South American Tour of the Honvéd of Budapest

Bp. Honvéd represented Hungary in the 1956–1957 edition of the European Cup. The Hungarian team entered the competition in the Round of 16, where they were set to face the Basque side Athletic Bilbao. Although the Hungarian team was originally designated as the home side for the first leg, the two clubs swapped home-field advantage due to the 1956 Revolution, hoping that the situation in Budapest would stabilize by the time of the return leg. The first match was scheduled for November 22.

Due to the revolutionary events, the Kispest team sought to travel early to prepare for the match in Bilbao. This required approval from the highest political leadership. Puskás and his teammates received the necessary permit on October 29 from Zoltán Vas, the government commissioner for public supplies; this was subsequently approved by Imre Nagy, the Prime Minister. The team was in Vienna when news arrived that Soviet tanks had entered Budapest. Although Budapest Honvéd was ordered to return home, József Bozsik and his teammates failed to go back. Reconstituting themselves as a sort of all-star squad – including Ferenc Szusza (Budapesti Dózsa); Mihály Lantos, István Kis Szolnok, and Károly Sándor (from MTK, then known as Vörös Lobogó); Gyula Grosics (who had already been banished to Tatabánya); and national team goalkeeper Bertalan Bagoly (from Dunaújváros) – they sustained themselves through lucrative exhibition matches until the return leg, which UEFA had rescheduled to take place in Brussels on December 20.

The offer for a South American tour was presented to the Honvéd team – led by manager Emil Östreicher – in Paris between late November and early December 1956 by Julius Ukrainczyk, a renowned international match organizer.

The Hungarian Football Federation had strictly forbidden the team from traveling to South America. Nevertheless, the team’s plane landed in Rio de Janeiro on January 9, 1957. The reception was incredible; Pelé later recounted what a defining experience it was for him to watch Puskás and his teammates from the stands. Even the President of Brazil, Juscelino Kubitschek, attended their first match — played on January 19 in the sweltering southern heat in front of 113,000 paying spectators at the Maracanã Stadium. In addition to Rio de Janeiro, they played in São Paulo and in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. On February 19, they played out a 1–1 draw against Flamengo. This was the final match for the legendary Honvéd team; Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis and Zoltán Czibor never played for the squad again. The “Black Tour” thus came to an end: the three stars chose the free world, while the others returned home and resumed their careers after serving suspensions of varying lengths.