Just Fontaine

Just Louis Fontaine (pronounced [ʒyst fɔ̃.tɛn]; born 18 August 1933) is a French retired professional footballer. A prolific forward, he is best known for scoring the most goals in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup, with 13 in six matches in 1958.[2] In 2004, Pelé named him one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony.[3]

Just Fontaine
Fontaine in 2016
Personal information
Full name Just Louis Fontaine[1]
Date of birth (1933-08-18) 18 August 1933
Place of birth Marrakech, French Morocco
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1950–1953 USM Casablanca 48 (62)
1953–1956 Nice 69 (43)
1956–1962 Reims 131 (122)
Total 248 (227)
National team
1953–1960 France 21 (30)
Teams managed
1967 France
1968–1969 Luchon
1973–1976 Paris Saint-Germain
1978–1979 Toulouse
1979–1981 Morocco
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
Fontaine playing for France at the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

Football career

Born in Marrakech to a French father and a Spanish mother,[4] Fontaine moved to Casablanca, where he attended the Lycée Lyautey.

Fontaine began his amateur career at USM Casablanca, where he played from 1950 to 1953. Nice recruited him in 1953, and he went on to score 44 goals in three seasons for the club. In 1956, he moved to Stade de Reims, where he teamed up with Raymond Kopa from the 1959–60 season. Fontaine scored 121 goals in six seasons at the Stade de Reims. In total, Fontaine scored 165 goals in 200 matches in the Ligue 1, and twice won the championship; in 1958 and 1960. He also took part in the team that got to the 1958–59 European Cup final against Real Madrid, being that season's top scorer with 10 goals.

Wearing the blue shirt of France, Fontaine has an even more impressive record. On his debut on 17 December 1953, Fontaine scored a hat trick as France defeated Luxembourg 8–0. In seven years, he scored 30 goals in 21 matches. However, he will best be remembered for his 1958 FIFA World Cup performance, where he scored 13 goals in just six matches – a feat that included putting four past defending champions West Germany. It was also the highest number of goals ever scored by one player at a single World Cup tournament – a record that stands today.[5] This tally secured him the Golden Boot.[6] As of 2018, he remains fourth-top scorer in FIFA World Cup history, with each of the three ahead of him - Gerd Müller (14 goals), Ronaldo (15 goals) and Miroslav Klose (16 goals) - having played in at least two tournaments.

Fontaine played his last match in July 1962, being forced to retire early (28 years and 11 months old) because of a recurring injury. He briefly managed the French national team in 1967, but was replaced after only two games, both friendlies that ended in defeats. As coach of Morocco, he led the Atlas Lions to 3rd in the 1980 African Cup of Nations, overseeing the emergence of such players as Badou Zaki, Mohammed Timoumi and Aziz Bouderbala. Morocco reached the final stage of 1982 World Cup qualifying but were beaten by Cameroon.

After retirement
Just Fontaine in 1971

He was named by Pelé as one of the 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. He was chosen as the best French player of the last 50 years by the French Football Federation in the UEFA Jubilee Awards in November 2003.[7]

With Eugène N'Jo Léa he founded the National Union of Professional Football Players in 1961. He criticized the performance of the French team in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, particularly on the lackluster playing by the forwards.[8] France were eliminated after group stage, with a draw against Uruguay and losses to Mexico and South Africa.

Career statistics

International
Source: "Just Fontaine – Goals in International Matches". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
France national team
YearAppsGoals
1953 13
1954 --
1955 --
1956 10
1957 10
1958 1218
1959 47
1960 22
Total 2130

International goals
France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Fontaine goal.[9]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 27 December 1953Parc des Princes, Paris, France1 Luxembourg
4–0
8–0
1954 FIFA World Cup qualification
2
6–0
3
7–0
4 13 March 1958Parc des Princes, Paris, France4 Spain1–12–2Friendly
5 8 June 1958Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden6 Paraguay
1–1
7–3
1958 FIFA World Cup
6
2–1
7
5–3
8 11 June 1958Arosvallen, Västerås, Sweden7 Yugoslavia
1–0
2–3
9
2–2
10 15 June 1958Eyravallen, Örebro, Sweden8 Scotland2–02–1
11 19 June 1958Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden9 Northern Ireland
2–0
4–0
12
3–0
13 24 June 1958Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden10 Brazil1–12–5
14 28 June 1958Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden11 West Germany
1–0
6–3
15
3–1
16
5–2
17
6–3
18 1 October 1958Parc des Princes, Paris, France12 Greece
2–0
7–1
UEFA Euro 1960 qualifiers
19
6–1
20 5 October 1958Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria13 Austria2–12–1Friendly
21 9 November 1958Stade Olympique de Colombes, Colombes, France15 Italy2–22–2Friendly
22 11 November 1959Stade Olympique de Colombes, Colombes, France17 Portugal
1–0
5–3
Friendly
23
4–2
24
5–2
25 13 December 1959Stade Olympique de Colombes, Colombes, France18 Austria
1–0
5–2
UEFA Euro 1960 qualifiers
26
2–0
27
4–2
28 17 December 1959Parc des Princes, Paris, France19 Spain2–14–3Friendly
29 16 March 1960Parc des Princes, Paris, France20 Chile
4–0
6–0
Friendly
30
5–0

Honours

Club
Stade de Reims[10]

Individual

References and notes
  1. "Entreprise Fab Amenagement Constructions Sports" [Company Fab Amenagement Constructions Sports] (in French). Manageo. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
    "Just Fontaine". BFM Business (in French). Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  2. Kaufman, Michelle. "Countdown to the World Cup – Total Soccer, Fútbol Total". MiamiHerald.com. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  3. "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  4. "1958 FIFA World Cup star: Just Fontaine". Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  5. "1958 FIFA World Cup Sweden ™". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  6. "1958 World Cup: Wales' Finest Hour". thefootballhistoryboys.blogspot.co.uk.
  7. "Golden Players take centre stage". Archived from the original on 12 March 2004. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  8. "France legend Fontaine blasts forwards". ESPN. 11 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  9. "Just Fontaine - national football team player". EU-Football.info. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  10. "The forgotten story of ... Just Fontaine's 13-goal World Cup". The Guardian. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  11. "Legends". Golden Foot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
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