Today I found an All-Time XI selected by Hungarian and Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskas in 1977 for English football magazine "Shoot". Here it is: ------Gento----------Pelé---------di Stéfano-------Garrincha -------------------Charlton-------Bozsik ----N.Santos-----Santamaria-----Beckenbauer-----Andrade II ---------------------------Banks Among other things, Puskas commented on Banks being equal to Yashin, and that Cruijff was the best striker of recent years (1970s), but not better than Alfredo di Stéfano.
Nice to see a player actually pick a balanced side that could go out and perform as a unit. Also good to see the likes of Andrade and Bozsik getting some well deserved recognition.
Interesting as well that Nilton Santos and Bozsik were both sent off after a particularly nasty fight in the 1954 World Cup quarter final.
I'm a bit surprised he didn't find room for more of the magic magyars. As for Cruyff not being as good as Alfredo - that's just obvious. Gotta love that 4-2-4 also.
The strength of the Magyars was as much in the teamwork and movement as it was in the abilities of the players - the only player I think he could have included would be Czibor as opposed to Gento, but even then it's debatable. Kocsis was an outstanding goalscorer and would have thrived with those two wingers, but can you justify him over Pele or Di Stefano? The other thing to remember is that at the time of this choice Puskas was still barred from visiting Hungary and this might have played some part in his selections (he would always find room for Bozsik - they had been friends since Puskas was 3 years old) - it wasn't until 1981 that he returned to Hungary and was "forgiven" for his defection.
dego maradone not there....wow...... but i like the choices but i think they could have been just a little better....cuz 4-2-4???
oops......my bad on that one.......... i thought it was an all time thing but now i have read it over and i saw how it was in 1977 that he did the picks.....
I think the most interesting point is that he leaves himself out of the line-up. I wonder if that was a compulsory part of the selection or simply modesty on his part.
Well, maybe it was hard to tell... Never seen this thread before, and I don't think I ever heard of Pancho naming an all-time XI in 1977. My thoughts: First of all, this team would fuckin' KILL whatever you put in front of them. Then, I really like the defensive line. Beckenbauer and a player he admired, Santamaria, at center, would be very hard to surpass. Question: Andrade II means Jose Leandro Andrade, correct? Nice, unbiased selection by one of the greatest players and football minds.
No - Victor Rodriguez Andrade, his nephew who played in 1950 and 54. It's highly unlikely that Puskas ever saw JL Andrade (who would be Andrade I) play but he certainly witnessed the younger in the 54 semi-final.
Thank you. I wasn't sure because I always referred to the nephew as Rodriguez Andrade, but it must be that back then he was known as Andrade II.
["Der Kaiser" is already your play-off of and support the "out-&-out" No.5-type man & Puskas might not have wanted two of those central defenders in his back-line. This was such a good thread that I couldn't resist "bumping" it... ]
Another interesting thing is, that the pick for Right Back role, Rodriguez Andrade, in WCs 1950 & 1954 was playing as a Right Halfback in a Pyramid System (2-3-5)