Why has Hungary declared today, Saturday, December 9th,2006, a day of national mourning?

In honor of Hungarian soccer great Ferenc Puskas

You don't get that in every country! Puskas was everyone's idea of a true star.Some of us could identify with him ( ): he was reputedly bone idle and never liked mechanical training exercises He never looked fit, having something of a beer belly even at his peak. Looks can be deceptive He had extraordinary balance,unsurpassed close-up skills, and a left foot shot that could kill.

In 1952, England, who had invented the game, smugly thought herself invincible at home.The national side might concede a rare defeat away to traditional teams, like Scotland or Germany but Hungary ? At home ? ('Do Hungarians play the game?') Meanwhile the Hungarians had invented a game which was called soccer but bore little resemblance to a game of similar name which we played, and Puskas was its star.For any good team to concede 3 goals at home demands a coroner's inquest: England conceded 6 goals to 3.And Puskas scored a goal of such breathtaking skill that it is still spoken of. The England defender rushed in to tackle but in a split second Puskas dragged the ball back millimetres from the incoming tackler's foot,leaving the defender sliding past him along the ground, and shot past a startled goalkeeper whilst seemingly standing still.It was such perfection that even now, with the benefit of slow motion replay you need to watch carefully to see how he did it and even then it looks impossible, like some conjuring trick.

A true great.With players like him nobody cared if the player didn't do much for 89 minutes of the 90. In the one other minute he'd win a match:that was Puskas.

"He never looked fit, having something of a beer belly even at his peak. Looks can be deceptive Smile He had extraordinary balance,unsurpassed close-up skills, and a left foot shot that could kill."

The father of a wrestler I knew in high school, a Serbian first-generation American, went to Toledo, Ohio, for the World Cup (wrestling) in the late 50s or early 60s. Being fluent in Serbian, he was able to speak to a few of the Eastern European teams. The Bulgarian team took a liking to him, and invited him into their locker room. In the locker room was a keg of beer, well iced, and a supply of glasses. It was considered part of training. Blackie (the man I knew, Blackie Trgovich) laughed when he described the Bulgarians. They all looked somewhat alike, except, of course, for their size. But all had a small beer belly. Traditionally, the Bulgarians (in fact, most of the Eastern European countries) had very good wrestling teams. Skill counts for so much more than anything else. I've known a few wrestlers in their 50s, 60s, and even one at 70, that got into 'disagreements' with men half their age. It's really funny to see an old, grey or white-hair guy tossing a man half his age. The looks on the faces of bystanders is priceless.