Raymond Kopa
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond Kopaszewski | ||
| Date of birth | October 13, 1931 | ||
| Place of birth | Nœux-les-Mines, France | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1941–1949 | US Nœux-les-Mines | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1949–1951 | Angers | 60 | (15) |
| 1951–1956 | Stade Reims | 158 | (48) |
| 1956–1959 | Real Madrid | 79 | (24) |
| 1959–1967 | Stade Reims | 244 | (36) |
| Total | 541 | (123) | |
| National team | |||
| 1952–1962 | France | 45 | (18) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Raymond Kopa (French pronunciation: [rɛ.mɔ̃.kɔ'pa] ; born Kopaszewski, on October 13, 1931 in Nœux-les-Mines, Pas-de-Calais), is a former French football attacking midfielder, integral to the French national team of the 1950s.
Often considered one of leading players of his generation, Kopa was a free-role playmaker who was quick, agile and known for his love of dribbling. He was also a renowned playmaker, as well as a prolific scorer.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Football career
Born into a family of Polish immigrants,[2] Kopa began his professional career at the age of 17 with SCO Angers in Ligue 2 and was transferred two years later to Stade de Reims, with whom he won French championships in 1953 and 1955. He helped Reims reach the first European Cup final in 1956, which the team lost to Alfredo Di Stéfano's Real Madrid, 4-3.
Kopa was transferred to Real Madrid the subsequent season, where he was soon joined by Ferenc Puskás. At Real Madrid, Kopa won the Spanish league in 1957 and 1958. Kopa also became 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, where the French team finished third, losing to the Brazilian team.
Kopa was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
[edit] Achievements
- French League: 1953, 1955, 1960 and 1962 with Stade Reims
- Spanish League: 1957 and 1958 with Real Madrid
- French second division: 1966 with Stade Reims
- European Cup: 1957, 1958 and 1959 with Real Madrid; runner-up 1956 with Stade Reims
- Latin Cup: 1953 with Stade Reims and 1957 with Real Madrid; runner-up 1955 with Stade Reims
- FIFA World Cup: third place 1958 with France
- Golden Ball: 1958
- Légion d'honneur: 30 November 1970 (first footballer to hold it)
[edit] Career statistics
[edit] International goals
[edit] National team statistics
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| France | League | Coupe de France | Coupe de la Ligue | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1949-50 | Angers | Second Division | ||||||||||
| 1950-51 | ||||||||||||
| 1951-52 | Stade Reims | French League | 33 | 8 | ||||||||
| 1952-53 | 33 | 13 | ||||||||||
| 1953-54 | 31 | 11 | ||||||||||
| 1954-55 | 31 | 11 | ||||||||||
| 1955-56 | 30 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Spain | League | Copa del Rey | Supercopa de España | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1956-57 | Real Madrid | Spanish League | 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 | ||
| France | League | Coupe de France | Coupe de la Ligue | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1959-60 | Stade Reims | French League | 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 | French League | 33 | 3 | |||||||||
| Total | France | 462 | 99 | |||||||||
| Spain | 79 | 24 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 22 | 6 | 101 | 30 | ||
| Career total | 541 | 123 | ||||||||||
| France national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 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 |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.xtratime.org/forum/showthread.php?t=246965
- ^ Braun, Didier. "L’Équipe de France de football, c'est l'histoire en raccourci d'un siecle d'immigration". L'Équipe. http://google.com/search?q=cache:UAsb_I99-WIJ:www.revues-plurielles.org/_uploads/pdf/8_1226_7.pdf+Yannick+Stopyra+polonais&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=firefox-a. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
- ^ http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=19294
[edit] External links
- French Football Federation profile (French)
- Raymond Kopa at National-Football-Teams.com
- L'Équipe stats (French)
- FootballDatabase profile and stats
- European Champions Cup/UEFA Champions League Winning Squads
- Interview on uefa.com
| Preceded by Alfredo di Stéfano | European Footballer of the Year 1958 | Succeeded by Alfredo di Stéfano |
| |||||||||||||||||||||
- 1931 births
- Living people
- French footballers
- French people of Polish descent
- Ligue 1 players
- Ligue 2 players
- Angers SCO players
- Stade de Reims players
- La Liga footballers
- Real Madrid C.F. players
- France international footballers
- 1954 FIFA World Cup players
- 1958 FIFA World Cup players
- Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
- European Footballer of the Year winners
- FIFA 100
