1st March, 2023
Former French football player, Just Fontaine, who set a World Cup record with 13 goals in a single tournament in 1958, died on Wednesday, prompting an outpouring of tributes.
Fontaine, 89, scored 30 goals in 21 appearances for France between 1953 and 1960.
He helped Les Bleus reach the semi-finals of the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
Fontaine was a prolific striker in his club career, scoring 259 goals in 283 matches. He was a key member of the great Stade de Reims team. In 1959, the team reached the European Cup final.
Reims, who won three French top-flight titles with Fontaine, lost 0-2 to Real Madrid, but ‘Justo’ finished the competition with ten goals.
On Twitter, Reims wrote, “A star of French football, an outstanding striker, a legendary Reims player… To his family… Stade de Reims send its most sincere condolences.
French champions Paris St-Germain (PSG) also wrote “A thought for Just Fontaine”. As a coach, Fontaine helped PSG gain promotion to the first division in 1974.
France head coach Didier Deschamps said: “I am saddened by the death of Just Fontaine, as I am sure all those who love football and our national team will be.
“As a player and then as a coach, I was lucky enough to meet him on several occasions, notably at his home in Toulouse in September 2017. Justo was a very kind man, very respectful of the generations that succeeded him at Les Bleus.
“His attachment to the French team was strong and sincere. I send a friendly and moving thought to his family, his relatives and all our great elders today in sorrow.”
Reuters/NAN