Correct. Most average *at best (over hundreds games) was like 0.30 Only Pele, (Cruyff and Maradona?) maintained a high and consistent assist STATS in their career, from club to country. Pele got in NT : 30 ass/92games. Rumour said he made nearly 500ass ass over 1300games ~0.4 APG career Maradona got 300+ ass/ ~700 games career (also 0.4)
I did not say whether it was low or high, or whether the Barcelona years were a success or failure; I said that (IMHO) he had more of a creator function in those Barcelona years, as in the first few Napoli seasons. The playing position and assist-count (number of assists relative to goals made) support this idea about the role someone had. Same for Bertoni in 1984-85 by the way. Nominally a winger with creating duties, but in 1984-85 (playing for Napoli) with a considerable scoring/finishing role. 27 games, 11 goals (0PK).
I update this fantastic post to clarify some questions about the role that Ferenc Puskas had in Honved, which I still can't clearly define. I'm reading a book that tells the story of every Hungarian championship from 1901 to 1986, it's quite a difficult job since I have to translate it all and I often have problems understanding some sentences that aren't translated very well. You say that Ferenc Puskas started as a pure finisher and then became, with the arrival of Kocsis, a mix of finisher and chance creator. From the book I'm reading, it emerged that Puskas started as an all-court player, with full freedom of movement, then with the advent of the WM system he started playing more as a chance creator and controller. Only from the 1949/50 championship did Puskas return to the role he had as an "infant", i.e. finisher, controller and creator of chances. What we need to understand is, when did Honved start playing with the WM system? Because if in the 47/48 season, Honved was already playing with the system, how is it possible that this was Puskas' best season in terms of scoring? In theory, with the system, he should have tasks purely as a controller and creator of chances.
From a Hungarian book on Ferenc Puskas I managed to find a clue about the position on the pitch he occupied in 1945, these are the words: "At that time he still played as a midfielder and as a winger, and it was legitimate to ask: what is his real place ?" “I like playing link,” he said, “because I feel like I can do my best in this position.” Of course, if the interests of the team require me to be a winger, I will try my luck there." According to the book, Puskas played as a left winger in his debut match for Kispest in the top flight
I guess 'link' means inside left (in theory inside right too) in a WM system, with a main centre forward in the team. I remember on one Youtube highlights video it was evident he was playing as left winger in a game for Hungary I think.
The Athletic did something similar giving roles by positions and giving some examples with current players https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3473297/2022/08/10/player-roles-the-athletic/
Let's say that of the current players, Bellingham is perhaps the most similar. The Englishman had more of a "shadow striker" or box to box role. Puskas was the classic WM system midfielder: he controlled the game, created chances and scored but I think he had less defensive responsibility.
I suppose it's difficult to make a modern comparison for the role he probably had (keeping in mind we're going back to a time/league without the footage to check), considering that teams don't really play something very close to a WM generally, but I guess in some respects his role would be a little bit akin to that of David Silva at Man City in the late 2010s possibly (but probably with more attacking freedom and less of an automatic aim to get back goal-side of the ball and act as part of a true midfield I assume). In theory maybe even Fabian Ruiz in these Euros, but even moreso I suspect that he'd be playing higher up the pitch on average (but potentially with more variability in his position, coming back to help of his own volition at times). For relatively modern players playing in not such attacking line-ups I guess his role back then could be compared to a Raul or Roberto Baggio when they were playing a bit off the front (albeit Puskas would likely have one main striker ahead, not two, and one companion in a similar role as 'inside right' if it was true 'classical' WM i.e 3-2-2-3....and his team would have wingers in of course). When they played more as strikers/second strikers though then their role would be more like he played when Hungary had started using more of a WW (3-2-3-2 with 'deep-lying centre forward' in Hidegkuti and the two inside forwards playing ahead - some people even called it a 4-2-4 considering Hidegkuti and Bozsik a partnership as AM/CM and DM/CM, considering that the other wing half Zakarias was playing generally deep in the midfield as an extra help to the defence too). For Raul and Roberto Baggio I'm going back to the 90s/00s before Isaias's main period as a football fan I suppose but maybe it's still helpful. (The formation on the caption at the start is a bit misleading I'd say because Raul was in effect more in the hole and McManaman more a partner for Redondo in a kind of 3-4-1-2 if considering the wing-backs in the second line rather than the defensive line). But yeah, nominally in terms of position, assuming the right inside forward (I mean inside as opposed to outside with outside being winger) was in basically the same role as Puskas, maybe the David Silva role at Man City is more realistic as a comparison (except in attacking emphasis). I know Nottingham Forest played a classical WM pretty much in effect in the 1959 FA Cup Final, so Billy Gray (the number 10) is another example that could be pointed to I think for the pre-WW inside left kind of role Puskas probably had (Puskas will have had more emphasis on scoring and more capabilities to do so I'm sure but I mean the basic role/position should be similar I'm thinking): I suppose Bellingham, Olmo in the Euros etc, would have similarity in terms of playing from a bit off the front, although arguably more like 'deep-lying centre forward' than old-fashioned inside forward. Musiala in the Euros was playing a bit like an old-fashioned inside forward, in his own way, I guess, but instead of a winger rather than alongside them (arguably his role was more akin to Maradona at Napoli in 1984/85 for example or Hazard at Chelsea in 2018/19....).
Yes, comparing Puskas' role to any current player is very forced. I agree with you, David Silva probably had a pretty similar role. I don't know if Puskas actually played a little further forward, perhaps this only happened from the 49/50 season (according to the other book I read but unfortunately nothing visible) but despite this he still managed to score with great regularity.
Yes, he was the main scorer I suppose, and there probably was an element of acting like a 'shadow striker' (so here is maybe most where 23/24 Bellingham is an apt comparison?). For Honved maybe he didn't even play with an outright scoring centre forward in the 1948-ish period: Kispest - Players, Ranking and Transfers - 47/48 (footballdatabase.eu) † József Mészáros (Pestszenterzsébet 16.01.1923 - Budapest 21.04.1997) • Persons • Magyarfutball.hu - database of Hungarian football (www-magyarfutball-hu.translate.goog) † György Babolcsay (Sashalom 26.12.1921 - Budapest 13.07.1976) • Persons • Magyarfutball.hu - database of Hungarian football (www-magyarfutball-hu.translate.goog) With the Hungarian team Deak was often playing though of course. Kocsis was also inititally a WM inside forward who scored regularly I suppose, like Puskas (maybe alongside Deak Kocsis did make something like a striking partnership to an extent though - it seems once Meszaros had gone to Ferencvaros he played more in support of them). I think it was still considered to be a system of 5 forwards anyway, especially at that time (rather than truly seeing the inside forwards as more like midfielders, so this is where the David Silva comparison would probably not be so good). Fritz Walter scored a lot as an inside forward in the 1940s too for example. Sometimes one inside forward did play more like a second striker too (eg Stan Mortensen playing with England) and there could be WM-variant formations. Puskas did seem to call himself a 'link' though so I guess he was nominally playing a pretty typical WM inside left role at that time he made that comment. We know he did apparently get a lot of assists as well as a lot of goals, and soon Kocsis was his team-mate both for Honved(Kispest) and Hungary....
From the book I'm reading, every season, they write down the shirt numbers the winning teams played with. In the 49/50 season Puskas played with the number 10, Gyulay with the number 8 and Budai with the number 9. I think that Budai did not play as a true center forward but was already a kind of false 9 who created spaces for Ferenc. In the 1950 season Puskas number 10, Kocsis number 8 and Horvath number 9. Again I think the number 9 was a false center forward who created spaces for Kocsis and Puskas. The Hungarian clubs arrived at this solution before anyone else, even Palotas in MTK did this job as a false 9. And I really believe that Honved started playing this type of game starting from the 1949/50 season
I've read in various places that the 'deep-lying centre forward' role was developed at MTK Budapest by Bukovi (with Palotas and then Hidegkuti playing the role for Hungary subsequently), but I suppose it's also possible to use an older-fashioned Sindelar type of centre forward (Danubian school as it might be called) and perhaps Honved were doing that (maybe already with Meszaraos?). Anyway yeah, makes sense that Puskas was in a goalscoring role in effect, even not being at centre forward (and probably still quite active around the pitch). When he said link he probably referred to being inside left, although in 1945 his role might have been different to in 1948 of course - Meszaros did score more goals in the 1945 season it seems too (not that that answers things in itself as such).
Yes, I confirm that the first to adopt this strategy of the withdrawn center forward was Bukovi. He couldn't find a strong center forward, so he decided to try this solution. Palotas took a long time to adapt to this role and was also criticized very heavily but Bukovi continued to always trust him and in the end he had positive results. Unfortunately I don't know if Meszaros already had a role like this.
Jonathan Wilson writes that too, but says it was developed before MTK. https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...e-ancient-tactic-power-shock-football-tactics