Alfredo Di Stefano - Biography

Last Editor: toneyward				Alfredo Di Stefano Biography -   Name : Alfredo Di Stefano Date of birth : July 4, 1926 Place of birth : Barrancas, Buenos Aires

Alfredo Di Stefano Trivia -

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Alfredo Di Stefano Detailed Biography -

Alfredo Di Stéfano (born July 4, 1926 in Barrancas, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-born former footballer acknowledged as one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is most associated with Real Madrid, and with Ferenc Puskas was instrumental in their domination of the European Cup during the 1950s, a period in which the club won the trophy in five consecutive seasons from 1956. Di Stèfano also played international football for Argentina, Colombia, and Spain. Di Stéfano was a powerful forward blessed with stamina, tactical versatility, and above all vision that allowed him to act as the conductor to Real's symphony of attacking football. Born to a family of Italian immigrants, Di Stéfano's career started with River Plate in Argentina, in 1943. He won six league titles in the first 12 years of his career in Argentina and Colombia (playing for the Millonarios in Bogota) before moving to Real in 1953. Their rivals FC Barcelona believed they had secured his services, the Spanish government then proposed a Salomonic solution which was rejected by Barcelona, allowing Real Madrid to secure his services. With 49 goals in 58 matches, Di Stéfano was for decades the leading scorer in European club football, his record only being surpassed by Real's Raul in 2005. Perhaps the highlight of his time with the club was their 7-3 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup Final at Hampden Park, a game many consider to be the finest exhibition of club football witnessed in Europe. He was voted European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959. Di Stéfano won numerous domestic league and cup titles with Real, but never graced a World Cup Finals tournament. He moved to Espanyol in 1964 and played there until hanging up his boots at the age of 40. After retirement, he moved into coaching. He guided the Argentine clubs Boca Juniors and River Plate to league titles, and won the Spanish championship and cup with Valencia as well as the European Cup Winners' Cup with the side in 1980. He also managed Real between 1982 and 1984. Today, he is honorary president of the Madrid club. Di Stéfano is currently the 3rd highest scorer in the history of Spain's top division, with 228 goals in 329 games, behind Hugo Sánchez (234 goals) and Telmo Zarra (251). Di Stéfano is also Real Madrid's highest league goalscorer of all time, with 216 goals in 282 league matches between 1953 and 1964. Di Stéfano was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004, and is reckoned by many authorities to be among the half-dozen most talented attacking players in soccer's history, on a par with Diego Maradona, George Best, Johan Cruijff and Pelé himself. During his time as a player, some considered Di Stefano to be even better than Pelé. On Saturday December 24, 2005, Di Stefano suffered a heart attack. He is currently stable. Alfredo Di Stefano also once said of Maradona "Technically, on an individual basis, he is far superior to me in what he can do with a ball, my ability to cover an entire field and versatility is what I hold over him, though with the right training he could easily do the same." An amazing tribute from a man many consider the best of all time, certainly the Spanish do.