Farewell to Football Legend Alfredo Di Stefano at 88

Legendary Argentine star Alfredo Di Stefano has passed away at the age of 88.   

 

According to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC, Di Stefano suffered a heart attack on Saturday and never recovered

The club released an official statement on Monday, which read:

Real Madrid C. F. regrets to announce that its Honorary President, Alfredo Di Stéfano, passed away today at 17:15 in the General Universitario Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid. The President of Real Madrid C. F., Florentino Pérez, and the club’s Board of Directors would like to express their deepest sympathy and affection to his children, family and friends. Real Madrid C. F. extends these condolences to Madrid fans around the world and anyone who feels moved by the loss of the greatest player of all time. The President of Real Madrid C. F. will appear in the Santiago Bernabéu today at 19:00.

Di Stefano's impact on football can't even be quantified. It could be argued that no one player—even Pele or Diego Maradona—has a larger footprint in the sport's history than Di Stefano.

He first made his name in South America with River Plate and then Millonarios during the "El Dorado" era of Colombian football. After winning three league titles with the Colombian side, he moved on to Real Madrid, where helped determine the trajectory of European football for good.

While Di Stefano isn't solely responsible, he's one of the biggest reasons Real Madrid are a world power in the game. Two seasons after Di Stefano's arrival, Los Blancos won the European Cup and proceeded to win the next four.

Santiago Bernabeu was a visionary ahead of his time, but more than anything else, those five European titles helped put Real Madrid at the apex of the club game, a position from which they haven't fallen.

BR