Just Fontaine, who held the record for scoring the most goals in a single World Cup, has died at the age of 89.
Fontaine scored 13 goals in just six games for France at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, finishing third.
He is joint fourth on the all-time World Cup goalscoring list with Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
“The star of French football, the best striker, a legendary Reims player,” said his former club Stade de Reims.
Only three players have scored more goals in World Cups than Fontaine, a statistic made all the more remarkable by the fact that he only played in the 1958 tournament.
Had it not been for injuries to fellow forward Thadee Sisowski and Reims teammate Rene Bliard, he would not have played there.
The striker scored in every game in Sweden, including four goals in a 6–3 win over West Germany in the third-place play-off.
In total, Fontaine scored 30 goals in just 31 games for France between 1953 and 1960.
He spent most of his club career at the Stade de Reims, where he scored 145 goals in 152 appearances, won three Ligue 1 titles and reached the 1959 European Cup final, where they lost to a Real Madrid side featuring Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.
He played for Nice and Moroccan side USM Casablanca but had to retire in 1962 aged just 28 after suffering a double leg fracture.
Fontaine then enjoyed coaching stints at Paris Saint-Germain, Toulouse and Morocco, where the forward was born, before switching allegiance to France.
In 2004 he was named in Brazil legend Pele’s list of the 125 greatest living footballers.
More to follow.
