The day when Hungary's striking greats were recognised!
29 Aug. 2014.
Before the turn of the millennium the football-obsessed statisticians at the German-based International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) decided to produce the definitive list of the greatest goalscorers of all time. The research was conducted worldwide and the results were staggering: the first three places on the list were occupied by Hungarians Ferenc Puskás, Imre Schlosser and Gyula Zsengeller! In seventh spot was Ferenc Szusza and József Takács and Dr Gyula Zsengeller also featured in the top 20!
One background contributor to the congregation of this awe-inspiring line of football legends was the Puskás Academy's archive curator Gusztáv Mravik, who in those days had researched and discovered many of Hungarian football's statistics such as the national appearances of József Bozsik which, thanks to his discovery of an extra official match, was eventually recorded as 101. Mr Mravik gave his personal memories and was largely responsible for the statistics concerning Hungarian players which he completed together with Sándor Szabó, the-then sports editor of the Hungarian News Agency (MTI). Their objectivity in these tasks is exemplified in their calculation of Imre Schlosser's goals tally from which they left out his goals in the wartime leagues during the First World War, although the directorship of the IFFHS opined that in the end these goals should also be included, therefore Schlosser secured the world record for goals scored in one top division (he scored 411 goals in Hungary!).
"Sándor Szabó received a request to compile a comprehensive list of the all-time top goalscorers in the top tier of Hungarian football and he asked me if I could use my archive of statistical research to confirm a good number of details related to Hungarian players" remembers Mr Mravik. "I worked on it for many long days and nights and then Sándor and I agreed on it all via telephone and fax.
Hugo Sanchez és Puskás Ferenc az IFFHS gáláján
Hugo Sanchez and Ferenc Puskás at the IFFHS Gala
Now lets look at the tangible memories of that night on 20th January 1997 in the elegant ballroom of the Bayerischer Hof hotel, Münich, when many world stars gathered to hear the results of the statisticians' work!
Before anything else, a few words on the certificate which was presented to Ferenc Puskás and the photo taken at the venue with the other top goalscorer of Real Madrid CF, Hugo Sanchez. This certificate is now part of the Puskás Institute collection at Felcsút and can these days be wondered over by Puskás Academy pupils as they pass through the entrance hall of the college. This one is of particular value because we know it was Puskás' own copy and he was so proud of it that he gave it pride of place on the wall of his Buda apartment. It is our information that he received further copies from the IFFHS so these may exist in other collections too. The copy which now resides in Felcsút was not part of the Puskás collection which came back from Spain but was rather a special, personal gift from Puskás' widow to the academy and is now shown alongside other awards, honours and memorabilia, which we continually feature in articles for our readers.
Azon a tizenhét évvel ezelőtti estén egyébként nagyszerű pillanatoknak lehettek tanúi a Bayerischer Hof vendégei. A négy, első tízbe rangsorolt magyar közül hárman jelen lehettek (Puskás Ferenc, az utolsó élő 1938-as vb-ezüstérmes, Zsengellér Gyula, valamint Szusza Ferenc), és fel is álltak együtt a színpadra. Ott volt Münchenben, és szerepel a fotókon az azóta szintén elhunyt Deák Ferenc, aki az egy idényben szerzett 66 góljával lett örökös Európa-rekorder. Érdekesség továbbá, hogy ott volt a díjátadón Puhl Sándor is, hiszen sorrendben harmadszor vehette át a világ legjobb játékvezetőjének járó elismerést, ezúttal 1996-os teljesítményéért.
Az évszázad legjobb góllövőit összesítő nagyszerű kutatómunka eredményeit az IFFHS előbb Libero című folyóiratában publikálta, majd egy több mint 300 oldalas könyvvel tisztelgett az előtt a 211 csatáregyéniség előtt, akik elérték a bűvös 200 gólos álomhatárt élvonalbeli bajnoki meccseken. A lista élén egy kispesti fiú szerepel, aki a világon egyedül érte el az elképesztő 500(!) gólos határt…
A FELCSÚTI PUSKÁS INTÉZET GYŰJTEMÉNYÉT BEMUTATÓ SOROZATUNKBAN A MAGYAR FOURFOURTWO MAGAZIN CIKKEIBŐL ÉS KÉPANYAGÁBÓL VÁLOGATUNK.
