All-Time Top 50: Number 18 - Alfredo Di Stefano
Last updated : 24 November 2005 By Simon Head
 | Di Stefano: One of the game's true legends |
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Two Argentinian Championships, 4 Colombian Championships, 8 Spanish Championships, 3 Domestic Cups, 5 European Cups, 1 Copa America, 7 Top Scorer awards and 2 European Footballer of the year awards, 42 international caps, 30 international goals. A pretty impressive list of career achievements, I'm sure you'll agree. That list belongs to one player, who many argue is the greatest of all time. That player is the Blond Arrow, Alfredo Di Stefano.
Born in Argentina in 1926, Di Stefano's career brought almost instant success. Playing in his native Argentina, then in Colombia, he won six league titles in his first 12 seasons as a professional. Not bad going for starters! The powerful striker fast developed a reputation as one of the most sought after players in South America and was soon being chased by some of the world's biggest clubs.
Barcelona and Real Madrid both battled to secure Di Stefano's signature, but Real managed to do the deal, much to the displeasure of Barca. Bizarrely, the Spanish FA ordered that Di Stefano should be shared by the two clubs, but Barca rejected that suggestion, leaving Di Stefano to move to the Bernebeu.
With Di Stefano leading the line up front, Real quickly became THE footballing superpower in Europe, winning a staggering FIVE European Cups IN A ROW between 1956 and 1960. Equally as staggering was Di Stefano's contribution. He played, and scored, in each and every one of those finals.
He hit 228 goals in 329 games in La Liga, which places him third in the Spanish all-time scorers list - and he remains Real Madrid's all-time greatest goalscorer, with 216 goals from 282 Spanish League matches, spanning 11 years.
Despite playing for three countries during his career (Argentina, Colombia and Spain), Di Stefano never played in a World Cup Finals tournament - and it is the only omission from his footballing CV. But there is no doubt that the man they called the Blond Arrow was one of the very best players ever to play the game.