Alfredo Di Stéfano Dies: Learn The Legacy Of The Real Madrid Legend [VIDEO]

The soccer world lost a legend on Monday. Just six weeks after Real Madrid won the UEFA Championship, they lost their greatest player in franchise history, Alredo Di Stéfano. Di Stéfano had been in an induced coma at Gregorio Maranon hospital in Madrid over the weekend after suffering a tragic heart attack on Saturday evening. He was 88 years old.

His death was confirmed by Real Madrid in a statement released Monday afternoon:

"Real Madrid CF announces that its honorary president, Alfredo Di Stefano, has died today at 5.15 p.m. at the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Maranon in Madrid," read the statement.

"The president of Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, and the club's board wish to express their most profound condolences and all their affection to his children, his family and his friends. Real Madrid extends its condolences to Madridistas all over the world and to those who feel the loss of the best player of all time."

Di Stéfano was one of just a few players who played for three different national teams in his career. Born in Buenos Aires, on July 4th 1926, he played for both Argentina and Colombia until 1955. He obtained Spanish citizenship in 1956 and became eligible to play for Spain in the 1962 World Cup.

Current Argentina striker, Gonzalo Higuaín who scored the only goal in Argentina’s 1-0 victory against Belgium on Saturday said, “I was told when I got to the dressing room. It is not good news for football, for those who know him, for those who are close to him. Alfredo was always very close to me. I have only words of gratitude towards him” said a tearful Higuaín.

Arguably the single greatest soccer player in history, Di Stéfano was a two-time Balloon d’Or winner, eight-time La Liga Champion and a five-time European Cup Champion and he is the only person in history to score a goal in five straight European Cup Finals.

Nicknamed the “Blond Arrow”, Di Stéfano will always be known as the “Legend of Real Madrid”. During 11 seasons for Madrid, he scored 308 goals in 396 games, making him the 2^nd leading goal scorer in Real Madrid history. He took over as Manager for Madrid in 1982 and became the honorary President of the team in 2000. On May 9^th, 2006, Real Madrid inaugurated the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium where the team trains.

In 1963, while playing for Real, he was famously kidnapped in Caracas before a pre-season match. He was held at gunpoint for three days until he was released unharmed outside the Spanish embassy. A movie about the incident was made in 2005 called, “Real, La Pelicula” and producers brought di Stefano and his kidnapper face to face at its premiere after 42 years.

After his playing career, Di Stéfano was named the most outstanding player of the past 50 years by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Pelé put him atop his list of the “125 greatest living footballers” and France Football magazine called him the fourth best soccer player of all time behind Pelé, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff. Both Pele and controversial World Cup biter, Luis Suárez, described Di Stefano as “the most complete footballer in the history of the game.”

As news is released of Alredo Di Stéfano’s passing, soccer stars, coaches and fans are paying their respects on Twitter.