Just Fontaine, legend in World Cup history, dies – Chicago Tribune

PARIS — Just Fontaine, the French soccer star who holds the World Cup goalscoring record with his 13 goals in Sweden in 1958, has died. He was 89 years old.

His former club, Reims, announced the death on Wednesday.

The striker took six games to achieve his feat in Sweden, after being included at the last minute in the French team.

Before the World Cup, the Moroccan-born Fontaine was little known outside of the French league. However, he tormented his rivals with his speed and his finishing shot, played even with someone else’s boots. He had to borrow a pair after ruining his in training.

Fontaine scored four goals in the third-place game against West Germany, but his tally could have been increased if a penalty had been taken.

Currently, the tournament’s top scorer receives the Golden Boot, but Fontaine achieved his record when FIFA did not award this award.

“Break my record? I don’t think it can ever be done,” Fontaine told The Associated Press in a 2006 interview. “The person who wants to beat me will have a huge task, right? He has to score two goals per game in seven games”.

At a time when changes to the starting eleven were not allowed, France lost 5-2 in the semifinals against a Brazilian team in which a young Pelé played, at just 17 years old.

Fontaine, who saw the goal in all the matches played, put France ahead with the first goal conceded by Brazil in the World Cup. But with the score 1-1, French defender Robert Jonquet broke his leg. Although he kept playing and tried to contain Pelé’s genius, the French defense was significantly weakened.

The footballer who has scored the most goals in the men’s World Cup throughout his career is the German striker Miroslav Klose, with 17 goals in four tournaments. Fontaine, who surpassed the record of 11 goals set by Hungarian striker Sándor Kocsis in the 1954 World Cup, only played in one World Cup.

Fontaine’s meteoric career as a goalscorer saw him score 200 goals in 213 games. With the France shirt he signed 30.

His career was cut short when he was just 28 years old. The Frenchman, famous for his breakneck speed and relentless finishing, suffered a gruesome broken leg after a tackle in March 1960.