THE WORLD'S GREATEST PLAYER?



 
 
"He was the Greatest Player of All Time."
Bobby Charlton, England's most famous ever player.

 
 

PLATINI, BECKENBAUER and CRUYFF
Imagine a player as good as Gerd Mueller as goal-scorer, as accomplished as Michel Platini as playmaker, as strong as Giacinto Facchetti in the tackle. Imagine a player even more versatile than "the total footballer" Johan Cruyff, more commanding than "Der Kaiser" Franz Beckenbauer. Imagine such qualities all seen in one player. And the player has the energy of two men to express such a talent. That must be an awesome scene.

 

GREATER THAN PELE?

Alfredo Di Stéfano, to many soccer experts, was a player even greater than Pelé. (See the experts' comments in the Quotation page.)  He was a player with extraordinary versatility and incredible stamina. Although generally referred to as a center-forward, he played in defence, midfield and the forward line. In EVERY game.

THE GREAT ACHIEVER
Di Stéfano won 5 consecutive European Champions Cups for Real Madrid


LONGETIVITY

PELE
Peaked at 29

MARADONA
Peaked at 25
PUSKAS
Peaked with Alfredo
While Pelé retired from international football at 30 and Maradona dropped out of the European limelight at 31, Di Stéfano's fitness allowed him to play in top-flight European football until he was 40. Even in his mid-thirties, he was still the undisputed greatest footballer in the world. Di Stéfano starred in three of the greatest teams of all-time and was even greater than "The Galloping Major" Ferenc Puskas, his teammate at Real Madrid.

 



 
 

THE WORLD'S FIRST TOTAL FOOTBALLER

While the lasting fame of Pelé helped him to be recognized as the world’s best footballer ever, people who have seen Di Stéfano played unanimously agreed that the Argentine was a better player.  And the only one who deserves to be called "the greatest". 

His versatility, stamina and perfection in every art of the game made him not only a deadly goalscorer, but also an excellent playmaker and defender. In fact, this all-round player is the idol of Johan Cruyff, the chief of Holland's "Total Footballers".


 



 
 

WORLD CUP ABSENCE

But the football god was not very kind to such an incredible player. Few contemporary soccer fans know about Di Stéfano because he did not feature in any World Cups, for various reasons. (Visit the ODD FACTS PAGE to find out why)
 

In the 1950s, a long list of all-time greats such as Kopa, Puskas, Santamaria, Gento, Del Sol, Didi, Rial and Di Stéfano enabled Real Madrid to become the most feared club team in the world.  But Di Stéfano had always remained the single most important player whom the whole outfit was built around.  He almost single-handedly won 5 consecutive European Cups for the club and also firmly established Real as the world’s greatest club side.

Now, are you ready to find out more about Alfredo Di Stéfano - the greatest all-round player?  You will find out here.
 

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