Raymond Kopa
Raymond Kopa in 1963
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond Kopaszewski | ||
| Date of birth | 13 October 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 | Reims | 158 | (48) |
| 1956–1959 | Real Madrid | 79 | (24) |
| 1959–1967 | Reims | 244 | (36) |
| Total | 541 | (123) | |
| National team | |||
| 1952–1962 | France | 45 | (18) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
Raymond Kopa (French pronunciation: [ʁɛmɔ̃ kɔpa]; birth name Raymond Kopaszewski; born 13 October 1931) is a former French footballer, integral to the French national team of the 1950s. At club level he was part of the legendary Real Madrid team of the 1950s, winning three European Cups.
Often considered one of the leading players of his generation, Kopa was a free-role advanced playmaker who was quick, agile and known for his love of dribbling. He was also a renowned playmaker, as well as a prolific scorer. 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.
Kopa was born to a family of Polish immigrants. His grandparents were originally from Krakow 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 whilst 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.
Kopa married Christiane, the sister of a team-mate of his at Angers. After retiring from the game he launched his own sportswear brand, eventually settling in Corsica.
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 Stade de Reims, with whom he won French championships in 1953 and 1955. He won the 1953 Latin Cup with Reims, where they defeated AC Milan 3-0 in the final, and helped them reach the first European Cup final in 1956, which the team lost to Alfredo Di Stéfano's Real Madrid, 4–3.
...
Wikipedia