MX23RW : Tuesday, November 12 20:09:27| >> :120:28923:28923:

Sir Alex Ferguson: 'Alfredo Di Stefano one of the greats'

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson pays tribute to Alfredo Di Stefano, who died at the age of 88 on Monday.

Sir Alex Ferguson has paid tribute to Alfredo Di Stefano by claiming that the Real Madrid legend was one of the greatest to have played the game.

Di Stefano passed away on Monday at the age of 88 after suffering a heart attack on the weekend, and Ferguson has joined others by revealing his admiration for a player who led Madrid to five successive European Cups between 1956 and 1960.

"The great question which always comes up is 'who are the greatest players?'" the former Manchester United manager told Sky Sports News. "There is a phalanx of great ones – Cruyff, Maradona, Pele, Puskas and Di Stefano. Di Stefano was one of the greatest in my mind.

"In the few times we played Real Madrid over the years he was always at the game, always at the reception. He was at the United celebrations for the Munich air disaster – he came along with the Real Madrid players. Of course they had played against Manchester United in the semi-final the year before, and they played them after the Munich air disaster in 1958.

"He was always the focus of Real Madrid wherever they went. He had a fantastic life, and I'm proud to have been associated with him in a small way."

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho also joined in with the tributes to Di Stefano on Monday.

ID:163994: cacheID:163994:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2533:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Chelsea's Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho gestures during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge in west London on February 8, 2014
Read Next:
Mourinho pays tribute to Di Stefano
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!