I would like to discuss the early career of the Hungarian, specifically, from 1945 to 1950. In my opinion, he was already the best footballer in the world, in terms of numbers and international importance, do you think? How did his Kispest play in those years? In the national team they have already adopted the WM for a few years, but in the club???
I have recently been reworking my worldwide top 23 player lists and reading/translating a lot of old match reports and I have him on the podium as early as 1946-47. It is very apparent to all the contemporary sources early on that he is a special/different player in terms of skill level, tactical acumen etc.
He rarely played against top level opposition for either club (friendlies) or country (Elo ranking) before 1951-1952. Also: it was just after the war. That is not to be underestimated.
Better than El Charro Moreno? Zizinho? Mazzola? Stanley Matthews? Di Stefano? On that period I think no
Most goals in a single European league season Dixie Dean 1927/28 60 league goals Ferenc Puskas 1947/48 50 league goals Lionel Messi 2011/12 50 league goals Tom Waring 1930/31 49 league goals Cristiano Ronaldo 2014/15 48 league goals Ferenc Puskas 1948/49 46 league goals Héctor Yazalde 1973/74 46 league goals Cristiano Ronaldo 2011/12 46 league goals Lionel Messi 2012/13 46 league goals Dixie Dean 1931/32 45 league goals
Me too, reading and translating articles from every nation, have the same opinion as you. I can't find anything, however, about his role in Kispest. PS where can I find your review?
Since 1946/47 puskas dominates with goals and assists both nationally and internationally. The others are not at his level at all.
Beyond the numbers, it's about context. Puskas has had a dominant and continuous five-year period both at club and national level, scoring tons of goals. Di Stefano much less so.
That's really hard to compare since we don't have data for it and little to no footage. Both Di Stefano and Puskás were rising stars before 1950 and very prolific in therms of goalscoring. But we have no idea of how much they produced in therms of assisting. Another thing is to evaluate the relative strength of their leagues (Argentine/Colombian vs Hungarian) in comparison to the team's they played for. On top of all this players like Stanley Matthews can't be evaluated by their numbers of G/A. At @IceBlood34 's thread Puskás isn't at the top of any year between 1945 and 1950 and he hadn't the best average ranking on that period also: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/b...igsoccer-users.2119696/page-100#post-42679878
Puskas drags the little Kispesti to almost win the title in those years. I think his dominance is tangible also from this, as well as from the numbers. My only regret is not being able to watch entire games of that period. Also because I would like to understand if he was an inside forward in the WM or in the 2-3-5 in that club
I don't have him in real contention for #1 for any season before 1949-50, but in 46-47 and 47-48 he is in contention for ~ 3rd best player of the season in my opinion. Also Moreno is not really a factor in my opinion for best player in the world post 1945, and I don't think Di Stefano is on that level until post 1950. My updated podiums for the seasons between 45-50 1945-46 Podium: 1) Pedernera 2) Zizinho 3) Carter Contenders: Waddell, Labruna 1946-47 Podium: 1) Lawton 2) Mannion 3) Pontoni Contenders: Martino, Mazzola, Puskas 1947-48 Podium: 1) Mortensen 2) Matthews 3) Gren Contenders: Nordahl, Loustau 1948-49 Podium: 1) Mazzola 2) Gren 3) Deak Contenders: Basora 1949-50 Podium: 1) Ademir 2) Puskas 3) Ghiggia Contenders: Varela, Zizinho, Decker In a lot of the big international matches in 46-47 (Austria, Italy, Yugoslavia) he is described as more of a organizer, schemer, and a dribbler than at other points in his career, and the Italians (La Stampa) explicitly compare him to Mazzola in the post match reports. He is very mobile and covering a ton of ground popping up all over the place.
In my personal seasonal podium, puskas is second in 46-47 (behind mazzola), in 47-48 (behind di stefano) and first in 1948-49. Obviously my criteria include those who excel on multiple fronts, with greater prominence in the international one. I also read the newspaper LA STAMPA of the period, but I miss knowing how puskas played in the club, namely kispest.
Anyway, for those years, in 235 or 325, the forward line adopted a W formation, I mean, the two Inside Forwards playing behind an attacking trio. So, I guess, Puskas as IF in the 40s, was more an Attacking Mid or Mediapunta.
His goal average, however, would suggest something completely different. In which years do you think he became a second striker at the club?