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While it is often said that records are there to be beaten, the fact remains that the one for most goals scored at a single FIFA World Cup has stood for fully 65 years and looks likely to remain unbeaten for some time yet.
Sadly, the man who set that record, legendary France striker Just Fontaine, passed away on Wednesday 1 March at the age of 89.
“My record is still standing,” said the former front man in 2002. “I think I’ll take it with me to my grave.”
It was a prediction that turned out to be correct. Born in 1933 in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, to a French father and a Spanish mother, Fontaine was 20 when he moved to France to play for OGC Nice. His tally of 53 goals in 82 matches with the southern club attracted the attention of Stade Reims, a powerhouse of the French game at the time, and the France team. Between 1953 and 1960, Justo scored a remarkable 31 goals in just 21 appearances for Les Bleus, an eye-catching return that owed much to a rich vein of form on the biggest stage of them all.
In representing France at the 1958 FIFA World Cup – Sweden, the front man scored an incredible 13 goals, more than any other player at a single edition of the tournament before or since. The scorer of four goals against West Germany in the match for third place, Fontaine also struck a hattrick against Paraguay, braces against Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland, and a goal apiece against Brazil and Scotland.
Speaking in 2014, he recalled with a smile his injury-affected build-up to the World Cup: “I had an operation on my meniscus on 7 December and I was back playing again on 15 February. I did what I had to do to come back and by June I was walking on water, like Jesus.”
Remarkably, he achieved his record-breaking feat in someone else’s boots, having worn out his last pair at France’s final training session before heading to Sweden. “We were given just two pairs of boots at the time, and no sponsor. I was left with nothing,” he explained.
Fortunately, reserve striker Stephane Bruey was the same shoe size and came to the rescue by loaning Fontaine his. “Some of my goals were inspired by combining two spirits inside the same boot,” the Bleus legend liked to recall.
Beaten in the semis by Brazil, France had to content themselves with the bronze medal. “I quickly forgot about my personal performance,” he once said. “I prefer to focus on our third place and not me coming first. At the time, nobody cared that much about the top scorer.” While that may be true, his achievement lives on all these years later.
Fortunately, reserve striker Stephane Bruey was the same shoe size and came to the rescue by loaning Fontaine his. “Some of my goals were inspired by combining two spirits inside the same boot,” the Bleus legend liked to recall.
Beaten in the semis by Brazil, France had to content themselves with the bronze medal. “I quickly forgot about my personal performance,” he once said. “I prefer to focus on our third place and not me coming first. At the time, nobody cared that much about the top scorer.” While that may be true, his achievement lives on all these years later.
