The French football legend spent most of his club career at Reims, with whom he reached the 1959 European Cup final. However, in 1962, at the age of 28, due to a double leg fracture, he was forced to hang up his boots on a nail.
The legendary French football player Just Fontaine, the holder of the record for the number of goals scored in one World Cup, died on the morning of March 1 at the age of 89. Reported by L’Équipe.
In six matches of the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Fontaine scored 13 goals, and the French team took the final third place.
Just Fontaine, World Cup 1958
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The Moroccan-born Frenchman is one of the top four goalscorers of all time, along with Leo Messi.
“French football star, outstanding striker, legendary player of Reims”, – this is how representatives of the club and expressed condolences to the family.
September 2015 at the Ligue-1 match
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“The icon of French football that has left us,” wrote representatives of PSG, another one of the clubs Fontaine played for. About 50 years ago, the striker was the leader of the Parisian team that entered Ligue 1.
Just Fontaine in the semi-finals of the 1958 World Cup
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French national team coach Didier Delames said Fontaine’s death saddened everyone who loves football.
Starting with cup matches on Wednesday, March 1, all football matches on the fields of France will begin with a minute of applause in memory of the former player.
Outstanding forward and record holder
Only three footballers have scored more goals in the World Cup than Fontaine. It is also worth considering that he played only one, in 1958.
World Cup 1958, in a match against West Germany
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And the appearance at the Swedish championship was largely a coincidence. Fontaine went there because of injuries to the main strikers of the national team – Tadeusz Chisovsky and his teammate in Reims Rene Bliyar.
In Sweden, the striker scored in every match against France, and in the match for third place against West Germany, which the Blues won 6-3, Fontaine made poker.
Just Fontaine, World Cup 1958
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In total, he scored 30 goals in 21 matches for Le Blue from 1953 to 1960.
Fontaine spent most of his playing career at Reims, for which he scored 145 goals in 152 matches and won the national championship three times. In 1959, Reims reached the final of the European Cup, where they lost to Real Madrid, which included Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.
Just Fontaine in the European Cup final against Real Madrid
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Fontaine also defended the colors of “Nice” and the Moroccan “Casablanca”, but in 1962, due to a double broken leg, he was forced to hang up his boots at the age of 28.
Just Fontaine coaching career
As a coach in 1967, he led the French national team in two matches, and then stood at the helm of PSG and in 1974 led the team to the first division, from where the Parisians had not yet been relegated.
On the coaching bench during a PSG match
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Next was “Toulouse” and the national team of Morocco, the country in which Fontaine was born. At the African Cup of Nations in 1980, his team finished third.
Just Fontaine and Pele
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In 2004, Pele included Fontaine in his list of the 125 greatest living footballers, which also includes the name of Andriy Shevchenko.
Just Fontaine and Raymond Kopa 2006
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Recall that Pele died on December 29, 2022 at the age of 82. The king of football suffered from a number of progressive illnesses.
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