Alfredo Di Stefano is one of the greatest Real Madrid stars, which awarded the Ballon d’Or for the European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959. To honor his service in Los Blancos color, El Real has created his statue outside the stadium. The statue is a sculpture made by Pedro Montes and was officially presented on 17 February 2007. It weighs more than 400 kilos and is more than two meters tall, and shows the celebration of a famous goal in the European Cup against Vasas, a goal that will remain forever in the memory of Real Madrid fans.
He is a great football player, even the greatest from the finest Real Madrid players of all time, but this is not a story about his glorious moment in European football; it’s a story about his humble personality. Alfredo is known as a humble person, even though he already achieved tremendous success in football. In a post-interview on the inauguration of the Alfredo Di Stefano statue, the Real Madrid Legend said that he is lucky to achieve success in football. When he was a child, he said there are many people better than him, but they cannot afford to become a footballer for various reasons.
The success story of Alfredo Di Stefano, of course, not only based on luck, but his kind gesture and down to earth personality has become one of the essential factors for his long successful career in football. Alfredo is humble since he began his career in River Plate until his death on 7 July 2014, no wonder he got much respect from his former teammate and opponent. Sadly, the down to earth personality like Alfredo is rarely seen in football nowadays, the young promising players with a fat paycheck are too arrogant to show respect to opponents.
Alfredo Career in Real Madrid is colorful, there are great and bad moments in that journey, but his kind gesture always makes way for him, even in the worst scenario, his kidnapping. On the night of 24 August 1963, the Venezuelan revolutionary group Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), kidnapped Alfredo Di Stéfano at gunpoint from the Potomac Hotel in Caracas, his team, Real Madrid, were on a pre-season tour of South America. His attitude played a significant role in releasing him from the kidnappers unharmed two days later, and Di Stéfano stressed that his kidnappers had not mistreated him. Di Stéfano played in a match against São Paulo the day after he was released and received a standing ovation.
The story of Real Madrid European glory cannot be separated from Alfredo Di Stefano. He is the finest Real Madrid player of all time. Meanwhile, after he died, his legacy is not only the silverware he got in football but also the way he behaves, and he has displayed the best role model for the next generation.