Raymond Kopaszewski was born to a Polish immigrant family on October 13th, 1931 in the heart of the mining region of Northern France. The small town of Noeux-les-Mines attracted many workers, particularly those from the old Eastern block, who came in search of jobs down the pits.
In 1924 Raymond's grandfather and parents joined the exodus, moving to the region. His father and grandfather both worked in the mines. When Raymond was 14 he too went to work deep underground in the shafts. In his spare time he would practice his football and in particular his dribbling, a feature of his game that in time would make help him a footballing legend.
Being relatively short and close to the ground gave him superb balance and an ability to beat player after player. His visionary passing, combined with an ability to pop up in the opponents box, earned him some early recognition.
Local team Racing Club de Lens often benefitted by recruiting the football talent that came with the families from Poland and Hungary. However, the young Raymond Kopa, one of France's greatest ever, slipped through their hands. Instead, at the age of seventeen, he signed for French second division side Angers SCO.
Kopa was only five feet six tall (169 cms) but his creative attacking midfield skills quickly established him as one of France's most promising and versatile footballers. His goalscoring from midfield would become exceptional. In his early career at Angers he scored 15 goals from 60 appearances.
In 1951 he signed for the emerging Stade Reims, in the champagne region of France. There he benefitted from working under Albert Batteux who was quick to see the emerging genius. With Reims, who played in red shirts with white sleeves, he twice won the French Championship in 1953 and 1955.
He made his debut for the French national side in 1952 at home to Germany in a game which France won 3-1. He went on to win 45 caps for his country whilst scoring 18 international goals. He also appeared in both the 1954 and the 1958 World Cup finals, the second, held in Sweden, saw ten-man France finish in a respectable third place, having been beaten by Brazil.
Article comments
1 - Dr Dreadful
Yup. He's right up there with Just Fontaine (scorer of a never-to-be-emulated 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup finals), Michel Platini and the incomparable Zinedine Zidane.