Ange on our visit to Puskas’ city: “I’m blessed to have spent time with him”

For Ange Postecoglou, our trip to Budapest to play Ferencvaros has evoked memories of an old friend – someone who happens to have been one of the best players of all time!

Ferenc Puskas scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary and led his nation to the final of the 1954 World Cup. He won five league titles with Budapest Honvéd and another five with Real Madrid, plus three European Cups, after joining the Spanish giants in 1958, and would claim countless individual goalscoring accolades, having finished his career with 806 goals in 793 official games.

Yet his superstar status was outshone by his humility when he managed a young Ange at South Melbourne FC in the late-1980s and early-1990s. Captain of the team at that time, Ange became Puskas’ unofficial translator and chauffeur, helping the global icon to settle in and adapt to life Down Under.

Puskas died a national hero in 2006, his body buried under the dome of St Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest – not too far from where our team is staying ahead of tonight’s Europa League matchday two outing against the Hungarian champions.

As he surveyed the scene in the Hungarian capital, Ange took a moment to reflect on his time with his old boss.

“He’s a pretty significant figure in my footballing journey and I’m blessed to have spent some time with him,” he told SPURSPLAY. “It’s a nice reminder of my own journey as a footballer and the brilliant experiences I’ve had.”

What would Puskas make of Ange’s journey to this moment? The Head Coach pondered the question before answering: “I’m sure he’d be pretty proud, but wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. He was a pretty good bloke at just keeping things humble and real. Probably the main thing I learned from him was to make sure you understand to stay grounded and appreciate what you have.”

On tonight’s game (kick-off 5.45pm UK time, 6.45pm local time in Hungary), Ange added: “It should be a good challenge. Any game you play in Europe away from home is always a challenge – different atmosphere, nice stadium, the conditions will play a part. The games where I’ve been out here, they create a good atmosphere behind their team and really look forward to European football – it’s the highlight of their calendar. It will be a good test for our boys and one we’re looking forward to.”

Watch | Ange Postecoglou at the Groupama Arena ahead of Ferencvaros test

Ange’s history with Puskas

Last year, Ange went into detail about his time working with Ferenc Puskas, revealing how he would often feel dumbfounded at how one of the world’s greatest footballers ended up on his doorstep – and in his car!

Here’s what he told us...

“I guess that’s the crazy thing about my journey. I was on the other side of the world and had these ridiculous touch points in my life and career that you couldn’t dream of as being stepping stones to where you want to get to. How one of the world’s greatest footballers ended up on our doorstep in Melbourne, we still scratch our heads, that group of players.

“He walked through our door… he was just a fantastic man. We were so in awe of him being in our company, yet he was the most humble of men. We’d pester him and say, ‘tell us stories about World Cups, European Cups, Real Madrid’ and he would almost disdainfully push us away and just say, ‘it’s not important, what is important is here and now’.

“It was a great lesson for me, this great man… if you have that humility people respond to it so well. I’ve said many times, it was like playing for our grandfather, we didn’t want to let him down, and we ended up being champions that year, and as much as it was about his football influence, it was his influence as a person. We didn’t want to let him down. That was because of the person he was, and that’s never been lost on me, being humble and having that humility, irrespective of what else is going on in your life, people respond to that. They want to see that in people, and he had that in abundance.

“There are many parts of my journey so far that I scratch my head about, and that’s one of the big ones, for sure, how one of the world’s best-ever footballers ended up on our doorstep and in my car at different times! I remember driving him in the most embarrassing car, I still cringe today, but he never batted an eyelid. That was what I was driving, and he was happy to be in my company.”