French footballer Michel Leblond joined Stade Reims in 1948 as a junior, and then as a regular member in 1949, when the club was still part of France’s top league. During his 13-season tenure with the team (1949-1961) he captured Division 1 honors on four occasions (1953, 1955, 1958, 1960) and the Coupe de France twice (1950, 1958). He then had a three-season stint with RC Strasbourg prior to retiring from active competition in 1964. He got his international start at the 1952 Summer Olympics, where he played in one match for the French team that failed to make it past the qualifying round. He later made history as the first person to score a goal in a European Cup final, netting the first point in Stade Reims’ 4-3 loss against Real Madrid in 1956. Three years later they lost against Real Madrid again, this time 2-0, in the same tournament. After his retirement he worked in sales for a major brand of sporting goods and managed Stade Reims for several months in 1975.
France