This blog comes from my first "season" of writing in 2014.
I wasn't quite sure what I should do about this video footage (SEE BELOW), which is of poor quality and therefore we should be grateful how lucky we are this days, to view our great players on film, accurately. This film does not do Alfredo di Stefano much credit, but it will have to do since this year marks the 52nd anniversary of this giant footballer of 1950-60s, being KIDAPPED.
Yes, snatched by the National Liberation Army Front in Caracas during Real Madrid's pre-season tour in South America. They wanted a propaganda operation to bring the World into listening to their demands. Revolutionary, Paul del Rio got his chaps to abduct "the greatest footballer in the world" at that time. August 1963? Pele? Puskas? Many others of course.Alfredo di Stefano was an Argentinian by birth, who played for his home nation only 6 times. He was a veteran Colombian league player who represented that country 4 times and ended up with citizenship and because he was playing league football in Spain, he managed 31 caps for the Spanish, scoring 23 goals.
After being "held captive" for three days, he was released unharmed and even sent his kidnappers a letter thanking them for their hospitality
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCAlqBamBjs
As a player he was best known for his time with Real Madrid in the 1950s and '60s, known as Saeta Rubia, the blonde arrow. Real were the strongest side in Europe at that time. I watched him and this team wearing all white, on a small black and white TV, thrash Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany, 7-3 in the European Cup Final at Hampden Park.
di STefano turned out in over 500 club matches and scored over 400 goals.
In management, he worked in all those three countries and made his mark in Spain at Real Madrid, twice, in short spells, when he led his team to 5 runners up medals in various competitions. In 1983 his team was defeated in the European Cup Winners Cup by Aberdeen and manager Alex Ferguson!
Alfredo died on the 7th July 2014 aged 88 following a heart attack and illness.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCAlqBamBjs
As a player he was best known for his time with Real Madrid in the 1950s and '60s, known as Saeta Rubia, the blonde arrow. Real were the strongest side in Europe at that time. I watched him and this team wearing all white, on a small black and white TV, thrash Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany, 7-3 in the European Cup Final at Hampden Park.
di STefano turned out in over 500 club matches and scored over 400 goals.
In management, he worked in all those three countries and made his mark in Spain at Real Madrid, twice, in short spells, when he led his team to 5 runners up medals in various competitions. In 1983 his team was defeated in the European Cup Winners Cup by Aberdeen and manager Alex Ferguson!
Alfredo died on the 7th July 2014 aged 88 following a heart attack and illness.
He is playing against England here in the celebratory match celebrating the 100th year of the FA, in 1963; The Rest of the World v England. at Wembley. The first time a single country played against a "World Team".
Jimmy Greaves assisted Terry Paine to score in the 66th minute. Denis Law (a Scot as you know) equalised for the opposition, 16 minutes later, but Greaves brought England to a last-minute victory. Greaves had the best game of his career and was considered as the player of the match, while the Russian, Yashin's saves greatly contributed to his reputation of world's best goalkeeper and earned him the Ballon d'Or two months later.
As promised by FIFA, all of the World XI substitutes were used in the second half, with Raymond Kopa replaced by Uwe Seeler. BUT Santos FC refused to release Pele and AC Milan also refused to release Cesare Maldini who was replaced by Slovan Bratislava Jan Popluhar.
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