page_title: Alfredo Di Stéfano
section_title: Naturalisation and the building of an empire
hierarchical_section_title: Alfredo Di Stéfano / Club career / Naturalisation and the building of an empire
caption_attribution_description: English: Alfredo di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás Svenska: Alfredo di Stéfano och Ferenc Puskás
context_page_description: Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé was an Argentinian-born professional footballer and coach, regarded as one of the best footballers of all time. Nicknamed "Saeta rubia", he was a powerful, quick, skillful, and prolific forward, with great stamina, tactical versatility, creativity, and vision, who could also play almost anywhere on the pitch. 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. Along with Francisco Gento and José María Zárraga, he was one of only three players to play a part in all five victories, scoring goals in each of the five finals. Di Stéfano played international football mostly for Spain after moving to Madrid, but he also played for Argentina and Colombia.
  Di Stéfano began his career at Argentina's River Plate aged 17, in 1943. For the 1946 season he was loaned to Club Atlético Huracán, but he returned to River in 1947. Due to a footballers' strike in Argentina in 1949, Di Stéfano went to play for Millonarios of Bogotá in the Colombian league. He won six league titles during the first 12 years of his career in Argentina and Colombia.
context_section_description: In the summer of 1956, Real Madrid signed Raymond Kopa from the Stade de Reims. The French forward could not feature in the games due to the limit of foreigners in La Liga and had to wait for the Spanish naturalisation of Di Stèfano, who became a Spanish citizen in October 1956.
  
  The season started early with the participation of Real Madrid in the 1956 Small Club World Cup in Caracas, Venezuela as European champions. The Spaniards faced Vasco da Gama, AS Roma and FC Porto playing against players like World Cup winnerAlcides Ghiggia and Vavá. Real won the trophy with 3 wins and Di Stéfano finished as top scorer of the tournament with 4 goals (same as Vavá).
  
  As Real Madrid did not win the title in the previous season, president 
  Santiago Bernabéu, who also served as the vice-president of the competition, came up with the idea that the Champions Cup winner had the right to register for the next edition to defend the victory even if it had lost the championship. Consequently, Real participated in the 1956-1957 season, eliminating Rapid Vienna, Nice and Manchester United in the semifinals and beating Fiorentina by 2–0 in the final, in Madrid. During the season, Real also asserted itself in the last edition of the Latin Cup , overcoming Benfica 1–0 in the final with a decisive goal by Di Stéfano and at the end of the year, he won the 1957 Ballon d'Or. From the twenty-third day of the 1956-1957 championship, Real Madrid started a series of consecutive victorious home results that ended only in 1966, at the twenty-fifth round of the Liga, after 121 matches. The Blancos attack was one of the best in history and boasted Di Stéfano, Héctor Rial, Francisco Gento and Kopa. Real won the 1957 championship and Di Stéfano was again the scorer of the Liga with 31 goals.
  In the following season, Real Madrid is further strengthened with the arrival of Uruguayan José Santamaría in defense. Di Stéfano scored 19 goals and won the top scorer award, obtaining the 1958 title at the expense of Atletico Madrid. In the quarter-finals of the 1958 Champions Cup, Real Madrid faced Sevilla FC humiliating their opponents in the first leg in Madrid with an 8-0 where he scored four goals. On their return, in Seville, Di Stéfano was greeted by the insulting choruses of opposing fans and Real were held on 2–2. In the semifinals, Di Stèfano contributed to the success against Hungarian Vasas and the team reached the final against Juan Alberto Schiaffino's Milan. Real Madrid won the final with a 3–2 in comeback and the Argentinian all-around player finished the tournament as the top scorer with 10 goals.
  But the season finished with the loss of the 1958 Generalísimo Cup after they lost 2-0 to Athletic Bilbao. As a result, Ferenc Puskás signed with Real Madrid in the summer of 1958 to strengthen the squad and Real Madrid would be blessed with one of the most lethal attacking pairs in the history of football. Nevertheless, Real finished second in the 1959 season behind Barça and Don Alfredo with 23 goals he was the best scorer in the league for the fifth and last time, the fourth in a row. 
  After overcoming the rival citizens of Atlético Madrid after three games in semi-final, Real Madrid won its fourth consecutive Champions Cup by overtaking again Stade de Reims again with a score of 2–0. During the final, Enrique Mateos, the substitute of Puskás (the Hungarian feared retaliation and decided not to depart with the tam for the final in Stuttgart), took a penalty instead of Di Stéfano and missed it. But, in the beginning of the second half, Di Stéfano scored the second goal and Real Madrid was already a legend throughout the world, the most famous team that everyone wanted to watch.
  
  On 16 July 1959, Real Madrid hosted a match against Pelé and his Brazilian club, Santos FC, during their European tour. It was one of the most anticipated games of the tour, given of the reputation that Pelé had started building. Di Stéfano's team would beat the Brazilians by 5–3. In December, France Football awarded Di Stéfano the 1959 Ballon d'Or, which he won ahead of team-mate R
caption: Di Stéfano with his friend Ferenc Puskás
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