Hungary pays final tribute to Hidegkuti
Monday, March 4, 2002
Article summary
Hungary said a final farewell on Monday to Nándor Hidegkuti, one of the legendary 'Magic Magyars'.
Article body
Hungary has said a final, solemn farewell to Nándor Hidegkuti, one of the nation's football heroes from the legendary 'Magic Magyars' of the 1950s.
Two thousand people
Hidegkuti died in hospital last month, just short of his 80th birthday. He had been ill for some time with heart and lung problems. Hungary's greatest player, Ferenc Puskás, and the country's prime minister, Viktor Orbán, a keen amateur footballer, were among some 2,000 people who attended Hidegkuti's televised funeral at a Catholic cemetery in Óbuda, a northern suburb of Budapest.
Only survivors
Under a clear sky, Hidegkuti's former team-mates Puskás, Jeno Buzanszky and Gyula Grosics, stood in silence before his ashes in a golden urn. Officials from Hungary's Olympic committee and the Hungarian Football Federation, political leaders and fans crowded around his final resting place. Several dozen wreaths bore testimony to the loss of a national sporting icon.
Golden era
Between 1945 and 1958, Hidegkuti won 68 caps and scored 39 goals. During his heyday as a player, he helped Hungary to Olympic gold in 1952 and was in the team that lost to Germany in the 1954 FIFA World Cup final.
