JEFF POWELL: Just Fontaine and John Charles had been the two geniuses of the 1958 World Cup… France’s football icon stakes a assert to becoming his country’s finest ever player, but the Mild Giant remains the Welsh immortal
Legendary French footballer Just Fontaine has handed away at the age of 89Fontaine scored a record 13 targets in six video games at the 1958 Globe Cup in SwedenWales good John Charles was an additional genius to have graced the tournament
The unfortunate death of French football legend Just Fontaine, at 89, jolts the happier memory on this St David’s Working day of yet another genius of the 1958 Planet Cup Finals.
Fontaine’s 13 goals in Sweden stays a report as the optimum full amassed in a solitary Earth Cup match.
Even so that astonishing target rush was not ample to acquire the Jules Rimet Trophy, with France shedding their semi-remaining to Brazil.
That remaining the most profound regret in that distant summer season in the lap of Wales, who experienced emerged as shock favourites.
Only for their majestic John Charles to be hurt in the match prior to shedding 1- in the quarter finals to a objective by Pele, who went on carry the very first of his three Entire world Cups.
Just Fontaine, who scored 13 ambitions in six game titles at the 1958 Globe Cup, has died aged 89
Wales great John Charles was hurt for their quarter-last loss to Brazil in the 1958 Environment Cup
So majestically crucial was Charles that Wales manager Jimmy Murphy was moved to remark: ‘With Huge John match we might perfectly have gained the Earth Cup.’
Each the Moroccan-born Fontaine and Charles would be proclaimed yrs afterwards as their country’s finest ever footballer.
Whilst Fontaine’s position may possibly be challenged by French fans of Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Eric Cantona and Patrick Vieira, Charles continues to be to this working day the Welsh immortal. Still surpassing Gareth Bale.
Fontaine’s exceptional ratio of 30 objectives in only 21 international matches for France was boosted by his singular exploits in Sweden and he was a prolific scorer in the French league.
Charles was a colossus for Wales, Leeds United and Juventus for the duration of his vocation
But Charles was a colossus not only for Wales but for Leeds United and most tellingly for Juventus, with whom his several honours bundled 3 Italian league titles.
More remarkably, the man beloved as the Mild Giant in equally the United Kingdom and Italy was even additional broadly recognised as a single of the world’s biggest centre-forwards and finest centre halves.
As these kinds of King Charles, nevertheless not Monsieur Fontaine, has a location in this, my up-to-date all-time Environment XI:
(3-4-3) Gordon Banking companies Franz Beckenbauer, John Charles, Bobby Moore Lionel Messi, Alfredo Di Stefano, Johann Cruyff, George Most effective Garrincha, Pele, Diego Maradona.