Roger Piantoni

A graceful and deadly French inside-left, Roger Piantoni was one of the great creative forwards of the 1950s. Blessed with a superb left foot, fine balance and a natural scorer’s instinct, he could drift between midfield and attack, combine with elegance and still finish like a true centre-forward. At Nancy, he exploded immediately as a prolific young star, then at Reims he became part of one of Europe’s finest attacking sides, alongside Just Fontaine and Jean Vincent, helping the club dominate French football and reach the 1959 European Cup final. For France, he was a key figure in the brilliant 1958 World Cup team, scoring four goals as Les Bleus finished third. Injuries reduced the full length of his peak, but not the class of it.