The 1950’s saw many significant changes to the world of football. It saw the passing of the great Hungary side and the rise of the Brazilians, the birth of the European Cup and tragically the passing of many enormously talented footballers in the Munich air disaster.
There are two main factors which determine whether a player ranks – and where they rank – in these sevens. One is how good they were, and the other is for how much of the decade in question they were A) playing and B) playing at that high level. For example, at the end of the 1950’s, Pele was arguably the best player in the world, but he was only 10 when the decade began, so has no chance of featuring.
Here are our 7 greatest footballers of the 1950’s:
7. Fritz Walter
In at seventh place is Fritz Walter. Given that Fritz Walter was 30 in 1950, you could be forgiven for thinking he was past his best in the 1950’s and had no place in this seven. To that, one should point out that he captained Germany to glory at the 1954 World Cup, and was arguably their best player until getting injured in the semi-finals in 1958 as well. A remarkably intelligent footballer, Walter was a clinical scorer and brilliant passer of a ball. He scored 357 goals in 364 games for Kaiserslautern from attacking midfield.
6. Nilton Santos
Probably the greatest left-back in the history of the game, Nilton Santos was the best player in his position throughout the entirety of the 1950’s. Whilst his style would be considered conservative by today’s standards, Santos’ attack-minded approach to the role of full-back was revolutionary at the time, and today’s full-backs owe him a lot. Technically excellent and brilliant defensively, Santos represented Brazil in three World Cup’s and won two of them. He spent his entire club career with Botafogo, and was named in FIFA’s World Team of the Twentieth Century in 1998.
5. John Charles
Aug 1962: John Charles of Leeds United. Mandatory Credit: Don Morley
We are big fans of John Charles, and he takes fifth in this seven. A loveable giant, Charles had the appearance of a big bruiser, but a footballing ability and intelligence which could rival the finest of diminutive South American midfielders. Originally a centre-half at Leeds United, he was a colossus in defence despite his limited years. They then tried him out as a centre-forward, and low and behold, he was brilliant there too. He is best remembered for his time with Leeds and Juventus, and he was regarded at both clubs as their finest player. He was the First Division top scorer in 1957, and Serie A top scorer in 1958.
4. Jozsef Bozsik
In our all time greatest series, we ranked Jozsef Bozsik as the second greatest defensive midfielder of all time. One of the most intelligent midfield players in the history of the game. There’s not a great deal of footage of Bozsik survived, but to give modern viewers an idea of the kind of player he was, imagine rolling Busquets and Xavi into one. That’s the type of footballer Bozsik was – an anchor for both Hungary and Budapest Honved, with that effortless ability to recycle possession and pick passes. He won Olympic Gold with Hungary in 1952, and reached a World Cup final in 1954.
3. Laszlo Kubala
Hungarian-born forward Laszlo Kubala (R) juggles with the ball in front of Argentinian-born teammate Alfredo Di Stefano during Spain’s national soccer team practice 12 March 1958 in…
Up until Lionel Messi came along and started re-writing what was and wasn’t possible within the game of football, Laszlo Kubala was widely regarded as FC Barcelona’s greatest ever player. A wonderful all-rounder who most often operated as a second striker, Kubala had terrific wizardry over the ball, a tremendous shot from both close and long range, and he was a menace in the air. Although he was born in Budapest, Kubala won only 3 caps for his native country, adopting Spanish nationality following his move to Barcelona. The Catalan giants supposedly took the decision to build the enormous Camp Nou stadium as its predecessor wasn’t large enough to accomodate the hoards of people eager to witness Kubala in action. He scored 131 goals in 186 league games for Barca between 1951 and 1961.
2. Ferenc Puskas
One man who played rather more football for the Hungarian national team, also having been born in Budapest, is Ferenc Puskas. Hungary were the greatest national team of the 1950’s, whilst Real Madrid were the outstanding club side, and Puskas was a focal point for both teams. Stanley Matthews tells of a story in his autobiography when a retired Puskas was coaching a group of young boys alongside George Best and Denis Law in Australia. The boys were split into three groups and designated one of the coaches. Those in Puskas’ group weren’t too impressed, mocking their assigned coach for his broken English and big belly. Best and Law overheard this, so they lined 10 balls up 20 yards from the goal and asked the youngsters how many times they thought their coach would be able to hit the crossbar.
‘None! He won’t be able to see the ball over his belly!’ said one. Puskas proceeded to strike the crossbar with every single kick. They stopped mocking him after that. Despite not having much of a right foot and presenting little threat in the air, Puskas had one of the best left foots the game has ever seen. He averaged better than a goal a game over the course of his career.
1. Alfredo di Stefano
25th October 1960: Spanish footballer Alfredo di Stefano, one of the world’s greatest forwards, spinning a ball on one finger during Spain’s team practice at Roehampton in preparation for…
The greatest footballer of the 1950’s – and one of the greatest to have laced up their boots in the entire history of the game – in top spot is Alfredo di Stefano. The most complete player in the history of the game, giving Di Stefano a position is a near-impossible task. He has the goal scoring record of a world class poacher, yet his starting position was often deep in his own half. He was the engine, the beating heart and the chief creator in that great Real Madrid side which won five consecutive European Cups. Di Stefano wasn’t big or strong, but he was supremely intelligent, a magician on the ball and clinical in front of goal. He started the 1950’s with Millonarios in Colombia, before spending 11 years at Real Madrid from 1953 to 1964. He won the Ballon d’Or twice, and really ought to have had a couple more.
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