Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano, one of the greatest players in history, is in a coma in hospital after suffering a heart attack, officials said.
|Last Updated: Jul 06, 2014, 10:42 AM IST|Source: PTI
Madrid: Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano, one of the greatest players in history, is in a coma in hospital after suffering a heart attack, officials said.
Rescuers battled for nearly 20 minutes to revive the 88-year-old after his heart and breathing stopped while he was eating with his family near the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in central Madrid yesterday.
"He had suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest," a source at Madrid Emergency Services told.
"The emergency services began resuscitation and after 18 minutes managed to get him out of the arrest and he was taken in a serious condition to the Gregorio Maranon hospital."
The Argentina-born forward is now lying in a coma in the cardiac ward of the hospital, a hospital spokesman said.
"His status is that he is in a coma and we are keeping an eye on his progress," he told .
Leading newspaper El Pais said Di Stefano had been eating with his family when he felt ill and sat down on his wheelchair. By the time an ambulance arrived he was in cardiorespiratory arrest.
Real Madrid said in a brief statement on their website that club president Florentino Perez had visited Di Stefano in hospital.
Di Stefano had been hospitalised seven times for similar episodes, and underwent emergency quadruple heart by-pass surgery after suffering a major heart attack in 2005.
Di Stefano is one of Real Madrid`s most celebrated players, having represented the club for 11 seasons between 1953 and 1964, winning five European Cups. He now holds the title of honorary club president.
He was born in Buenos Aires and began his professional career with hometown club River Plate in 1945 before leaving for Colombian outfit Millonarios four years later after the Argentine league ground to a halt following a pay strike.
He won the Colombian title in his first season before
adding the 1951 and 1952 titles to his list of honours but it was his individual displays that attracted the attention of a host of big-name European suitors.
It was ultimately Real Madrid who won the race for Di Stefano`s signature after a long, complicated transfer wrangle with bitter rivals Barcelona.
Di Stefano immediately flourished in the Spanish capital as he helped Madrid end a 21-year wait for the league title in his first season before collecting a further seven league crowns during his time at the club.
However, it was on the European stage that Di Stefano truly cemented his status as one of the game`s greats, helping Real win the first five editions of the European Cup between 1956 and 1960, a record that stands to this day.
He was also a two-time European Football of the Year in 1957 and 1959, but despite all the accolades a World Cup finals appearance was to elude him.
Argentina didn`t participate at either the 1950 or 1954 finals and having attained Spanish citizenship in 1956 Di Stefano then missed out on the 1958 finals as Spain failed to qualify.
La Roja reached the 1962 tournament in Chile but injury prevented Di Stefano, then aged 35, from taking part despite travelling with the team.
He would finish his playing days at Espanyol in 1966 and turned his focus to coaching, starting out with modest Spanish side Elche the following year prior to spells at Boca Juniors, Valencia, River Plate and Real Madrid among others before calling time on his managerial career in 1991.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.