the essential
This Sunday, October 6, before the Ligue 1 match between Reims and Montpellier, a statue of Just Fontaine was inaugurated in front of the Auguste-Delaune stadium. Toulouse FC notably contributed to financing the monument.
He rests in Toulouse, but his memory remains everywhere in France, particularly in Reims, and even more so since this Sunday. An hour before the kick-off of the 7th day of Ligue 1 between the Stade de Reims and Montpellier, several guests inaugurated a statue of Just Fontaine, buried in Toulouse in 2023. Moreover, the TFC contributed to the financing of this bronze monument according to Le Parisien.
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On the square in front of the Auguste-Delaune stadium, several personalities including Arlette, his widow, honored the memory of the former striker, who now sits close to that of another legend, Raymond Kopa. These two emblematic figures of the Blues brought luck to the Champenois, winners of Montpellier a little later (4-2).
“Just Fontaine is Reims, and Reims is Just Fontaine”
Before the match kicked off, the speeches followed one another in Reims where “Justo” scored 145 goals, no less. “He was the first popular French football icon,” declared Arnaud Robinet, the city’s mayor, in comments reported by Le Parisien. “Just Fontaine is Reims, and Reims is Just Fontaine.”
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For his part, Jean-Pierre Caillot, the president of the local club, preferred to praise “an emblematic figure of the Stade de Reims and the French team”. And for good reason, his exploit during the 1958 World Cup in Sweden will forever be remembered. Just Fontaine remains to this day the player who has scored the most goals in a single World Cup (13). An unrivaled record, undoubtedly unsurpassable.
