Raymond Kopa

Raymond Kopa (Raymond Kopaszewski; 13 October 1931 – 3 March 2017) was a professional French football player. He has played for France national team and for Real Madrid.

In 1970 he became the first football player to receive the Légion d'honneur, and in 2004, Pelé named him one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony.

Early life
Kopa was born to a family of Polish immigrants in Nœux-les-Mines, France.

Career
After finishing second in the French national youth football trials in 1949, Kopa began his professional career at the age of 17 with SCO Angers in Ligue 2 and was transferred two years later to Reims, with whom he won French championships in 1953 and 1955.

He won the 1953 Latin Cup with Stade de Reims, where they defeated AC Milan 3–0 in the final, and helped them reach the 1956 European Cup Final, which the team lost to Alfredo Di Stéfano's Real Madrid, 4–3.

Kopa was also the first French player to win the European Cup when Madrid defeated Fiorentina 2–0 in the 1957 final. He would go on to be European champion again in 1958 and 1959, the last against former side Stade de Reims, where Just Fontaine played.

In the 1959–60 season, Kopa returned to France to finish his career with Reims, where he won further Championnats in 1960 and 1962. In total, he scored 75 goals in 346 matches in France's top flight, and was given the Ballon d'or by France Football in 1958.

With the France national football team, Kopa scored 18 goals in 45 games between 1952 and 1962. He played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden.

Death
Kopa died in Angers, France on 3 March 2017, aged 85.

Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAngers1949–50Division 2 1950–51 Total Reims1951–52Division 1338 1952–533313 1953–543111 1954–553111 1955–56305 Total15848 Real Madrid1956–57La Liga22600823081957–58278007334111958–59301000713711Total79240022610130Reims1959–60Division 13614 1960–61305 1961–62302 1962–63341 1963–64255 1964–65Division 2293 1965–66273 1966–67Division 1333 Total24436 Career total541123 

International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsFrance195252195363195464195564195610195700195874195940196031196130196240Total4518

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kopa goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Raymond KopaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 11 November 1952 Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France   3–1 Friendly2 3 14 May 1953 Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France   6–1 Friendly4 5  20 September 1953  Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg    6–1  1954 FIFA World Cup Q.6  30 May 1954  Stade Heysel, Brussels, Belgium    3–3  Friendly7  19 June 1954  Charmilles Stadium, Geneva, Switzerland    3–2  1954 FIFA World Cup8 11 November 1954 Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France   2–2 Friendly9 10  17 March 1955  Estadio Chamartín, Madrid, Spain    21  Friendly11  15 May 1955  Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France    1–0  Friendly12  9 October 1955  St. Jakob Stadium, Basel, Switzerland    2–1  Friendly13  23 October 1955  Dinamo Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union    2–2  Friendly14  8 June 1958  Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden    7–3  1958 FIFA World Cup15  15 June 1958  Eyravallen, Örebro, Sweden    2–1  1958 FIFA World Cup16  26 June 1958  Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden    6–3  1958 FIFA World Cup17  1 October 1958  Parc des Princes, Paris, France    7–1  UEFA EURO 196018  27 March 1960  Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria    4–2  UEFA EURO 1960

Honours
Reims
Division 1: 1952–53, 1954–55, 1959–60, 1961–62
Latin Cup: 1953
Division 2: 1965–66
European Cup runner-up: 1955–56

Real Madrid
La Liga: 1956–57, 1957–58
European Cup: 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59
Latin Cup: 1957

France
FIFA World Cup third place: 1958

Individual
Ballon d'or: 1958; runner-up: 1959; third place: 1956, 1957
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1958
Etoile d'Or: 1960
French Player of the Year: 1960
FIFA XI: 1963
World Soccer World XI: 1963"ERIC BATTY’S WORLD XI – THE SIXTIES" Retrieved on 26 November 2015
World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All TimeWorld Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time Retrieved on 28 November 2015
Golden Foot: 2006, as a football legend
UEFA President's Award: 2010
FIFA 100
3rd French Player of the Century

Orders
Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur: 1970
Officier of the Légion d'honneur: 2007

Notes

References

Other websites

French Football Federation profile  

L'Équipe stats 
FootballDatabase profile and stats
 European Champions Cup/UEFA Champions League Winning Squads
 Interview on uefa.com

Category:1931 births
Category:2017 deaths
Category:Footballers from Pas-de-Calais
Category:Ballon d'Or winners