Most footballers, from kids at the local playground to Lionel Messi, tend to decrease their work rate the better they become with the ball compared to their fellow players. Perhaps it’s a typical human flaw not to exert ourselves beyond what is necessary.

But it’s a flaw that Alfredo di Stefano did not possess. For him, it was the opposite. He was so filled with desire to achieve that the better he became at football, the more eager he grew to grab his responsibility and demonstrate his superiority on every area of the pitch. Not merely for personal glory, but because he felt that the broadest shoulders should carry the heaviest load.

The man might have passed away, but let’s indulge ourselves in further admiration by reading these 18 quotes of Alfredo di Stefano: the first total footballer.

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