50 Fun Facts About Alfredo Di Stéfano
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Take the 50-question quizWhat was Alfredo Di Stéfano's famous nickname?
It means Blond Arrow and was coined by journalist Roberto Neuberger.
In which Buenos Aires neighbourhood was Di Stéfano born in 1926?
His father, also Alfredo, had played for River Plate as a defender.
Which Argentine club did Di Stéfano join at 17 in 1943?
He debuted for the first team, known as La Máquina, in 1945.
Which club took Di Stéfano on loan in 1946, where he scored the fastest goal in Argentine league history?
The goal against River Plate came after about ten seconds.
Who was Di Stéfano's boyhood football idol?
Erico was a Paraguayan striker.
How many goals made Di Stéfano top scorer of the 1947 Argentine championship?
He missed time that year for compulsory conscription.
Which international tournament did Di Stéfano win with Argentina in 1947?
He made his debut that December against Bolivia in Ecuador.
In what unusual position did Di Stéfano briefly play in a 1949 Buenos Aires derby?
He replaced Amadeo Carrizo for a few minutes and kept a clean sheet.
Why did Di Stéfano leave Argentina for Colombia in 1949?
The strike lasted eight months and pushed Argentina's best players abroad.
Which Bogotá club did Di Stéfano join in 1949?
The Colombian league's lucrative pirate era was known as El Dorado.
What was the nickname of the famous Bogotá team of Di Stéfano, Pedernera and Rossi?
They won the 1949 title, beating Deportivo Cali in the final.
Which Real Madrid anniversary tournament in 1952 first showed Di Stéfano to Santiago Bernabéu?
The Colombians beat Real 4–2 with a Di Stéfano brace and won the tournament.
Which club agreed a deal with his old Argentine club for Di Stéfano before Real Madrid stepped in?
FIFA mediator Armando Muñoz Calero proposed splitting him between the two clubs season by season.
What was FIFA mediator Muñoz Calero's compromise on the transfer?
Barcelona then sold Madrid its half-share; the Catalan president resigned.
How many goals did Di Stéfano score in his first Clásico, in October 1953?
Barcelona had sold its share of him only hours earlier; Real won 5–0.
How many times was Di Stéfano La Liga's top scorer?
His last Pichichi came in 1958–59 with 23 goals.
Whom did Real Madrid beat 4–3 in the first European Cup final in 1956?
Real had trailed before Di Stéfano drove a comeback in Paris.
To whom did Di Stéfano lose the first Ballon d'Or in 1956 by three votes?
He won it himself twice later in the decade.
In which two years did Di Stéfano win the Ballon d'Or?
In 1959 he beat teammate Raymond Kopa and Juventus's John Charles.
Why could Raymond Kopa not play for Real Madrid until October 1956?
La Liga's foreigner limit meant Di Stéfano's Spanish citizenship freed a place.
How did Di Stéfano mark his Spain debut in January 1957?
Spain won 5–1 in Madrid.
How many national teams did Di Stéfano play for?
Argentina, Colombia and Spain, though the Colombia XI was not FIFA-sanctioned.
Why did FIFA ban Di Stéfano from playing for Argentina before the 1954 World Cup qualifiers?
Argentina pulled out of qualifying anyway.
How many World Cup finals matches did Di Stéfano play in his career?
He qualified with Spain for 1962 at 35 but did not play in Chile.
Which Brazilian 1958 World Cup winner joined Real Madrid in 1959–60 and clashed with Di Stéfano?
Rumours said Didi asked for his release in the summer of 1960.
What was the score when Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup final?
It is still the most goals ever scored in a European Cup final.
How many goals did Di Stéfano and Puskás score respectively in the 1960 final?
Both scored hat-tricks in a game called one of the finest ever played.
Where was the 1960 European Cup final played?
More than 127,000 people watched in Glasgow.
What was the aggregate score when Real Madrid were first knocked out of the European Cup in 1960–61?
Their great rivals from Catalonia did it after a controversial second leg.
Which team beat Real 5–3 in the 1962 European Cup final, the first Di Stéfano failed to score in?
Eusébio inspired the Lisbon side; Puskás scored all three Madrid goals.
Who kidnapped Di Stéfano in a Caracas hotel in August 1963?
He was released unharmed three days later.
How many European Cup goals did Di Stéfano score, then a record?
He netted them in 59 matches.
How many La Liga hat-tricks did Di Stéfano score, then a record?
The last, against Real Murcia in 1964 at 37, made him Europe's oldest hat-trick scorer for 45 years.
Which club did Di Stéfano join in 1964 and play for until retiring at 40?
Celtic, Milan and Betis had also come knocking.
Which Argentine club did Di Stéfano coach to the 1969 Nacional title?
He also won the 1969 Copa Argentina with them.
Which Spanish club did Di Stéfano lead to La Liga and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1970–71?
He returned in 1986 to win them promotion from the Segunda División.
Which manager's Aberdeen beat Di Stéfano's Real Madrid in the 1983 Cup Winners' Cup final?
Di Stéfano coached Real from 1982 to 1984.
What one-off award did France Football give Di Stéfano in December 1989?
Readers had voted for Michel Platini, but the jury chose Di Stéfano as best of three decades.
In what year was Di Stéfano named Honorary President of Real Madrid?
UEFA and Real Madrid unveiled his statue in 2008.
Where did Di Stéfano rank in France Football's Player of the Century vote?
Only Pelé, Maradona and Cruyff finished ahead of him.
With whom is Di Stéfano Real Madrid's joint top scorer in El Clásico history?
He is among Madrid's highest league scorers of all time.
Which match opened the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano in 2006?
It was a 50th anniversary rematch of the 1956 European Cup final.
At what age did Di Stéfano die in July 2014?
He suffered a heart attack two days after his birthday.
Which Uruguayan defender strengthened Real Madrid in 1957–58 alongside Di Stéfano?
Di Stéfano scored 19 goals that season to win the top scorer award again.
Di Stéfano's father had played as a defender for which club, introducing his son to football?
His mother was of French and Irish descent; as a teenager he played for Unión Progresista in the countryside with his brother Tulio.
How many goals did Di Stéfano score in 510 games for Real Madrid?
He was the club's record scorer until Raúl, then Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, overtook him decades later.
Who in 2019 broke Di Stéfano's record as the oldest hat-trick scorer in Europe's top five leagues?
He scored the treble against Real Murcia in March 1964 at 37 years and 255 days; the record stood for 45 years.
How many goals did Di Stéfano score in European Cup finals, a record he shares with Ferenc Puskás?
He is the only player to have scored in five consecutive European Cup finals.
Which future manager, son of a Real Madrid teammate, had Di Stéfano as his godfather from 1965?
Sánchez Flores was the son of Isidro Sánchez; Di Stéfano himself married Sara Freites in 1950 and had six children.
During which 2014 World Cup match did Argentina wear black ribbons in tribute to Di Stéfano?
He had died on 7 July 2014, and River Plate and Millonarios played a homage friendly at El Campín in Bogotá nine days later.
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