Compared to those who person vainly chased his tourney grounds for the past 68 years, Fontaine is simply a comparative chartless to modern audiences. While Pele, Messi et al are rightly regarded arsenic the champion antheral players ever, Fontaine is present a portion of trivia.
But that is to play down the singular beingness and vocation of Fontaine - who, if helium were playing successful the modern day, would person represented a antithetic country.
The 2026 quarter-final betwixt France and Morocco was the Just Fontaine derby. He was calved successful Marrakesh successful August 1933 - astatine the time, Morocco was a French protectorate.
Morocco gained independency 2 years earlier the 1958 World Cup, but by that clip Fontaine was an established planetary footballer playing successful the French leagues - truthful helium represented Les Bleus.
And, arsenic sports writer and historiographer Philip Barker explained to BBC Sport, had each gone to program for France, Fontaine would not person been starting games astatine the World Cup successful Sweden astatine all.
"He was not really archetypal prime - a team-mate [Rene Bliard] got injured successful a warm-up game," explains Barker. "It was specified a last-minute change, helium had to get boots [from team-mate Stephane Bruey] for the opening crippled arsenic helium didn't person immoderate to acceptable him.
"Imagine thing similar that now, truthful precise antithetic to what we person today.
"Fontaine had an cognition connected his meniscus [cartilage successful his knee] during the season, truthful helium had been a uncertainty for the tournament. But it meant helium came to the tourney caller - a batch of the different players had had a agelong hard season."
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