The Blond Arrow of Millonarios - Legend of Di Stefano: Part Two

THE LEGEND OF DI STEFANO

PART TWO:
THE BLOND ARROW OF MILLONARIOS

"Millionarios of Bogota were the dominant force thanks to the burgeoning genius of Alfredo Di Stefano."
Great Teams that Made History (World Soccer Magazine).

After a players' strike started in Argentina in 1949, many top players moved to Colombia's pirate league called Di Mayor. Since it was out of FIFA's jurisdiction, no transfer fees were to be payed and thus the clubs could afford to pay high salaries.

This attracted top South American stars, including Di Stéfano, to Colombia. One of the brightest stars was Alfredo's fellow countryman Hector Rial, who played for Sante Fe. Rial will later be part of the legendary Real Madrid forward line in Spain, together with Di Stéfano.

RIAL

THE ARROW IS HERE! Di Stéfano (circled), along with Nestor Rossi, was greeted by countless admirers upon his arrival at Bogota

Adolfo Pedernera, The Maestro, joined Millionarios of Bogota and later also became player-manager. Nestor Rossi, another former teammate of Di Stéfano at River Plate, also joined Millonarios with Di Stéfano. (Rossi was considered one of the world's best midfielders of the time.) Several British players were lured to the South American league as well. But Di Stéfano simply outshone them all.

MILLONARIOS OF DI STEFANO
The strongest ever team in Colombia Under the guidance of their stars, principally Di Stéfano and Pedernera, Millionarios played a superb brand of soccer with great precision, artistry and beauty. For this reason, Millonarios was nicknamed Ballet Azul, the Blue Ballet. (Blue because of the colour of their team uniform.)

Alfredo scored an astonishing 267 goals in 292 games for Millonarios during his time in Colombia and made Millionarios another greatest club team of all-time. The team at that time was also the greatest ever team in Colombia's history. In less than 4 years, Di Stéfano scored enough goals to make him the second highest goal-scorer in the entire history of Millionarios.

STAR OF THE STARS Alfredo Di Stéfano in
Millionarios' jersey

PEDERNERA

Since securing the serivces of Di Stéfano, Millionarios wrested the title back from Sante Fe, their greatest rivals. Apart from Pedernera, Nester Rossi and Di Stéfano, Millonarios also had defender Zuloaga and goalkeeper Cozzi. With such outstanding talents, the club won 4 league titles in 1949, 1951, 1952 and 1953.

Di Stéfano's performances were so impressive that the Colombian national team could not resist the temptation of calling him up, even though he played for Argentina before. But their national team played very few matches in those years and so Alfredo only got 4 international caps for his newly adopted country.

STAR OF COLOMBIA Many do not know Alfredo had played for Colombia

Real Madrid
Di Stéfano's next destination

By 1953, Di Stéfano had established himself as the greatest player in South America. When Di Stéfano moved to Europe this year, he was already 27 years old. But the next 10 years with Real Madrid would see Di Stéfano at the peak of his powers. The superstar would also turn the Spanish club into the greatest club team of all-time.

GO TO SPAIN WITH DI STEFANO

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