Raymond Kopa

Raymond Kopa is one of the best players of the 1950s. A legend of Stade de Reims and Real Madrid, he conquered European football throughout his career.

675

Games

161

Goals

244

Assists

Trophies

1949/51 Angers SCO (FRA) 60 matches, 14 goals

(French D2 Championship: 60 matches, 14 goals)

1951/56 Stade de Reims (FRA) 179 matches, 54 goals

(French Championship: 158 matches, 48 goals)

(Coupe de France: 14 matches, 6 goals)

(European Champions Cup: 7 matches)

1956/59 Real Madrid (ESP) 101 matches, 30 goals

(Spanish Championship: 79 matches, 24 goals)

(European Champions Cup: 22 matches, 6 goals)

1959/67 Stade de Reims (FRA) 290 matches, 45 goals

(French Championship: France: 188 matches, 30 goals)

(French D2 Championship: 56 matches, 6 goals)

(French Cup: 40 matches, 7 goals)

(European Champions Clubs' Cup: 6 matches, 2 goals)

With the National Team :

45 caps, 18 goals

(Friendly matches: 31 caps, 11 goals)

(World Cup qualifiers: 2 caps, 1 goal)

(World Cup: 8 caps, 4 goals)

(Euro qualifiers: 4 caps, 2 goals)

1st cap: October 5, 1952 against West Germany (3-1)

Last cap: November 11, 1962 against Hungary (2-3)

Raymond Kopaszewski

Born October 13, 1931 in Noeux-les-mines (FRA)

Died March 3, 2017 in Angers (FRA)

French, Attacking-midfielder, Right-winger, 1m69

Nicknames: The Napoleon of football, Koppita

From miner to footballer

Raymond Kopa was born on October 13, 1931 in Noeux-les-Mines in France. He was the son of a Polish miner who came to work in the mines of northern France. He was also a miner when he was young, where he lost his thumb and index finger on his left hand following a landslide.

Following this event, he never returned to the mines and devoted himself fully to his passion for football, first in the club of his hometown, US Nœux-les-Mines, then in Angers where he discovered professional football in 1949 when he was 17 years old.

The birth of the legend Raymond "Kopa"

The story of his signing will have been played out after his participation in the young footballer competition of 1949, he finished second behind a certain Jean Saupin. Both will also sign in Angers. Being a footballer and electrician, he signed a semi-professional contract while he was hoping for an offer from Stade de Reims who had also spotted the player, but he will not finally receive an offer from the latter club.

This transfer will also give the diminutive of Kopa Kopaczewski, the coach of the time introducing him to the other players by saying: "It will no longer be Raymond Kopaczewski, but Raymond Kopa!". He spent two good seasons in Angers before finally joining the big French club of the time, Stade de Reims.

The talented playmaker of the great Stade de Reims

Under the orders of Albert Batteux, Raymond's career will take on a whole new dimension, he then becomes one of the greatest hopes of French football. A technical, elegant and devilishly efficient player. With Stade de Reims, he won 2 French Champion titles during his first stint.

But it was on the international club level that the player would become one of the best of his generation, within a French Dream-Team, the player would be the playmaker of his team, he reached 3 European competition finals with Stade de Reims, 1 of which he won, the Latin Cup in 1953, he lost the 1955 edition in the final and he lost the 1956 Champions League final, the first in history against Real Madrid.

Real Madrid's legendary winger

During the summer of 1956, he would also be transferred to Real Madrid where he reached the heights of football fame, he is spoken of as one of the very best players in history. Ballon de Bronze in 1956 and 1957, Raymond Kopa was such a technically gifted striker, a winger or attacking midfielder who had vision of the game, balance, agility, dribbling and quality of passing with a very low center of gravity.

Throughout his progression, he improved his tactical knowledge, his precision, his movements, and his passing power. This made him one of the best creative players of all time. He was also a player who fought for his rights and who did not mince his words, capable of criticizing his leaders when it was legitimate.

At the time, his transfer to Real Madrid was crazy, 52 million old francs, or 103,000 euros today, a colossal sum for the time, his salary was also multiplied by 10 by moving to Spain. The "Napoleon of Football" as he was nicknamed will form one of the best attacking lines in history alongside Puskás, Di Stéfano, Gento and Rial. He will even say during one of the last interviews of his life that Puskás and Di Stéfano were the best players of all time, better than Messi and Ronaldo.

In Spain, he won 2 Liga and 3 Champions League, a total domination of European football at the time. Starting as a right winger, Raymond Kopa delivered caviar to the other attackers of Real Madrid and generally everywhere he went. During his time at Real Madrid, he won the Ballon d'Or 1958 and finished with the Ballon d'Argent in 1959.

The diamond of the French national team of the 50s

In addition to his fantastic club career, the player will have a crazy career with the French national team. Undisputed starter for France between 1952 and 1962, he will be the captain of the Blues 6 times. He participated in 2 World Cups, that of 1954 then that of 1958 in which he will shine.

He reached a historic 3rd place which could have been a victory in the World Cup if Robert Jonquet had not been injured by Vava during the match against Brazil. During the competition, he will achieve a feat, delivering a total of 7 assists while scoring 3 goals, one of the best individual campaigns in the history of the World Cup. He also formed a legendary duo with Just Fontaine.

After this World Cup, the player would not experience the same glory within an aging French Team, he participated in the qualifiers for the first Euro in history but had to withdraw due to an injury. His last selections were marked by particularly tense relations with the national coach, Georges Verriest, and insults through press articles. Raymond Kopa did not hesitate to show that he had a whole character.

In 1959, he returned to Reims, France, in order to secure his future on a business level. A choice that he would not regret later despite the enormous successes of Real Madrid. He played at the Stade de Reims until 1967, at the age of 35.