
1957	Espanyol (guest)
1958–1966	Real Madrid	182	(157)
Total		533	(515)
National team
1945–1956	Hungary	85	(84)
1961–1962	Spain	4	(0)
Teams managed
1967	Hércules
1967	San Francisco Golden Gate Gales
1968	Vancouver Royals
1968–1969	Deportivo Alavés
1970–1974	Panathinaikos
1975	Real Murcia
1975–1976	Colo-Colo
1978–1979	AEK Athens
1979–1982	Al-Masry
1985–1986	Sol de América
1986–1989	Cerro Porteño
1989–1992	South Melbourne Hellas
1993	Hungary
Honours Competitor for  Hungary Men's football Gold 1952 Helsinki Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Ferenc Puskás (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈfɛrɛnt͡s ˈpuʃkaːʃ]; born Ferenc Purczeld; 2 April 1927^[1] – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian footballer and manager who is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.^[2] He scored a remarkable 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary,^[3] and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues.^[3] He was voted one of the greatest players of the 20th century by World Soccer magazine.

Puskás started his career in Hungary playing for Kispest and Budapest Honvéd. He was top scorer in the Hungarian League on four occasions, and in 1948, he was the top goal scorer in Europe. During the 1950s, he was both a prominent member and captain of the legendary Hungarian national team, known as the Mighty Magyars. In 1958, two years after the Hungarian Revolution, he emigrated to Spain where he played for the legendary Real Madrid team that also included Alfredo di Stéfano, Francisco Gento, Raymond Kopa, Héctor Rial, and José Santamaría and went on to play for Spain.

While playing with Real Madrid, Puskás won four Pichichis and scored seven goals in two European Champions Cup finals. In 1995, he was recognized as the top scorer of the 20th century by the IFFHS.^[4][5][6]

After retiring as a player, he became a coach. The highlight of his coaching career came in 1971 when he guided Panathinaikos to the European Cup final, where they lost 2–0 to AFC Ajax. Despite his defection in 1956, Puskás remained an admired hero in Hungary. In 1993, the Hungarian government granted him a full pardon, allowing to return and take temporary charge of the Hungarian national team.^[7] In 1998, he became one of the first ever FIFA/SOS Charity ambassadors.^[8] In 2002, the Népstadion in Budapest was renamed the Puskás Ferenc Stadion in his honor.^[2] He was also declared the best Hungarian player of the last 50 years by the Hungarian Football Federation in the UEFA Jubilee Awards in November 2003.^[9] In October 2009, FIFA announced the introduction of the FIFA Puskás Award, awarded to the player who has scored the "most beautiful goal" over the past year. The inaugural Puskás Award was presented on December 21, 2009 at the FIFA World Player Gala where Cristiano Ronaldo was the first player who got this prize.^[10]

Life and Career Overview

Certainly the "European Player of the 20th Century" and twice World Player of the Year (1952, 1953), Ferenc Puskás often enters the conversation of where the greatest footballers ought to be lodged in the pantheon of the last 100 years. The ever engaging and personable Ferenc Puskás was the most powerful striker Europe ever produced at 1st division football. He was also the greatest goalscoring international who ever lived. Undoubtedly, the most renowned and greatest of Hungarian sportsmen, he is likely in company with Harry Houdini and Ernő Rubik who lent his name to the iconic Rubik's Cube, for being the most famous Hungarian citizen of the 20th century.

In a difficult rebuilding world of the postwar era, in the arc light and formative glow of emerging nascent mass media with a global reach and enhanced telecommunications, increasing networked newswires and live television coverage that meet audiences as never before, Puskás was football's first superstar both club level and in the world game predating the likes of Di Stéfano, Pelé, Johan Cruijff, George Best, Diego Maradona, and Zinedine Zidane.

Oft-likened short, he was of modest proportions, rotund with muscular billiard ball table legs and average in-line speed but with deceptive acceleration. Puskás never did acclimate to using his nondominant right foot for much except to dribble and scored few goals with his head but more than made up with an on-field generalship and a deep cerebral reading of the game. He had a fine footballing brain to match his otherworldly accuracy. As anecdotal evidence would have, he had the intuition with extra sensory perception to grasp other sides' tactical nuances in less than 15 minutes of field play to orient his side as events unfolded. He exhibited a precocious talent at an early age, a capering dribble and virtuous scoring indulgence on the ball from which he was impossible to separate by those defending in his presence. He is reputed to have been blessed with the most powerful drive ever cast from a left foot, an exclusive leaden snapshot that deftly tore through defenses with unerring precision. It is known that this great player scored 514 1st division-class goals and a total sum 1176 goals in a 24-year career. The main transformer of a great Hungarian squad into an exceptional one, Puskás was honored for being named the greatest 1st division goalscorer in the 20th century by the prestigious International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in 1995. Pelé was voted the most outstanding player of the century by the IFFHS with Puskás not far behind, ranking just behind Diego Maradona in the balloting.

A man with a touch of Midas in him, every team to which Puskás was attached as a captain and player were eminently the best in the world that seemed to prosper immensely from his seniority; profiting from an elegant yet fiery competitor with the sunniest of rough-diamond manners and a loud style who could seem to annex the most obdurate lines with brilliant expositions that sparkled nigh on goal. As captain of mighty Honvéd (for whom the majority of the national team's players played at club level), the greatest club side before the emergence of Real Madrid, and captain of Hungary, he was paired with the formidably talented and his near equal Sándor Kocsis. They were the greatest redoubtable scoring tandem that ever graced world football with 159 goals between them, vastly outdistancing all those that came before to write records that would be everlasting.

Later estranged from his homeland for many a good reason, but due in part, to the reprisals that were the fallout of the failed Hungarian Revolution and what might have awaited him for his refusal to return from abroad, the unusually apolitical Puskas was adrift in exile. On the wrong side of 30 and serving a one-year ban from FIFA, the man of large and joyous appetites and a heart spent on goodwill, was now out of shape and thought to be in the twilight of his playing days. Soon he found himself in the employ of the greatest club side in the world, Real Madrid at the height of its powers, to begin a second consecutive and stunning double career.

Facing a daunting challenge of learning a new language in the distinct new world of Francisco Franco's Spain, with the gift of confidence and the right mental attitude too, Puskás soon endeared himself to everyone around him. Most importantly, he gelled with on-field boss and great Argentine star Alfredo Di Stéfano, who was never the easiest man to know, a well developed ego being part of his charm. Winning 5 Spanish championships along with way, Puskás again became a relevation, a four-time Spanish league-leading incandescent forward in legendary communion with Di Stéfano to positively form the basis for the greatest double act (as had been the earlier case with Kocsis) European club football has ever seen. While at Read Madrid, Puskás was considered the indispensable man of campaigns that saw Real Madrid win three UEFA European Championships and enlisted his help to be finalists on two other occasions.

As a player who was never bought or sold in his life, Puskás spent his entire career at the very top of his profession that seemed to raise his game to a sublime level. Puskás was central to the very heart of football history itself, having been involved in three of the most discussed matches of all-time: the "Match of the Century (where he scored twice), "Miracle of Berne" (the 1954 World Cup Final, where he scored once and had a picture perfect 87th minute poignant equalizer unjustifiably called offside), and Eintracht Frankfurt 3 vs. Real Madrid 7 (the 1960 European Cup Final where he scored 4 goals in what has been called the greatest and most famous European club match in history).

After the 1956 Uprising there were pockets of Hungarian expatriates in every major city in the West. While traveling with Real Madrid and beyond, he became a veritable consulate for members of these communities, ready to lend his support, financial or otherwise, to those who were in most need. Therein lies a Horatio Alger tale of a charitable man and player rising to the pinnacle of the game that began behind the Iron Curtain.

Many years before the team's arrival on the world scene, Hungary's Imre Schlosser merited high citation for having the most international goals with 59 since 1921. During the Magical Magyars' (Golden Team's) flowering, Puskás proceeded to famously break his countryman's world record in 1953, and Kocsis registered his 60th goal in just his 50th game in 1955, and Hungary boasted of fielding the no. 1 and no. 2 world record holders simultaneously. Kocsis was an authority in size, pace and note must be taken that his aerial prowess the world would come to see had no peer. Kocsis's 75 goals in just 68 games and his world record 6 hat tricks were only overcome by Pelé's 77 goals in his 92 matches. The Hungarian captain's superior count of 84 international goals in 85 games still is football's benchmark, unmatched by any top-flight player from the Americas, Europe, Australia, and Africa.

Career in Hungary

Early years

Puskás was born as Ferenc Purczeld in Budapest and brought up in Kispest, then a village near the city. Today, Kispest is a district in Budapest. He was ten years old when his father Ferenc Sr. changed the family surname to Puskás.^[11] He began his career as a junior with Kispest AC,^[2] where his father, who had previously played for the club, was a coach.

He initially used the pseudonym Miklós Kovács to help circumvent the minimum age rules^[12] before officially signing at the age of 12. Among his early teammates was his childhood friend and future international teammate József Bozsik. He made his first senior appearance for Kispest in November 1943 in a match against Nagyváradi AC.^[13]

Kispest was taken over by the Hungarian Ministry of Defence in 1949, becoming the Hungarian Army team and changing its name to Budapest Honvéd. As a result, football players were given military ranks. Puskás eventually became a major, which led to the nickname "The Galloping Major".^[11] As the army club, Honvéd used conscription to acquire the best Hungarian players, leading to the recruitment of Zoltán Czibor and Sándor Kocsis.^[14] During his career at Budapest Honvéd, Puskás helped the club win five Hungarian League titles. He also finished as top goal scorer in the league in 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950 and 1953, scoring 50, 31, 25 and 27 goals, respectively. In 1948, he was the top goal scorer in Europe.

Mighty Magyars

Puskás made his debut for Hungary team on 20 August 1945 and scored in a 5–2 win over Austria.^[15] He went onto play 85 games and scored 84 times for Hungary. His international goal record included two hat tricks against Austria, one against Luxembourg and four goals in a 12–0 win over Albania.^[16] Together with Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik, and Nándor Hidegkuti, he formed the nucleus of the legendary team that went unbeaten for a then world record 32 consecutive games.^[17] During this run, they became Olympic Champions in 1952, beating Yugoslavia 2–0 in the final in Helsinki. Puskás scored four times at the Olympic tournament,^[16] including the opening goal in the final. They also twice gave England a footballing lesson. In 1953, they stunned England with a 6–3 win in what was called the Match of the Century and became the first non-UK team to defeat the English national team at Wembley Stadium.^[15] At their next meeting in 1954, the Magyars defeated England 7–1 in Budapest, which, to this day, remains England's heaviest ever defeat in international football. Puskás scored two goals in each game against England. This footballing exhibition was in part due to the early style of football strikingly similar to the "total football" displayed by the Dutch teams of 20 years later. This in stark comparison to the rigid system employed by the English team. In 1953, they also became Central European Champions. Hungary won the championship after finishing top of the table with 11 points. Puskás finished the tournament as top scorer with 10 goals and scored twice as Hungary claimed the trophy with a 3–0 win over Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in 1953.

Puskás scored three goals in the two first-round matches Hungary played at the 1954 FIFA World Cup. They defeated South Korea 9–0 and then West Germany 8–3. In the latter game, he suffered an ankle injury after a tackle by Werner Liebrich and did not return until the final. Despite not playing, Puskás became embroiled in controversy during the infamous quarter-final encounter with Brazil, dubbed the Battle of Berne. After the game finished, Puskás, a spectator, allegedly struck Pinheiro, a Brazilian player, with a bottle. The bottle gave Pinheiro a three-inch cut. Other reports blame another spectator and not Puskás.

Puskás played the entire 1954 World Cup final against West Germany, although he was not fully fit. Despite this, he scored his fourth goal of the tournament to put Hungary ahead after six minutes, and with Czibor adding another goal two minutes later, it seemed destined that the pre-tournament favorites would take the title. However, the West Germans pulled back two goals before half time and the tide began to turn. The second half saw telling misses from the Hungarian team and then with six minutes left the West Germans scored the winner. Two minutes from the end of the match, Puskás scored an equalizer but, in a controversial call, the goal was disallowed due to an offside call. Hungary lost 3–2, its record unbeaten run ended.^[18]

Ferenc Puskás’ statistics in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics

The scores contain links to the the article on football in the Helsinki Olympics and the round in question.

Game no.	Round	Date	Opponent	Puskás’ playing time	Score	Puskás’ goals	Score	Times	Venue	Report
1	Prel. R.	15 July 1952	Romania	90 min.	2–1 (1–0)	0	—	—	Kupittaa, Turku	[3]
2	1st R	21 July 1952	Italy	90 min.	3–0 (2–0)	0	—	—	Pallokenttä, Helsinki	[4]
3	QF	24 July 1952	Turkey	90 min	7–1 (2–0)	2	4–0 6–1	54'  72'	Urheilukeskus, Kotka	[5]
4	SF	28 July 1952	Sweden	90 min	6–0 (3–0)	1	1–0	1'	Helsinki Olympic Stadium	[6]
5	Final	2 August 1952	Yugoslavia	90 min	2–0 (0–0)	1	1–0	70'	Helsinki Olympic Stadium	[7]

Ferenc Puskás’ statistics in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland

The scores contain links to the the article on 1954 FIFA World Cup and the round in question. When there is an special article on the match in question, the link is in the column for round.

Game no.	Round	Date	Opponent	Puskás’ playing time	Score	Puskás’ goals	Score	Times	Venue	Report
1	Group 2	17 June 1954	Korea Republic	90 min.	9–0 (4–0)	2	1–0 9–0	12'  89'	Hardturm Stadium, Zürich	[8]
2	Group 2	20 June 1954	West Germany	90 min	8–3 (3–1)	1	2–0	17'	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel	[9]
–	QF	27 June 1954	Brazil	Did not play	4–2 (2–1)	0	–	—	Wankdorf Stadium, Berne	[10]
–	SF	30 June 1954	Uruguay	Did not play	4–2 (a.e.t.) (2–2, 1–0)	0	–	—	Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne	[11]
3	Final	4 July 1954	West Germany	90 min	2–3 (2–2)	1	1–0	6'	Wankdorf Stadium, Berne	[12]

Honvéd World Tour

Budapest Honvéd entered the European Cup in 1956 and were drawn against Atlético Bilbao in the first round. Honvéd lost the away leg 2–3, but before the home leg could be played, the Hungarian Revolution erupted in Budapest. The players decided against going back to Hungary and arranged for the return with Atlético to be played at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.^[17] Puskás scored in the subsequent 3–3 draw but Honvéd were eliminated 6–5 on aggregate, and the Hungarian players were left in limbo. They summoned their families from Budapest, and despite opposition from FIFA and the Hungarian football authorities, they organised a fundraising tour of Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Brazil. After returning to Europe, the players parted ways. Some, including Bozsik, returned to Hungary while others, including Czibor, Kocsis and Puskás, found new clubs in Western Europe.^[19]

Spanish career

Real Madrid

Puskás's player licence

After refusing to return to Hungary, Puskás initially played a few unofficial games for RCD Espanyol. At the same time, both AC Milan and Juventus attempted to sign him, but then he received a two-year ban from UEFA (for refusing to return to Budapest [13]) which prevented him from playing in Europe. He moved to Austria and then Italy.^[17] After his ban, Puskás tried to play in Italy but was not able to find a top-flight club willing to sign him, as Italian managers were concerned about his age and weight.^[14] He was considered by Manchester United to strengthen a squad ravaged by the Munich Air Disaster in 1958, but because of The FA rules regarding foreigners and Puskás' not knowing the English language, stand-in manager Jimmy Murphy could not fulfil his wish of signing the Hungarian. However, a few months later, Puskás joined Real Madrid and at the age of 31 embarked on the second phase of his career.

During his first La Liga season, Puskás scored four hat-tricks, including one in his second game, against Sporting de Gijón on 21 September 1958. In the game against UD Las Palmas on 4 January 1959, Puskás and Alfredo di Stéfano scored hat-tricks in a 10–1 win.^[20] During the 1960–61 season, Puskás scored four times in a game against Elche CF and the following season, he scored five goals against the same team. Puskás scored two hat-tricks against FC Barcelona in 1963, one at the Bernabéu and one at the Camp Nou. During eight seasons with Real, Puskás played 180 La Liga games and scored 156 goals. He scored 20 or more goals in each of his first six seasons in the Spanish league, and won the Pichichi four times: in 1960, 1961, 1963, and 1964, scoring 26, 27, 26 and 20 goals, respectively. He helped Real win La Liga five times in a row between 1961 and 1965 and the Copa del Generalísimo in 1962. He scored both goals in the 2–1 victory over Sevilla FC in the Copa final.

Puskás also played a further 39 games for Real in the European Cup, scoring 35 goals. He helped Real reach the final of the 1959 European Cup, scoring in the first leg and in the decisive replay of the semi-final against Atlético Madrid, but missed the final due to injury. However, in the following season, he would make up for it. He began Real's 1960 European Cup campaign with a hat-trick against Jeunesse Esch and in the semi-final against CF Barcelona, he once again guided Real into the final with three goals over two legs. In the final itself, regarded by some as one the greatest finals ever, Puskás and di Stéfano once again ran riot. Real beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 with Puskás scoring four goals^[2] and di Stéfano scoring three. In subsequent European campaigns, he would score a further three hat-tricks including one in the 1962 final against Benfica, which Real lost 5–3. In 1965, he scored five goals over two games against Feyenoord as he helped a new generation of Real Madrid players win the 1966 European Cup.

Spanish national appearances

In 1962, Puskás took Spanish nationality,^[21] and subsequently played four times for Spain. Three of these games were at the 1962 World Cup. For once, his goalscoring form deserted him and he failed to score any goals for Spain.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Puskás became a coach and managed teams in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

The highlight of his coaching career came in 1971 when he guided Panathinaikos of Greece to the European Cup final, the only time a Greek club has reached a European final to date. After beating Everton in the quarter-finals on away goals, Panathinaikos then pulled off the shock of the competition with a dramatic comeback in their semi-final against Red Star Belgrade. 4–1 down after the away first-leg, they won the return home second-leg 3–0 to qualify for the final on away goals.

The final saw Puskás return to Wembley Stadium. Panathinaikos had some memorable chances to score, but eventually lost 2–0 to Johan Cruyff's Ajax.^[22] During his five-year tenure at Panathinaikos, Puskás helped the team secure two Greek Championships and his success with the team made him a cult figure among Panathinaikos fans. With the notable exception of his spell at Panathinaikos, Puskás failed to transfer his success as a player to his coaching career.

Despite his wide travels, his only other success came with South Melbourne Hellas, with whom he won the National Soccer League title in 1991.

When Wolverhampton Wanderers opened their new stadium Molineux in 1993, Puskás visited the newly opened stadium as an honorary guest to watch the friendly match between Wolves and Budapest Honvéd, which was a match to christen the new opening of the stadium. This was because in the 1950s, Wolves played a game against Honvéd in a memorable friendly match, which Puskás played in. Wolves won the match 3–2.

Later life and death

Puskás was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2000.^[23] He was admitted to a Budapest hospital in September 2006^[24] and died on 17 November 2006^[23] of pneumonia. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Erzsébet,^[25] and their daughter, Anikó.^[26] In a state funeral, his coffin was moved from Puskás Ferenc Stadion to Heroes' Square for a military salute. He was laid to rest under the dome of the St Stephen's Basilica in Budapest on 9 December 2006.

A street named Újtemető utca near Stadium Bozsik in the Hungarian capital of Budapest (specifically the district of Kispest) was renamed after Puskás precisely one year after the footballer's death.

Honours

Club

• Budapest Honvéd
  • Hungarian League: 1949–50, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955
• Real Madrid
  • La Liga: 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65
  • Copa del Generalísimo: 1962
  • European Cup: 1959, 1960, 1966
    • Runners-up: 1962, 1964
  • Intercontinental Cup: 1960

Country

• Hungary
  • Olympic Champions: 1952
  • Central European Champions: 1953
  • World Cup Runners-up: 1954
  • Balkan Cup: 1947

Individual

• Central European International Cup: Top Scorer (10 Goals): 1954
• Hungarian Top Goalscorer: 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950, 1953
• World Soccer Player and European Player of the Year: 1953
• European Player of the 20th century L'Equipe
• Hungarian Player Hungarian of the 20th century
• Hungarian Top Goalscorer of the 20th century
• Silver Ball European Footballer of the Year France Football : 1960
• Named in FIFA 100
• European Cup Top Scorer (12 goals)(7 goals): 1960, 1964
• Pichichi Trophy: 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64

Manager

• Panathinaikos
  • Super League Greece: 1970–71, 1971–72
  • European Cup
    • Runners-Up: 1971

• AEK Athens
  • Super League Greece: 1978–79

• Sol de América
  • Paraguayan Primera División: 1986

• South Melbourne Hellas
  • National Soccer League: 1990–91
  • NSL Cup: 1989–90
  • Dockerty Cup: 1989 and 1991

Career statistics

^{[27] [28]}

See also

• List of Eastern Bloc defectors

Notes

References

External links

• Ferenc Puskás (career statistics)
• FIFA obituary
• UEFA. com - Hungary's Golden Player
• Puskas Goal - England 3:6 Hungary 1954 (video)
• Real Madrid tribute to Ferenc Puskas (video)
• Poetry dedicated to Puskas(Spanish)
• European Champions Cup/UEFA Champions League Winning Squads

Hungary squads Hungary squad – 1952 Summer Olympics Gold Medalists DF Bozsik • FW Budai • DF Buzánszky • FW Csordás • FW Czibor • DF Dalnoki • GK Grosics • FW Hidegkuti • FW Kocsis • MF Kovács • DF Lantos • MF Lóránt • FW Palotás • FW Puskás • DF Zakariás • Coach: Sebes Hungary squad – 1954 FIFA World Cup Runners-up 1 Grosics • 2 Buzánszky • 3 Lóránt • 4 Lantos • 5 Bozsik • 6 Zakariás • 7 J. Tóth • 8 Kocsis • 9 Hidegkuti • 10 Puskás • 11 Czibor • 12 Kárpáti • 13 Várhidi • 14 Kovács • 15 Szojka • 16 Budai • 17 Machos • 18 Csordás • 19 Palotás • 20 M. Tóth • 21 Gellér • 22 Gulyás • Coach: Sebes

Spain squad – 1962 FIFA World Cup 1 Araquistáin • 2 Sadurní • 3 Carmelo • 4 Collar • 5 del Sol • 6 Di Stéfano • 7 Echeberría • 8 Garay • 9 Gento • 10 Gràcia • 11 Rivilla • 12 Peiró • 13 Pachín • 14 Puskás • 15 Eulogio Martínez • 16 Reija • 17 Rodri • 18 Adelardo • 19 Santamaría • 20 Segarra • 21 Suárez • 22 Vergés • Coach: Herrera

Awards Golden Team Gyula Grosics • Jenő Buzánszky • Gyula Lóránt • Mihály Lantos • József Bozsik • József Zakariás • László Budai • Sándor Kocsis • Nándor Hidegkuti • Ferenc Puskás • Zoltán Czibor • Coach: Gusztáv Sebes UEFA Champions League top scorers 1956: Milutinović | 1957: Viollet | 1958: di Stéfano | 1959: Fontaine | 1960: Puskás | 1961: J. Águas | 1962: di Stéfano & Løfqvist & Puskás & Strehl & Tejada | 1963: Altafini | 1964: Kovačević & Mazzola & Puskás | 1965: Eusébio & Torres | 1966: Albert & Eusébio | 1967: Piepenburg & Van Himst | 1968: Eusébio | 1969: Law | 1970: Jones | 1971: Antoniadis | 1972: Dunai & Macari & Takač | 1973: Müller | 1974: Müller | 1975: Markarov & Müller | 1976: Heynckes | 1977: Cucinotta & Müller | 1978: Simonsen | 1979: Sulser | 1980: Lerby | 1981: McDermott & Rummenigge & Souness | 1982: Hoeneß | 1983: Rossi | 1984: Sokol | 1985: Nilsson & Platini | 1986: Nilsson | 1987: Cvetković | 1988: R. Águas & Ferreri & Hagi & Madjer & McCoist & Míchel & Novak | 1989: van Basten | 1990: Papin & Romário | 1991: Pacult & Papin | 1992: Papin & Yuran | 1993: Romário | 1994: Stoichkov | 1995: Weah | 1996: Litmanen | 1997: Del Piero | 1998: Del Piero | 1999: Shevchenko | 2000: Jardel & Raúl & Rebrov & Rivaldo | 2001: Jardel & Shevchenko | 2002: van Nistelrooy | 2003: van Nistelrooy | 2004: Morientes | 2005: van Nistelrooy | 2006: Shevchenko | 2007: Kaká | 2008: C. Ronaldo | 2009: Messi | 2010: Messi FIFA 100 UEFA Baggio · Ballack · Banks · Baresi · Beckenbauer · Beckham · Bergkamp · Bergomi · Best · Boniek · Boniperti · Breitner · Buffon · Butragueño · Cantona · Ceulemans · Charlton · Cruyff · Dalglish · Dasayev · Davids · Del Piero · Desailly · Deschamps · Emre · Eusébio · Facchetti · Figo · Fontaine · Gullit · Hagi · Henry · Kahn · Keane · Keegan · Klinsmann · Kluivert · Kopa · B. Laudrup · M. Laudrup · Lineker · Luis Enrique · Maier · Maldini · Masopust · Matthäus · Müller · Nedvěd · Neeskens · Nesta · Owen · Papin · Pfaff · Pirès · Platini · Puskás · Raúl · Rensenbrink · Rijkaard · Rivera · Rossi · Rui Costa · Rummenigge · Rüştü · Schmeichel · Seedorf · Seeler · Shearer · Shevchenko · Stoichkov · Šuker · Thuram · Totti · Trésor · Trezeguet · van Basten · R. van de Kerkhof  · W. van de Kerkhof · Van der Elst · van Nistelrooy · Vieira · Vieri · Zidane · Zoff CONMEBOL Carlos Alberto · Batistuta · Cafu · Crespo · Cubillas · Di Stéfano · Falcão · Figueroa · Francescoli · Júnior · Kempes · Maradona · Passarella · Pelé · Rivaldo · Rivelino · Roberto Carlos · Romário · Romerito · Ronaldinho · Ronaldo · Djalma Santos · Nílton Santos · Saviola · Sívori · Sócrates · Valderrama · Verón · Zamorano · Zanetti · Zico CAF Diouf · Milla · Okocha · Abédi Pelé · Weah CONCACAF Akers · Hamm · Sánchez AFC Hong · Nakata UEFA Jubilee Awards Pano (Albania) | Koldo (Andorra) | Oganesian (Armenia) | Prohaska (Austria) | Banishevskiy (Azerbaijan) | Aleinikov (Belarus) | Van Himst (Belgium) | Sušić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) | Stoichkov (Bulgaria) | Šuker (Croatia) | Kaiafas (Cyprus) | Masopust (Czech Republic) | Laudrup (Denmark) | Moore (England) | Poom (Estonia) | Løkin (Faroe Islands) | Litmanen (Finland) | Fontaine (France) | Khurtsilava (Georgia) | Walter (Germany) | Hatzipanagis (Greece) | Puskás (Hungary) | Sigurvinsson (Iceland) | Giles (Republic of Ireland) | Spiegler (Israel) | Zoff (Italy) | Kvochkin (Kazakhstan) | Starkovs (Latvia) | Hasler (Liechtenstein) | Narbekovas (Lithuania) | Pilot (Luxembourg) | Pančev (Macedonia) | Busuttil (Malta) | Cebanu (Moldova) | Cruyff (Netherlands) | Best (Northern Ireland) | Bratseth (Norway) | Lubański (Poland) | Eusébio (Portugal) | Hagi (Romania) | Yashin (Russia) | Bonini (San Marino) | Law (Scotland) | Džajić (Serbia) | Popluhár (Slovakia) | Oblak (Slovenia) | di Stéfano (Spain) | Larsson (Sweden) | Chapuisat (Switzerland) | Şükür (Turkey) | Blokhin (Ukraine) | Charles (Wales) La Liga top scorers 1929: Bienzobas | 1930: Gorostiza | 1931: Bata | 1932: Gorostiza | 1933: Olivares | 1934: Lángara | 1935: Lángara | 1936 Lángara | 1940: Unamuno | 1941: Pruden | 1942: Suárez | 1943: Martín | 1944: Suárez | 1945: Zarra | 1946: Zarra | 1947: Zarra | 1948: Pahiño | 1949: César | 1950: Zarra | 1951: Zarra | 1952: Pahiño | 1953: Zarra | 1954: Di Stéfano | 1955: Arza | 1956: Di Stéfano | 1957: Di Stéfano | 1958: Badenes/Di Stéfano/Ricardo | 1959: Di Stéfano | 1960: Puskás | 1961: Puskás | 1962: Seminario | 1963: Puskás | 1964: Puskás | 1965: Ré | 1966: Vavá | 1967: Waldo | 1968: Uriarte | 1969: Amancio/Gárate | 1970: Amancio/Aragonés/Gárate | 1971: Gárate/Rexach | 1972: Porta | 1973: Marianín | 1974: Quini | 1975: Carlos | 1976: Quini | 1977: Kempes | 1978: Kempes | 1979: Krankl | 1980: Quini | 1981: Quini | 1982: Quini | 1983: Rincón | 1984: Da Silva/Juanito | 1985: Sánchez | 1986: Sánchez | 1987: Sánchez | 1988: Sánchez | 1989: Baltazar | 1990: Sánchez | 1991: Butragueño | 1992: Manolo | 1993: Bebeto | 1994: Romário | 1995: Zamorano | 1996: Pizzi | 1997: Ronaldo | 1998: Vieri | 1999: Raúl | 2000: Salva | 2001: Raúl | 2002: Tristán | 2003: Makaay | 2004: Ronaldo | 2005: Forlán | 2006: Eto'o | 2007: van Nistelrooy | 2008: Güiza | 2009: Forlán | 2010: Messi FIFA World Cup · Golden Ball Best Player 1930: Nasazzi | 1934: Meazza | 1938: Leônidas | 1950: Zizinho | 1954: Puskás | 1958: Didi | 1962: Garrincha | 1966: B. Charlton | 1970: Pelé | 1974: Cruijff | 1978: Kempes Golden Ball 1982: Rossi | 1986: Maradona | 1990: Schillaci | 1994: Romário | 1998: Ronaldo | 2002: Kahn | 2006: Zidane | 2010: Forlán Golden Ball was first awarded in 1982.