Just Fontaine Wiki – Bio
Just Fontaine was a French soccer player who dies at the age of 89. His net worth was around $5 million at his death.
Just Fontaine was born on August 18, 1933, in Marrakech, Morocco, and died on March 1, 2023, in Toulouse, France. His father’s name was Delphin Louis Martin Fontaine, who was French, and his mother’s name was Marie Dolores Ortega, who was Spanish. He also has six siblings. Just Fontaine was married to his wife Arlette his for over 60 years and the couple have two children together.
Age
Just Fontaine was 89 years old.
Height
His height was 1.74 meters, or 5 feet 9 inches.
Tributes – Celebrity Death 2023
Fontaine scored 13 goals in just six games for France at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden finishing third. He is fourth on the all-time World Cup goalscoring list along with Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
Just Fontaine: A true footballing icon 🇫🇷
Celebrating the life of a legend and the owner of a record that may never be broken – 13 goals at a single #FIFAWorldCup.
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 1, 2023
A French soccer star, an outstanding striker, a legendary Reims player,” said his former club, Stade de Reims.
Another of his former clubs, Paris St-Germain, said: “A thought for Just Fontaine. An icon of French football who has left us.”
The French Football Federation (FFF) described Fontaine as “the eternal goalscorer” and “a legend of world football”.
“The death of Just Fontaine plunges French football into deep emotion and immense sadness,” said interim FFF president Philippe Diallo.
“He wrote one of the most beautiful pages in the history of the French team.”
France manager Didier Deschamps said Fontaine’s death “will sadden everyone who loves football”, adding that he “is and will remain a legend of the France team”.
A minute of applause in tribute to Fontaine will take place on all football pitches in France, starting from Wednesday’s matches in the French Cup.
Career
Only three players have scored more World Cup goals than Fontaine, a stat made more notable because he only played in the 1958 tournament. He wouldn’t even have played there if it hadn’t been for injuries to fellow forward Thadee Cisowski and his Reims teammate Rene Bliard. The striker scored in every game in Sweden, including four goals in a 6-3 win over West Germany in a playoff for third place.
In all, Fontaine scored 30 goals in just 21 appearances for France between 1953 and 1960. He spent much 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, losing to a Real Madrid side that included Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas. He also played for Nice and Moroccan side USM Casablanca but was forced to retire in 1962 aged just 28 after suffering a broken leg. As a manager, Fontaine played two games in charge of France in 1967 before leading Paris St-Germain to promotion to the first division in 1974, where he has remained ever since.
He followed a brief spell at Toulouse before taking charge of Morocco, the country of his birth, leading them to third place in the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations. Fontaine is also remembered for helping to form the French players’ union UNFP, becoming its first president in 1961. In 2004 he was included in the list of the 125 greatest living soccer players of the Brazilian legend Pelé.
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