Soccer great Jose Maria Zarraga dead at 81

MADRID -- Former Real Madrid great Jose Maria Zarraga, who helped the Spanish powerhouse to a record five straight European Cups, died Tuesday. He was 81.

The soccer team did not give a cause of death.

Zarraga played in midfield for a team that included Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas and which won the European Cup every year between 1956-60, plus six Spanish league titles and one Intercontinental Cup.

Zarraga scored 96 goals in 306 appearances for Real Madrid, which he joined in 1949 and left in 1962 at the age of 32.

Real Madrid held one minute's silence in his honor Wednesday ahead of the Champions League quarterfinal against APOEL Nicosia. -- AP