World Football Cup 2006
Alfredo Di Stéfano (born July 4, 1926 in Barracas, 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 Puskás 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 Stéfano also played international football for Argentina, Colombia, and Spain.
Di Stéfano was a powerful forward blessed with great stamina, tactical versatility, and vision. He 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 par with George Best, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruijff and Pelé. During his time as a player, some considered Di Stefano to be the best player ever.
Playing Career
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 Madrid 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 Madrid's Raúl González in 2005, and AC Milan's Andriy Shevchenko in 2006. 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 Madrid, 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.
Managing Career
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 CF 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.
Now
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.
On Tuesday May 9, 2006, the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium was inaugurated at the City of Real Madrid, where Real Madrid usually trains. The inaugural match was between Real Madrid and Stade de Reims, remaking the European Cup final won by Real Madrid in 1956. Real Madrid won the inaugural match of the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium by 6-1 with goals of Sergio Ramos, Antonio Cassano -2-, Roberto Soldado -2- and José Manuel Jurado.
Achievements
- Argentinian Championship: 2 (1945, 1947)
- Colombian Championship: 4 (1949, 1951, 1952, 1953)
- Spanish Championship: 8 (1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964)
- Spanish Cup: 1 (1962)
- Latin Cup: 2 (1955, 1957)
- European Cup: 5 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960)
- Intercontinental Cup: 1 (1960)
- Copa América: 1 (1947)
Awards
- Argentine League Top Scorer: 1 (1947)
- Colombian League Top Scorer: 1 (1951, 1952)
- Spanish League Top Scorer: 5 (1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959)
- European Footballer of the Year: 2 (1957, 1959)
| European Footballer
of the Year 1957 |
| European Footballer
of the Year 1959 |
| UEFA Jubilee Awards Spain |
|
|||||||
|
Text and images from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. under the
GNU Free Documentation License - Disclaimers. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that all information included in our website is accurate, users are advised that they should take appropriate precautions to verify such information. Y2U.co.uk expressly disclaims all liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage occasioned by the user's reliance on any statements, information, or advice contained in this web site. This Site is neither endorsed or connected in any way with organisations or individuals mentioned on this page. Published by Y2U.co.uk'Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is' - Bill Shankly