Magical Magyars : The Rise and Fall of the World's Once Greatest Football Team

The story of the Magical Magyars is one of the most remarkable in football history. Author David Bailey details how a tiny, beleaguered nation under the rule of a brutal Stalinist dictatorship produced a team that enthralled, dominated and revolutionised world football - until its own demise was brought about by a revolution of a different kind.

Magical Magyars tells the remarkable story of the legendary Hungarian football team of the 50s, a side whose breathtaking technical skills and passing-and-movement style of play changed the very way the sport was played. Author David Bailey traces the team''s origins and details how communist Hungary, a tiny nation impoverished and subjugated by one of the most brutal Stalinist regimes in the Soviet empire, was able to produce a football team that was the envy of the sporting world, and so very nearly world champions. Captained by the genius that was Ferenc Puskas, the Magical Magyars walked a tightrope between being the regime''s darlings and providing the beleaguered Hungarian people with a sense of national pride during their darkest days. The team enthralled, dominated and revolutionised world football - until its own demise was brought about by a revolution of a different kind. Weaving in threads of friendship and betrayal, tactics and politics, the quest for glory and upheaval, here is a football story quite unlike any other.