Francisco Gento López (born October 21 , 1933 in Guarnizo, Santander ) was a Spanish football player.
He débuted in the Primera División with Racing Santander in the 52-53 season. In the following year, he signed for Real Madrid and became a legendary player there, in the number 10 shirt. The Galerna del Cantábrico (The Storm of the Cantábrico ), as he was known, played outside left and was noted for his considerable ability when running with the ball. But he was not just gifted with immense speed, but also great skill. He captained a young side, known in Spain as Ye-yé , because of the popularity of The Beatles at that time.
Among other honours, he won the European Cup 6 times with Real Madrid, scoring 30 goals in 95 European games during his career. He also played for Spain from 1955 to 1969, winning 43 caps and scoring 5 times. He had a 62.79% win rate at international level. He has won six European Cups with Real Madrid (56-60, 65-66), competing in eight finals. 1Intercontinental Cup in 1960, won the league twelve times with Real Madrid. Twice won the Copa del Rey with Real Madrid.
After he retired from football in 1971 , he decided to take up coaching. He took charge of various lower-league teams, such as Castilla, Castellón, Palencia, and Granada. In the end, he accepted a post working as an embassador for Real Madrid throughout Europe.
Francisco Gento López
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.
Santiago Bernabéu Yeste (1911-1928)
Santiago Bernabéu Yeste was born June 8 , 1895 in Almansa , province of Albacete , Spain and died June 2 , 1978 in Madrid . He was chairman of Real Madrid from 1943 to 1978. No other president kept the job for so long or led the club for so many titles as Bernabéu did.
Bernabéu first joined the club as player in 1912 . He retired from playing in 1927. In 1929 he joined the board of Real Madrid as secretary, job he would fulfill until 1935. In 1943 he was elected president, which he would remain until his death in 1978. As president of Real Madrid he is considered to have been one of the major forces behind the club's successes. He was responsible for the building of a large new stadium for the club in Chamartin. The stadium was finished in 1947 and renamed in 1953 in his honor: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu .
He was one of the creators of the European Cup, a competition which Real Madrid would dominate in its early stages thanks to the star players that Bernabéu had brought to the club. He died in 1978, while the World Cup was being played in Argentina . In his honor the FIFA decreed three days of mourning during the tournament. In 2002 he was posthumously awarded FIFA's Order of Merit.