Alfredo Di Stéfano biography
Alfredo Di Stéfano, (born July 4, 1926, Buenos Aires, Argentina—died July 7, 2014, Madrid, Spain), Argentine-born soccer (soccer) participant and supervisor, considered one of many best centre forwards in soccer historical past. His status was primarily based largely on his efficiency for the Spanish membership Real Madrid (1953–64), for which he was an clever participant with distinctive all-around ability and stamina. He was twice named European Footballer of the Year (1957, 1959).
Di Stéfano made his first-division debut for the Buenos Aires membership River Plate in 1944. There he was the Argentine league’s prime scorer, with 27 targets, in 1947, when the membership received the first-division championship. In 1949 Di Stéfano joined the Millonarios, a Bogotá membership in a high-paying Colombian skilled league, with whom he received 4 league titles (1949, 1951–53) and was twice the league’s prime scorer (1951–52). He performed for the Argentine nationwide group six occasions in 1947, serving to it win the South American Championship.
In 1953 Di Stéfano arrived at Real Madrid, the place he partnered with a number of excellent forwards, together with Ferenc Puskás, Raymond Kopa, and Gento. During his 11 seasons in Madrid, Di Stéfano led the league in scoring in 4 straight seasons (1956–59) and helped the group to win eight first-division titles (1954–55, 1957–58, 1961–64), the Spanish Cup (1962), 5 European Cups (1956–60), and the inaugural Intercontinental Cup (1960; performed yearly between the European and South American champions). After taking part in two seasons (1964–66) with RCD Espanyol (in Barcelona), he retired, having performed 521 official membership video games and scored 377 targets. During his keep in Madrid, Di Stéfano grew to become a Spanish citizen and performed 31 occasions for his adopted nation between 1957 and 1961, scoring 23 targets.
After his retirement as a participant, Di Stéfano coached in each Spain and Argentina, having fun with league titles at Boca Juniors (Argentina) in 1970 and at Valencia (Spain) in 1971.