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ÖCSI AND THE BEST CLUB IN THE WORLD

14 Dec. 2016.

In our series – in collaboration with the Hungarian FourFourTwo – we take a look at Puskás memorabilia which is in the possession of the Puskás Institute. From among the items we can now introduce a letter from among Erzsébet’s belongings that she wrote to her parents in spring 1958, and which just happens to contain a part of footballing history.

“Dear mother and father” writes the-by-.then 26 year-old Erzsébet, addressing her parents as she normally did, before continuing with words clearly aimed at the ever-watchful secret services:  “Finally I can write you a letter which, I hope, shall not be read by anyone but you”. The news she had was that after eighteen months of hardship, “Öcsi has signed a highly advantageous contract with Real Madrid, the best club in the world”.

“Thankfully we are ok. Öcsi has signed a highly advantageous contract with Real Madrid, the best club in the world. Öcsi travelled ahead to Madrid to look around and came back on Wednesday 13th. He has booked a beautiful 6-room, fully-equipped flat complete with indoor toilet. Of course, this is just conditionally as if I don’t like the place we’ll search for another. Don’t worry on our behalf because we truly are happy and if all works out a beautiful future lies ahead of us”, she continues. 

 The by-now legendary contract was followed by a second blooming of Puskás – who’d been written off by many – which saw him stay at the club for an unbelievable nine years at the club and win five league titles, four Pichichi awards and three European Cups. 

 

As part of our series introducing the Puskás Institute collection we have already shown the contract itself, whereas this letter perhaps gives more away than the legal text of deal. The letter goes on for pages and shows just much Erzsébet knew about the fate of the personal effects they’d left in Hungary; which item should be given to whom, which ones needed to be sold, as well as a detailed list of how much they should be sold for. 
 

It’s also palpable that the security provided by the contract signed by President Bernabéu helped take their minds off life back in Hungary and all the personal belongings they’d left behind. The letter, dated spring 1958, is one of the Puskás Institute’s most prized family heirlooms and in sharing it with you we wish to remember the wife of the legendary player who helped his career in so many ways and who passed away on 12^th August 2015, aged 83. 

Source: FourFourTwo magazine

Photos: Puskás Institute