Raymond Kopa (né Kopaszewski;^[2] 13 October 1931 – 3 March 2017) was a French professional footballer, integral to the France national team of the 1950s. At club level he was part of the legendary Real Madrid team of the 1950s, winning three European Cups.

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Raymond Kopa

Kopa in 1963
Personal information
Full name	Raymond Kopa
Birth name	Raymond Kopaszewski[1]
Date of birth	(1931-10-13)13 October 1931[1]
Place of birth	Nœux-les-Mines, France[1]
Date of death	3 March 2017(2017-03-03) (aged 85)
Place of death	Angers, France
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1941–1949	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)
International career
1952–1962	France	45	(18)
Medal record Men's football Representing  France FIFA World Cup 1958
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Close

Kopa was a forward who was quick, agile and known for his dribbling, playmaking, and prolific scoring.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[2]

Kopa married Christiane, the sister of a teammate of his at Angers. After retiring from the game he launched his own sportswear brand, eventually settling in Corsica.^[2] Kopa died in Angers on 3 March 2017, aged 85.^[6]

Kopa was mentored by Paul Sinibaldi. Sinibaldi was the godfather to Kopa's son.^[7]

After finishing second in the French national youth football trials in 1949,^[2] Kopa began his professional career at age 17 with Angers in Ligue 2 and was transferred two years later to Reims, with whom he won French championships in 1953 and 1955. He won the 1953 Latin Cup with Reims, where they defeated Milan 3–0 in the final, and helped them reach the 1956 European Cup Final, which the team lost to Alfredo Di Stéfano's Real Madrid, 4–3.^[8]

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 nicknaming him "Little Napoleon".^[2] Kopa was transferred to Real Madrid for the 1956–57 season, where he was soon joined by Ferenc Puskás. Despite playing as an inside right at Real Madrid rather than as the no. 10, his usual position, Kopa helped the club to three successive European cup victories and the Spanish league title in 1957 and 1958. Kopa was also 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 latter against former side Reims, where Just Fontaine was playing. 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 awarded the Ballon d'Or by France Football in 1958.^[9]

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 succumbed to a strong Brazil team. The French team finished third in the tournament.^[10]

In March 2004, Kopa was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.^[11] 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.^[12]

Reims

• Division 1: 1952–53, 1954–55, 1959–60, 1961–62^{[citation needed]}
• Latin Cup: 1953^[15]
• Division 2: 1965–66^{[citation needed]}
• European Cup runner-up: 1955–56

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 1956–57, 1957–58^{[citation needed]}
• European Cup: 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59^{[citation needed]}
• Latin Cup: 1957^[16][17]

France

• FIFA World Cup third place: 1958^{[citation needed]}

Individual

• Ballon d'Or: 1958; runner-up: 1959; third place: 1956, 1957^{[lower-alpha 1]}
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1958^{[citation needed]}
• Etoile d'Or: 1960^[18]
• French Player of the Year: 1960^{[citation needed]}
• FIFA XI: 1963^[19]
• World Soccer World XI: 1963^[20]
• World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time^[21]
• Golden Foot: 2006, as a football legend^[22]
• UEFA President's Award: 2010^[2][23]
• FIFA 100^{[citation needed]}
• 3rd French Player of the Century^{[citation needed]}

Orders

• Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur: 1970^[24]
• Officier of the Légion d'honneur: 2007^[24]