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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 Air Max Online Australia . 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And yet as they left TD Garden amid the slush and snow of a winter storm on Thursday evening, there was a sense among the Leafs that they had finally stood toe to toe with their long-time bully, only to fall just short. Nike Air Max Sale Australia . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51.SAN DIEGO -- Tyson Ross didnt look like an All-Star when he walked five batters in the first three innings, the same number he had walked in his previous five starts combined. The lanky right-hander worked through his uncharacteristic wildness and pitched the San Diego Padres to a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. "Just find a groove. The defence was back there making plays. Just find a way to get outs," said Ross, a first-time All-Star this year. Jedd Gyorko singled in Yangervis Solarte with the go-ahead run with two outs in the sixth inning, and Solarte later added an insurance home run. Ross won his third straight start, holding St. Louis to one run and four hits in six innings. He struck out seven, including fanning the side in his last inning. It was the eighth time Ross (10-10) went six-plus innings and allowed two or fewer runs, the second-longest such streak in the majors. And he did it Tuesday night after struggling with his fastball command. "It was just one of those days where I didnt have it and I had to battle out there," he said. "Hes been so good over the last couple of months, especially this month," manager Bud Black said. "He was just a little bit out of sync, especially with the fastball early, and the harder he tried to reel it in, the tougher it was. ... He did right the ship, but very uncharacteristic, the five walks, especially early in the game." Gyorko returned Monday from a 44-game stay on the disabled list with plantar fasciitis. His run-scoring single to left off Lance Lynn came just as it seemed the Padres would strand two runners. After Solarte and Seth Smith walked, Will Venable popped a bunt to catcher A.J. Pierzynski -- the Padres second botched bunt in as many innings -- and Yonder Alonso flied out to left. Solarte, obtained from the New York Yankeees in the Chase Headley trade, homered into the short porch in right with two outs in the seventh.dddddddddddd It was his second with the Padres and eighth overall. Joaquin Benoit pitched the ninth for his third save in as many opportunities and second since Huston Street was traded to the Angels on July 18. Lynn (11-8) allowed two runs, one earned, and four hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked three. "You hate to lose a game that way when you are throwing the ball well and thinking you are making good pitches. But it just wasnt my night." Lynn said. TRAINERS ROOM Padres: Right-hander Ian Kennedy, who missed his scheduled start because of a left oblique strain, is scheduled to throw on the side Wednesday. ... Right-hander Andrew Cashner, on the disabled list with shoulder soreness, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday. He last threw on Sunday in Atlanta and didnt report any discomfort. ON DECK Cardinals: Right-hander Joe Kelly (2-1, 3.90) makes his first career start against Padres. Padres: Right-hander Jesse Hahn (6-2, 2.12) is 6-1 with a 1.47 ERA since June 14, with 46 strikeouts against 17 walks. MISCUES The Cardinals had three errors, including second baseman Kolten Wongs overthrow on Riveras grounder in the third that led to an unearned run. "Kong just had one sail on him but obviously that one hurt," manager Mike Matheny said. "We are having trouble scoring runs and facing good pitching. Weve got do the little things right and today we didnt necessarily do that." WOOF It was Dog Days of Summer at Petco Park, so the Padres had Olympic slopestyle silver medallist Gus Kenworthy throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Kenworthy gained fame for adopting four stray puppies and their mother he found during the Sochi Games. After throwing the first pitch, he did a flip. 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