Alfredo Di Stefano

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Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé (Buenos Aires, July 4, 1926-Madrid, July 7, 2014), better known as Alfredo Di Stéfano, He was an Argentine soccer player and coach, nationalized Spanish. Legendary player for the River Plate, Millonarios and Real Madrid Club de Fútbol clubs, from 2000 until his death he was honorary president of Real Madrid, to whom as a player he owes his greatest successes and recognitions world cups and who became their all-time top scorer. He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time.

As a player he was international for two countries, a circumstance allowed at the time, counting six matches with the Argentine team and thirty-one with the Spanish team after adopting his nationality in 1956. Despite this, the circumstance occurs that He never played in a World Cup —the most prestigious tournament at the national team level— for different reasons, which has not been an impediment for him to be considered one of the best players in the history of soccer and as the first great player in this sport. His greatest achievement with a national team was the 1947 South American Championship, current Copa América.

Considered by FIFA —the highest soccer body— as one of the four best soccer players of the 20th century along with the Brazilian Pelé, the Argentine Diego Maradona and the Dutchman Johan Cruyff, in 2004 he was chosen the fourth best player in the twentieth century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, as well as the best Spanish player of the xx century. He was also included by the same organization among the 48 football legends, in addition to being awarded by France Football magazine as the best of all Ballon d'Or winners until 1989, a circumstance for which he received the Super Ballon d'Or, being the only footballer in history to own it.

At the time of his retirement, he was the top scorer in the history of Real Madrid C. F. —where he played eleven seasons—, followed by 65 goals by his former teammate Ferenc Puskás, both being members of the well-remembered "Madrid de Di Stéfano" or "Madrid of the five European Cups", designated by UEFA as one of the best teams in history; in addition, he was then the player born in Argentina with the most official titles achieved. His name is directly linked to that of the Madrid club, since -not in vain- his signing for the "merengue" team changed the course of the history of this team until it was proclaimed as the best club of the 20th century, thanks above all to the five consecutive finals won in the Copa de Europe that this club achieved during his time in Madrid, and in which he scored a total of seven goals, being the all-time record for the competition together with the aforementioned Puskás. Likewise, Di Stéfano should be noted for his exquisite technical quality and his versatility in the field, being therefore qualified by experts, ex-soccer players and fans as the most complete player that soccer has given worldwide.

In 1963 he was kidnapped in Caracas by the Venezuelan National Liberation Armed Forces (FALN), as part of a publicity strategy for the armed group. He was released after three days without suffering any harm.

Due to his goals, achievements and career, he was inducted by FIFA into the Football Hall of Fame in 2011. He was also inducted into the predecessor project, the International Football Hall of Champions (IFHOC-FIFA) in 1997, and on December 14, 2020 he was included as an attacking midfielder in the second historic Ballon d'Or Dream Team.

Trajectory

Origins

Alfredo Di Stéfano in his stage at the Club Atlético River Plate (1947)

Alfredo Di Stéfano was born on July 4, 1926 in the Barracas neighborhood, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, into a lower-middle-class family. His father, Italian-Argentine, was also his name was Alfredo Di Stéfano; his mother was Eulalia Laulhé Gilmont and his paternal grandfather, Michele, was the first Di Stefano to arrive in Buenos Aires from the Neapolitan island of Capri (Italy).

Between 1940 and 1943 he played with his brother Tulio in the Unión Progresista Social and Sports Club, until he received a telegram quoting him for a trial with Club Atlético River Plate. club, where he remained until he played his first match playing for the first team on July 15, 1945 against Club Atlético Huracán on matchday 12 of the league championship that ended in a 1-2 defeat. the one who intervened in that tournament, in which his team ended up being crowned champion.

The following year he was loaned to C. A. Huracán, a club that had already realized his immense potential, making his debut on the first day of the championship on April 21 in a 1-0 defeat against Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors. Four days later, he scored his first goal as a professional produced on May 26 at the Tomás Adolfo Ducó Stadium. The forward scored two goals for the 3-1 win over Club Estudiantes de La Plata. with "los quemeros" on April 14, 1946 in the 2-1 victory against Club Atlético Atlanta.

Despite the good lead that Tucho Méndez and Turco Simes had, given the high amount that was requested for his final pass to retain him the following season, the leaders of C. A. Huracán did not pay said amount due to the imminent strike that was coming, where all the players could be left with their rights in their possession above the clubs - a circumstance that ended up happening the following year - and returned to C. A. River Plate. Replacing the great reference of the team Adolfo Pedernera, with whom he would coincide again years later, he became the local idol and it was the year of his explosion as a footballer. That year he won the 1947 league championship and became the tournament's top scorer with 27 goals in 30 games. It was also in that year that he joined the Argentine team for the first time, with which he won the South American Championship, in Guayaquil 1947, playing 6 games and scoring 6 goals. He also played in the eighteenth edition of the Aldao Cup where he scored a goal in the two games of the final that helped his team win the international tournament, and on July 20 he scored the first hat-trick of his career in the 5-1 victory against Club Atlético Tigre.

Already a benchmark and one of the leading men in Argentine soccer, in 1948 he participated in the Copa Sudamericana de Campeones, an official tournament that preceded the Copa Libertadores, where he finished runner-up and scored 4 goals in 6 games. Regarding the domestic championship, he also finished as runner-up behind Club Atlético Independiente, having played 23 games in which he scored 13 goals. Precisely after the game that faced both teams with a final comeback for the "red devils", the footballers' strike took place. Due to this, the Argentine Football Association decided that the last five matches of the championship would be played with non-professional players, or amateurs .It was the beginning of the end of his career in Argentina.

A dispute began between the Argentine Soccer Players Association (FFA) and the government of General Perón that was not resolved until May 1949. The Ministry of Labor imposed a maximum salary of one thousand five hundred pesos, unacceptable by the soccer players and which caused an unprecedented exodus to different countries. He played twelve games in which he scored nine goals before receiving an irresistible offer from Colombia, which was not affiliated with FIFA. Before he curiously played a few minutes as a goalkeeper. The anecdote occurred on July 31, 1949, when he replaced Amadeo Carrizo for 33 minutes. He kept zero under the sticks and his team won 1-0 in the Argentine classic against Club Atlético Boca Juniors.

His time in Colombia

Di Stéfano was one of the almost sixty Argentine soccer players who immigrated to Colombian soccer, whose league had the best South American players of the time. He was signed to join the Club Deportivo Los Millonarios de Bogotá, where together with figures such as his former teammates Adolfo Pedernera and Néstor Rossi, Antonio Báez and Julio Cozzi, among others, he formed one of the best teams on the continent during that time of the beginning of the 1950s, and which was baptized by Colombian journalists as the "Ballet Azul". Equated with great European clubs, the press even claimed that playing against CD Los Millonarios was an honor for any team in the world. Noted for their formidable game, Di Stéfano and his teammates became four-time champions of the league championship (Dimayor); In addition, "la Saeta" -as he was nicknamed- was twice the top scorer in the championship.

In 1952, the Colombian club was invited to participate in an international tournament to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, a tournament in which the Swedish champion from Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Norrköping also took part. Curiously, the invitation was received after a resignation from Club Atlético River Plate, the footballer's original team, and they were the ones who advised the people of Madrid to go to the Colombian team as the one to participate in the tournament. There the Colombian team won the trophy after displaying a great game and defeating Real Madrid Club de Fútbol 2-4, with the Argentine player as the great highlight.

“Millionaires the best team in the world”
“The biggest thing Madrid has ever seen, Millonarios de Bogotá”
“The ballet danced to its craving. An exception player, great quality man who wears the line, moves tirelessly, opens up gap piercing the rival defense with the body and at the same time protects the ball and after its dry and rot dribling places the ball where and as you want. I have referred, of course, to Di Stéfano, the front center and true crack of the Colombian group. ”
“The Millionaires of football dazzled”
“Millonarios Authentic Football Artists.”
Various headlines of the Spanish press after their meetings. April 1952
“He haggled us like banders in a training camp. [...] Di Stéfano was extraordinary. He appeared in defense, in the middle of the field, in attack. He left three of us sitting. When I had the ball, you couldn't take it off, just pray for it to happen."
Miguel Muñoz, rival and later partner after the party.

Logically, he managed to be seen by Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid's president at the time, who decided to hire him. However, these movements did not occur until the achievement of the prestigious Little World Cup for Clubs the following year, when they were encouraged by the close relationship between the presidents of both clubs and in what was the most controversial signing to date in football history. On February 18, 1953, the match against Sportklub Rapid Wien of said tournament, was the farewell to "la Saeta Rubia" leaving for history 90 goals in 101 official matches in the Dimayor, 10 goals in the Colombia Cup in the same number of matches and 51 goals in 61 unofficial national and international matches.

Controversy with FIFA over his transfer rights

Alfredo Di Stéfano starred in, in all probability, the most controversial signing in the history of Spanish football. The controversy arises from the decision of many players from America and Europe —almost 200— to go and play in the Colombian championship of the Colombian Major Division (Dimayor), where they paid more, and where they were accepted without transfers and outside of FIFA.. One of those players was Di Stéfano, who joined the ranks of Club Deportivo Los Millonarios in 1949. The highest soccer establishment, concerned about the turn that the situation was taking, considered that this tournament was not legal and even imposed sanctions on that player. country. In 1951, Ottorino Barassi reached a pact with Dimayor in the so-called "Pact of Lima". In this, FIFA agreed that the players signed up for teams in that country would continue to belong to the new clubs until December 1954 and that, from that date, they would belong to the clubs of origin (Club Atlético River Plate in the case of Di Stéfano), a period during which they could not be transferred. With this, the Colombian league had the approval of FIFA and its teams were allowed to play friendlies outside of Colombia.

The Spanish-Argentine striker, who was practically unknown in Spain until then, excited everyone who attended the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol in March 1952. Amongst the festivities, a tournament was scheduled football club attended by C. D. Los Millonarios de Bogotá. Santiago Bernabéu and José Samitier, president of Real Madrid and technical secretary of C.F. Barcelona respectively, attended the match and were fascinated by Di Stéfano's game. That same summer, the president of the Colombian club, Alfonso Senior, and Santiago Bernabéu became very close friends after playing four friendlies in America on a Spanish club tour of the American continent. At the end of 1952, the player, tired of so many games friendlies and trips with his new club he returned to Buenos Aires. At the same time, CF Barcelona saw how their reference player, Ladislao Kubala, fell ill with tuberculosis and to make up for his absence they decided to travel to sign Di Stéfano and paid an advance of two million pesetas to River Plate, the team that in the first instance he owned half of the membership. New documents from the Argentine club that came to light in 2017 established the transfer of the player at $108,000, which after negotiations was reduced to $87,000 (4 million pesetas at the time) with the condition that payment of half the price be made effective before August 10, and the rest to be paid in installments in successive years.

Real Madrid C. F. traveled to Argentina for the same purpose, but arrived after said negotiations by the Barcelona fans who had not yet made the payment. All this led to a conflict between the two teams over the player's pass: Barcelona had to obtain the transfer of rights, while Madrid needed River's placet. The people of Madrid then traveled to Colombia and reached an agreement for the transfer of the player in favor of the year that remained with the Colombian club due to the Lima pact, as of July 24. He then informed the Argentine club of the agreement, and they returned the information on the negotiations they had with the Barcelona fans for the same purpose. Since there was not yet that effective payment of the agreement, the Argentines validated the Madridistas' agreement in the event that said payment was not made. The circumstances caused a conflict between the four clubs, legitimizing both their respective negotiations, some for being holders and buyers of rights at the expense of a payment, and others for being holders and buyers of temporary rights already paid. Days after and before On the deadline of August 10, the Barcelona fans made the payment for which legitimately and for this reason Di Stéfano, who arrived in Barcelona in full negotiations and before the transfer was finalized, joined the club's discipline. However, FIFA warned the Catalan team that it could not even play friendlies until the end of 1954 because, legally and until that date, it belonged to C. D. Los Millonarios, rights that Millonarios and Real Madrid then claimed with validity to their contract. until the Lima pact expired. After the circumstances, the president of the Catalan club, Enric Martí Carreto, contacted Alfonso Senior to fix the situation with the Colombians and have both rights to settle the matter, but the president of Barça, Enric Martí Carreto, declined to pay the $27,000 that Senior demanded, which would have settled the case in his favor, and which was paid by the Madrid vice president, Raimundo Saporta.

To solve the case, on September 15, 1953, FIFA decided solomonically, recommended by Armando Muñoz Calero —a Spanish member of FIFA and former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation—, to authorize Di Stéfano to play four seasons in Spain alternately: two for Real Madrid (1953-54 and 1955-56) and two for Barcelona (1954-55 and 1956-57), alternately. Both would thus share federative rights. CF Barcelona, who He said he had felt pressured during the lawsuit, he did not accept the decision made since it seemed to him an unworthy situation and his president presented his resignation in protest, since according to the club they were the ones who had the "legal" rights. 3. 4; of the player. In this sense, the then Minister of Education Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez protested, included in The Di Stéfano case, alleging years later that Bernabéu enjoyed supposed favor and power in the regime of Franco, capable of influencing him, when disagreements between him and the Madrid club were frequent, close to the republican regime prior to the civil conflict and which almost meant his disappearance during the strictest stage of the dictatorship. The minister even came to affirm that the vast majority of ministers at the time were from Madrid and the rest, a very minority, from Atlético de Madrid, when the Real Madrid club actually rejected its government intervention in favor of its members, and it was Atlético that agreed to become the military club of the regime, via Club Aviación Nacional and form the Club Atlético-Aviación, commanded and directed by soldiers. They only managed to "impose" the leadership of Adolfo Meléndez on the merengue club, with their former directors and members being shot, imprisoned or disappeared, such as presidents Rafael Sánchez-Guerra and Antonio Ortega Gutiérrez.

The conflict and the successes in Europe of "the whites" were taken by the regime as a way to improve its image at an international and propaganda level, then plunged into ostracism by all neighboring countries, and it became Years later, he extended a mistaken relationship between the Madrid club and the Franco regime —when it was the regime that used the image and the Madrid successes to improve its international poster. However, regarding Di Stéfano, from Real Madrid he defends himself that Millonarios was the true owner - based on the "Pact of Lima" - and that later it would be the Catalan club that would voluntarily renounce the footballer's rights. Thus, the player began the 1953-54 season playing in white until the resolution of the case. His first appearances were not entirely successful and discontent grew among the fans —despite scoring three goals in four games—,[citation needed] so that barely a month Later, José Vidal-Ribas, member of the management committee that took over CF Barcelona after the resignation of the board of directors and favored in his decision to recover Kubala, signed a statement in which he waived all rights over Di Stéfano in favor of Real Madrid C. F., who paid the money advanced by the Catalans to C. A. River Plate and paid the rest of the transfer to the Argentine club, taking over all their rights. This resolution that initially appeared in the press as a success of the Barça management because they had got rid of a player who had not managed to fit in at any club and who finally seemed not to possess the skill expected of him,[citation required] changed the history of Spanish football since he was the architect of the dominance of the Madrid team for a decade, and even became the best team in the world. It was precisely after signing the player's resignation, when both teams faced each other and when the player gave signs of the player expected. He scored two goals in a 5-0 win, followed by three more goals the following week in a 3-4 win against Madrid's other great rival, Club Atlético de Madrid.

One of the most disappointed characters with this controversial signing was Samitier, a former player of both clubs, who could not see his desire to bring together Kubala and Di Stéfano, two of the considered historic players of this sport, come to fruition. Nor could both meet at the Madrid club, when the Barcelona fans hired him ahead of the Madrid people before the Di Stéfano conflict, and an event that also involved the federative estates.

His golden years at Real Madrid

Di Stéfano, after scored one of his 308 goals in his stage at the Real Madrid Club of Football.

For his debut as a Real Madrid player, a presentation match was organized against French side Nancy that took place on September 23, 1953. This ended in a 2-4 defeat with the player scoring the last goal of the match and for his team, which was plagued by substitutes due to the imminent start of the season, since at the time changes were not allowed during an official match. However, that defeat did not mark the future of his career, since his stage in white was full of successes.
In contrast, his official debut as a Real Madrid player took place four days later against Real Racing Club de Santander in Madrid in a match valid for the 1953-54 League Championship. The match ended with a 4-2 victory and despite almost six months of inactivity, Di Stéfano scored one of the goals, the first in a succession which led him to score 227 goals in the Spanish league and be the top scorer in five seasons, just one away from equaling Telmo Zarra, and staying 24 goals behind the same player as the competition's all-time scorer. Of them, 216 were noted down in his Real Madrid stage.

Most historians and fans agree that his signing for the Madrid club, which he joined at the age of 27 and being almost unknown in Europe, changed the course of Spanish football and the old continent. Until the footballer's arrival in the capital, FC Barcelona dominated the country, while the people of Madrid, on the other hand, had not been able to win the League for 20 years.

With the arrival of Di Stéfano, "the whites" managed to win eight of the next eleven leagues (in 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964) and a Spanish Championship-Copa del Generalísimo (in 1962), becoming the reference team to beat in Spain.

Although he became the best player in the country, his greatest achievements were international. With the recently created European Champion Clubs' Cup - or simply the European Cup - in the hands of UEFA, a team could finally establish itself as the best team on the continent. In it was Real Madrid C. F., especially thanks to the performances of Di Stéfano, who won five consecutive European Cups (between 1955 and 1960, in addition to two runners-up, a milestone still unmatched today), two Latin Cups and the first edition of the Intercontinental Cup in 1960, a competition that would henceforth designate the best team in the world. Internationally acclaimed, he won a total of seventeen titles for Madrid and played a total of 396 games in which he scored 308 goals that led him to be considered the best footballer of the time. His scoring record led him to be the highest All-time goalscorer for the club until 2009.

During the eleven seasons in Madrid, he was named the Ballon d'Or on two occasions —which would have been three if the third edition of the award had not prohibited voting for a footballer who had already won the award— and the Silver Ball on another occasion, and was a member on several occasions of a European team with the best players in Europe in what were the first friendly matches at the continental level. His fame even led him to star in a film for the first time in 1956 with the film Saeta rubia in which he played himself, and after which he starred in several more because he was a great fan of cinematographic art.

His last official match with the Madrid team took place on May 27, 1964 in the European Cup. The match, corresponding to the final of that edition, ended with a 3-1 defeat against Football Club Internazionale led by Helenio Herrera, Luis Suárez and Sandro Mazzola. Various discrepancies with the team's coach —who was his teammate Miguel Muñoz seasons ago—, and with the renewal of his contract —president Santiago Bernabéu believing that it did not deserve to be so large due to the footballer's already high age— they finally found the end of the player's stage at the club, who headed to Barcelona to play the last years of his career at the Real Club Deportivo Español.

The one who was for years the leader of a team that came to be known as the "Madrid of Di Stéfano", or "Madrid of the five European Cups" - and that thanks to these successes would be known from now on as "the vikingos»— left the team at the top of the football scene, before being considered years later as one of the best footballers in history, an honor he shares with the Brazilian Edson Arantes do Nascimento Pelé, the Argentine Diego Armando Maradona and the Dutch Johan Cruyff, who also proclaimed him with said honor. In addition to them, many other great players in history recognized him, such as Bobby Charlton, considered the best Englishman in history:

“Alfredo di Stéfano is maybe the greatest player I have ever seen. I watched him in a match when Manchester United played against Real in the semi-final of the European Cup in Madrid the year before the accident. In those days, there was no substitutes' bench; if you weren't playing, you were in the stand. I felt like I was looking down on what looked like a Subbuteo table —I was that high up— but I couldn't take my eyes off this midfield player and I thought, "Who on earth is that?" [sic]

He ran the whole show and had the ball almost all the time. I used to dream of that, and I used to hate it when anyone else got it. They beat us 3-1 and he dictated the whole game. I'd never seen anything like it before, someone who influenced the entire match. Everything went through him. The goalkeeper gave it to him, the full backs were giving it to him, the midfield players were linking up with him and the forwards were looking for him.

And there was Gento playing alongside and Di Stefano just timed his passes perfectly for him. People ran so fast you couldn't get him offside. And I was just sitting there, watching, thinking it was the best thing I had ever seen.

But I had been forewarned a bit by Matt Busby, the manager at the time, because he had been across and seen them play a match in Nice before the semi —in those days it wasn't easy to do that— and, when he came back, we asked him what they were like, but he didn't want to tell us. And I understood why he didn't when I saw them. I think he knew that, if he had said they were the best players he'd ever seen, it would have been all over for us before we'd started.

And this was when Di Stefano was thirty. What must he have been like in his youth?”

“Alfredo Di Stéfano is perhaps the best player I have ever seen. I saw him in a match when Manchester United played against Real Madrid in the semifinals of the European Cup in Madrid the year before the accident. In those days, there were no substitutions; if you were not playing, you were in the blond. I felt as if I were looking down on what seemed like a Subbuteo table—that was high—but I couldn't take the eyes of this midfielder and I thought, "Who is that?"

He directed the whole show and had the ball almost all the time. I used to dream about it, and I used to hate when someone else had it. They beat us 3-1 and dictated the whole game. I've never seen anything like it before, someone who has an influence on the whole party. Everything was going through him. The keeper gave it to him, the defenders gave it to him, the midfielders associated with him and the forwards sought him.

And there was Gento playing next to him and Di Stéfano perfectly tempered the passes for him. People ran so fast that you couldn't get him out of the game. And I was just sitting there, watching, thinking it was the best thing I've ever seen.

But I had been warned a little by Matt Busby, our coach at the time, because he had crossed them and watched him play a game in Nice before the semifinals—in those days it was not easy to do it—and when he came back, we asked him how they were, but he did not want to tell us. And I understood why he didn't do it when I saw them. I think I knew that if I had told us they were the best players I'd ever seen, everything would have been over for us before we started.

And this was when Di Stefano was thirty. How should he be in his youth?”
Bobby Charlton.
“As pessoas discussem between Pele ou Maradona. Di Stéfano é o melhor, muito mais completa. ”

“People argue between Pelé or Maradona. Di Stéfano is the best, much more complete. ”
I fought.
“I don’t know if I’ve been a better player than Pelé, but I can definitely say that Di Stéfano was better than Pelé. I feel proud when talking about Di Stéfano. Pelé would have failed if he had played in Europe, while Alfredo has played very well around the world. I can say Maradona could be worse than Pelé. But I emphasize that Di Stéfano was better. ”
Diego Armando Maradona.
“Der umfassendste Fußballspieler der Welt. ”

“The most complete footballer in the world. ”
Franz Beckenbauer.
“ At the end of Amsterdam between Benfica and Real Madrid, which played Eusebio and Di Stéfano, I was a collector in that game and enjoyed a lot because Di Stéfano has always been one of my idols, because he was one of the best in the world and did such beautiful things that I liked. He was my favorite player and what I liked most about Di Stefano was all he did for the team. He had a fantastic team, but it was a reference for everyone and it was one of the first Argentines he played in Spain. There are people who have been good at a time, but Di Stéfano lasted many times, has been there all his life. ”
Johan Cruyff.

Kidnapping by the FALN

On August 26, 1963, Di Stéfano was kidnapped in Caracas by members of the Venezuelan National Liberation Armed Forces (FALN), a guerrilla group that operated in Venezuela during the 1960s while the Madrid club played the Little Cup of the World of Clubs. The operation was directed by some combatants of the aforementioned front, among whom was Paúl del Río alias "Máximo Canales", who stated that the treatment given to the famous soccer player was always friendly and cordial, despite the moments of tension that derived from such action. Two alleged policemen showed up at the Spanish group's concentration hotel and invited Alfredo to accompany them to the police station as a mere bureaucratic procedure for a person of the same name being involved in a case of drug trafficking. In the car they confirmed that it was a kidnapping, which lasted 72 hours, in which the footballer played chess and dominoes, watched television, bet on horses and even designed his own menu for his captivity. The kidnappers commented that he never felt that his life was at risk and he always reacted in the best way.

He was released a hundred meters from the Spanish Embassy in Venezuela without demanding a ransom and, as Paúl del Río commented years later:

This is a kidnapping. Nothing's gonna happen to her. We are revolutionaries who do not agree with the regime of our country. We'll drop him right away. [...]
No money was asked for the ransom. There was no requirement or condition. We kidnapped him based on his fame. That helped us achieve our ends, its prestige and the fame of Madrid. The team went to play a friendly game and we, unfortunately, pulled a red card at six in the morning. And he couldn't play.
Paul del Rio. 25 August 2005.

The operation sought to draw the attention of the international community to the tense social and political situation facing Venezuela, emulating the kidnapping of Argentine pilot Juan Manuel Fangio in Havana in 1958. Di Stéfano's abduction was baptized with the name of "Julián Grimau", in homage to the revolutionary Spanish communist member of the Checa from whom the name was taken.

Withdrawal

After being fired from the Madrid club, he played for the Real Club Deportivo Español de Barcelona, where he played two seasons, before retiring on April 3, 1966, the date on which he played his last game as a professional. He is currently the seventh oldest player to play a match in the Spanish league championship. His last game for all purposes was a tribute on June 7, 1967 played between Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and Celtic Football Club, club that he sought his services but the Barcelona club anticipated him and that he won 0-1. In the 13th minute, Di Stéfano took off his captain's armband and handed it over to Ramón Grosso, the player who inherited his team number, amid applause from the entire Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and after whom he received the sport's highest distinction. of Spain, the Gold Medal for Sports Merit.

Felipe Gutiérrez, his incomparable friend, played his last game alongside Di Stéfano, who praised his friend and nicknamed him "Felipão", because he played like a Brazilian.

National team

Absolute selection

Say Stéfano with the albiceleste.

The soccer player officially played for two national teams —a fact allowed at the time— He played six games with the Argentine team, making his international debut on December 4, 1947 at the George Capwell stadium in Ecuador in a match valid for the South American Championship of 1947 against the Bolivian team that ended 7-0 and in which he scored a goal. During the championship he scored five more goals —including his first national team hat-trick scored against the Colombian team— which ultimately helped his team to be crowned champion, being his only and most important victory at the national team level during his career.

After passing through Colombia and due to a hiatus in the country's league, its members organized team matches under the name of the combined XI of the Colombian league —which was not the absolute Colombian team— in which they had four participations as a guest, a fact for which they are not included in the official FIFA records in addition to not having nationality.

Once in Spain, Di Stéfano became a naturalized Spanish citizen in 1956 —after some procedures that took 2 years— so on January 30, 1957 he played his first game with the Spanish team, facing the Dutch team, and in which Spain won 5-1 with a hat-trick by Di Stéfano —the only one he scored as a Spanish international—. After almost five years defending the red shirt, he played a total of 31 games and remained the top scorer in the team's history with 23 goals until Emilio Butragueño surpassed that record in 1990. Among his games played, he only lost five of them, in which he also managed to score six doubles.

During his time in Spain, the player also participated sporadically in the Madrid team, an unofficial regional team that did not play official competitions.

His World Cup absences

Considered one of the best players of the time and later, in history, he was unable to prove his worth in a World Cup —the most prestigious competition at the national team level— during his active days due to various circumstances.

Di Stéfano in the Spanish selection at a meeting in Rome (1959).

While defending the albiceleste jersey, the Argentine Football Association decided to withdraw its registration from the 1950 World Cup due to some discrepancies with the Brazilian Football Confederation, the organizing country of that championship. Argentina decided to isolate itself from sports as a protest and in order to avoid confrontations with the Brazilians. This led him not to play in the South American Championships, nor the subsequent 1954 World Cup that took place in Switzerland. By then, the player was already a member of Spain and decided to start the procedures for his nationalization, going on to defend the Spanish team. The procedures were delayed and despite the fact that the Royal Spanish Football Federation requested that the player could participate with them to qualify for the World Cup, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) did not authorize it, thus leaving him without attending the championship for the second time.

As a Spanish player, he could not attend the next event, the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, since his team failed to qualify despite being able to play the matches that would decide access against the Swiss and Scottish teams. In the four-game series, Di Stéfano could only score two goals in the last and inconsequential meeting as the British already had a better balance.

Four years later a new opportunity arose with the 1962 World Cup organized by Chile. In the draw for the qualifying phase, Spain was one of the teams that made up one of the two European groups with only two participants to settle a place, so the winner had to play a match against another team from another confederation. Thus, after beating the Welsh team 3-2 on aggregate in the two-legged tie thanks to a goal from Di Stéfano, he faced the Moroccan team which he beat 4-2 on aggregate and was the author of one of the many Qualified for the World Cup, he was summoned by Helenio Herrera in what seemed to be his first participation in the World Cup. However, an injury in the penultimate training game in Spain before going to the appointment prevented him from playing. Despite this, he made the trip with the national team and was part of the team as stated in the FIFA minutes, although he did not play any match.

The next appointment of the 1966 World Cup for England came in the twilight of his sports career, thus closing an unfortunate story. The circumstance arose that another of the great footballers of the time and of history, Ladislao Kubala, never attended a World Cup either, despite the fact that he played with three different teams. The closest he came was in 1962, but just like Di Stéfano could not attend due to injury, and these are two of the footballers who are on a list of great players who could never attend the appointment.

Technical management

Di Stéfano as technical director of Boca Juniors, celebrating the 1969 National Championship, obtained vs. River Plate at the Monumental.

After retiring from professional soccer, Di Stéfano dedicated himself to technical management, coaching Elche Club de Fútbol, Club Atlético Boca Juniors, Valencia Club de Fútbol, Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, Club Deportivo Castellón and Club Atlético River Plate, in addition to being Walter Roque's advisor for a month at the head of the Venezuelan team that participated in the 1982 World Cup qualifiers, taking advantage of his stay in Spain and a tour in Portugal with Sporting Clube de Portugal, whom he did not manage in an official match due to problems with his recruitment and registration in the federation, being in charge of the team only during the preseason.

In his career as a coach he won a National Championship and an Argentine Cup with Club Atlético Boca Juniors, a National Championship with Club Atlético River Plate —being the only champion coach with the two most successful teams in Argentine soccer— a Spanish League and a European Cup Winners' Cup with Valencia C. F. and a Spanish Super Cup with Real Madrid Club de Fútbol.

Presidency of honor and death

Alfredo Di Stéfano continued to live in Spain. On November 5, 2000, he was named Honorary President of Real Madrid and as such, a few days later, he collected the trophy for the Best Club of the 20th Century on behalf of the entity. > awarded by FIFA at a ceremony held in Rome. On December 24, 2005, he suffered a heart attack from which he successfully recovered at first in Sagunto and later in Valencia.

On May 9, 2006, Real Madrid inaugurated the stadium where its affiliate, Real Madrid Castilla, will play their matches, and the club unanimously decides to call it Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano. In the 2007-2008 season, Real Madrid inaugurated its own plane for its trips which they baptized as "La Saeta", in honor of Alfredo Di Stéfano's nickname.

On February 17, 2008, he received a tribute from representatives of world football for his professional career, in which he was awarded the 2007 UEFA President Award by Michel Platini, then president of UEFA. He was awarded the & # 34; Guijuelo de Oro 2007 & # 34;, in Guijuelo, Salamanca.

On September 17, 2009, in the middle of a dispute between Pelé and Maradona over who was the best soccer player in history, Di Stéfano pointed out: «Muñoz, Moreno, Pedernera, Labruna and Loustau. Pick the one you like." The aforementioned footballers were the essence of "La Máquina" of River Plate, one of the most spectacular formations of all time worldwide.

On July 5, 2014 at 5:00 p.m., he suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest during his birthday celebration meal. Urgently transferred to the Gregorio Marañón General University Hospital in Madrid, he was revived twice and admitted to the center's Coronary Unit where he was placed in an induced coma to stabilize his vital signs. Two days later, on July 7, he died. at 88 years of age. From 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 8, the Honorary Box of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium hosted the funeral chapel of the Honorary President, receiving a massive farewell tribute from Real Madrid fans. He was buried in the Almudena Cemetery.

In 2014, the city of Madrid gave the name of Alfredo Di Stéfano to a street in the new development of Valdebebas, the location where the Real Madrid Football Club has its sports facilities in Real Madrid City.

Statistics

Main article: Alfredo Di Stéfano statistics

Clubs

Soccerball current event.svg Updated data to end of sports career. High seasons in quality of assignment.

Club Season Div. League (1)Cups (2)International (3)Total (4)Media
Shotgun
Part. Goles Part. Goles Part. Goles Part. Goles
C. A. River Plate
Bandera de ArgentinaArgentina		1945 1. a 1---Non-existent1 0 0
C. A. Hurricane
Bandera de ArgentinaArgentina		1946 1. a 25102-Non-existent27 10 0.37
C. A. River Plate
Bandera de ArgentinaArgentina		1947 1. a 3027--21 32 28 0.88
194823131164 30 18 0.60
1949129--Non-existent12 9 0.75
Total club6649118575550.73
C. D. The Millonaries
ColombiaBandera de ColombiaColombia		1949 1. a 1515Non-existentNon-existent14 15 1
1950292321Non-existent31 24 0.77
19513431Non-existentNon-existent34 31 0.94
1952241985Non-existent32 24 0.75
Total club1018710600111930.86
Real Madrid C. F.
SpainBandera de EspañaSpain		1953-54 1. a 2827---- 28 27 0.96
1954-553025--2- 32 25 0.83
1955-563024--75 37 29 0.78
1956-57303133109 43 43 1
1957-58301977710 44 36 0.82
1958-5928238576 43 34 0.79
1959-6023125368 34 23 0.68
1960-6123219841 36 30 0.83
1961-62231184107 41 22 0.54
1962-6313129921 24 22 0.92
1963-6424111195 34 17 0.50
Total club282216504064523963080.78
R. C. D. Spanish
SpainBandera de EspañaSpain		1964-65 1. a 24732-- 27 9 0.33
1965-66234416- 33 5 0.15
Total club4711736060140.23
Total career521373705078576694800.72
(1) Highlighted the goals that proclaimed him the highest scorer of the championship and/or the seasons like Golden Ball.
(2) Includes data from the British Competition Cup (1946-48); Colombia Cup (1951-53); Generalísimo Cup (1953-66).
(3) Includes data from the Aldao Cup (1947) / S. C. Championship (1948); Latin Cup (1954-57); European Cup (1955-64) / Intercontinental Cup (1960); Fair Cup (1965-66)
(4) It does not include goals in friendly matches.
Source: UEFA - AdelanteRealMadrid (Hemeroteca Diario ABC) - BDFA - IFFHS - Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Summary of matches in international competition

The player holds, together with his former teammate Ferenc Puskás during his Madrid days, the honor of being the player who scored the most goals in the finals of the European Cup / Champions League with a total of seven goals.

Selections


Selection Season Continentals(1)World(2)Friendly Total Media
Shotgun(3)
Part. Goles Part. Goles Part. Goles Part. Goles
Absolute
Bandera de ArgentinaArgentina
1947-4866--- 6 6 1,00
Total660000661,00
Absolute
SpainBandera de EspañaSpain
1956-57--3-25 5 5 1,00
1957-58--1241 5 3 0.60
1958-5912--21 3 3 1,00
1959-6011--88 9 9 1,00
1960-61--2141 6 2 0.33
1961-62--211- 3 1 0.33
Total2384211631230.74
Total selection8984211637290.78
(1) South American Championship (1947-48); European Nations Cup (1956-62). Includes classification phase data for continental championships.
(2) It includes data from the classification phases for the World Championships.
Source: The Rec. Sports Soccer Statistics Foundation.

Summary of full international matches

Throughout his career Di Stéfano played a total of thirty-seven international matches in which he scored a total of twenty-nine goals. Of these, six games were in the continental championship, ten in qualifying phases and twenty-one friendlies, scoring six, seven and sixteen goals respectively.

Thanks to twenty-three goals for Spain, he remained their top scorer until 1990.

Record (goals)

The player scored a total of five hundred and nine goals in official tournaments, to which should be added one hundred and eighty-two scored in unofficial competitions and in friendly matches[citation required] In total there were six hundred and ninety-four goals in almost nine hundred games.

EquipmentGoles (official)Parties
(counting friendly)		%
Bandera de Argentina C. A. River Plate64850.75
Bandera de Argentina C. A. Hurricane10270.44
Bandera de Colombia C. D. Millonaries157 (96, 3 goals not found)1820.86
Bandera de España Real Madrid C. F.4185100.82
Bandera de España R. C. D. Spanish16570.28
Bandera de Argentina Argentina661.00
Bandera de España Spanish Selection23310.74
Total (official)523 739 0.70
Total694 898 0.78

Coach

Soccerball current event.svg Updated for sporting career.

Club Div. Season Statistical data (1)
Part. P.G. P.E. P.P. Titles G.F. G.C. D.G. %
Elche C. F.
SpainBandera de EspañaSpain		1. a 1967-68 15 3 3 9 - 10 24 -1430.00
Total 15 3 3 9 010 24 -1430.00
C. A. Boca Juniors
Bandera de ArgentinaArgentina		1. a 1969 50 32 11 7 2 91 31 +6075.00
1985 10 5 2 3 - 19 12 +760.00
1985-86 18 6 6 6 - 29 26 +350.00
Total 78 43 19 16 2139 69 +7067.31
Valencia C. F.
SpainBandera de EspañaSpain		1. a 1970-71 43 26 10 7 1 69 31 +3860.47
1971-72 47 25 11 11 - 66 39 +2764.89
1972-73 42 15 12 15 - 46 42 +450.00
1973-74 38 15 8 15 - 47 36 +1150.00
1979-80 45 18 15 12 1 72 54 +1854.44
1985-86 18 5 4 9 - 24 27 -338.89
2. a 1986-87 45 24 10 11 - 69 38 +3164.77
1. a 1987-88 35 11 10 14 - 38 47 -941.38
Total 313 139 80 94 2431314+11757.19
A. D. Rayo Vallecano
SpainBandera de EspañaSpain		2. a 1975-76 27 11 3 13 - 35 35 046.30
Total 271131303535046.30
C. D. Castellón
SpainBandera de EspañaSpain		2. a 1976-77 42 15 9 18 - 53 49 +446.43
Total 421591805349+446.43
C. A. River Plate
Bandera de ArgentinaArgentina		1. a 1981 22 11 9 2 1 36 18 +1870.45
1982 16 4 6 6 - 20 27 -743.75
Total 381515815645+1159.21
Total career16110434238368161+20771.64
(1) Includes data from the Second Division "B", First Division, King Cup, Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup.
Sources: BDFutbol - UEFA - BocaJuniors - Valencia.
Competitions Parties GolesAverage Assistance goals and assistance
First Division 330 228 0.78 88 317
National Cups 12 5 0.50 2 7
International Cups 66 50 0.62 10 60
Absolute Selection 31 25 0.68 15 40
TOTAL439 309 0.64 115 424

Honours of Prizes

National titles

Title Club Year
League Championship Bandera de Argentina C. A. River Plate 1945
League Championship 1947
League Championship Bandera de Colombia C. D. Millonaries 1949
League Championship 1951
League Championship 1952
Cup 1953
League Championship Bandera de España Real Madrid C. F. 1953-54
League Championship 1954-55
League Championship 1956-57
League Championship 1957-58
League Championship 1960-61
League Championship 1961-62
Cup 1961-62
League Championship 1962-63
League Championship 1963-64

International Titles

Note *: including selection. The official status of the Little Club World Cup in 1953 and 1956 is unclear.

Title Equipment Year
South American Championship Bandera de Argentina Argentina 1947
Aldao Cup Bandera de Argentina C. A. River Plate 1947
Small World Cup Bandera de Colombia C. D. Millonaries 1953
Latin Cup Bandera de España Real Madrid C. F. 1955
European Cup 1956
Small World Cup 1956
European Cup 1957
Latin Cup 1957
European Cup 1958
European Cup 1959
European Cup 1960
Intercontinental Cup 1960

As a coach

Title Club Year
League Championship Bandera de Argentina C. A. Boca Juniors 1969
Copa Argentina 1969
League Championship Bandera de España Valencia C. F. 1971
Coup Europe 1980
League Championship Bandera de Argentina C. A. River Plate 1981
2.a League Bandera de España Valencia C. F. 1987
Supercopa Bandera de España Real Madrid C. F. 1990

Individual awards

Di Stéfano won the Super Golden Ball in 1989 and the Golden Balls of 1957 and 1959.
Golden Foot Award to Di Stéfano at the "Paseo de los Campeones" of the Principality of Monaco.
Distinction Year
Highest scorer of the First Division of Argentina 1947
Highest scorer of the First Division of Colombia 1951, 1952
Maximum South American football scorer 1947, 1951
Maximum Club World Cup Gorilla 1953
Maximum scorer of the First Division of Spain 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959
Maximum European Cup scorer 1957, 1958, 1959
Golden Ball 1957, 1959
Silver ball 1956
Super Golden Ball 1989
Marca Leyenda 1999
FIFA 100 2004
Eleventh historic Golden Ball silver 2020

Decorations

National distinction Year
REAL ORDEN DEL MÉRITO DEPORTIVO ribbon.jpg Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit 1999
REAL ORDEN DEL MÉRITO DEPORTIVO ribbon.jpg Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit 1966
Municipal distinction Year
Escudo de Madrid.svg Madrid Gold Medal 1996
Bandera de San Sebastián.svg Tambor de Oro de San Sebastián 1997
Giving Year
Real emblem 5.png Honorary President of Real Madrid C. F. 2000–2014
FIFA Flag.svg FIFA Merit Order 1994
Uefa 2013.png UEFA President Award 2008
Bandera de España National Sports Award 2011

Filmography

  • RMTV Collective Homenage (07/07/2014), "Thank you, Alfredo Di Stéfano" on YouTube
  • Farewell homage RMTV (10/07/2014), «Thank you Alfredo, the best of all time» on YouTube
  • Documentary Canal+ (07/07/2014), «Di Stéfano, de pibe a legend» on YouTube
  • Documentary TVE (28/07/2014), «Conexion Vintage - 'Yo, Di Stéfano'» in rtve.es
  • Documentary TVE (26/02/2013), "Conexion Vintage - 'Kubala and Di Stéfano, friends forever'" in rtve.es
  • Documentary TVE (09/04/2013), « vintage connection - 'History of five cups'» in rtve.es
  • Documentary TVE (03/04/2014), « Vintage Connection - History of Real Madrid» in rtve.es
  • Documentary KarmaFilms (10/11/2017), «Bernabéu» in DocumaniaTV
  • Largometraje (1963), "The Battle of Sunday" - Director: Luis Marquina

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