The Biography of Di Stefano
About this book
When we talk about the greatest players in the history of world football, we always think of Pele, George Best, Maradona. However, they must pay tribute to one great man, and that is Alfredo di Stéfano. He is the magician behind Real Madrid's five-game winning streak.
Di Stéfano ruled for twenty years at three clubs with a Genesis character. One is the River Plate team in his hometown of Argentina, and the other is the Bogota millionaire in Colombia. The other is Real Madrid, the most powerful of all time, since 1953. On the pitch, Di Stéfano has revolutionized the way football is played. In terms of technical tactics, Stefano is versatile, creative and at the same time has a phenomenal goal scoring ability. Off the field, he used his prestige and aura to build immortal feats, he reshaped the international image of post-war Spain, and made Spain his second home.
The book is a complete story about Di Stefano, which even includes many exclusive interviews and even information obtained through candid photography. The book tells the story of Di Stéfano's growth from a humble South American boy to the number one star in the world's number one sport. At the time, it was a pioneering journey and a legendary story.
About the author
Ian Hawkey was a columnist for the Sunday Times until 2012, when he settled in Spain to cover the European Football Newsletter. His first book, Feet of Chameleons: The Story of African Football, won the National Sports Council's Football Book of the Year Award. The book is also on William Hill's list of sports books of the year.
The author of the book is Ian Hodge
On a street corner in the center of Madrid, there is a very small café. It is next to perhaps the most famous stadium in all of Europe. The café has a low ceiling, a functional interior and a little bright ceiling light. However, the Spanish fritters and delicious donuts there mark the fact that this is the capital of Spain. The coffee there is among the best in Europe, not only tantalizing but also nutritious, revitalizing a tired afternoon.
The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium adjacent to the café is a mecca for Real Madrid, which also seems to be the antechamber of the Bernabeu, and anyone who comes to the stadium to watch Real Madrid matches is willing to sit here. Surprisingly, they are often able to spot the club's honorary president, the once world number one star, sitting there alone. Later in his life, Alfredo di Stéfano's main job was to step on the red carpet that Real Madrid had rolled out for him and appear in front of the world as the world's first star. He has played for the most successful club in the world and the greatest player in the team. In the world of football, few people are as familiar as he is with more than three or even four generations of fans. When Di Stéfano played for the team, Real Madrid had a bright star, and all the players in the team had great prestige and qualifications to step on the red carpet. When Di Stefano retires, he will visit the café regularly. His cane rested against the wooden fence of the coffee shop counter.
He often sat there drinking his espresso, and few people recognized him. By chance, I found him in this coffee shop. So I made it a habit to sit and watch him silently for more than an hour, or until he finished his coffee, and we went silently to the stadium to continue our work. At that time, he was already in his seventies and eighties, the top VIP of Real Madrid, the aristocrat in the history of the team. He sat alone in the Santiago Bernabeu's lounge, taking photos with tourists and handing over autographed white jerseys to pilgrims. In this regard, he can bring millions of euros in revenue to Real Madrid every year. I, on the other hand, was a liaison correspondent for the British Sunday Times in Spain. I am responsible for reporting to the world on the bold, decisive and capsizing efforts of Real Madrid to regain its glory. The so-called year was the Bernabeu when Di Stéfano played in the 1950s and 1960s.
Some people will think that Di Stefano is a person who is somewhat cold and not easy to get close to. And there's no shortage of his teammates and recent friends among these people. Of course he was a very sharp, determined, even somewhat reckless man, but in my experience he was a personable gentleman, but always following his train of thought in conversation. So, there can be many angles to his opinion. Speaking of British referees, he can make a lot of jokes with half-whining. Truth be told, the English referee is the biggest disaster star of his career. He has a lot of unique insights into his contemporaries, Manchester United, and will make many flippant comments about a young player who has caught his eye. Talk to Di Stefano and you'll always find a lot of treasure in his self-described career, but he never immerses himself in the glorious achievements of his past. His passion for football and his understanding of the nature of sport transcend the commercial context we are currently entering. His philosophy is also an important antidote to the violent side of his personality.
Many people say that Di Stéfano may have been the first person in the history of world football to make a fortune by playing football, and the highest level of playing football in the commercialization of that group of footballs. His success marked a basic standard of football stardom by which his successors competed to measure themselves. He took football a step further towards professionalism, for example, under his influence, the standard size of the football field was confirmed, and the basic idea that the football club could flourish for a long time came into his practice. The benchmark he sets for professional football is what every player aspires to achieve. His leadership skills on and off the field unite those around him. He was a pioneer of the great fusion of world football, and he was a great success in South America, and redefined the meaning of successful professional players by transferring to Europe through commercial operations in the standard sense. He received great honors on different continents, especially creating one of the greatest peaks in the history of the European Champions Cup.
Di Stéfano elevated Real Madrid from a Spanish sports aristocracy to the most outstanding club in the history of modern football. He even made Real Madrid represent Spain through his superb skills, making the country that was about to enter a democratic modern society stride high in front of the world, with pride and a natural superiority. Despite Spain's long lack of self-confidence in front of its European neighbors, politically and economically lagging behind, the Real Madrid dynasty established by Di Stéfano gave the whole of Spain a reason to be proud. Di Stéfano was Argentine, but by chance he became a resident of Spain. But he never deliberately wanted to be the savior of the country, or even to avoid being on the cusp of a rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, he inadvertently experienced a variety of interesting times, including coups in South America, political kidnappings, the Cold War, and Franco's dictatorship. He subtly defined his time and environment, not only making football more enjoyable, but also from another side like Australian cricket star Donald Bradman, or American boxing star Mohammed Ali.
At Real Madrid, although his time as an athlete or a powerful official has vanished, people still appreciate him. In fact, whether as an athlete or an official, he does not take his authority seriously. Di Stefano's story began long before he landed in Europe and before football games began to be televised. While the best part of his story is the struggle between Catalonia and Castile, and the fact that he promoted the rapid development of European football, Stefano was already a peak of South American football long before that. In the heart of South America, Argentina and Colombia, he has opened his excitement. This book is one of the results of my research on him, especially the story behind this famous star. Before Di Stéfano died in 2014, I began a meticulous study of his personal life. Di Stéfano was the first "full footballer", the first universal star in the history of football and a unique pioneer.
He is the "golden arrow" of the Bernabeu
Also the great hero of Madrid
A masterpiece not to be missed by Merlinger