The greatest footballers of all time - No. 6

Continuing with our series on the greatest footballers of all time, here’s No. 6 on our list.

No. 6 – Alfredo Di Stefano

One of the many brilliant footballers of his time, Alfredo Di Stéfano has always been counted among the game’s legends, and was probably one of the first ‘total 90’ players, for whom any position was just another day at the office. The player was a revelation at Real Madrid, instrumental in their domination of the European arena. Sometimes called ‘the most complete footballer in the history of the game,’ Di Stefano continues to capture the imagination of the masses to this day.

Origins

Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé was born to Italian immigrants from Nicolosi on 4 July 1926 in Barracas, Argentina. He started his career with River Plate at the age of 17, in 1943, where he scored 79 goals from just 95 appearances. He then shifted to the Columbian league Millonarios of Bogotá due to a footballer’s strike in 1949. During the period of 12 years he spent between the two countries, he managed to help his teams win as many as six titles.

Club career

Di Stéfano left Latin America for Europe, but that step was a move covered in red tape. Initially, Barcelona were interested in bringing the forward to their turf and employed a lawyer to help them acquire their target.

Essentially, Millionarios owned the rights to the player till 1954, after which River Plate was supposed to take over. Amid a three-way tussle between Millionarios, River Plate and Barcelona, Di Stéfano managed to wrangle a deal with FIFA and Barcelona in 1953.

The Spanish Federation did not appreciate the defection from the parent club and didn’t recognize the deal. FIFA eventually stepped in, asking the Spanish Federation to fix the problem. Eventually, when the player arrived in Spain, the negotiations to bring him to Barcelona took a hit, when the then-president of Real Madrid, Santiago Bernabéu, after which their legendary stadium is named, convinced the player to sign for them instead.

Finally, Di Stéfano was allowed four seasons in Spain, which he would spend playing for the two teams alternately. This didn’t go down well with the Catalonians, and he eventually struck a permanent deal with Madrid, further adding fuel to the simmering feud between the two Spanish giants.

At Real Madrid, Di Stéfano found himself with one of the most successful sides of all time. His partner, Ferenc Puskás, was quickly forming a fearsome reputation for himself, but Di Stéfano wasn’t getting left behind in a hurry. Di Stéfano scored 216 league goals in 282 matches, a club record. He also found the back of the net an amazing 49 times in 58 matches in one European Cup campaign, a record which stood until Raul bettered it in 2005. The European Footballer of the Year from 1957 through 1959, he also scored in five consecutive European Cup Finals for Madrid.

Nicknamed ‘Saeta Rubia’, or Blond Arrow, Di Stéfano was a celebrated forward, and he was respected for his ability to find the ball as well as his strength. He had amazing stamina (which is characteristic of Italians), tactical awareness that left many a defender stranded, and his brand of football was quite pleasing to the eye. He used his considerable skills to become the 4th-highest scorer of all time in the Spanish top tier. He eventually shifted to Espanyol, where he spent the rest of his playing career before calling it a day at the age of 40, scoring 41 goals from 77 appearances for his last team.

International Career

Di Stéfano holds the distinction of representing three different countries, and yet never having played in the World Cup. He started off with Argentina in 1947, earning 6 caps and scoring as many times. He then played for Columbia in 1949, without opening his account. His move to Spain saw him find a spot in the national side, and with 23 appearances from 31 outings, it should theoretically have ended up as a memorable excursion.

Yet, as luck would have it, one of the greatest players ever never set foot in a World Cup match. Argentina refused to be a part of the 1950 and 1954 tournaments. He had already been capped by both Argentina and Columbia, and FIFA disqualified him anyway. In 1956, when he was a Spanish citizen, Spain failed to make it to the tournament and he was left in the lurch once again. Finally, at the age of 36, he helped Spain qualify for the 1962 World Cup, before a muscular injury left him out of the squad, and that was the end of his attempt to reach the pinnacle of world football.

Managerial career

Di Stéfano retired at the age of 40, and then shifted his attention to football off the field, with a variety of managerial stints. He managed over 8 clubs from 1967 through 1991. He was at the helm of River Plate in Argentina as well as Real Madrid and Valencia in Spain. He helped the Argentine clubs win league titles and won the La Liga and European Cup Winners’ Cup with Valencia. With Real Madrid, he managed to finish second in every possible trophy attempt in 1982-83, with five runners-up spots.

Bottom line

Di Stéfano has been named in the FIFA 100 top players list, and was named the Golden Player of Spain in 2003. Pele even called him the best Argentinean player ever, and included him in the ‘Top 125 Greatest Living Footballers’. But Di Stefano’s legacy goes beyond mere lists. He was one of the very few players in history who could display the entire gamut of footballing skills – ‘versatile’ doesn’t even begin to describe the magic that Di Stefano could produce on the football field. If it were not for the unfortunate circumstances that prevented Di Stefano from competing in World Cup football, he may well have ended up at the No. 1 position in this list. And that is saying quite something.

Here’s a video tribute to the great man. Watch, and be amazed!

These are the other players who have made it so far:

No. 20 – David Beckham; No. 19 – Oliver Kahn; No. 18 – Jurgen Klinsmann; No. 17 – Luis Figo; No. 16 – Romario; No. 15 – Marco van Basten; No. 14 – Eusebio; No. 13 – Lionel Messi; No. 12 – Zico; No. 11 – Paolo Maldini; No. 10 – Michel Platini; No. 9 – Puskas; No. 8 - Lothar Matthäus; No. 7 – Franz Beckenbauer

Read the detailed write-ups on all the players in this list here:

The greatest footballers of all time