Alfredo Di Stefano helped Real Madrid win five consecutive European Cup’s and is viewed as one of the greatest players ever…
One of the greatest footballers of all time, Alfredo Di Stefano, who scored 307 goals in 396 appearances for Real Madrid, has sadly died today at the age of 88.
Di Stefano won eight La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and five European Cups in an illustrious career that was also rewarded with two Ballon d’Or awards.
After his club career came to an end in 1966, he made his name as a manager, winning honours in both Argentina and Spain, retiring after a second spell as Real Madrid boss in 1991.
Players such as Pele, Eusebio, Luis Suarez and Sandro Mazzola have described Di Stéfano as “the most complete footballer in the history of the game.” He was also voted the fourth greatest player of the 20th century by a French poll, in which he finished behind Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff.
A club statement from the Spanish giants read: “Real Madrid announce that its honorary president, Alfredo Di Stéfano, died today at the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón in Madrid.
“The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, and the club board would like to express its deepest condolences and all their love and affection to their children, their families and friends. Real Madrid extends condolences to those Madridistas around the world and those who feel emotion at the loss of the best player of all time.”
The Guardian reported that the former Argentina, Colombia and Spain international suffered a heart attack in the street near Real Madrid’s Bernabéu stadium on Saturday – the day after his birthday – and had been in an induced coma in intensive care at Gregorio Marañon hospital. Di Stéfano was attended to by emergency medical services before being transferred to hospital. The cardiac arrest lasted 18 minutes, according to the emergency services.
Di Stéfano has had several health scares in recent years and underwent a quadruple aorta-coronary bypass with a pacemaker implanted in December 2005 after suffering a myocardial infarction.