Raymond Kopa (néKopaszewski;[3] 13 October 1931 – 3 March 2017) was a French professionalfootballer, integral to theFrance national team of the 1950s. At club level he was part of the legendaryReal Madrid team of the 1950s, winning threeEuropean Cups.
Kopa was born to a family of Polish immigrants.[8] His grandparents were originally fromKraków and migrated to Germany, where his parents were born. They then migrated to France after theFirst World War.[9]
His surname was shortened to Kopa from Kopaszewski while he was at school. He acquiredFrench nationality at his majority in 1952.[9] 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.[3]
Kopa married Christiane, the sister of a teammate of his atAngers. After retiring from the game he launched his own sportswear brand, eventually settling inCorsica.[3] Kopa died inAngers, Maine-et-Loire, on 3 March 2017, aged 85.[10]
Kopa was mentored byPaul Sinibaldi. Sinibaldi was the godfather to Kopa's son.[11]
Kopa had first attracted attention in Spain when he played forFrance againstSpain in a match inMadrid in March 1955, after which the Spanish sports newspaperMarca nicknaming him "Little Napoleon".[3] Kopa was transferred to Real Madrid for the 1956–57 season, where he was soon joined byFerenc 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 theSpanish league title in 1957 and 1958. Kopa was also the first French player to win theEuropean Cup when Madrid defeatedFiorentina 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, whereJust Fontaine was playing. In the 1959–60 season, Kopa returned to France to finish his career with Reims, where he won furtherChampionnats in 1960 and 1962. In total, he scored 75 goals in 346 matches in France's top flight, and was awarded theBallon d'Or byFrance Football in 1958.[13]
With the France national team, Kopa scored 18 goals in 45 matches between 1952 and 1962. He played in the1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, scoring three goals as he led France to the semi-finals, where they succumbed to a strongBrazil team. The French team finished third in the tournament.[14]
