Alfredo Di Stéfano
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For other uses, see Alfredo Di Stéfano (disambiguation).
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Di
Stéfano and the second or maternal family name is
Laulhé.
Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé[2] (Spanish
pronunciation: [alˈfɾeðo ðjesˈtefano]; 4 July 1926 – 7
July 2014) was a professional footballer and
coach who played as a forward, regarded as one
of the greatest footballers of all time.[3]
Nicknamed "Saeta Rubia" ("Blond Arrow"),[7] he
is best known for his achievements with Real
Madrid, where he was instrumental in the club's
domination of the European Cup and La Liga
during the 1950s and 1960s. Along with Francisco
Gento and José María Zárraga, he was one of only
three players to play a part in all five European
Cup victories, scoring goals in each of the five
finals. Di Stéfano played international football
mostly for Spain after moving to Madrid, but he
also played for Argentina and Colombia.
Alfredo Di Stéfano
Di Stefano with Real Madrid in 1959
Personal information
Full name Alfredo Stéfano Di
Stéfano Laulhé[1]
Date of birth 4 July 1926
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date of death 7 July 2014 (aged 88)
Place of death Madrid, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward, midfielder
Youth career
1940–1943 Unión Progresista
1944–1945 River Plate
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1945–1949 River Plate 66 (49)
1945–1946 → Huracán (loan) 25 (10)
1949–1953 Millonarios 101 (90)
1953–1964 Real Madrid 282 (216)
1964–1966 Espanyol 47 (11)
Total 521 (376)
International career
1947 Argentina 6 (6)
1951 Colombia 4 (0)
1957–1961 Spain 31 (23)
Managerial career
1967–1968 Elche
1969–1970 Boca Juniors
1970–1974 Valencia
1974 Sporting CP
1975–1976 Rayo Vallecano
1976–1977 Castellón
1979–1980 Valencia
1981–1982 River Plate
1982–1984 Real Madrid
1985 Boca Juniors
1986–1988 Valencia
1990–1991 Real Madrid
Medal record [show]
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Di Stéfano began his career at Argentina's River
Plate aged 17, in 1943. For the 1946 season he
was loaned to Club Atlético Huracán, but he
returned to River in 1947. Due to a footballers'
strike in Argentina in 1949, Di Stéfano went to play
for Millonarios of Bogotá in the Colombian league.
[8]
He won six league titles during the first 12
years of his career in Argentina and Colombia.[9]
[10]
Following his signing by Real Madrid he was
an integral part of one of the most successful
teams of all time. He scored 216 league goals in
282 games for Real (then a club record, since
surpassed by Raúl, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim
Benzema), striking up a successful partnership
with Ferenc Puskás. Di Stéfano's 49 goals in 58
matches was the all-time highest tally in the
European Cup. The record has since been
surpassed by several players, including the
aforementioned Real Madrid trio. Di Stéfano
scored in five consecutive European Cup finals for
Real Madrid between 1956 and 1960, including a
hat-trick in the last. Perhaps, the highlight of his
time with the club was their 7–3 victory over
Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 final at Hampden
Park, a game many consider to be the finest
exhibition of club football ever witnessed in
Europe.[8] He moved to Espanyol in 1964 and
played there until retiring at the age of 40.[10]
Di Stéfano was awarded the Ballon d'Or for the
European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959.
[9]
He is currently the seventh highest scorer in
the history of Spain's top division, and Real
Madrid's fourth highest league goalscorer of all
time. He is Madrid's leading goalscorer in the
history of El Clásico, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
[11][12]
In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's
Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of
Spain by the Royal Spanish Football Federation as
their most outstanding player of the past 50
years.[13] He was voted fourth, behind Pelé, Diego
Maradona, and Johan Cruyff, in a vote organized
by France Football magazine which consulted
their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect the
Football Player of the Century.[14] In 2004, he was
named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's
greatest living players (in September 2009, he
said Di Stéfano was the best player "ever").[15] In
2008 Di Stéfano was honoured by both UEFA and
Real Madrid with a special Presidents' award
issued by FIFA at a ceremony in Madrid, where a
statue was also unveiled. Then UEFA President
Michel Platini called Di Stéfano "a great amongst
the greats" while contemporaries Eusébio and
Just Fontaine suggested that he was "the most
complete footballer in the history of the game".[16]
Early life
Club career
International career
Managerial career
After retirement
Style of play
Death
Personal life
Career statistics
Honours
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Last edited 8 days ago by Naraht
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