Alfredo Di Stéfano
Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé (4 July 1926 – 7 July 2014) was an Argentine-born professional footballer and coach, regarded as one of the best footballers of all time. Nicknamed "Saeta rubia" ("Blond Arrow"), he was a powerful, quick, skillful, and prolific forward, with great stamina, tactical versatility, creativity, and vision, who could play almost anywhere on the pitch. He is best known for his achievements with Real Madrid, where he was instrumental in the club's domination of the European Cup and La Liga during the 1950s. Along with Francisco Gento and José María Zárraga, he was one of only three players to play a part in all five victories, scoring goals in each of the five finals. Di Stéfano played international football mostly for Spain after moving to Madrid, but he also played for Argentina and Colombia.
Di Stéfano 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. Following his signing by Real Madrid he was an integral part of one of the most successful teams of all time. He scored 216 league goals in 282 games for Real (then a club record), striking up a successful partnership with Ferenc Puskás. Di Stéfano's 49 goals in 58 matches was the all-time highest tally in the European Cup. The record has since been surpassed by several players, with Real Madrid's Raúl the first in 2005. Di Stéfano scored in five consecutive European Cup finals for Real Madrid between 1956 and 1960, including a hat-trick in the last. 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 ever witnessed in Europe. He moved to Espanyol in 1964 and played there until retiring at the age of 40.
Di Stéfano was awarded the Ballon d'Or for the European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959. 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, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Spain by the Royal Spanish Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. He was voted fourth, behind Pelé, Diego Maradona, and Johan Cruyff, in a vote organized by France Football magazine which consulted their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. In 2008 Di Stéfano was honoured by both UEFA and Real Madrid with a special Presidents award issued by FIFA at a ceremony in Madrid, where a statue was also unveiled. Then UEFA President Michel Platini called Di Stéfano "a great amongst the greats" while contemporaries Eusébio and Just Fontaine suggested that he was "the most complete footballer in the history of the game".
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 6.8 |
Birthday | 1926-07-04 |
Place of Birth | Buenos Aires City, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Also Known As | Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé, Saeta rubia, |
1956
Saeta rubia
4.7/3
Some urchins simulate an accident and steal a wallet. To their surprise, it turns out to be that of the famous footballer Alfredo Di Stefano, popularl...
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Saeta rubia
1963
La batalla del domingo
3.5/2
Alfredo Di Stéfano plays himself, not as a soccer player but as a man, husband and father. This is a personal portrait of the mythical athlete, in the...
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La batalla del domingo
1949
Con los mismos colores
6/1
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Con los mismos colores
2002
Zinédine Zidane - Comme dans un rêve
7.3/6
An exhaustive retrospective commented by Zidane, his greatest goals, soccer lessons where Zidane reveals his most precious secrets.
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Zinédine Zidane - Comme dans un rêve
1992
Eusébio: Um jogador de todos os tempos
0/0
A profile of the legendary soccer player Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, with footage of his career and a comprehensive list of interviews of former collea...
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Eusébio: Um jogador de todos os tempos
2006
Argentina... Argentina...
0/0
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Argentina... Argentina...
1962
The Sea
6.4/14
A well known actor comes to off-season Capri to unwind and meets a young man. The attraction is immediate and mutual but before their relationship can...
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The Sea
2011
Enrique Herreros
6.5/2
The story of Enrique Herreros (1903-1977), cartoonist, advertiser, poster designer, talent manager, actor, producer and filmmaker, and the most daring...
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Enrique Herreros
2005
Real: The Movie
4.5/4
Five story strands -- some real, some fictionalized -- comprise this officially sanctioned film of Real Madrid, the second richest soccer club in the...
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Real: The Movie
1954
Eleven Pairs of Boots
0/0
Ignacio, a professional footballer, has sentimental and labor problems. His girlfriend is about to abandon him because of the constant displays of aff...
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Eleven Pairs of Boots
1965
Sinfonía española
0/0
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