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Personal Information
| Full Name | Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé |
| Date of Birth | July 4, 1926 |
| Nationality | Argentine, Spanish |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) |
| Role | Forward |
| Past Team(s) |
Alfredo di Stefano News
Alfredo di Stefano: A Brief Biography
Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé was born on 4th of July 1926 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is considered to be one of the all time greats to ever play the game of football.
He was an Argentine forward who could as well play on any part of the ground with his tact, stamina, vision, power and skill. He played international football for Argentina and Spain.
Background
In the year 1943, he started his career with River Plate at an early age of 17. He was later loaned to Club Atlético Huracán in the year 1946 making 27 appearances in the league and scoring 10 goals.
He later played for Millonarios in the Colombian league as there was a strike by the footballers in 1949.
Debut
In the year 1947, he made his debut for his country Argentina playing only 6 games for his country as they won the 1947 South American Championship.
He later acquired Spanish citizenship in the year 1956. He made his debut for Spain in the year 1957 and scored a hatrick in a 5-1 win in Madrid.
Rise to glory
He is an extremely strong and a skillful footballer and considered the all time great after Pele and Maradona. He was crucial in Spain qualifying for the world cup in 1962. At the age of 36, he already won 5 European cups.
In the year 1963, he was kidnapped by a Venezuelan revolutionary group at a gunpoint in a hotel in Caracas. After 2 days, he was released at the Spanish embassy without any harm being done to him. Just a day later he played against São Paulo FC and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
Low points
He couldn't play the final of the world cup in 1962 as he suffered a major injury which eventually ended his career as he retired.
Club career
He started off his career playing for the River Plate in 1943 and later in moved to Spain where he pursued other clubs.
He represented Real Madrid for the first time in the year 1953 which continued till a decade as he shifted to Espanyol till 1966.
He is Real Madrid's third highest scorer of all time with 216 goals in a span of 10 years. He was selected as the Golden Player of Spain by the Royal Spanish Football Federation in the year 2003.
Records
In 2008 he was honoured with the special president award by the UEFA and Real Madrid. His statue was unveiled on the same day of the award. He scored in 5 consecutive European cup finals for Real Madrid between the period 1956 to 1960 which includes a hatrick. He was awarded Ballon d'Or in the year 1957 and 1959 for the European Footballer of the Year.
Retirement
After the world cup of 1962, he retired from the game. He started his managerial career with Argentine clubs as he guided them to the league titles which were Boca Juniors and River Plate. He guided Valencia to win the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1980. In the year 2000 he was named the honorary president of Real Madrid.
