Former French striker Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in one World Cup game, has died, his club Stade de Reims announced on Wednesday. he was 89 years old.
Fontaine scored 30 goals in 21 caps for France between 1953 and 1960. In 1958, he helped Sweden reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
In the 1958 tournament, it took him six games to score a record 13 goals for France as a late entry.
Moroccan-born Fontaine was a little-known striker outside the French league. But his speed and finishing touches plagued opponents, and he even played in other people’s boots. He even broke his own shoes during practice and had to borrow his shoes.
A striker who scored 259 goals in 283 appearances, Fontaine was one of the key players in the great Stade de Reims reaching the European Cup final in 1959.
Reims, who won three titles under Fontaine, lost 2–0 to Real Madrid in the final, but ‘Just’ was the tournament’s top scorer with 10 goals.
“A star of French football, an extraordinary striker, a legend of Reims. To his family…the Stade de Reims send its deepest condolences,” Reims said on Twitter.
French champions Paris Saint-Germain said on Twitter: “Thoughts on Just Fontaine.”
As a manager, Fontaine helped PSG to promotion to the top league in 1974.
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