Marcin Oleksy

Marcin Oleksy
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-04-11) 11 April 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Nowa Sól, Poland
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Warta Poznań
Number 8
International career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Poland amputee national team
Medal record

Marcin Oleksy (born 11 April 1987) is a Polish amputee footballer who plays as a forward for Warta Poznań and the Poland national amputee football team.[1] He was the winner of the FIFA Puskás Award in 2022.[2][3]

Biography

Until 2010, Oleksy played as a goalkeeper for Polish club Korona Kożuchów. His coach, Andrzej Sawicki, was under the impression that he could have achieved a lot in his further career.[1] In 2010, Olesky stopped his career to focus on working as a construction worker.[1]

In November 2010, Oleksy lost his leg to an accident at his workplace. In 2019, he started playing for Warta Poznań, and in 2021 for the Poland national amputee team.[1]

Puskás Award

On 28 February 2023, Oleksy received the FIFA Puskás Award for the best goal of the year, which he claimed at The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 Gala.[3] His goal won over other finalists Dimitri Payet and Richarlison. The winning goal was an overhead kick scored on 6 November 2022 in a match between Warta Poznań and Stal Rzeszów.[2][1] He was the first Polish player and first amputee footballer to win the award, as well as the oldest winner at the age of 35.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Paweł Górski (24 February 2023), "12 lat temu po wypadku Marcin Oleksy stracił nogę. Dziś o lubuskim amp futboliście mówi cały świat", Gazeta Lubuska (in Polish)
  2. ^ a b Aleksander Bernard (27 February 2023), "Bezcenna reakcja Messiego i Mbappe na nagrodę dla Marcina Oleksego [WIDEO]", Sport.pl (in Polish)
  3. ^ a b "Polski ampfutbolista triumfuje. Dostał Nagrodę za Bramkę Roku w plebiscycie FIFA", Eurosport (in Polish), 27 February 2023