Alfredo Di Stéfano (1953-1964)

Alfredo Di Stéfano (born July 4 , 1926 , at Barrancas , Argentina ), is a former Argentine-born footballer who played international football for Argentina , Colombia , and, most famously, Spain . Di Stéfano was a powerful forward with endless stamina and great tactical versatility, able to switch positions with ease, although he nominally played as an attacking forward. Di Stéfano considered by many to be one of the greatest players of all time. Today, he is honorary president of Real Madrid.

Born to a family of Italian immigrants, Di Stéfano's career started with River Plate in Argentina, in 1943 . He won six league titles in the first 12 years of his career in Argentina and Colombia (playing for the Millonarios in Bogota) before moving to Spain.

Di Stéfano's move to Spain was controversial. Barcelona originally signed the player from River Plate but the then Spanish government of Francisco Franco did not like the Catalan nationalism associated with the club, and decided to block the move. Barcelona bought out Di Stéfano's contract from River Plate, who he was actually contracted to, while Real Madrid, helped by the government, negotiated with the Millonarios that he was playing for. Enric Martí , the then president of Barcelona, was also reputedly threatened by the government, leading to Di Stéfano's "release".

Di Stéfano actually played three friendly matches for Barcelona before being moved to Madrid; Barcelona supporters are still upset at the fact that government maneouvering led to this move . The Spanish FA was also used by the government to help Di Stéfano move to Real Madrid, and they publically decided that the two clubs should share Di Stéfano. Barça refused, and he became part of one of the most successful club sides of all time, winning 5 European Cups in a row with Real Madrid and scoring in each final. After retirement, he moved into coaching. With Di Stéfano as coach, Valencia won the Spanish Cup in 1979, but he led Real Madrid to second place in five tournaments in 1983, losing the league title on the last day and being defeated in four cup finals! Di Stéfano is currently the 3rd highest scorer in the history of Spain's top division , with 228 goals in 329 games, behind Hugo Sánchez (234 goals) and Telmo Zarra (251). Di Stéfano is also Real Madrid's highest league goalscorer of all time, with 216 goals in 282 league matches between 1953 and 1964. Di Stéfano was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.