Alfredo Di Stéfano

River Plate

In 1944, Di Stéfano's father wrote a letter of recommendation to River Plate, and the club invited Di Stéfano to audition for the youth team. The club was impressed by Di Stéfano, and assigned him to the second team. The following year, at age 19, he played one match for the first team, a 2–1 loss to Huracán in the 1945 Argentine championship on 15 July, 1945. Stéfano did not play again that year, but he won his first title as River Plate won the championship.

Huracán

The president of Huracán was impressed by Di Stéfano's talent after witnessing him play his one match the previous season. Realising he little chance of becoming a permanent member of River Plate first team, Di Stéfano agreed to play for Huracán on loan in 1946. Huracán forward Herminio Masantonio had recently retired, and the club needed a replacement. Di Stéfano scored the first two goals of his career in a 3–1 victory against Estudiantes (LP). In a match against River Plate, he scored the fastest goal in the history of the Argentine championship, after about ten seconds of play. In total, he scored 10 goals in 25 appearances for Huracán; the club tried to sign him permanently at the end of the season, but could not afford the 90,000 pesos River Plate asked for the transfer.

Return to River Plate 1947–1949

Upon his return to River Plate, Di Stéfano became an integral part of La Máquina, taking on the role of the departing Adolfo Pedernera, who had signed for Atlanta.…

Di Stéfano played with three different national teams during his career, scoring six goals in six appearances for Argentina, and 23 in 31 appearances for Spain. However, he never played in the World Cup. Di Stéfano also played four times for Colombia, during the Dimayor period of Colombian football. The team at the time was not recognised by FIFA as the league had broken transfer rules in signing players while still under contract.

Argentina

Di Stéfano made his international debut on 4 December 1947, in a match against Bolivia at the Estadio George Capwell in Ecuador, during the 1947 South American Championship. He scored his first international goal in that same match, helping Argentina to a 7–0 win. Di Stéfano scored five more goals during the championship – including his first hat-trick against Colombia – as Argentina successfully defended the title they had won the previous year on home soil. Di Stéfano's six games during that tournament would prove to be his only appearances for Argentina. Player strikes, and a dispute with the Brazilian Football Confederation, forced Argentina to withdraw from qualifying for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, as well as the 1949 and 1953 South American Championships. By the time qualifying began for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, FIFA had banned Di Stéfano from making any further appearances for Argentina, on account of his appearances for the Colombia XI two years earlier – though Argentina once again pulled out of…

After retirement, Di Stéfano moved into coaching. He guided Argentine club Boca Juniors to win two titles, the 1969 Nacional when the team won the Nacional championship. and the 1969 Copa Argentina. After his successful run in Argentina, in Di Stéfano returned to Spain for the 1970-71 season winning La Liga and the European Cup Winners' Cup with Valencia. He also managed Sporting in the 1974–75 season. In 1981, Di Stéfano was hired as coach of River Plate, the club where he had debuted as player. With Mario Kempes as the star player of the team, Di Stéfano led River Plate to win the 1981 Nacional championship. Di Stéfano was also coach of Real Madrid between 1982 and 1984. In the 1982–83 season, they finished second in La Liga and were defeated in the finals of the 1982 Supercopa de España, Copa de la Liga, and Copa del Rey. Madrid also reached the European Cup Winners' Cup final that season, but were also beaten by Aberdeen, managed by Alex Ferguson. The team also finished second in the La Liga of next season again. He also returned to Valencia in 1986 to guide them back to La Liga by winning the Segunda Division after their relegation the season prior before his arrival.

Alfredo Di Stéfano was born in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Barracas. His father, also named Alfredo Di Stéfano, was a first-generation Italian Argentine. His mother, Eulalia Laulhé Gilmont, was an Argentine woman of French and Irish descent. Di Stéfano's father had played for River Plate as a defender, and introduced the young Di Stéfano to football. Di Stéfano grew up playing street football on neighbourhood teams, and his talent drew attention. In 1940, his family moved to the countryside, where he played for Unión Progresista with his brother Tulio. In 1943, the family returned to Buenos Aires. Di Stéfano's football idol in his youth was Arsenio Erico of Paraguay.