'The greatest Barcelona player ever'

Halcyon days
As well as inspiring the Catalans to unprecedented success in the 1950s, he was also credited with revolutionising the Spanish game. Kubala won four league titles, five Spanish Cups and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups in 11 seasons at Camp Nou. That he represented three international teams too - Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Spain – underlined his unique talent.

Hungarian background 
Born into a Slovakian family in the Hungarian capital Budapest, Ladislav (his family name) played first for Ferencvárosi TC and Vasas SC as a teenager. He then betrayed his roots by moving to Czechoslovakia to join SK Šlovan Bratislava.

Into exile 
He returned briefly to Hungary, only to flee when the communists came to power - escaping across the border into Austria in a lorry with false Russian markings. But it was FIFA's intervention which confirmed him as an exile, and ushered him, unwittingly, towards Spain. World football's governing body supported a request by the Hungarian Football Federation (MLS) to ban Kubala and prevent him joining an Italian club.

Barcelona break 
Instead he linked up with a team of eastern European refugees. And it was playing for the Hungaria side that he was spotted by Pepe Samitier. Legend has it that Kubala was blind drunk when the ex-Barcelona star turned agent put him on a train from Madrid to Barcelona to initiate his transfer in 1950. Though Kubala sobered up enough to sign on and make his debut in April that year - the first of 329 appearances yielding 256 goals.

'Equipo de las cinco copas' 
His arrival coincided with a golden era. Blessed with strength, technique and power in his boots, Kubala was the ideal attacking complement to the 'equipo de las cinco copas'. The so-called 'team of the five cups' lifted five trophies between 1951 and 1953. The pity was that their domestic achievements would be overshadowed by Madrid's early dominance of the European Champion Clubs' Cup.

Mightiest of Magyars
For a decade, though, Kubala was the hero of a city. And even after Ferenc Puskás and other Hungarians followed him to the Primera División, Kubala remained Spain's original Magyar - with ball skills and devastating shooting to match.

Goals galore
Kubala liked to enjoy himself off the field too, and his taste for the high life was a source of conflict with the club's management. But he stayed long enough to become the Barcelona's second-top goalscorer behind the man who had brought him to the Ciudad Condal, Samitier.

An Espanyol swansong
Then, after an ill-fated interlude as Barça coach, he moved across the city to end his playing days with Espanyol, alongside his old Madrid nemesis Alfredo di Stefano.

Coaching credits
By the time he hung up his boots, Kubala had played 19 times for Spain, registering 11 goals. Yet it was as a coach that he served his adopted country with distinction. He trained the national team between 1969 and 1980. His other coaching credits include Barcelona (again), Espanyol, Real Murcia CF, Elche CF, Córdoba CF, Málaga CF and spells in Switzerland, Canada, Paraguay and Saudi Arabia.

Where the heart is
Barcelona was home to Kubala though, and well into old age he would join former team-mates for a weekly kick-around near the club's stadium. In recent years he had suffered with Alzheimer's and suffered with blood circulation problems.