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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)	Attacking midfielder
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)
National team
1952–1962	France	45	(18)
Honours Representing  France FIFA World Cup 1958
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Often considered one of the best players of his generation, Kopa was an attacking midfielder 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. 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.[5]

Kopa was mentored by Paul Sinibaldi. Sinibaldi was godfather to Kopa's son.[6]

Career

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.[7]

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 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.[8]

In March 2004, Kopa was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.[9] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[10]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Angers	1949–50	Division 2
	1950–51
	Total
Reims	1951–52	Division 1	33	8
	1952–53		33	13
	1953–54		31	11
	1954–55		31	11
	1955–56		30	5
	Total		158	48
Real Madrid	1956–57	La Liga	22	6	0	0	–		8	2	30	8
	1957–58		27	8	0	0	–		7	3	34	11
	1958–59		30	10	0	0	–		7	1	37	11
	Total		79	24	0	0	0	0	22	6	101	30
Reims	1959–60	Division 1	36	14
	1960–61		30	5
	1961–62		30	2
	1962–63		34	1
	1963–64		25	5
	1964–65	Division 2	29	3
	1965–66		27	3
	1966–67	Division 1	33	3
	Total		244	36
Career total			541	123

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^{[citation needed]}

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
France	1952	5	2
	1953	6	3
	1954	6	4
	1955	6	4
	1956	1	0
	1957	0	0
	1958	7	4
	1959	4	0
	1960	3	1
	1961	3	0
	1962	4	0
Total		45	18

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[11]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 November 1952	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France	Northern Ireland		3–1	Friendly
2
3	14 May 1953	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France	Wales		6–1	Friendly
4
5	20 September 1953	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg		6–1	1954 FIFA World Cup Q.
6	30 May 1954	Stade Heysel, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium		3–3	Friendly
7	19 June 1954	Charmilles Stadium, Geneva, Switzerland	Mexico		3–2	1954 FIFA World Cup
8	11 November 1954	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France	Belgium		2–2	Friendly
9
10	17 March 1955	Estadio Chamartín, Madrid, Spain	Spain		21	Friendly
11	15 May 1955	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris, France	England		1–0	Friendly
12	9 October 1955	St. Jakob Stadium, Basel, Switzerland	Switzerland		2–1	Friendly
13	23 October 1955	Dinamo Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union	Soviet Union		2–2	Friendly
14	8 June 1958	Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden	Paraguay		7–3	1958 FIFA World Cup
15	15 June 1958	Eyravallen, Örebro, Sweden	Scotland		2–1	1958 FIFA World Cup
16	26 June 1958	Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	West Germany		6–3	1958 FIFA World Cup
17	1 October 1958	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Greece		7–1	UEFA EURO 1960
18	27 March 1960	Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria	Austria		4–2	UEFA EURO 1960

Honours

Reims

• Division 1: 1952–53, 1954–55, 1959–60, 1961–62^{[citation needed]}
• Latin Cup: 1953[12]
• Division 2: 1965–66^{[citation needed]}

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 1956–57, 1957–58^{[citation needed]}
• European Cup: 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59^{[citation needed]}
• Latin Cup: 1957[13][14]

France

• FIFA World Cup third place: 1958^{[citation needed]}

Individual

• Ballon d'or: 1958; runner-up: 1959; third place: 1956, 1957^{[citation needed]}
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1958^{[citation needed]}
• Etoile d'Or: 1960[15]
• French Player of the Year: 1960^{[citation needed]}
• FIFA XI: 1963[16]
• World Soccer World XI: 1963[17]
• World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time[18]
• Golden Foot: 2006, as a football legend[19]
• UEFA President's Award: 2010[2][20]
• FIFA 100^{[citation needed]}
• 3rd French Player of the Century^{[citation needed]}

Orders

• Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur: 1970[21]
• Officier of the Légion d'honneur: 2007[21]

References

External links

• Raymond Kopa at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Raymond Kopa at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)
• Raymond Kopa at National-Football-Teams.com
• Raymond Kopa at L'Équipe Football (in French)
• FootballDatabase profile and stats
• European Champions Cup/UEFA Champions League Winning Squads
• Interview on uefa.com

На других языках

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- [en] Raymond Kopa

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[es] Raymond Kopa

Raymond Kopaszewski, conocido como Raymond Kopa (pronunciación en francés: /ʁɛmɔ̃ kɔpa/; Nœux-les-Mines, Norte-Paso de Calais; 13 de octubre de 1931-Angers, Países del Loira, 3 de marzo de 2017), fue un futbolista francés hijo de inmigrantes polacos, reconocido como uno de los mejores jugadores de la historia de Francia. Notablemente conocido por su paso por el Stade de Reims y el Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, fue tres veces campeón de la Copa de Europa con el equipo español.

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[fr] Raymond Kopa

Raymond Kopaszewski, dit Raymond Kopa, né le 13 octobre 1931 à Nœux-les-Mines (Pas-de-Calais) et mort le 3 mars 2017 à Angers (Maine-et-Loire), est un footballeur international français qui évolue principalement au poste de milieu offensif du début des années 1950 jusqu'à la fin des années 1960.

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[it] Raymond Kopa

Raymond Kopa, nato Kopaszewski ([rɛmɔ̃ kɔˈpa]; Nœux-les-Mines, 13 ottobre 1931 – Angers, 3 marzo 2017), è stato un calciatore francese, di ruolo attaccante.

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[ru] Копа, Раймон

Раймо́н Копа́ (фр. Raymond Kopa, при рождении Копаше́вский (польск. Kopaszewski), 13 октября 1931, Нё-ле-Мин, Па-де-Кале — 3 марта 2017, Анже, Мен и Луара[5]) — французский футболист, нападающий. Выступал за клубы: «Анже» (1949—1951), «Реймс» (1951—1956; 1959—1967), «Реал Мадрид» (1956—1959). За сборную Франции сыграл 45 матчей в 1952—1962 годах.

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