Sad day for French football. European 1 has just announced, via its famous journalist Jacques Vendroux, the death of former player and coach Just Fontaine. A great center forward in the 1950s, he notably marked the Blues by scoring 13 goals during the 1958 World Cup. Born in Morocco in 1933, he began his career at US Moroccan Casablanca, before landing in France, at the ‘OGC Nice.
He will begin in selection in December 1953, at only 21 years old, even if the war in Algeria puts his career a little on hold. In the south, he notably won the Coupe de France (1954) and the championship (1956), and headed for Reims to replace Kopa. And there is the explosion, chaining the goals, with 34 achievements in the 1957/1958 financial year in particular, and this famous World Cup. He still holds the record for goals scored at a World Cup, and finished third in the 1958 Ballon d’Or.
It was in 1962 that he put an end to his playing career, after two somewhat difficult seasons marked by injuries. In total, he will have scored 164 goals in 200 league games, and 30 goals in 21 games with the French team. Statistics on par with the very best players in history.
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