Just Louis Fontaine (French pronunciation: [ʒyst lwi fɔ̃tɛn]; 18 August 1933 – 28 February 2023) was a French professional footballer who played as a striker. He scored the most goals ever in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup, with thirteen in six matches in the 1958 FIFA World Cup tournament.[2] In March 2004, Pelé named him one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony.[3]
_-_53Fi634_(Cropped).jpg) Fontaine in 1966 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Just Louis Fontaine[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 18 August 1933 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Marrakech, French Morocco | |||||||||||||
| Date of death | 28 February 2023 (aged 89) | |||||||||||||
| Place of death | Toulouse, France | |||||||||||||
| 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 | (42) | |||||||||||
| 1956–1962 | Reims | 131 | (122) | |||||||||||
| Total | 248 | (226) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 1953–1960 | France | 21 | (30) | |||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||
| 1967 | France | |||||||||||||
| 1968–1969 | Luchon | |||||||||||||
| 1973–1976 | Paris Saint-Germain | |||||||||||||
| 1978–1979 | Toulouse | |||||||||||||
| 1979–1981 | Morocco | |||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Football career
Born in Marrakech, French Morocco, 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 Stade de Reims. In total, Fontaine scored 165 goals in 200 matches in the Ligue 1, and won the championship twice, one time in 1958, and the other in 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 ten goals.[5]
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 is also the highest number of goals ever scored by one player at a single World Cup tournament. [6][7] This tally secured him the Golden Boot.[8] As of 2022[update], he is tied with Lionel Messi as the 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.[9]
Fontaine played his last match in July 1962, being forced to retire early (28 years and 11 months old) because of a recurring leg injury. He briefly managed the France national team in 1967, but was replaced after only two friendly games, which ended in defeats. As coach of Morocco, he led the Atlas Lions to 3rd in the 1980 African Cup of Nations,[10] 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. As sporting director of Paris Saint-Germain F.C., he managed to help promote the club to the first division.[5]
After retirement
Fontaine 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.[11] 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 play of the forwards.[12] Fontaine died in Toulouse, where he had lived for 60 years, on 28 February 2023[13] at the age of 89.[5][9][14]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| USM Casablanca | 1950–51 | Moroccan Football League | 16 | 23 | — | — | — | 16 | 23 | |||
| 1951–52 | Moroccan Football League | 10 | 17 | — | — | — | 10 | 17 | ||||
| 1952–53 | Moroccan Football League | 22 | 22 | — | — | — | 22 | 22 | ||||
| Total | 48 | 62 | — | — | — | 48 | 62 | |||||
| Nice | 1953–54 | French Division 1 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 3 | — | — | 31 | 20 | ||
| 1954–55 | French Division 1 | 28 | 20 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 32 | 22 | |||
| 1955–56 | French Division 1 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 4 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 21 | 9 | ||
| Total | 69 | 42 | 14 | 9 | — | 1 | 0 | 84 | 51 | |||
| Reims | 1956–57 | French Division 1 | 31 | 30 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 31 | ||
| 1957–58 | French Division 1 | 26 | 34 | 6 | 5 | — | — | 32 | 39 | |||
| 1958–59 | French Division 1 | 32 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 7[b] | 10 | 1[c] | 0 | 42 | 36 | |
| 1959–60 | French Division 1 | 28 | 28 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 30 | 30 | |||
| 1960–61 | French Division 1 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | — | 8 | 4 | ||
| 1961–62 | French Division 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | — | — | 8 | 5 | |||
| Total | 131 | 122 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 152 | 145 | ||
| Career total | 248 | 226 | 26 | 22 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 284 | 258 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 1953 | 1 | 3 |
| 1954 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1955 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1956 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1957 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1958 | 12 | 18 | |
| 1959 | 4 | 7 | |
| 1960 | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | 21 | 30 | |
- Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fontaine goal[16]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 December 1953 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France | 1 |  Luxembourg | 4–0 | 8–0 | 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 6–0 | ||||||
| 3 | 7–0 | ||||||
| 4 | 13 March 1958 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France | 4 |  Spain | 1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 5 | 8 June 1958 | Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden | 6 |  Paraguay | 1–1 | 7–3 | 1958 FIFA World Cup |
| 6 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 7 | 5–3 | ||||||
| 8 | 11 June 1958 | Arosvallen, Västerås, Sweden | 7 |  Yugoslavia | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1958 FIFA World Cup |
| 9 | 2–2 | ||||||
| 10 | 15 June 1958 | Eyravallen, Örebro, Sweden | 8 |  Scotland | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup |
| 11 | 19 June 1958 | Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden | 9 |  Northern Ireland | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1958 FIFA World Cup |
| 12 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 13 | 24 June 1958 | Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden | 10 |  Brazil | 1–1 | 2–5 | 1958 FIFA World Cup |
| 14 | 28 June 1958 | Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden | 11 |  West Germany | 1–0 | 6–3 | 1958 FIFA World Cup |
| 15 | 3–1 | ||||||
| 16 | 5–2 | ||||||
| 17 | 6–3 | ||||||
| 18 | 1 October 1958 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France | 12 |  Greece | 2–0 | 7–1 | UEFA Euro 1960 qualifiers |
| 19 | 6–1 | ||||||
| 20 | 5 October 1958 | Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria | 13 |  Austria | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 21 | 9 November 1958 | Stade Olympique de Colombes, Colombes, France | 15 |  Italy | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 22 | 11 November 1959 | Stade Olympique de Colombes, Colombes, France | 17 |  Portugal | 1–0 | 5–3 | Friendly |
| 23 | 4–2 | ||||||
| 24 | 5–2 | ||||||
| 25 | 13 December 1959 | Stade Olympique de Colombes, Colombes, France | 18 | Austria | 1–0 | 5–2 | UEFA Euro 1960 qualifiers |
| 26 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 27 | 4–2 | ||||||
| 28 | 17 December 1959 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France | 19 | Spain | 2–1 | 4–3 | Friendly |
| 29 | 16 March 1960 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France | 20 |  Chile | 4–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
| 30 | 5–0 |
Honours
Nice[17]
- French Division 1: 1955–56
- Coupe de France: 1953–54
Reims[17]
- French Division 1: 1957–58, 1959–60, 1961–62
- Coupe de France: 1957–58
- Trophée des Champions: 1958, 1960
- European Cup: runner-up 1958–59
France[17]
- FIFA World Cup third place: 1958
Individual
- Ballon d'Or third-place: 1958[18]
- FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 1958
- French Division top scorer: 1957–58, 1959–60[19]
- European Cup top scorer: 1958–59[5]
- FIFA Order of Merit: 1994
- Golden Foot: 2003, as a football legend[20]
- FIFA 100: 2004[3]
References and notes
External links
- UEFA.com – France's Golden Player
- Profile on French federation official site
- Just Fontaine at L'Équipe Football (in French)
- Just Fontaine at FootballDatabase.eu