Jacek Krzynówek

Jacek Krzynówek
Krzynówek with Poland in 2007
Personal information
Full name Jacek Krzynówek[1]
Date of birth (1976-05-15) 15 May 1976[1]
Place of birth Kamieńsk, Poland
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Positions
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1996 RKS Radomsko 9 (1)
1996–1997 Raków Częstochowa 17 (0)
1997–1999 GKS Bełchatów 61 (11)
1999–2004 1. FC Nürnberg 142 (28)
2004–2006 Bayer Leverkusen 52 (9)
2006–2009 VfL Wolfsburg 55 (7)
2009–2010 Hannover 96 25 (2)
Total 361 (58)
International career
1998–2009 Poland 96 (15)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jacek Kamil Krzynówek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjatsɛk kʂɨˈnuvɛk]; born 15 May 1976) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or striker.[2]

He is regarded as one of the best Polish footballers. He was named the Polish Footballer of the Year twice by the Piłka Nożna magazine in 2003 and 2004.[3][4] He has appeared in 96 international matches for Poland, scoring 15 goals.[5] He is also a member of PZPN's Outstanding Representatives Club (Klub Wybitnych Reprezentantów).

Club career

Krzynówek's football career started with LZS Chrzanowice. In 1994, he joined RKS Radomsko where he played two seasons and then moved to another Polish club, Raków Częstochowa, in which he made his debut on 28 July 1996 in the Polish Ekstraklasa.

After a season with Raków, he moved to second division club, GKS Bełchatów. In the 1997–98 season, he with his team advanced to the Ekstraklasa. His club was unable to keep itself in the top division, and was relegated to the second division. Despite this, his skills and play impressed scouts from other clubs, including 1. FC Nürnberg, as well as the coach of the Poland national team, Janusz Wójcik.

In 1999, he moved to 1. FC Nürnberg in the 2. Bundesliga. In 2002, he contributed to the promotion of 1. FC Nürnberg to the Bundesliga, and was named the best left midfielder in the 2. Bundesliga. He missed most of the 2002–03 season due to injury.

As a result of his performances in 2004, he was transferred to Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. In the 2004–05 season, he was one of Bayer's best players, and the trio of Krzynówek, Andriy Voronin and Dimitar Berbatov drew the attention of many top European sides. Bayer Leverkusen also performed well in the Champions League, defeating both Real Madrid and Roma in the group stage, but were eliminated by eventual champions Liverpool in the round of 16. Krzynówek scored three goals, one of which was a long shot versus Real Madrid.

As a result of another injury during the spring of 2006, he was unable to play regularly at Bayer. After a disappointing 2005–06 season, he moved to VfL Wolfsburg.

On 17 November 2007, Wisła Kraków announced that they were interested in purchasing Krzynówek during the Ekstraklasa transfer window, but the Polish club could not agree terms with VfL Wolfsburg.

On 2 February 2009, Krzynówek moved to Hannover 96 where he stayed until the summer of 2010.

On 15 August 2011, Krzynówek officially announced his retirement after 178 matches in the German top-flight.[6]

International career

Whilst still a player for GKS Bełchatów, Krzynówek made his debut for the Poland national team on 10 November 1998 in a 3–1 win over Slovakia. He made his return to the national team in the beginning of 2000, after Jerzy Engel became coach. Soon after, he became one of the most important players in the team that qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was later included in Poland's squad for the tournament. Despite a poor performance by Poland, he was praised for his play, and appeared in all three matches.

In August 2005, he was part of the national team's triumphant performance at the Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament 2005.[7] During 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, he played in the most important games for Poland and contributed to their qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Poland exited the tournament in the group stage, having lost 2–0 to Ecuador in the opening game, 1–0 to hosts Germany, and won their last match against Costa Rica 2–1.

Krzynówek was a key player in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign for Poland where he scored four goals; three against Azerbaijan and an equaliser goal in the 87th minute against Portugal. He struck with his left foot from 40 yards hit the post and the back of Portuguese keeper Ricardo before entering the back of the net. Thanks to his successful performance in this game, he was then picked into Eurosport's dream team as the left midfielder. He was selected to Poland's squad for UEFA Euro 2008, Poland's first-ever participation in the UEFA European Championship.

Retirement and post-retirement

Between 1 July 2015 and 31 May 2016, Krzynówek was the sporting director at GKS Bełchatów.[8][9]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[10]
National team Year Apps Goals
Poland 1998 1 0
2000 8 0
2001 10 1
2002 7 0
2003 10 3
2004 10 3
2005 8 2
2006 11 0
2007 10 5
2008 13 1
2009 8 0
Total 96 15
Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Krzynówek goal.
List of international goals scored by Jacek Krzynówek
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 28 February 2001 Larnaca, Cyprus   Switzerland
4–0
4–0
 Friendly
2 30 April 2003 Brussels, Belgium  Belgium
1–2
1–3
 Friendly
3 6 June 2003 Poznań, Poland  Kazakhstan
3–0
3–0
 Friendly
4 12 November 2003 Warsaw, Poland  Italy
3–1
3–1
 Friendly
5 4 September 2004 Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland
3–0
3–0
 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 9 October 2004 Vienna, Austria  Austria
2–1
3–1
 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 13 October 2004 Cardiff, Wales  Wales
3–1
3–2
 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 26 March 2005 Warsaw, Poland  Azerbaijan
6–0
8–0
 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 7 October 2005 Warsaw, Poland  Iceland
1–1
3–2
 Friendly
10 24 March 2007 Warsaw, Poland  Azerbaijan
4–0
5–0
 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
11 2 June 2007 Baku, Azerbaijan  Azerbaijan
2–1
3–1
 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
12
3–1
13 22 August 2007 Moscow, Russia  Russia
1–2
2–2
 Friendly
14 8 September 2007 Lisbon, Portugal  Portugal
2–2
2–2
 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
15 1 June 2008 Chorzów, Poland  Denmark
1–1
1–1
 Friendly

Honours

Individual

  • Polish Footballer of the Year: 2003,[11] 2004[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Życie piłkarza jest jak sen". weszlo.com (in Polish). 6 February 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Krzynówek wygrał plebiscyt "Piłki Nożnej"". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 20 December 2003. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Krzynówek Piłkarzem Roku". bydgoszcz.naszemiasto.pl (in Polish). 7 March 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  5. ^ Mamrud, Roberto (7 June 2018). "Jacek Krzynówek - International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  6. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (7 June 2018). "Jacek Krzynówek - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Poland 3-Israel 2". Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  8. ^ Krzysztof Nowicki nowym Prezesem Zarządu. gksbelchatow.com, 2015-06-30
  9. ^ Maciej Wiśniewski (31 May 2016). "Jacek Krzynówek odchodzi z GKS Bełchatów". belchatow.naszemiasto.pl.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ^ "Football PLAYER: Jacek Krzynówek". eu-football.info. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  11. ^ "Krzynówek wygrał plebiscyt "Piłki Nożnej"". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 20 December 2003. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Laureaci". pilkanozna.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 21 June 2024.
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