Alfredo Di Stéfano career match reports

Thanks, mate!

 

For the 1956/57 season the major news would be the acquisition for Real Madrid of France’s major star, Raymond Kopa. The Madrid club had taken note of his qualities after the final of the European Cup between Real Madrid and Stade de Reims. He’s viewed as the ideal partner for Alfredo with an exceptional field of vision and deadly in front of goal. With the arrival of the “Napoleon of Football”, as was said of him, Real Madrid are expected to win it all this season.

 

Less than 3 weeks after the conquest of the first European Cup, Real Madrid would embark on a trip to South America to compete in a mini club World Cup, as it was called “small World Cup”. This was a friendly tournament held in South America, which consisted of four teams, the other two, Oporto and Roma. The tournament had been created in 1952 and Di Stefano had previously featured in the competition playing for River Plate and Millonarios, where he was top scorer in 1953. He would repeat that feat in 1956.

Courtesy of ABC Madrid: Di Stefano’s last official match before the start of the new season


Caption: Alfredo misses wide with a header in the final of the 1956 European Cup against Reims

The defending European champions would face Vasco da Gama in their first preseason match of 1956/57.

More info about this small club World Cup:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Small_Club_World_Cup

Coming up Real Madrid vs Vasco da Gama.

 

Marca Madrid


Friendly (Small Club World Cup)

01/07/1956 Real Madrid 5-2 Vasco da Gama (Brasil)

Stadium: Olímpico Universitario de Caracas, Venezuela

Raymond Kopa had still not been signed, but Madrid fielded virtually the same side that had won the European Cup. They were heavy favorites to win this tournament, with Hilton Ferias, the president of the delegation of Brazilian football conceding that the defending European champs were a very strong side which boasted of having Di Stefano, a player that alone could decide a match. Needless to say, Madrid won rather handily against what was forecasted as their strongest opponent, which drew rave reviews by the South American press that attended the match, headlining that rarely had they seen such a dominant team, and this despite facing one of the best clubs from South America. Di Stefano, of course, had made a strong impression, not only scoring the last two goals, one from the free kick, but also for his intelligent deployment all over the pitch.

Marca Madrid

Marca Madrid stated that Di Stefano had a great game in all aspects.


Next up Real Madrid would face Roma.

Summary: 2 goals (1 free kick)

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560703-37.html
https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560703-38.html
http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1956/07/04/pagina-3/627597/pdf.html

 

Just to clarify that each team would face each other twice with two points awarded for every victory.

 

Friendly (Small Club World Cup)

05/07/1956 Real Madrid 2-1 Roma

Stadium: Olímpico Universitario de Caracas, Venezuela

With Di Stefano having turned 30-years-old the day before, Madrid continued their quest for another title. This time they defeated a combative Roma side who had finished in 6th place in Serie A. Both Madrid newspapers pointed out that the reason that Roma didn’t obtain a better result was thanks in large part to the excellent display from Alonso, Real Madrid’s goalkeeper. As for Di Stefano, he showed his class in spades and was decisively involved in both Madrid goals, but the star of the match belonged undoubtedly to Alonso, who received a standing ovation from the neutral spectators. For Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo, World Cup 1950 winner Uruguayan Alcides Ghiggia who played for Roma, was considered the best player on the pitch.

Madrid were first in the group and a date with Portuguese league champions Porto awaited next.

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560706-31.html

http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1956/07/07/pagina-6/627993/pdf.html

Marca


Corriere dello Sport

 

Friendly (Small Club World Cup)

08/07/1956 Real Madrid 2-1 Oporto

Stadium: Olímpico Universitario de Caracas, Venezuela

Prior to this tournament press voices had considered Oporto as the weakest of the four teams, but this turned out to be the most difficult opponent for Madrid in the first phase. Di Stefano had probably his least distinguished performance up until this point, but still was a concern for the Portuguese defense, who clamped down on him with tight man-to-man marking, shadowed at times by four Portuguese players. But Madrid still deserved to win, with the important influence of Molowny, and the vital contribution of Joseito, whom received most of the praise from the home-based papers of ABC and Marca Madrid.

Madrid had finished in the first phase in 1st place, heavily favored to win it all, now the second phase laid ahead with Roma as the next challenger again.

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560710-35.html
https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560710-36.html
http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1956/07/11/pagina-4/628013/pdf.html

Marca Madrid

 

Before the second phase commenced, the home press from Venezuela had already anticipated that Madrid were champions. The superiority of Madrid over their opponents had diminished interest in the continuation of the tournament. Nevertheless 3 matches remained to be played for the European champs.

Marca Madrid

 

Friendly (Small Club World Cup)

12/07/1956 Roma 2-1 Real Madrid

Stadium: Olímpico Universitario de Caracas, Venezuela

Corriere dello Sport


ABC Madrid: “Madrid showed tiredness and had grave errors in defense”

This was a tale of one team creating few chances but capitalizing on them, while the other wasted plenty of opportunities. Roma deployed a man to man marking strategy that paid off, but the Madrid press put more blame on the defeat on the tiredness of their players, in particular the backline of defense.

As for Alfredo, the tabloid stated, “Di Stefano seemed less penetrating and dangerous, but brilliantly led the attack”

For Marca Madrid, the Italian side had played a good game, but Madrid had been unlucky, plenty of chances had been wasted, in particular from Joseito, who could have scored the equalizer in the final minutes.



From the Italian point of view, Corriere dello Sport stated it was a great victory in a “memorable game”, won thanks to the disciplined Roman team that had a “giant” in front of goal, goalkeeper Panetti, who made save after save and was only beaten by the spot kick of Madrid’s Molowny. Panetti was the star of the match and “imperious” between the posts, shutting down every offensive threat.



Madrid were still in first place and up next was Porto.

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560714-40.html
https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560714-41.html
http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1956/07/14/pagina-6/628034/pdf.html

 

Friendly (Small Club World Cup)

15/07/1956 Real Madrid 2-1 Oporto

Stadium: Olímpico Universitario de Caracas, Venezuela

After their defeat to Roma, Madrid returned to victory and virtually sealed this mini club World Cup for the second time in their history. Di Stefano played only the first half, where he contributed to the first goal with his pass to Rial after 10 minutes by breezing past several defenders on the right flank, which gave Madrid a provisional lead. Oporto would eventually draw level but lose in the second half to Marsal’s goal.

The match, as in all of this tournament, was played in an anticlimax fashion; the Portuguese defenders resorted to violent tactics frequently in order to stop Madrid’s advances. The Madrid players responded back with their own aggressions, which required the official to caution the culprits, according to ABC Madrid. In fact the match was considered the most violent of the competition and Alfredo couldn’t continue after the half because his ankle had swollen up from all the kicks he received in the first half. Nevertheless, when Madrid were allowed to play, they were the better side and deserved to win.

Meanwhile, Vasco da Gama, who beat Roma in the other match, would face Madrid in the last game in what would become a certain setting of a final, but it would require Vasco da Gama to defeat them by 3 or more goals (Madrid still had a 2 point lead and a better average of goals) to snatch the cup away from them.

Summary: 1 assist

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560717-45.html
https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560717-46.html

 

Friendly (Small Club World Cup)

19/07/1956 Real Madrid 2-2 Vasco da Gama

Stadium: Olímpico Universitario de Caracas, Venezuela

Real Madrid champions in South America!

Madrid knew that a draw was enough to obtain the trophy, so tactically approached the game with a defensive predisposition. The first half produced no goals with Di Stefano playing as a deep-lying midfielder, and with Marquitos marshaling Vasco’s most dangerous forward, Vava. The second half was a violent affair with both sides exchanging blows, with Alfredo used more as a quarterback launching passes forward to his attackers. The final score of 2-2 would see the Spanish side win for the second time in their history this championship. Alfredo didn’t standout for his final game, but the Madrid tabloids coincided that the performance of center-back Marquitos was the most valuable player for sustaining the result thanks to his effective work on guarding Vava, and forward Rial for both of his goals.

The final standings with the top scorers.


In the link of wiki there’s various errors, with the most notable one being that Di Stefano was not joint-top scorer of this event as stated online.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Small_Club_World_Cup

After the tournament was over, an exhibition match between these same sides would be played the following day, but this time both teams would be reinforced with local Venezuelan players on their squads.

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560720-43.html

 

Friendly

20/07/1956 Vasco da Gama 2-0 Real Madrid

Stadium: Olímpico Universitario de Caracas, Venezuela

The last game was a farewell to the competition with prizes and trophies handed out after halftime. The result was what mattered the least with both sides utilizing local Venezuelan players to reinforce their teams. Di Stefano played only the first 45 minutes and was replaced by Marsal, a player that was hailed by Angolan-born Portuguese defender Miguel Arcanjo, who played for FC Porto. In fact, according to several players of Porto, Marsal was the best player of Real Madrid in the competition, and according to the view of Arcanjo, better than Alfredo. It must be stated that Di Stefano had his least distinguished games against the Portuguese league champions, even being subbed out after the half in the second phase after receiving a kick to the ankle.

The defender stated: “The only real standout player that I faced was Marsal, in my view way better than Di Stefano”



https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560722-53.html
https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560722-54.html

 

Friendly (Copa de la amistad)

01/09/1956 Barcelona team 3-7 Real Madrid

Stadium: Les Corts, Barcelona

Spectators: over 70,000

The unofficial debut of Raymond Kopa

This was a friendly to pay homage to European champions Real Madrid, who fielded their full strength side plus their new signing, Frenchmen Raymond Kopa. The Barcelona squad fielded a collection of Barcelona players from three of their teams (Barcelona, Español, Condal) but missed the presence of Ladislao Kubala, which drew harsh criticism from fans that attended the match. The contest was a goal fest that produced 7 goals in the first 20 minutes. The new tandem of Kopa-Di Stefano was working to perfection, with the speedy Gento on the flank and the goal capacity of Rial, Real Madrid were viewed as almost unbeatable and the clear favorites to defend their European crown. The final result wasn’t important, where Kopa scored and Di Stefano despite having not, had his fingerprints on many goals, and was “colossal”, according to Marca Madrid.

After the match the opinion of the main protagonists.

Don Santiago Bernabéu (Madrid president) stated: "The game was simply superb, because if in the first half the Catalan team played a lot, Madrid knew how to respond with quick play to move on to exert strong pressure on the opponent. The second half, going back to the contest and ending in a real exhibition plan. I cannot hide my contentment, because the team has shown to be fully assembled and trained. As for Kopa and Di Stéfano, both have played an extraordinary game, even though the French player said he is not very satisfied with his performance, since he thinks he could have done more.”

Sr. Miró Sans (Barcelona president) declared that he estimated the result to be fair, since Real Madrid currently has the best team in Spain. He believes that the Di Stéfano-Kopa tandem will give much to talk about at the European Cup.

Mr. Lasplazas, the Catalan coach, said: "For the first time the national team Catalana loses a game in their field. I consider the result of tonight fair. If I did not arrange the Kubala line-up, he said he is not in shape. When we were winning 3-1 I thought the game would be favorable to us, but Madrid has a great team and it is very difficult to beat them."

Raymond Kopa: "I return to my country truly moved by the affectionate welcome that has given me the Catalan fans, and that has made me remember my performance in Spain-France, in Chamartín. My greatest wish is for everything to be settled and I can play for Real Madrid as soon as possible and for an unlimited time. My performance today has no merit, since with teammates like the ones I have it is very easy to play. On the other hand, in Reims, it can be said that I almost had to do it all.” Asked for his impression of Di Stéfano, he replied: “I estimate he is the best player I have ever seen”.

Di Stéfano stated: "I always play well in Catalonia and luck was with me in Barcelona. I am very grateful to the Catalan fans for the love that they always show me. I think Real Madrid is set, and when the opponent plays and allows us to play, it's nice to be a footballer. Our main goal this year is to win again the European Cup, and I think that, having an alignment similar to this night, it will be very difficult for anyone to beat us in said international competition.” His impression was also asked about Kopa, replying: "I consider him the best player."

For the Catalan paper, Mundo Deportivo, all praise was for Real Madrid and their star-studded team that now had added another star in Raymond Kopa.

http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1956/09/02/pagina-3/632068/pdf.html

Summary: 1 assist (confirmed)

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560902-61.html
https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560902-62.html

 

A preview of the 1956/57 season.



Quite possibly the most challenging, apart from the first year which required adaptation, but this season would see Alfredo’s endurance put to the test with tremendous work that laid ahead for him and his teams. For starters, in order to accommodate the arrival of another foreigner to the club, it was advised by Madrid’s president, Bernabéu, that Alfredo should obtain Spanish citizenship in order to override the foreigner rule of only one allowed per game. This in turn also opened the doors for him to play for the Spanish NT. This foreign policy of opening the borders for foreigners in Spain would be terminated after Spain failed to perform distinctively at the 1962 World Cup. Eventually the borders opened again with the arrival of Johan Cruijff in 1973/74.



In this first year of the creation of France Football’s Balon d’Or, Di Stefano a clear contender to take the prize, had now to manage twice as many competitions on all fronts.

The tournaments:
Generalissimo Cup (later known as the Copa del Rey or King’s Cup), Latin Cup, LaLiga, European Cup and the Spanish NT WC qualifiers and friendlies.

With friendlies included and already the small club World Cup out the way, Alfredo would play more than 50 matches this season. The most he’d ever played thus far. At already 30-years-old, it would be a daunting task to take on all challenges with the same vigor. Something would have to give.



Alfredo’s main objective: The defense of the European crown

In his own words, this was his main priority. To defend the illustrious crown on the continent and thereby cement his reputation in European tabloids as the world’s greatest player.

 

1956/57 season

La Liga

Round 1

Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu

09/09/1956 Real Madrid 6-0 Deportivo Condal

Spectators: over 70,000

When one talks about the truly great players, in today’s world of who is the so-called ‘GOAT’ — a term invented for publicity and for banter — it’s often narrowed down to offensive numbers to settle debates. But back in the days for many the criteria was different. To be truly great, or the ideal player, the athlete had to fulfill many roles and excel at a distinctive level in many aspects to the game. He had to be a total footballer and the complete package. He had to have the capacity to cover the entire length of the pitch, to help cooperate in marking the opposing best player, to possess the acumen in making the right decisions, and to have no weaknesses within his offensive game.

The newspaper of Marca dedicated this paragraph to Alfredo’s game with this description: “Di Stefano and the sense of a worker”

“We don’t want to end this chronicle without pointing out, once again that sense of a worker that Di Stefano possesses in football. (…) He’s in every place that’s necessary, plays the entire 90 minutes, directly or indirectly… And since, on top of that, he does it with all the skill of the absolute fulfillment of his duty, he combines the beauty of the game with his contribution. As for his effectiveness, there’s his three goals scored and his signature in more shots that could have been.”

On a personal anecdote from Hugo Gatti, about Alfredo’s exceptional conditioning and work ethic at an advanced age: Alfredo in the 1970s was his manager at Boca Juniors and was around 56-years-old, but could outrun most of Boca’s players, who seemed exhausted, according to ‘El loco” Gatti. Of course, Alfredo’s bad temperament was also mentioned, but he was a true character and phenomenon, according to Boca’s goalkeeper.


Spanish language

As for the match, Raymond Kopa had still not officially made his debut as he still awaited Di Stefano to obtain Spanish citizenship. But his absence would go unnoticed as Madrid kicked off their new campaign with virtually the same team of the previous season in an emphatic blowout. They would face off against the newly promoted club side of Condal. Di Stefano, in his most devastating debut in his first four seasons in Spain, would put on a clinic scoring a hat-trick with raving reviews.

One of the new additions in the Spanish newspaper of Marca Madrid was the rating descriptions of Madrid players and their opponents when they played on Madrid fields. For example, in this game Alfredo was ‘outstanding’ and was the player of the match.

Marca’s ratings were classified in 4 categories:
Sobresaliente = outstanding
Notable = very good
Aprobado = approved; fair
Suspenso = did not pass; poor

Marca Madrid: “Great performance from Di Stefano, author of three goals”
Description of Alfredo’s first goal after beating several defenders with a burst of skill and speed.





For Mundo Deportivo, there was no doubt, Alfredo had been the standout figure of the contest. There were no words in the dictionary that could describe his game, because it was so remarkable, but they wondered what would a team look like if the frontline had 5 Di Stéfano’s in attack… His level of play is so high and above the rest that only the chosen ones are privileged enough to reach such grandeur. It’s such an honor to witness this player on Spanish fields, a “gift and joy”, according to the Catalan newspaper.

http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1956/09/10/pagina-4/1393624/pdf.html

For ABC Madrid it was a wonderful spectacle, although thanks in part to the naivety of the visiting side. As Alfredo once said, “I play when I can, when the opponent doesn’t let me, I can’t”, according to Hugo Gatti. And in this game, the opponent had already entered before kickoff defeated.

Summary: 3 goals

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560911-33.html
https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560911-34.htmlhttps://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560911-35.html

 

La Liga

Round 2

16/09/1956 Español 0-0 Real Madrid

Stadium: Las Corts, Barcelona


Di Stefano in action

Summary of the match from ABC Madrid:
“In the first place, Español entered with a preconceived plan, pulling back their inside left, Sastre, whose work has been, during the match, exclusively the man-marking job of Madrid center forward, Di Stéfano. In addition, there was the unfortunate injury of Rial, which deprived the forward-line of a valuable man, who is part of the gear of the striking force, detaching himself from the left wing and leaving Gento without support, so his advances were not precise as on other occasions ... And, finally, they met an Español side who, defensively, made no mistakes, whose men were well-connected and fast, magnificently supported by the defensive lines of coverage.”

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560918-35.html

Youth vs experience: Sastre vs Di Stefano


For Marca Madrid, the injury to Rial broke the team in half in the forward line, but the key was the tactical assignment of Español manager Ricardo Zamora, former Spanish goalkeeper, in having a man shutdown Di Stefano.




For Catalán newspaper, Mundo Deportivo, the result seemed lucky for Madrid, who escaped with an undeserved point. All praise was handed out to the youth player, Sastre, who accomplished his goal in shutting down the “brain and motor” of the team, Di Stefano. With Alfredo canceled out and the injury to Rial, Madrid were virtually playing with 9 men. After the match, Sastre, the young man assigned to mark Alfredo, was asked if the task had been difficult, he replied, “Of course but less so than I had feared…”

http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1956/09/17/pagina-3/632532/pdf.html
http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1956/09/17/pagina-4/632533/pdf.html
http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1956/09/19/pagina-4/632542/pdf.html

 

La Liga

Round 3

23/09/1956 Real Madrid 1-1 Sevilla

Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu



Once again Sevilla turned out to be the most complicated team in Di Stéfano’s path since his arrival on Spanish fields. The legendary manager, Helenio Herrera, who managed Sevilla and became known for his catenaccio success at Inter Milano, had formulated in his stint at Sevilla some type of antidote in counteracting the influence and effects of Di Stefano whenever his team confronted Madrid.

Marca Madrid’s correspondent, the experienced Antonio Valencia, wrote this about Alfredo: […] “Di Stefano wasn’t sharp as on other afternoons and his passes and shots weren’t as is accustomed (perhaps due to the rain, perhaps due to the man-marking, perhaps due to the start to the season, perhaps because Sevilla is his bogey team)” […]




Whichever the case, Helenio Herrera, the master at designing ways to stop Di Stefano, had applied the strict man-marking job of the defender Enrique, who shadowed him all over the pitch to great effect. Despite this, the newspaper of Marca was still rather generous in rating Alfredo with the good classification of ‘notable’ for his performance. (But I get the feeling it was for his tireless work-rate against all the obstacles, rather than for his direct influence on the game). In any event, the tactical contest of Helenio Herrera and Madrid’s manager, Villalonga, ended in a stalemate, but with the sensation of Herrera winning the individual battle of X’s and O’s from the chalkboard.



ABC Madrid pointed out that it was a good game but suffered from technical errors. Sevilla’s goal had been scored in a dubious way, the absence of Rial was noted, but still Madrid had a chance to win at the end when Gento saw his penalty kick saved by goalkeeper Bustos, who had an outstanding performance. And Di Stefano thought he had won the game with a last minute goal from a direct free kick but the official had initially raised his hand giving an indirect kick. Alfredo would say in the post-game coverage that he had not heard or saw the referee award the kick as indirect. The goalkeeper later said he let it go in because he knew that it would be canceled out.

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560925-35.html
https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560925-36.html
https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-madrid-19560925-37.html

For Mundo Deportivo, Helenio Herrera had Madrid’s number, in all the years coaching in Spain his tactics seemed to always prevail against “Los blancos”. However, the absence of Rial was pointed out, since it diminished Gento’s effects on the left flank. The Rial-Gento combo is what held together that sector and Rial’s replacement, Marsal, was not up to the task. Sevilla’s goalkeeper, Bustos, was viewed as the outstanding player of the match.

http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1956/09/24/pagina-5/634481/pdf.html

ABC Sevilla hailed the great physical conditioning of the Sevilla players and the smart tactical approach and application of the team. The draw had been viewed as a fair result.

https://www.abc.es/archivo/periodicos/abc-sevilla-19560925-26.html