Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé was an Argentine-born professional footballer and coach, widely regarded as one of the best footballers of all time.
Nicknamed "Saeta rubia" or "Blond Arrow", Di Stéfano was a powerful, quick, skillful, and prolific forward with great stamina, tactical versatility, creativity, and vision.
He is best known for his achievements with Real Madrid, where he was instrumental in the club's domination of the European Cup and La Liga during the 1950s.
Di Stéfano began his career at Argentina's River Plate aged 17, in 1943.
He played international football mostly for Spain after moving to Madrid, but also played for Argentina and Colombia.
Di Stéfano won six league titles during the first 12 years of his career in Argentina and Colombia.
He scored 216 league goals in 282 games for Real Madrid, striking up a successful partnership with Ferenc Puskás.
Di Stéfano's 49 goals in 58 matches was the all-time highest tally in the European Cup.
The record has since been surpassed by several players, with Real Madrid's Raúl the first in 2005.
Di Stéfano scored in five consecutive European Cup finals for Real Madrid between 1956 and 1960, including a hat-trick in the last.
He moved to Espanyol in 1964 and played there until retiring at the age of 40.
Di Stéfano was awarded the Ballon d'Or for the European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959.
He is currently the sixth highest scorer in the history of Spain's top division, and Real Madrid's third highest league goalscorer of all time.
Di Stéfano was selected as the Golden Player of Spain by the Royal Spanish Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.
He was voted fourth in a vote organized by France Football magazine which consulted their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century.
Di Stéfano was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
In 2008 Di Stéfano was honoured by both UEFA and Real Madrid with a special Presidents award issued by FIFA at a ceremony in Madrid, where a statue was also unveiled.
Then UEFA President Michel Platini called Di Stéfano "a great amongst the greats" while contemporaries Eusébio and Just Fontaine suggested that he was "the most complete footballer in the history of the game".
