Alfredo Di Stéfano

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Di Stéfano began his club career at age 17 with Argentina's River Plate in 1943. Due to a footballers' strike in Argentina in 1949, he transferred to Millonarios of Bogotá in the Colombian league until 1953, when he left for Real Madrid. He scored a total of 216 league goals for Real Madrid, a club record at the time. In 1964, Di Stefano signed with Espanyol and played for them for the remainder of his career until retiring at the age of 40 in 1966. At the international level, Di Stéfano helped Argentina win the Copa América in 1947. However, although having played for three different national teams, he never played a single match at the FIFA World Cup during his career. His 49 goals in the European Cup was the highest of any player at the time. He was awarded the Ballon d'Or in 1957 and 1959. He is currently the seventh highest scorer in the history of Spain's top division, and places fourth on Real Madrid's highest league goalscorer of all time. He is Madrid's joint leading goalscorer in the history of El Clásico, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

In Their Own Story

Paris, 1956. Under the humming floodlights of the Parc des Princes, the mud clung to Di Stéfano's boots as he wiped sweat from his face, his white kit a canvas of grass stains and grit. The crowd's roar shifted into a singular chant: 'Di Stéfano!' He collected the ball deep in his own territory, eyes scanning the chaos ahead. With a sudden burst of acceleration that left defenders grasping at air, he surged forward, the leather sphere glued to his foot. He didn't just run; he carved a path through the silence of the opposition before slipping a perfect pass that sealed Real Madrid's first European crown.

Reader's Guide

In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, Di Stéfano 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 1989, Di Stefano was awarded the Super Ballon d'Or, given to the best player of the previous three decades, and is currently the award's only ever reciepient. He was also named at 4th in the list of "Greatest male players of the century" by the IFFHS. 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.

Did You Know?

• Di Stéfano played in all five of Real Madrid's European Cup finals from 1956 to 1960, but the victories were consecutive, not spanning into the 1960s.
• He scored 216 league goals for Real Madrid, a club record at the time.
• He never played a single match at the FIFA World Cup during his career.
• He is the only recipient of the Super Ballon d'Or, awarded in 1989.