Buoyant in Budapest - Postecolou's Spurs stars are playing the Puskas way

Tottenham's Archie Gray, left, is challenged by Ferencvaros' Adama Traore during the Europa League clash in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Europa League: Ferencvaros 1 Tottenham 2

BUDAPEST might be an unlikely site of pilgrimage, especially for an Australian, but the capital of Hungary holds a special place in the heart of Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham's manager.

Budapest was the birthplace of his hero and mentor Ferenc Puskas, who spent three years coaching the young Postecoglu as a player at South Melbourne in the 1980s.

More than that, Postecoglou acted as an interpreter and driver for the great Hungarian, who had won the Champions League three times with Real Madrid and was the star of the Magical Magyars who thrashed England twice early in the 1950s, winning 6-3 at Wembley and then 7-1 back in Budapest.

It was those defeats, and the style with which Puskas and his team-mates played, that forced a rethink in the English game and kickstarted a switch to more sophisticated football.

And Puskas' influence was just as great on Postecoglou, who admitted to formulating a lot of his coaching ideas long before he retired from playing. The Australian has regularly acknowledged the influence of Puskas on him, and did so again in his pre-match press conference before the match.

Asked by a local journalist about his relationship with the man he calls “Mr Puskas”, Postecoglou said: “I do have a special connection, for me anyway, with Mr Puskas. I was blessed to be able to spend three years in the company of one of the greatest footballers of all time but more importantly for me an outstanding person.

“He was one of the greatest people I've ever come across and I feel really fortunate to have had those three years with him, where I was able to sit there and talk to a person who in the football world had done everything but more importantly a person who I had so much respect and admiration for.

Ferencvaros' Barnabas Varga, centre left, scores his side's opening goal  (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

"I still think about it and it still feels unreal to me that I got that opportunity, being based in Australia. As you get older you keep those experiences even more. I would love for him to still be around today to see where I am because he played a role in me becoming certainly the football manager I am. He played a role in that but also the person I’ve become.” 

It was not Postecoglou's first time in Budapest, having brought Celtic to the grand old city for a meeting with Ferencvaros in the Champions League four years ago. He knows all about the special atmosphere Hungarians fans can create.

The Groupama Stadium, where Ferencvaros play, is a modern and atmospheric stadium, but not as grand as the Puskas arena that staged games at the 2021 European Championship. Everywhere you go in Budapest, fans are keen to talk about football, which for many years was the country's greatest source of pride, not least when Hungary was under Soviet rule after the Second World War.

Even though they have struggled to recapture the glory days of the 1950s, Hungary have still had their moments, beating England twice two years ago, including a 4-0 win at Molineux.

Budapest today is a thriving and modern European city, and Ferencvaros are their top team, having won all six of their league games so far this season to lead the league. Postecoglou was aware of the threat they posed and the prospect of a lively atmosphere.

“I'm looking forward to the game,” he'd said beforehand. “It's going to be a great challenge. I know in this stadium, the atmosphere is going to be good. They get behind their team, they love European football here and I think it's one that me and the players are looking forward to.” 

Indeed the Ferencvaros ultras, who have caused their club to be sanctioned on more than one occasion by UEFA, released flares at half-time that are likely to bring a fine, especially as play was held up momentarily to allow the smoke to clear from the pitch.

The home fans rarely stopped singing, even after Pape Sarr had given a much-changed Spurs side the lead midway through the first half. It was, as Postecolgou had predicted, a lively and atmospheric match and a good test for his young side. Tottenham included four teenagers in the starting line-up of a European game for the first time since 2009, when a young Gareth Bale was coming through. One of them, Mikey Moore, only turned 17 recently. There are high hopes for the young Londoner, and it is easy to see why, as he adapted to the pace and physicality of a full-throttle European tie.

Archie Gray is only 18 and gave a classy performance as a makeshift centre-back to show why Tottenham paid Leeds €45m this summer, and Postecolou can be pleased that his young players are learning to play the right way, just as he learned to do under Puskas all those years ago.