Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin
modified to
11:33 p.m., March 01, 2023
Thirteen goals in a World Cup, football legend Just Fontaine, who died at 89, will forever be associated with this legendary and almost unbeatable record. A historic competition also marked by an anecdote told by Guy Roux in the program “Europe 1 Sport”.
Seven decades and 16 World Cups later, former France footballer Just Fontaine, who died on Wednesday, still holds the record for the number of goals scored in a single World Cup: 13, during the 1958 edition. in Sweden, finished in 3rd place with the Blues. An edition that has remained famous since it constitutes the masterpiece of “Justo” and will for a long time be the absolute reference of French football. Invited to respond Europe 1 Sports (every evening from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), the emblematic coach of Auxerre was saddened by this news.
“Unfortunately it’s a generation born before 1924 for the most part and they are disappearing one by one”, moved Guy Roux at the microphone of Céline Géraud. Last representative of the attacking trident he formed with Raymond Kopa and Roger Piantoni, who died in 2017 and 2018, Just Fontaine had during this same 1958 World Cup faced some last minute difficulties.
A story of shoes
Selected to defend the colors of the Blues in Sweden at the World Cup, Just Fontaine “had only one pair of shoes but they ‘broken'”, says Guy Roux in Europe 1 Sports. Fortunately for him, “the team was given quite late before the match”, continues the latter. Time to organize for the future record holder for the number of goals in a World Cup. It was finally “Bruet (Philippe Bruet) who wore shoes like him and who lent him his. He scored 13 goals with that”, ends up concluding Guy Roux.
Ironically, Just Fontaine decided not to keep Philippe Bruet’s shoes but to return them to him. Quite a symbol for the one who will remain forever in the legend of French football but also worldwide.