Real Madrid
Dedicated Their Saturday Win to Puskás
INDEX
19 November 2006, 14:08
Real
Madrid dedicated their Saturday championship win against Racing Santander
to Ferenc Puskás, who passed away on Friday. Before the group match, fans
listened in silence to the club's anthem, then 78,000 people cheered the
name of the Hungarian player together.
In honour
of Ferenc Puskás's memory, the Spanish football championship match between
Real Madrid and Racing Santander began with a moment of silence. The
players from Madrid took to the field wearing black armbands in mourning.
On the capital city club's official website, along with the announcement
of the group match, the players stated that they would like to dedicate a
win to Real's legendary footballer, Ferenc Puskás.
During the moment of silence, the 78,000 spectators present listened in
profound stillness to Real's centennial anthem, part of which is played on
the cello. After the anthem, all the spectators cheered the name Puskás,
the fantastic footballer who passed away at dawn on Friday. Meanwhile,
clips of the most memorable moments from his life were shown on the giant
screen in Bernabeu Stadium.
The group
match soon proved that the players from Madrid were not full of hot air;
they did indeed intend to bid farewell to their one-time great in victory.
In the fifth minute, following a pass from Reyes, Sergio Ramos scored.
After his goal, he kissed his black armband and lifted it to the sky.
In the second half, the home team was more active, and goals from Ryes and
Diarra had them leading by 3-0. The guest team finally managed to make
matters better when Garay scored a goal. Only Guti spoiled the celebratory
mood when he was sent off by a referee in the 88th minute.
After the
final whistle, Raul Gonzalez, the Madrid captain, said that the Real
players had already decided before the match that they would play against
Santander in memory of Ferenc Puskás and later dedicate their win to the
fantastic Golden Team footballer.
Ferenc Puskás played for real Madrid between 1958 and 1967. The Spanish
club were champions six times, two-time winners of the King's Cup, and
three-time winners of the European Cup Championship.
Primera Division, 11th round:
Real Madrid - Racing Santander 3-1 (1-0) Goal scorers: Sergio Ramos (5th minute), Reyes (58th minute), Diarra
(73rd minute), as well as Garay (76th minute) Sent out: Guti (88., Real Madrid)
