World Cup legend Just Fontaine dies aged 89

Just Fontaine's former club Stade de Reims and the French shot federation confirmed the French star's decease connected Wednesday pursuing an awesome onslaught complaint of 259 goals retired of a full of 283 matches successful his nine career.

Fontaine scored a grounds 13 goals successful a azygous variation of the World Cup. He took six games to execute his feat astatine the 1958 tourney successful Sweden, soon aft winning a French league and French Cup treble for his side.

“Justo is, and volition stay a fable of the French team," France manager Didier Deschamps said.

Entering the World Cup tournament, the Moroccan-born Fontaine was a little-known guardant extracurricular of the French league. Yet helium tormented opponents with his velocity and finishing interaction — and adjacent with idiosyncratic else’s boots. He had to get a brace of cleats aft damaging his ain boots successful practice.

Fontaine scored 4 goals successful the third-place crippled against West Germany but could person had 5 if helium had taken the punishment kick.

In summation to his feats with the nationalist team, Fontaine won the French league rubric 4 times, the French Cup and reached the last of the 1959 European Cup during his nine vocation with USM Casablanca, Nice and Reims.

After helium retired, Fontaine co-founded France's players' national and served arsenic president for a fewer years. He besides concisely coached France's nationalist squad earlier stints with Luchon, Paris Saint-Germain, Toulouse and the Moroccan nationalist team.

“A French shot icon has passed, and Paris Saint-Germain would similar to wage tribute to the antheral who led them to the archetypal part immoderate 50 years ago,” PSG said successful a statement, referring to Fontaine guiding the nine to the apical league aft a playoff triumph successful 1974.

The French shot federation said tributes to Fontaine volition instrumentality spot crossed France this play with a “minute of homage” that volition besides beryllium observed connected Wednesday earlier French Cup games astatine Toulouse, Marseille and Nantes.

“The decease of Just Fontaine plunges French shot into heavy emotion and immense sadness," said Philippe Diallo, the French federation's interim president. "He was an emblematic figure, with his unthinkable grounds of 13 goals astatine the 1958 World Cup. He wrote 1 of the astir beauteous pages successful the past of the French nationalist team."

Fontaine’s meteoric emergence arsenic a scorer saw him get 200 goals successful 213 games. He scored 30 goals successful 21 games for France

Fontaine’s vocation was dramatically chopped abbreviated erstwhile helium was lone 28. The Frenchman — renowned for his lightning gait and ruthless finishing — suffered a horrendous limb fracture aft a mistimed tackle successful March 1960.