Just Louis Fontaine (born 18 August 1933) is a French former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

. A prolific forward, he is best known for scoring the most goals in a single edition of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

, with thirteen in six matches in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. In 2004,

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...

named him one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

Awards Ceremony.

Football career

Born in

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

to a French father and a Spanish mother, Fontaine moved to

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, where he attended the Lycée Lyautey. Fontaine began his amateur career at USM Casablanca, where he played from 1950 to 1953.

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

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 Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1910 and plays in Ligue 1, the top level of Football in France, having been promoted from Ligue 2 in 2018. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Au ...

, where he teamed up with

Raymond Kopa Raymond Kopa (né Kopaszewski; 13 October 1931 – 3 March 2017) was a French professional footballer, integral to the France national team of the 1950s. At club level he was part of the legendary Real Madrid team of the 1950s, winning three Eu ...

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 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

, and twice won the championship; in 1958 and 1960. He also took part in the team that got to the

1958–59 European Cup The 1958–59 European Cup was the fourth season of the UEFA Champions League, European Cup, Europe's premier club association football, football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid C.F., Real Madrid for the fourth time in a row, wh ...

final against Real Madrid, being that season's top scorer with ten goals. Wearing the blue shirt of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Fontaine has an even more impressive record. On his debut on 17 December 1953, Fontaine scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

as France defeated

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

8–0. In seven years, he scored 30 goals in 21 matches. However, he will best be remembered for his

1958 FIFA World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Brazil ...

performance, where he scored 13 goals in just six matches – a feat that included putting four past defending champions

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. It was also the highest number of goals ever scored by one player at a single World Cup tournament – a record that stands today. This tally secured him the Golden Boot. As of 2022, he is tied with

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the g ...

as the fourth-top scorer in FIFA World Cup history, with each of the three ahead of him -

Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...

(14 goals),

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...

(15 goals) and

Miroslav Klose Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Austrian Footb ...

(16 goals) - having played in at least two tournaments. Fontaine played his last match in July 1962, being forced to retire early (28 years and 11 months old) because of a recurring 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 Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, he led the Atlas Lions to 3rd in the

1980 African Cup of Nations The 1980 African Cup of Nations was the 12th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Nigeria. Just like in 1978, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. Nigeria won ...

, overseeing the emergence of such players as

Badou Zaki Ezzaki Badou ( ar, الزاكي بادو; born 2 April 1959), nicknamed Zaki, is a Moroccan football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He manages CS Chebba. Playing career Born in Sidi Kacem, Zaki represented AS ...

, Mohammed Timoumi and

Aziz Bouderbala Abdelaziz El Idrissi Bouderbala ( ar, عبد العزيز الإدريسي بودربالة; born December 26, 1960) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 ...

. Morocco reached the final stage of

1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...

qualifying but were beaten by

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

After retirement

Fontaine was named by

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 The French Football Federation ( FFF; french: Fédération Française de Football) is the governing body of football in France. It also includes the overseas departments ( Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion), the over ...

in the

UEFA Jubilee Awards To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)'s 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years (1954–2003). ...

in November 2003. With

Eugène N'Jo Léa Eugène N'Jo Léa (15 July 1931 – 23 October 2006) was a Cameroonian professional footballer who played in France with Saint-Étienne, Lyon and Racing Paris. Personal life His son is fellow player William N'Jo Léa. With Just Fontaine he fo ...

he founded the

National Union of Professional Football Players The Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionels (UNFP; English: National Union of Professional Footballers) is the main trade union for professional football players in France. It was founded on 16 November 1961 by Eugène N'Jo Léa and Just F ...

in 1961. He criticized the performance of the French team in the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

in South Africa, particularly on the lackluster playing by the forwards. France were eliminated after group stage, with a draw against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and losses to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fontaine goal''

Honours

Nice *

French Division 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

: 1955–56 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

: 1953–54 Reims *

: 1957–58, 1959–60, 1961–62 *

: 1957–58 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. His ...

: 1958,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

: runner-up 1958–59 Individual *

Golden Foot The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 yea ...

: 2003, as a football legend *

FIFA World Cup Golden Boot At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...

: 1958 * French Division top scorer: 1957–58, 1959–60 *

top scorer: 1958–59 *

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list of Brazilian footballer Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, England, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the fo ...

: 2004

References and notes

External links

UEFA.com – France's Golden Player

Profile on French federation official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fontaine, Just 1933 births Living people Sportspeople from Marrakesh French footballers Association football forwards OGC Nice players Stade de Reims players Ligue 1 players France international footballers 1958 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Golden Players UEFA Champions League top scorers FIFA 100 French football managers France national football team managers Paris Saint-Germain F.C. managers Toulouse FC managers Morocco national football team managers Ligue 2 managers Ligue 1 managers French expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Morocco French expatriate sportspeople in Morocco Officiers of the Légion d'honneur French people of Spanish descent