There is now only one left. Bernard Chiarelli, penultimate survivor of the French football team at the 1958 World Cup, died this Sunday at the age of 90. True heroes in the post-war story, the Blues of Just Fontaine and Raymond Kopa finished 3rd in the competition in Sweden. It was then the best ranking in their history in this event. And we would have to wait until the 1986 World Cup in Mexico to find a French selection, led by Michel Platini, on the third step of the podium.
Selected for the first – and last time – on April 16, 1958 against Switzerland (0-0), Chiarelli, a native of Valenciennes, was loyal for nine seasons to US Valenciennes Anzin (383 professional matches, 58 goals). He had obtained his place for the 1958 World Cup where he did not play a single minute, changes being prohibited at that time.
He was content with a place of choice in the locker room as a close friend, in particular, of Fontaine. “With Justo, we were almost like two brothers. We had known each other since 1954. We played our first match for the French team with the A', he told us last May with a tremor in his voice. His goalscoring side was in his DNA, the numbers speak for themselves (Editor’s note: 13 during the tournament). But he also had something else: self-sacrifice and a taste for others. He was lucky to have great players alongside him, Raymond Kopa, Jean Vincent and Roger Piantoni. When flying to Sweden three weeks before, the newspapers headlined: They leave early but they will be back soon… We finished third. »
The last survivor of this Swedish epic is the former Lyon player Robert Mouynet, aged 94. He didn't play during the World Cup either.
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