Alfredo Di StéfanoAn idol, a legend, a passion.

INDEX❾ HIS LIFE❾ PROFESSIONAL CAREER❾ STATISTICS❾ SPORTING SUCCESS❾ INTERESTING DATA❾ VIDEO

Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé (4 July 1926 – 7 July 2014) was a footballer and coach, who has been called the best, most complete and influential footballer of all time. He was most associated with Real Madrid and was instrumental in their domination of the European Champions' Cup during the 1950s.

Di Stéfano, nicknamed "Saeta rubia" ("Blond Arrow"), was a powerful and quick forward, with great creativity and vision, who could also play almost anywhere on the pitch. He is currently the sixth highest scorer in the history of Spain's top division, and Real Madrid's third highest league goalscorer of all time. He is Madrid's leading goalscorer in the history of El Clásico.

HIS LIFE

HIS LIFE Born in Barracas, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Di

Stéfano was the son of Alfredo Di Stéfano and Eulalia Laulhé Gilmont.

Di Stéfano married Sara Freites in 1950, they had six children; Alfredo, Ignacio, Sofia, Silvana, Helena and Nanette, who died in December 2012. At the time of his death he was dating his Costa Rican girlfriend Gina González, his former secretary, 50 years his junior.

Following an heart attack on 5 July 2014, the 88-year-old Di Stéfano was moved to intensive care in the Gregorio Marañón hospital in Madrid, where he died on 7 July 2014.

He 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. He won six league titles during the first 12 years of his career in Argentina and Colombia.

Di Stéfano was best known for his time at Real Madrid where he was an integral part of one of the most successful teams of all time. He scored 216 league goals in 262 games for Real Madrid.

He was awarded the Ballon d'Or for the European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959. He moved to Espanyol in 1964 and played there until retiring 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 La Liga and the Copa del Rey with Valencia as well as the European Cup Winners' Cup with the side in 1980. He also managed Sporting in the 1974/75 season and Real Madrid between 1982 and 1984.

PROFESSIONAL CARRER

STATISTICS

0150300

Goals

Goals

CLUB MATCHES

GOALS AVERAGEGOALSCORIN

GC.A. River

PlateArgentina

(1945-1949)

90 55 0,61

C.A. HuracánArgentina

(1946)27 10 0,37

C.D. Los MillonariosColombia

(1949-1952)

111 100 0,90

Real Madrid C.F

Spain(1953-1964)

396 307 0,76

R.C.D EspañolSpain

(1964-1966)60 14 0,23

TOTAL 684 486 0,71

SPORTING SUCCESS

Distinction YearTop scorer of

Argentina’s soccer league’s first division

1947

Top scorer of Colombia’s soccer

league’s first division1951, 1952

Top scorer of South American’s soccer 1947, 1951

Top scorer of Spain’s soccer league’s first

division1954, 1956, 1957,

1958, 1959

Top scorer of the European Cup 1957, 1958, 1959

Golden Ball 1957, 1959

Silver Ball 1956

Super-Golden ball 1989

Marca legend 1999

FIFA 100 2004

Award Year

Honorary president of Real Madrid

2000-2014

FIFA Order of Merit 1994

UEFA President

Award2008

National Sports Award

2011

Individual distinctions

Awards

INTERESTING DATAOn the night of 24 August 1963, the Venezuelan revolutionary group Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), kidnapped Alfredo Di Stéfano at gunpoint from the Potomac Hotel in Caracas while his team, Real Madrid, were on a pre-season tour of South America. Di Stefano was released unharmed two days later close to the Spanish embassy without a ransom being paid, and Di Stefano stressed that his kidnappers had not mistreated him. Di Stefano played in a match against São Paulo FC the day after he was released and received a standing ovation.

VIDEO

THE END