The world of football reacts to the disappearance of Just Fontaine

He is one of the first major figures in the history of French football. Just Fontaine passed away on Wednesday at the age of 89. With Raymond Kopa and Roger Piantoni, they formed the attacking trio which allowed the French team to live its first great epic in the World Cup. She climbed to the semi-finals, beaten by Brazil’s very young Pelé, 17, still bringing 3rd place in the competition. It was in 1958. Fontaine had scored 13 goals in this edition alone. A record that still stands and seems eternal.

“Top scorer in the history of a World Cup finals with 13 goals in 1958, Just Fontaine died last night at the age of 89. It is with the greatest emotion that the FFF sends its condolences to his family and loved ones. communicates the French Football Federation this morning, in the company of Didier Deschamps, who paid a personal tribute. The striker had received in 2014 in Brazil from the hands of Ronaldo and Michel Platini a golden shoe for this historic brand. Three greats from three different eras brought together. It is a figure that is gone.

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Tributes are raining down

It was another era but football still remembers it, 65 years after the feat. “The history of the record, it’s never me who talks about it” he remarked to The Team in 2015. Proof that he is a true legend of his sport in France and abroad with the tributes received since the announcement of his death. “A star of French football, an outstanding scorer, a legendary Rémois. To his family, his loved ones, the SDR sends its most sincere condolences. moved the Stade de Reims, his last club, the one with which he shone the most.

Twice a Champions League finalist against Real Madrid (1956 and 1959) with the Champenois, Fontaine had to end his playing career prematurely in 1961, following two leg fractures less than a year apart. At 28, he still had time to score 164 goals in just 200 first division matches. A whopping average of 0.82 goals per game that makes most top scorers swoon. “Great Mr. of football and outside. Thoughts of loved ones » has also reacted Wissam Ben Yedder, one of his many heirs.

A goalscorer, then a trade unionist and a coach

Once the cleats are put away, the native of Marrakech puts on a suit but stays in the middle. It even contributes to the improvement of the status of a footballer. He is one of the founding members of the UNFP, the union of professional players. Proof that his brand goes beyond the field. “It is with great sadness that the UNFP has just learned of the death of one of its historic founders, the very great Just Fontaine, who left us last night at the age of 89” the union, still chaired by Philippe Piat, was moved.

Player, trade unionist, then coach. Fontaine finished top of his class when he graduated at age 30. It shines in theory but is less successful in practice. He quickly took charge of the France team in 1967 but his past as a player was not enough. He landed after two games for as many defeats. In his defense, the Blues are probably experiencing the worst low in their history since the post-war period, until today… No qualification for a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup until that of 1978.

Fountain: “I am the only coach who brought PSG up to the First Division”

Fontaine then got his hands on amateur teams in the Toulouse region, where he settled. Then came the PSG adventure in 1973. Daniel Hechter, the president at the time, offered him the job as a duo with the coach already in place, Robert Vicot. Their mission: to raise the very young club of the capital to the first division. It will be a success at the end of a homeric barrage full of tension against Valenciennes. It was about the survival of the club because the sponsor RTL threatened to leave. At the final whistle, as relieved as drunk with happiness, Fontaine suffered a heart attack.

“I am the only coach who brought PSG up to the First Division” he liked to repeat. The Ile-de-France club has grown since then, but its successes have been built on this famous rise. “A thought for Just Fontaine. It is a monument of French football who has left us, and a sad day for lovers of Paris Saint-Germain, a club he led to the first division 50 years ago. remarked the PSG this morning, also touched by the disappearance of a member apart from its history.