Just Fontaine
Fontaine in 1966
Personal information
Full name Just Louis Fontaine[1]
Date of birth (1933-08-18)18 August 1933
Place of birth Marrakech, French Morocco
Date of death 28 February 2023(2023-02-28) (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
Representing  France
FIFA World Cup
Third place1958 Sweden
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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]

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]

Fontaine playing for France at the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

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, 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 in 2016

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

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
USM Casablanca 1950–51 Moroccan Football League 1623———1623
1951–52 Moroccan Football League 1017———1017
1952–53 Moroccan Football League 2222———2222
Total 4862———4862
Nice 1953–54 French Division 1 241773——3120
1954–55 French Division 1 282042——3222
1955–56 French Division 1 17534—1[lower-alpha 1]0219
Total 6942149—108451
Reims 1956–57 French Division 1 313011——3231
1957–58 French Division 1 263465——3239
1958–59 French Division 1 3224227[lower-alpha 2]101[lower-alpha 3]04236
1959–60 French Division 1 282822——3030
1960–61 French Division 1 74001[lower-alpha 2]0—84
1961–62 French Division 1 7213——85
Total 131122121381010152145
Career total 248226262281020284258

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[15]
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 195313
195400
195500
195610
195710
19581218
195947
196022
Total2130
Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fontaine goal[16]
List of international goals scored by Just Fontaine
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 December 1953Parc des Princes, Paris, France1 Luxembourg4–08–01954 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 Paraguay1–17–31958 FIFA World Cup
6 2–1
7 5–3
8 11 June 1958Arosvallen, Västerås, Sweden7 Yugoslavia1–02–3 1958 FIFA World Cup
9 2–2
10 15 June 1958Eyravallen, Örebro, Sweden8 Scotland2–02–1 1958 FIFA World Cup
11 19 June 1958Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden9 Northern Ireland2–04–0 1958 FIFA World Cup
12 3–0
13 24 June 1958Råsunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden10 Brazil1–12–5 1958 FIFA World Cup
14 28 June 1958Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden11 West Germany1–06–3 1958 FIFA World Cup
15 3–1
16 5–2
17 6–3
18 1 October 1958Parc des Princes, Paris, France12 Greece2–07–1UEFA 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 Portugal1–05–3Friendly
23 4–2
24 5–2
25 13 December 1959Stade Olympique de Colombes, Colombes, France18 Austria1–05–2UEFA 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 Chile4–06–0Friendly
30 5–0

Honours

Nice[17]

Reims[17]

France[17]

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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 4 "Just Fontaine, France's record World Cup goalscorer, dies aged 89". The Guardian. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "1958 FIFA World Cup Sweden ™". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  7. ↑ Short, Joe (13 December 2022). "Most goals in a World Cup single tournament: All-time scoring records". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "1958 World Cup: Wales' Finest Hour". thefootballhistoryboys.blogspot.co.uk.
  9. 1 2 "Just Fontaine dies aged 89". BBC Sport. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "Record World Cup Scorer dies at 89". New Straits Times. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "Golden Players take centre stage". Archived from the original on 12 March 2004. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  12. ↑ "France legend Fontaine blasts forwards". ESPN. 11 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  13. ↑ "MatchID - Moteur de recherche des décès".
  14. ↑ "Mort de Just Fontaine : les obsèques de l'ancien footballeur seront célébrées à Toulouse, le lundi 6 mars". La Dépêche du Midi. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  15. ↑ "Just Fontaine – Goals in International Matches". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  16. ↑ "Just Fontaine - national football team player". EU-Football.info. 14 July 2016. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 Just Fontaine at FootballDatabase.eu
  18. ↑ "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1958". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  19. ↑ "Legends". Golden Foot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  20. ↑ "Saison 1959/1960 Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe Charles Drago, Classement, Résultats". www.pari-et-gagne.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
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