Raymond Kopa

Raymond Kopa (né Kopaszewski;[2] 13 October 1931 – 3 March 2017) was a French professional footballer, integral to the France national team of the 1950s. At club level he was part of the legendary Real Madrid team of the 1950s, winning three European Cups.

Raymond Kopa
Kopa in 1963
Personal information
Full name Raymond Kopaszewski[1]
Date of birth (1931-10-13)13 October 1931[1]
Place of birth Nœux-les-Mines, France[1]
Date of death 3 March 2017(2017-03-03) (aged 85)
Place of death Angers, France
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1941–1949 Nœux-les-Mines
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1949–1951 Angers 60 (15)
1951–1956 Reims 158 (48)
1956–1959 Real Madrid 79 (24)
1959–1967 Reims 244 (36)
Total 541 (123)
International career
1952–1962 France 45 (18)
Medal record
Representing  France
FIFA World Cup
Bronze medal – third place1958
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Often considered one of the best players of his generation, Kopa was a forward who was quick, agile and known for his dribbling, playmaking, and prolific scoring.[3] In 1958, Kopa was awarded the Ballon d'Or. 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 and personal life

Kopa was born to a family of Polish immigrants.[4] His grandparents were originally from Kraków and migrated to Germany, where his parents were born. They then migrated to France after the First World War. His surname was shortened to Kopa from Kopaszewski while he was at school. He acquired French nationality at his majority in 1952.[5] At the age of 14, he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, father and brother by working in the coal mines of Nœux-les-Mines. During this time Kopa lost a finger in a mining accident.[2]

Kopa married Christiane, the sister of a teammate of his at Angers. After retiring from the game he launched his own sportswear brand, eventually settling in Corsica.[2] Kopa died in Angers on 3 March 2017, aged 85.[6]

Kopa was mentored by Paul Sinibaldi. Sinibaldi was the godfather to Kopa's son.[7]

Career
Kopa with France 1960

After finishing second in the French national youth football trials in 1949,[2] Kopa began his professional career at age 17 with 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 Reims, where they defeated 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 had first attracted attention in Spain when he played for France against Spain in a match in Madrid in March 1955, after which the Spanish sports newspaper Marca nicknaming him "Little Napoleon".[2] Kopa was transferred to Real Madrid for the 1956–57 season, where he was soon joined by Ferenc Puskás. Despite playing as an inside right at Real Madrid rather than as the no. 10, his usual position, Kopa helped the club to three successive European cup victories and the Spanish league title in 1957 and 1958. 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 latter against former side Reims, where Just Fontaine was playing. 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 awarded the Ballon d'or by France Football in 1958.[8]

With the France national team, Kopa scored 18 goals in 45 matches between 1952 and 1962. He played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, where he performed outstandingly and was one of the best players of the tournament, scoring three goals as he led France to the semi-finals, where they succumbed to a strong Brazil team. The French team finished third in the tournament.[9]

In March 2004, Kopa was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.[10] In 2018, France Football's Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best young football player in the calendar year was named in Raymond's honor. The first recipient was fellow Frenchman Kylian Mbappé.

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[11]
Club Season League National cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Angers1949–50Division 2
1950–51
Total
Reims1951–52Division 1338
1952–533313
1953–543111
1954–553111
1955–56305
Total 15848
Real Madrid1956–57La Liga2260082308
1957–5827800733411
1958–59301000713711
Total 79240022610130
Reims1959–60Division 13614
1960–61305
1961–62302
1962–63341
1963–64255
1964–65Division 2293
1965–66273
1966–67Division 1333
Total 24436
Career total 541123

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 195252
195363
195464
195564
195610
195700
195874
195940
196031
196130
196240
Total4518
Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kopa goal.
List of international goals scored by Raymond Kopa[12]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
111 November 1952Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France Northern Ireland3–1Friendly
2
314 May 1953Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France Wales6–1Friendly
4
520 September 1953Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg Luxembourg6–11954 FIFA World Cup Q.
630 May 1954Stade Heysel, Brussels, Belgium Belgium3–3Friendly
719 June 1954Charmilles Stadium, Geneva, Switzerland Mexico3–21954 FIFA World Cup
811 November 1954Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France Belgium2–2Friendly
9
1017 March 1955Estadio Chamartín, Madrid, Spain Spain21Friendly
1115 May 1955Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France England1–0Friendly
129 October 1955St. Jakob Stadium, Basel, Switzerland  Switzerland2–1Friendly
1323 October 1955Dinamo Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union Soviet Union2–2Friendly
148 June 1958Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden Paraguay7–31958 FIFA World Cup
1515 June 1958Eyravallen, Örebro, Sweden Scotland2–11958 FIFA World Cup
1626 June 1958Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden West Germany6–31958 FIFA World Cup
171 October 1958Parc des Princes, Paris, France Greece7–1UEFA EURO 1960
1827 March 1960Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria Austria4–2UEFA EURO 1960

Honours

Reims

Real Madrid

France

Individual

Orders

Notes
  1. Shared with Duncan Edwards

References
  1. "Raymond Kopa". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  2. Gaillard, William (4 February 2011). "Goals, not coal, for Kopa". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  3. The Greatest Offensive Midfielders of All-Time. xtratime.org
  4. Braun, Didier. "L'Équipe de France de football, c'est l'histoire en raccourci d'un siècle d'immigration" (PDF). L'Équipe. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  5. Boli, C., Grognet, F., Gastaut, Y. (2010). Allez la France! football et immigration. France: Gallimard.
  6. Bouchez, Yann (3 March 2017). "Raymond Kopa, figure du football français, est mort". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  7. Philippe Rey-Gorez and Alexandre Audabram (2 April 2018). "Paul Sinibaldi, ancienne star du Stade de Reims, est mort" (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  8. Hanot, Gabriel. "Palmarès Ballon d'Or – 1958 – Raymond Kopa". www.francefootball.fr. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  9. France vs. West Germany, 1958 FIFA World Cup, archived from the original on 5 September 2015
  10. "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  11. Raymond Kopa at National-Football-Teams.com
  12. "Raymond Kopa – national football team player".
  13. "Stade de Reims 3–0 Milan". ceroacero.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  14. "On this day, Real Madrid lifted club's second Latin Cup". RealMadrid.com. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  15. "Real Madrid 1–0 Benfica". ceroacero.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  16. "France – Footballer of the Year".
  17. "Matches of FIFA XI".
  18. "ERIC BATTY’S WORLD XI – THE SIXTIES" Retrieved on 26 November 2015
  19. World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time Retrieved on 28 November 2015
  20. "Legends". Golden Foot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  21. "UEFA President's Award". UEFA.com. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  22. "Décret du 6 avril 2007 portant promotion et nomination" [Decree of 6 April 2007 on promotion and appointment]. Journal Officiel de la République Française (in French). 2007 (84): 6583. 8 April 2007. PREX0710142D. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
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