NARRATIVE – Indispensable, but long in the shadows, the new French Ballon d’Or has bided its time.
Stories from France. Karim Benzema shares Real Madrid’s white jersey with Raymond Kopa. A strong bond. That of a French conductor conducting with virtuosity the score of one of the most prestigious clubs in the world of football.
Raymond Kopa, the French pioneer who won the Ballon d’Or in 1958 was a dribbling artist, an ace of the pass. Nicknamed the “Napoleon of football”, he had been the first big transfer in history when he chose to join Madrid. He brought speed, unpredictability and beauty to the game.
A prestigious lineage
«He is a player who marked an era. Great players like Raymond Kopa made the history of Real Madrid, and brought its values to all the countries of the world“, had recalled, in 2017, during the death of the French strategist, Florentino Perez, the president of Real, who had not forgotten the young supporter that he was, dazzled by the sleight of hand of the Frenchman. Perez who had long dreamed of seeing his distant heir…