Raymond Kopa

Early life Kopa was born to a family of Polish immigrants. 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. He acquired French nationality at his majority in 1952.

Kopa was mentored by Paul Sinibaldi. Sinibaldi was the godfather to Kopa's son.

Career

After finishing second in the French national youth football trials in 1949,

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 nicknamed him "Little Napoleon".

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, scoring three goals as he led France to the semi-finals, where they lost 5–2 to a strong Brazil team. The French team finished third in the tournament.

In March 2004, Kopa was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers. 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.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kopa goal.

Honours Reims Division 1: 1952–53, 1954–55, 1959–60, 1961–62 Latin Cup: 1953 Division 2: 1965–66

Real Madrid La Liga: 1956–57, 1957–58 European Cup: 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59 Latin Cup: 1957

France FIFA World Cup third place: 1958

Individual Ballon d'Or: 1958; runner-up: 1959; third place: 1956, 1957 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1958 Etoile d'Or: 1960 French Player of the Year: 1960 FIFA XI: 1963 World Soccer World XI: 1963 World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time Golden Foot: 2006, as a football legend UEFA President's Award: 2010 FIFA 100 3rd French Player of the Century

Orders Knight of the Legion of Honour: 1970 Officer of the Legion of Honour: 2007