Alfredo Di Stéfano

Who was Alfredo Di Stéfano?

Alfredo Stéfano di Stéfano Laulhé was an Argentine-Spanish footballer and coach, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He was most associated with Real Madrid and was instrumental in their domination of the European Champions' Cup during the 1950s, a period in which the club won the trophy in five consecutive seasons from 1956. Along with Francisco Gento and José María Zárraga, he was one of only three players to play a part in all five victories. Di Stéfano played international football mostly for Spain, but he also played for Argentina and Colombia.

Di Stéfano, nicknamed "Saeta rubia", was a powerful forward with great stamina, tactical versatility, and vision, who could also play almost anywhere on the pitch. He is currently the fifth highest scorer in the history of Spain's top division, and Real Madrid's second highest league goalscorer of all time, with 216 goals in 282 league matches between 1953 and 1964.

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.