Alfredo Di Stéfano passed away today at 88 years of age in Madrid. The Blond Arrow was born on 4 July 1926 in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and is considered one of the best footballers of all time. Di Stéfano is the only player in history to have won the Super Ballon d'Or. He played 11 seasons with Real Madrid and was a key factor in the club’s world domination.



With Real Madrid he won five consecutive European and one Intercontinental Cup, two Latin Cups, eight Ligas, one Copa de España, one Pequeña Copa del Mundo and five league top goal-scorer trophies. In addition, he won two Ballon d’Ors and in 1989 France Football recognised his career with the only Super Ballon d’Or to be received by a player. Di Stéfano is the club’s second highest goal-scorer, with 308 goals in 396 official games.



Real Madrid manager

Alfredo was in the Whites’ dugout for three seasons and was a driving force behind the emergence of La Quinta del Buitre. In the 82/83 and 83/84 seasons, Whites fans enjoyed seeing The Arrow in the dugout in the Bernabéu. In 90/91 he took the helm of the team once more and won a Supercup of Spain.



Honorary president

After the arrival of Florentino Pérez as President of Real Madrid in the year 2000, his first decision was to name Di Stéfano honorary president, in recognition of his importance to the history of the Whites. The Madrid legend became the club’s greatest ambassador around the world.



Also, together with Florentino Pérez, he collected the Best Club of the 20th Century Trophy, awarded by FIFA. The Arrow will always be present at the Ciudad Real Madrid, as the stadium where Castilla play their matches bears his name.

