The goodbye of a legend: Alfredo Di Stéfano (1926-2014)

by Guilherme Neto

The World of football has woken up in shock this past Monday, as the news came out that Alfredo Di Stéfano had passwed away at the age of 88.

The Argentinian legend had his glorious days as a footballer while playing for Real Madrid during 1953 and 1964, a period on which he had 396 appearances and 307 goals for the club. He won the Ballon d’Or twice (1957 and 1959), but his greatest achievement was a 5 European Champions title streak for the Merengues, between 1955-56 and 1959-60.

Also known as the “Blonde Arrow“, Di Stéfano has been a true example for the youngsters both on and off the pitch. He also tried out a professional coaching career between 1967 and 1991 and in that period he naturally ended up taking the helm at Real Madrid in two different occasions, from 1982 to 1984 and in 1990-91.

Over the past few years, Di Stéfano had been suffering from a delicate heart disease and he ended up being inducted into a coma in the last weekend. A couple days after (on this Monday, July 7 of 2014), the Argentinian didn’t resist the deterioration of his condition and passed away at the Hospital Gregorio Marañón de Madrid.

Di Stéfano was Real Madrid‘s honorary president since November of 2000 and he was one of the most cherished figures inside the club. He was present in many significant moments of the club’s history over the past years, such as the presentation ceremonies of players and coaches like David Beckham, Figo, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo or even José Mourinho.

Sources: nytimes.com