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  November 22, 2018 5:00 AM EET

  MADRID, Spain -- Alfredo Di Stefano, the player Real Madrid has hailed as the most important component in its mid-20th century ascent to becoming a global football powerhouse, has died. He was 88. Real Madrid said in a statement that Di Stefano, its honorary president, died on Monday afternoon at Gregorio Maranon hospital, two days after a heart attack. Di Stefano turned 88 on Friday. The following day, he had a heart attack on a street near Madrids Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Paramedics were able to resuscitate him after 18 minutes, but he spent the following days in a coma. Renowned for his speed, versatility and strategic grasp of the game, he helped Madrid attain five straight European Champions Cups and was voted European player of the year in 1957 and 59. In a career spanning five clubs in three countries -- Argentina, Colombia and Spain -- from 1945-1966, Di Stefano scored 789 goals in 1,090 matches. In the process he claimed top-scorer status once in the Argentine league, twice in Colombias league and five times in Spain. Only Raul Gonzalez has scored more goals for Real Madrid than Di Stefano, who is often recognized as the clubs first "galactico." However, as FIFA acknowledges on its official website, "statistics will show that Alfredo Di Stefano is one of the worlds greatest ever goal scorers, but the bare facts only tell part of the story." FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Di Stefano "was my favourite player." French great Michel Platini, now president of the footballs European governing body, said Di Stefano was "superb technically, possessed outstanding speed, and was a splendid goal scorer." "Together with his gifted teammates, he helped invent modern football." Those who Di Stefano recall a straight-talking character who believed success on the field came through physical effort and dedication. "I dont want to be idolized, I just want to play. And to do that you have to run and sweat," he said. His modesty in the face of overwhelming sporting success won him the admiration of many. "I think he was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, football player ever," England great Bobby Charlton said. Born July 4, 1926, in the Barracas suburb of Buenos Aires, near the port where British sailors introduced football to Argentina, Di Stefano learned the game in what he called "the academy of the streets." "In our neighbourhood we used to hold major football sessions that went on until it got dark, with everyone playing against each other," he said. "Pope Francis and I went to the same school," Di Stefano said when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pontiff, adding the two likely played together as children. Di Stefanos father, Alfredo, the son of an immigrant from the Italian island of Capri, was a loyal fan of River Plate. De Stefanos mother, Eulalia Laulhe Gilmont, was of French and Irish ancestry. Having trialed successfully for River Plate, he turned professional in 1945, joining Colombias Millonarios six years later. He won six league titles for the two clubs. His turn of speed soon had fans chanting, "Help, here comes the jet-propelled blonde arrow," ("Saeta Rubia," in Spanish) a nickname Di Stefano retained all his life. He played in Spain for the first time in 1952 and dazzled the crowd at a tournament commemorating Real Madrids 50th anniversary, a fateful encounter. Barcelona signed Di Stefano in 1953 after agreeing a transfer with River Plate, but the move was thrown into doubt when Madrid also negotiated his transfer -- with Millonarios. Although the Spanish federation authorized Di Stefano to play half of his four-year contract with each club, Barcelona opted out, alleging pressure from the Madrid-based ruling military dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco. In his first season Di Stefano helped Madrid win its second league title, ending a 21-year drought. Within three years, he helped Madrid lift the inaugural European Cup by scoring in a 4-3 win over Frances Stade Reims. The arrival at Madrid of Hungarian great Ferenc Puskas in 1958 led to an attacking partnership of dynamic effectiveness which allowed the club to retain the European title through to 1960, a record yet to be beaten. Di Stefanos last final in 1960 saw possibly his finest match. Before 127,000 spectators, he scored three times in Madrids 7-3 demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt. The same year, he helped Madrid win the inaugural Intercontinental Cup between European and South American champions with a 5-1 aggregate victory over Uruguays Penarol. He topped the Spanish leagues scoring standings in five of his 11 seasons with Madrid. He scored 49 times in 58 European matches, a record in the competition that stood for more than four decades. Di Stefano left Madrid in 1964 to join Barcelona-based Espanyol for a two-year spell before retiring at age 40. "Football brought me so many beautiful moments. It built my life," said Di Stefano, who also played for Argentina and Spain. But World Cup glory eluded him. Argentina didnt play in 1950 and 54, while Spain didnt qualify in 1958. Di Stefano carried an injury to Chile in 1962 and did not play. So, his only international success was a 1947 Copa America victory with Argentina. In 1963, Di Stefano was held captive by a guerrilla group during Madrids tour of Venezuela. He was taken at gunpoint from his hotel room by the publicity-seeking National Liberation Army Front and released unhurt two days later. As a coach, he led Boca Juniors and River Plate to Argentine league titles, and won the European Cup Winners Cup, the Spanish league title and the Copa del Rey with Valencia. He also managed Madrid between 1982 and 1984. Madrid appointed Di Stefano honorary president in 2000 and erected a statue in his honour in 2008. A diabetic, Di Stefano fought ill-health in old age and underwent a quadruple bypass with a pacemaker implanted in December 2005 after a heart attack. In May 2013 his children asked a court to rule him mentally incapable after he announced plans to marry a woman 50 years his junior. "I dont care that my children are against it," Di Stefano, then 86, said of his plans to marry 36-year-old Gina Gonzalez. His interest in football never diminished. At 86 he still maintained a regular column in Spanish sports newspaper Marca. In it, he revealed that he had missed Pope Francis appointment. "I must confess that while everyone else watched the white smoke live," he wrote. "I was, as always, watching a football game." Cheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche Jerseys . -- The road to the Masters got off to a bumpy start Sunday for Tiger Woods when he withdrew from the Honda Classic with what he said was a lower back injury. Authentic Carl Soderberg Jersey . The Toronto Argonauts running back hurt his left ankle during the teams practice Friday afternoon at Rogers Centre. http://www.cheapnhlavalanchejerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-paul-kariya-jersey. -- D.A. Points was disqualified Friday from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for using a training device while waiting to play the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. Authentic Tyson Jost Jersey . He looked very comfortable Wednesday night. Konerko had a big three-run double and Gordon Beckham homered for the second straight game, leading the Chicago White Sox to an 8-3 victory over the sliding Chicago Cubs. Authentic Tyson Barrie Jersey .Derrick Rose scored 23 points, and the Bulls pulled away from the Nets for a 105-80 victory on Wednesday night. Chicago held Brooklyn to 29 points on 26.PARIS – Eugenie Bouchard grew up admiring Maria Sharapova. "First, I noticed her cute dresses and things like that when I was young," said the 20-year-old Canadian, who met Sharapova when she was just eight-years-old at a tournament in Miami. "As a child, I looked up to her and I remember watching her in the finals of Wimbledon and thought what she was doing was so cool and I wanted to do the same thing." Bouchard and Sharapova will play on Thursday in the French Open semi-finals. It is the second straight year that the two have met at Roland Garros with the Russian prevailing in straight sets in the second round a year ago. "For sure I respect her," said Bouchard. "But now were in the semis of a Grand Slam, so Im going to respect her but not put her too high on a pedestal and really just battle. Thats what its going to be." Sharapova may be seeded seventh, but she has been widely considered the favourite to win the title since the top three seeds – Serena Williams, Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska – all lost in the first three rounds. And Sharapova is favoured to beat Bouchard (-325, 4/13 per BoDog) for the same reason she is expected to hoist the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen on Saturday: she has the experience. She made the finals here a year ago. She won the whole thing just two years ago. At the age of 27, she has already won the career slam and has an Olympic silver medal on her resume.  "Achieving what she has, she is of course very strong mentally," said Bouchard. "It is one of her strengths. Im going to be ready for another battle. You know, the semis of a Grand Slam, thats what you have to expect. "Im just looking forward to the challenge." Bouchard is earning her own reputation for poise under pressure. She overcame a 2-5 deficit (two breaks) and a set point to win the opening frame against clay-court specialist Carla Suarez Navarro in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Then, after dropping the second set 2-6, Bouchard dug out of a 1-4 hole in the deciding set by winning 12 straight points. She then served to stay in the match at 4-5, holding easily.  "At the end of the day, whether I win or lose, I want to at least leave it all out there and try and at least battle.dddddddddddd Im proud of the way I did that in both the first and third. Shes a great player and a really good clay courter, as well. I knew it was a tough battle, and thats exactly what it was today. Im just proud of the way I stayed in there." Bouchard appeared to show some nerves after wasting a match point, serving at 6-5, with a double fault. She was asked if that was a sign she is, after all, human. "I show Im human all the time," Bouchard noted with a smile. "Yeah, you know, its one of those things. I didnt really worry about it. I think thats the most important thing: I didnt see it as a big deal, and I just regrouped for the next point, which allowed me to just give me a chance to get in a position to have a match point again. "Even on the second match point I missed a ball, but I was trying to go for it, so I didnt worry too much, either. "I think that was a bit the theme the whole match: even if I was down 5-2 or 4-1 in the third, not to worry too much, keep going, keep going, keep going, and it paid off in the end." Bouchards mental toughness and aggressive play have earned her comparisons to Sharapova. Does she like that? "There are positives and negatives," Bouchard said. "Of course shes a great champion, so to be seen as the next of someone who has won four slams and has been No. 1 in the world, its a compliment. "But at the same time, of course, Im my own person and I just want to be myself on the court, and you know, try and achieve what I want to achieve and just be seen as that." Bouchard is the only womens player to make the semis at both slams this season. She is part of the future of womens tennis and looking to prove the future is now. Bouchard readily admits that back in January when she made that magical run to the Australian Open semis, she suffered from a bit of stage fright at the start of a straight-sets loss to Li Na. "I was maybe a little bit frozen at the beginning of that match," she said. "Ill be much more ready this time." Jerseys NFL China Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Discount Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China China NCAA Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Nike Patriots Jerseys Cheap Nike Jets Jerseys Cheap Nike Bengals Jerseys Cheap Nike Browns Jerseys Cheap Nike Steelers Jerseys Cheap Nike Texans Jerseys Cheap Nike Colts Jerseys Cheap Nike Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Nike Titans Jerseys Cheap Nike Broncos Jerseys ' ' '