Budapest- Hungarian officials on Sunday officially unveiled a football academy named after recently-deceased football legend Ferenc Puskas a day before what would have been his 80th birthday. Puskas, who died on November 17, 2006 following a long illness, shone for Hungary's "Golden Team" and Real Madrid in the 1950s and 1960s and is considered one of the greatest players of all time.
Andy Roxburgh, technical director of European football's ruling body UEFA, attended the ceremony and paid tribute to Puskas in the name of the organization's new president, Michel Platini.
"Michel Platini wishes every success to this academy, which bears the name of one of the most gifted footballers who ever lived," Roxburgh said.
Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger was due to attend the opening, but called off, citing illness following his team's 4-1 loss to Liverpool on Saturday.
However, former Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, as well as Gyula Grocsis and Jeno Buzanszky, the last two surviving members of the Golden Team, attended the ceremony.
The Golden Team, also known as the Mighty Magyars, dominated international football in the 1950s and Puskas shone the brightest in a team of stars. He scored 83 goals in 84 games for Hungary between 1945 and 1956.
The team went 32 games unbeaten, won an Olympic gold and became the first team to defeat England at Wembley, winning 6-3 in 1953. Hungary then rubbed more salt into the wounds by beating England 7-1 in Hungary.
However, the Mighty Magyars lost the 1954 World Cup final to West Germany as Puskas struggled with injury.
Football officials hope the new academy will help revive the fortunes of the ailing Hungarian game, which has never again reached the heights of Puskas's day.
The national side has little chance of qualifying for the 2008 European Championships after a string of bad results, including a humiliating 2-1 defeat to Malta.
Hungary last managed to qualify for a major tournament in 1986, when they were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup in Mexico.
Club football is faring little better, with many teams playing in crumbling stadia to only a few thousand fans and dropping out in the early rounds of European competition.
