A souvenir edition of the official matchday programme has been created to commemorate the 70-year anniversary of Wolves’ historic floodlit friendly win against Honved in 1954.
The Honved victory on 13th December 1954 remains one of the most cherished moments in Wolves’ rich history. It wasn’t just about beating a great team, but about showcasing British football on a global stage and igniting the spark that would lead to the formation of Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
Family members of the team that evening, as well as representatives from Honved, will be present at Molineux for the visit of Ipswich Town on Saturday, where the anniversary will be honoured.
As part of the celebrations, the club has produced a commemorative 100-page special edition matchday programme, which tells the incredible story of how Wolves, under the lights of Molineux, helped lay the foundation for European football we know today.
The programme goes in depth to outline the building blocks which came before the match which helped set it up to be the important clash it was, as well as giving the background on the 11 players as well as manager Stan Cullis who played their role that evening.
As part of the dozens of pages dedicated to the occasion, which features rarely seen images from 70 years ago, there are also memories of those who were present at the game, and how the match led to one of the greatest footballers of all time, George Best, becoming an Old Gold supporter.
The programme also goes in depth on the Honved side of the game, as the legacy of forward Ferenc Puskas is brought to life, and we hear from Hungarian Imre Florian Tolgyesi Stanley, a Wolverhampton local since 1996, who acted as Puskas' interpreter when he returned to the Black Country almost 30 years ago.
There is also a look at the eye-catching sculpture by Cradley Heath artist Luke Perry which is honouring the historic meeting and is set to be unveiled ahead of Saturday's match.
As well as the Honved celebrations, there’s plenty of up-to-date content, including columns from head coach Gary O’Neil and captain Mario Lemina and exclusive features with Joao Gomes and Nelson Semedo.
There is also the usual updates from Wolves Women - including a quirky Q&A with Destiney Toussaint - Wolves Academy and Wolves Foundation, while former defender Richard Stearman goes Back to the Future.
The special edition programme is available by clicking here or from around Molineux on a matchday. A yearly subscription for the whole 2024/25 season is also available by clicking here.
