Blast from the past: Honved heroes who shaped the future in historic Wolves match

This week marks the anniversary Hungarian side Honved arrived at Molineux for a fixture that would go on to define the global game we know and love today,

Fresh from being crowned champions of England, Stan Cullis's side entertained Honved on December 13, 1954, as part of a series of 'floodlit friendlies'.

Wolves came from two goals down to run out 3-2 winners in a pulsating contest thanks to a Roy Swinbourne brace and a Johnny Hancocks goal.

The evening clash had been made possible by floodlights erected at Molineux the previous year at a cost of £10,000.

Very few stadiums in England, or indeed Europe, could boast such facilities at the time.

And the magic of the lights together with the game captured the imagination of Gabriel Hanot, editor of the French newspaper L'Equipe.

The journalist had ventured to the West Midlands on what was a cold and wet winter's night.

But he was so impressed by the tie that he set about launching a competition in which Europe's elite could compete.

"A championship of the world, or at least of Europe, for clubs deserves to be promoted," he wrote. "We're going to give it a try."

But as well as shaping what is now known as the Champions League, the floodlit match also dragged English football out of the darkness.

Honved featured six of the Hungary side, dubbed the Magical Magyars, that had humiliated England 6-3 at Wembley in November 1953.

The Hungarians then followed that up with a 7-1 hammering of England in Budapest in May 1954 – with the Three Lions suddenly deemed technically inferior to their opponents.

The great Ferenc Puskas scored twice in both games and was also an integral member of the Honved team.

With Puskas in the side as well as Sandor Kocsis – the man regarded as the best defender in the world at time – media interest in Honved's visit to Molineux was huge.

Television cameras pitched up to broadcast the match at a time when games were rarely ever televised.

And the sense of occasion was not lost on the players.

Speaking afterwards, striker Swinbourne said: "Wolves never played a match in which there was so much pride involved."

It was a particularly special night for Billy Wright, who was the only Wolves player that featured in England's two defeats to Hungary.

'Wolverhampton did British football proud under the night sky',' The Times triumphantly boasted afterwards. The Daily Mail meanwhile declared Wolves as the champions of the world in what proved to be the start of European football as we now know it.