Alfredo Di Stéfano was an Argentine-born professional footballer who played for both Argentina and Spain between 1947 and 1961, and scored 29 international goals during that time. He played as a deep-lying forward, and is considered one of the best players of all time. Di Stéfano was one of the first footballers to control matches by roaming the pitch, unusual in an era when most players did not stray from their set position. He was twice awarded the Ballon d'Or as European football's player of the year; in 1957 and 1959.

Di Stéfano made his international debut for Argentina in December 1947, scoring a goal during a 7–0 win against Bolivia. He scored six goals, including his first international hat-trick—against Colombia—during his six appearances for Argentina. These all came during the 1947 South American Championship, which Argentina won. In 1949, he was one of many Argentine players who left the country to play in an unsanctioned Colombian league which paid higher wages than those available in his native country. During his time there, he appeared four times for Colombia in matches that are not recognised by FIFA. He moved to Real Madrid in 1953, and gained Spanish citizenship three years later.

He debuted for Spain in January 1957, scoring a hat-trick in a friendly against the Netherlands. Generally, he was less successful internationally than with Real Madrid; The Guardians Brian Glanville suggested that he was unable to dictate play within the defensive structure established by Spain's manager Helenio Herrera. Nevertheless, he scored 23 goals in 31 matches for his adopted country, becoming Spain's leading goal-scorer, which he remained until Emilio Butragueño surpassed his total in 1990.

Di Stéfano scored more goals against Chile than any other team, doing so five times: once for Argentina and four times for Spain. He was most prolific at the Estadio George Capwell and Santiago Bernabéu stadiums, scoring six goals at each. Of Di Stéfano's 29 goals, 16 were scored in friendlies. In competitive matches, he scored six times in the South American Championship, four times in FIFA World Cup qualification matches, and three times in his two UEFA European Championship qualification matches.

International goals Di Stefano's team's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Di Stefano goal.

+ International goals by Alfredo Di Stéfano Team Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 1 4 December 1947 Estadio George Capwell, Guayaquil, Ecuador 6–0 7–0 1947 South American Championship 2 2 11 December 1947 Estadio George Capwell, Guayaquil, Ecuador 2–1 3–2 3 3 16 December 1947 Estadio George Capwell, Guayaquil, Ecuador 1–0 1–1 4 4 18 December 1947 Estadio George Capwell, Guayaquil, Ecuador 2–0 6–0 5 5–0 6 6–0 7 1 30 January 1957 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain 2–0 5–1 Friendly 8 4–0 9 5–1 10 3 31 March 1957 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–0 5–0 Friendly 11 4–0 12 7 24 November 1957 Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland 2–0 4–1 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification 13 3–0 14 10 13 April 1958 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain 1–0 1–0 Friendly 15 12 28 February 1959 Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy 1–0 1–1 Friendly 16 13 28 June 1959 Stadion Slaski, Chorzów, Poland 2–1 4–2 1960 European Nations' Cup qualifying 17 4–1 18 14 14 October 1959 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain 1–0 3–0 1960 European Nations' Cup qualifying 19 15 22 November 1959 Mestalla, Valencia, Spain 1–0 6–3 Friendly 20 5–2 21 17 13 March 1960 Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain 2–1 3–1 Friendly 22 19 10 July 1960 Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru 1–0 3–1 Friendly 23 20 14 July 1960 Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile 1–0 4–0 Friendly 24 2–0 25 21 17 July 1960 Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile 1–0 4–1 Friendly 26 2–0 27 26 19 April 1961 Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales 2–1 2–1 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification 28 28 11 June 1961 Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain 2–0 2–0 Friendly 29 30 23 November 1961 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain 2–1 3–2 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification

Statistics

+ Goals by year Year Apps Goals 1947 6 6 1957 7 7 1958 4 1 1959 5 6 1960 8 6 1961 7 3 Total 37 29

+ Goals by competition Competition Apps Goals Friendlies 21 16 South American Championship 6 6 FIFA World Cup qualification 8 4 UEFA European Championship qualification 2 3 Total 37 29

Notes

References