Just Fontaine was born on August 18, 1933 in Marrakech, Morocco, then a French protectorate.
He was an international footballer and later became a coach.
His greatest claim to fame is being the all-time top scorer in a single World Cup finals with his thirteen goals in six matches during the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
He is also the fourth highest scorer of all time in the World Cup behind Miroslav Klose (16 goals), Ronaldo (15 goals) and Gerd Muller (14 goals).
He made his professional debut from 1950 to 1953 with US Marocaine de Casablanca. Then he was recruited by OGC Nice where he scored 42 goals in 3 seasons.
In 1956, he joined the Stade de Reims to compensate for the departure of Raymond Kopa and scored 122 goals in 6 seasons.
It is with the Stade de Reims that he will be seriously injured in a leg.
Just Fontaine had to end his playing career prematurely: double fracture on March 20, 1960 against Sochaux.
He broke his left leg again in a match against Limoges on January 1, 1961. He played his last game in July 1962, and graduated as a major in the coaching class that same year.
In total, Just Fontaine scored 164 goals in 200 Premier League matches and finished as the league's top scorer twice (1958 and 1960) and runner-up twice (1957 and 1959).
He then took over the reins of the French soccer team as coach in 1967 but was quickly replaced after two defeats in friendly matches.
For 4 years, he coached the Paris-Saint-Germain, making it rise to the 1st division in 1974.
He also coached the Toulouse Football Club during the 1978-79 season and was coach of the Moroccan soccer team which finished third at the 1980 CAN in Nigeria.
In 1966, he opened his first sports store in Toulouse, a rugby town that would become his home.
Just Fontaine's emblematic career path passes through the Halles Victor-Hugo in Toulouse every Sunday morning, where he does his shopping, not exactly incognito.
He died on March 1, 2023.
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