Puskas passes away
QuoteI was privileged to make the acquaintance of a close friend and former team-mate of Puskas, and the anecdotes he recounted of "Ocsi" portrayed a popular, down-to-earth man who used his influence and status as a titular major to have death sentences commuted (the only time he ever dresed in military uniform) and suspensions overturned in Stalinist Hungary, sometimes on behalf of casual acquaintances.
On one occasion, Puskas was strolling through Budapest with several team-mates when they encountered two barefoot children. Puskas immediately took both by the hand and led them to a nearby shoestore, where the children were shod at his expense.
Of all the hundreds upon hundreds of penalties he took throughout his career, only one was missed (in an Olympic final against Yugoslavia.) He was on the brink of abandoning the game altogether after fleeing Hungary, as he became grossly overweight and suffered from a bleeding ulcer, until a former Honved manager (now scouting for Real Madrid) enticed him to Spain, but not before Puskas had shed three stone in a single month through sheer willpower.
Unfortunately Puskas' health has been precarious for some time. Doubtless the philistines at the eL/FAI are too ignorant of football's history to sanction a minute's silence before tonight's game in honour of one the greats (I'm sure if some gormless English dipso had popped his clogs, Delaney would deliver the eulogy in the centre circle himself.)
RIP
Originally Posted by Sheridan
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