This Day in History: 2022-12-01
Nr. 356
PUSKAS JOINS REAL MADRID (1958)
After the Hungarian uprising of 1956 Ferenc Puskas decided not to return home and set off on a tour of Europe and South America with his Honved teammates. However, his refusal to play for Honved in Hungary earned hima two-year ban from UEFA. By the end of this he was 31 and had put on weight, so he found it difficult to find a new club, before Real Madrid decided to take a chance and bring him to the Bernabeu. The gamble paid off immediately with Puskas scoring four hat-tricks in his debut season and helping Madrid to a fourth consecutive European Cup.
After 1956 Puskas could not return to Hungary. Despite his visible weight gain, Real Madrid took a chance on the ‘Galloping Major’.
