Alfredo Di Stefano a champion to rival Pele as the greatest

ALFREDO DI STEFANO, 1926-2014

Alfredo Di Stefano was, with the possible exception of Pele, the finest footballer of all time. He was not merely an implacable scorer of goals but also a superb strategist. As Real Madrid's field marshal, he led them to victory in the European Cup every year from 1956 to 1960.

Di Stefano's appetite for victory brought him 49 goals in 59 European ties, a record yet to be surpassed and one that lends weight to judgments that he was the greatest of all.

Alfredo Stefano Di Stefano Lauthe was born on July 4, 1926 in Barracas, a poor suburb of Buenos Aires. His father played for the city’s premier club, River Plate, but left when professionalism was introduced, believing the game should be played purely for fun. Young Alfredo acquired his prodigious stamina running about the streets and working on a relative's farm.

In 1942 Di Stefano joined River Plate, having given notice of a prickly temperament by quitting his youth team after a row with the coach. He tolerated neither fools nor slights and when he was lent to the Hurucan club in 1944 he responded by scoring 50 goals in 66 games, including the winner against River Plate. In 1947 Di Stefano's finishing won River Plate the Argentine League and Argentina the South American championship.

In 1949 the country's players struck for more money. When club owners used amateurs instead, their star players decamped to Colombia, where a lucrative international pirate league was operating outside FIFA'S jurisdiction. Di Stefano signed for the aptly named Millonarios team, and scored a remarkable 259 goals in 292 matches.

In 1953 Millonarios took part in Real Madrid's 50th anniversary celebrations. Di Stefano caught the eye of the Spanish club's owner, Santiago Bernabeu, who agreed a fee with the Colombians. However, Barcelona also believed they had secured Di Stefano after talks with River Plate, with whom he was still officially registered. A Spanish court ruled he must rotate each year between the two clubs, but after a seemingly slow start, Barcelona sold their interest to Real. Four days later Di Stefano punished both the snub and their naivety with a hat-trick, as his favoured team drubbed Barca 5-0.

He was one of the few to represent three countries at international level. He was capped seven times for Argentina and three times by Colombia before qualifying in 1958 for Spain. Injury, selection squabbles and an unimaginable loss to Scotland meant that he never graced the greater stage of the World Cup finals. In 1963 he played for the Rest of the World against England.