VCF to debut at ground named after legend Di Stefano

Valencia CF will play at a new venue on Thursday when they meet Real Madrid in LaLiga, as they travel to the Alfredo di Stefano in Valdebebas. The training ground pitch has been chosen as the location for Real Madrid's remaining home fixtures this season, due to remodelling work at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Di Stefano was a legendary player and coach who had history at both sides. With Real Madrid he won LaLiga 8 times, the Copa del Rey, 5 European Cups and the Intercontinental Cup, as well as individual honours like the 'Super Ballon d'Or' (given to the player voted the greatest ever Ballon d'Or recipient, in 1999).

As a coach, his greatest successes were with Valencia CF, whom he coached in three different spells.

In his first season in charge at Mestalla, 1970-71, he won the club's first LaLiga title since 1947. It was clinched at Sarria, Espanyol's stadium in Barcelona, and involved an anxious wait on the result for their league rivals.
Under Di Stefano, Valencia CF reached the finals of the Copa in 1971 and 1972, finishing as runners-up in the competition in consecutive years.

In his second spell as coach, the club won the European Cup Winners Cup in Heysel, beating Arsenal on penalties with a side that included Kempes, Ricardo Arias, Saura, Tendillo, Bonhoff, Solsona, Subirats and Pereira.
Tenure number three was in the season in which the club went down to the Segunda División. The task was immediate promotion with squad that featured  young homegrown talents such as Quique, Giner, Arroyo, Fernando, Voro and Sempere.

Di Stefano's legacy extends beyond the trophy cabinet, and one of his mottos can be read in the tunnel leading onto the pitch at Mestalla to this day: "No player is as good as everybody together."