Just Fontaine passed away at the age of 89. The former attacker wrote history by scoring no fewer than thirteen times at the 1958 World Cup, a record.
Born in Morocco, Fontaine played successively for USM Casablanca, Nice and Stade de Reims. In his 21 international matches for the French national team, he scored 30 goals, including 13 at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. ‘Les Bleus’ finished third in that tournament.
Fontaine put an end to his career at the age of 28 due to injuries. After that, the legendary striker was national coach of the French national team and acted as trainer of Luchon, Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse. His last job as coach was the national coach of Morocco between 1979 and 1981.
In recent years, Fontaine occasionally appeared at FIFA meetings, such as a World Cup draw. In 2014 he was retroactively awarded the Golden Boot for his performance at the 1958 World Cup.
Just Fontaine op het WK 1958:
- Frankrijk-Paraguay 7-3 (drie goals Fontaine)
- Frankrijk-Joegoslavië 2-3 (twee goals Fontaine)
- Frankrijk-Schotland 2-1 (één goal Fontaine)
- Frankrijk-Noord-Ierland 4-0 (twee goals Fontaine)
- Frankrijk-Brazilië 2-5 (één goal Fontaine)
- Frankrijk-West-Duitsland 6-3 (vier goals Fontaine)
Fontaine also played a European Cup I final
With his thirteen goals, Fontaine is still joint fourth (with Lionel Messi) on the eternal top scorers list of the World Cup. This ranking is led by Miroslav Klose (sixteen goals), ahead of Ronaldo (fifteen goals) and Gerd Müller (fourteen goals).
No one has come near Fontaine’s record for most goals at the same World Cup. The closest came Müller, the top scorer of the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Kylian Mbappé, the most productive player at the most recent World Cup, scored eight goals.
Fontaine was known for his urge to act at the 1958 World Cup, but in the service of Stade de Reims he also asserted himself with 122 hits in 130 games. Stade de Reims was a top European club at the time. With Fontaine in the starting line-up, ‘Les rouges et blancs’ went down 2-0 against Real Madrid in the 1959 European Cup Final.
