The Frenchman Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in Sweden 1958, died at the age of 89
The French Just Fontaine, the player who holds the record for most goals in a single World Cup with 13 goals, died at the age of 89.
Fontaine broke the record in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, a championship in which France reached the semifinals for the first time in its history, being defeated by Brazil's Pelé, who later became the tournament's winner.
With Fontaine's death, only three French players from that legendary 1958 adventure remain alive (Dominique Colonna, Robert Mouynet, Bernard Chiarelli).
"The passing of Just Fontaine saddens me, as it will surely sadden all people who love football and our national team. +Justo+ is and will remain a legend of the French team," said the current coach of France, Didier Deschamps, on the website of the French Federation.
Born in Marrakech, Fontaine was not destined to play in that World Cup because he was surpassed in the team hierarchy by Thadée Cisowski, who got injured at the last moment.
In addition to the 13-goal record and that historic World Cup semifinal for France, Just Fontaine achieved great success in club football with four French champion titles (one with Nice, three with Reims), two French Cups (Nice in 1954 and Reims in 1958), and a European Cup final - the current Champions League - lost in 1959 by 2-0 against the great Real Madrid of Di Stéfano, Puskas, and Kopa.
"Alongside Kopa, he wrote the first epic of French football. Just Fontaine will forever be our founding myth," wrote the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, on Twitter.
Fontaine's playing career was abruptly cut short at the end of 1962 at the age of 28 after suffering a double leg fracture.
Retired from the field, Just Fontaine became a coach, but his career on the bench was much more discreet.
As a coach of the French national team, he had a much less glorious tenure than as a player: he only lasted two matches in charge of the national team in 1967 before being fired after two friendly match defeats.
His experience as coach of Paris Saint-Germain (1973-1976) was more successful, with a promotion to the first division in 1974.
"A tribute to Just Fontaine. He left us a monument of French football and it is a sad day for the lovers of Paris Saint-Germain, a club that he brought to the first division fifty years ago," said PSG in a statement.
He finished his coaching career in his homeland, in Morocco, leading the national team to a third place finish in the 1980 African Cup of Nations.
An unbreakable record
But Just Fontaine's place in history is more than earned with his record of 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup, a record that no one has been able to surpass in more than six decades and sixteen World Cups later.
"The mark he left on the world of football will always be remembered and the record is very likely to never be broken," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino in a statement.
In Sweden, Fontaine surpassed the record that was then in force, held by Hungarian attacker Sandor Kocsis (11 goals in the 1954 World Cup). Kocsis, who passed away in 1979 in Barcelona where he ended his career, could not score in the World Cup final lost in that edition against West Germany (3-2).
Just Fontaine only scored goals in World Cups in that 1958 edition in Sweden. His 13 goals make him the fourth highest scorer in the overall World Cup scorers' list, a record now also held by Argentine Lionel Messi, who has scored 13 goals but including those achieved between the 2006 and 2022 tournaments.
The all-time leading scorer in World Cups is German Miroslav Klose, with a total of 16 goals, followed by Brazilian Ronaldo (15) and Gerd Müller (14). AFP
