Wojciech Kowalczyk

Wojciech Kowalczyk
Personal information
Full name Wojciech Kowalczyk
Date of birth (1972-04-14) 14 April 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth Warsaw, Poland
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Olimpia Warsaw
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990 Polonez Warsaw
1990–1994 Legia Warsaw 109 (39)
1994–1997 Betis 62 (14)
1998–1999 Las Palmas 28 (6)
2001 Legia Warsaw 15 (3)
2001–2002 Anorthosis 27 (24)
2003–2004 APOEL 16 (3)
2005–2006 Absolwent UW Warsaw
2018–2019 Weszło Warsaw 8 (1)
Total 258 (89)
International career
Poland Olympic
1991–1999 Poland 39 (11)
Medal record
Representing  Poland
Men's football
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Wojciech Kowalczyk (born 14 April 1972) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently working as a football pundit.

He played a bulk of his professional career with Legia Warsaw and in Spain. Early into his international career, he helped the Poland national team win the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. In 1992, he won the Polish Footballer of the Year plebiscite organized by the Piłka Nożna football weekly.

Club career

Born in Warsaw, Kowalczyk played his youth football with local Olimpia and Polonez, joining country giants Legia Warsaw in 1990 at the age of 18. Almost from the very beginning, he was an automatic first-choice; in his weakest season, his first, he only appeared in 11 Ekstraklasa games, but was crucial in helping oust U.C. Sampdoria in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup by scoring twice in Genoa for the 2–2 draw and qualification for the semifinals 3–2 on aggregate.

After having started the 1994–95 campaign with Legia (five matches, three goals, another league title), Kowalczyk moved abroad and signed with La Liga side Real Betis, but was never able to reproduce his previous form. He finished his five-year spell in Spain with UD Las Palmas in the second division, where he also appeared sparingly.

After almost one year out of football, Kowalczyk returned to his country and his main club, Legia. In late 2001 he changed countries again, joining Cyprus' Anorthosis Famagusta FC and netting a career-best 24 goals; after a nearly non-existent second season he finished his professional career in the same country, with APOEL FC, retiring at 32 – afterwards, he would play in amateur football until 2019, with AZS Absolwent UW Warsaw and Weszło Warsaw.

International career

Kowalczyk gained 39 caps for Poland, scoring 11 goals. His debut came at the age of 19 on 21 August 1991, against Sweden.[1]

His biggest international highlight was helping the Olympic squad win silver at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He did not score at all in the group stage, but eventually ranked third in the charts at four, three behind compatriot Andrzej Juskowiak.[2]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Poland 1991 3 1
1992 7 2
1993 4 1
1994 6 0
1995 4 1
1996 2 1
1997 6 1
1998 3 3
1999 4 1
Total 39 11

International goals

Scores and results table. Poland's goal tally first:
# Date Place Opponent Score Result Competition
1 21 August 1991 Gdynia, Poland  Sweden
1–0
2–0
 Friendly
2 19 May 1992 Salzburg, Austria  Austria
4–1
4–2
3 14 October 1992 Rotterdam, Netherlands  Netherlands
2–0
2–2
 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 27 October 1993 Istanbul, Turkey  Turkey
1–0
1–2
5 25 April 1995 Zabrze, Poland  Israel
3–2
4–3
 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
6 1 May 1996 Mielec, Poland  Belarus
1–0
1–1
 Friendly
7 24 September 1997 Olsztyn, Poland  Lithuania
2–0
2–0
8 25 March 1998 Warsaw, Poland  Slovenia
1–0
2–0
9 10 November 1998 Bratislava, Slovakia  Slovakia
2–1
 3–1
10
3–1
11 10 February 1999 Ta' Qali, Malta  Finland
1–0
1–1

Later career

After retiring, Kowalczyk established himself as a football pundit, initially working with Polsat Sport TV.[3] Since 2018, he has contributed columns to the Weszło website and appeared on Weszło TV’s Liga Minus, a program analyzing Ekstraklasa matches.[4][5] He was affiliated with Kanał Sportowy until 2024.[6] Since 2024, he has been associated with the YouTube channel Kanał Zero.[7]

In collaboration with sports journalist Krzysztof Stanowski, he co-authored the book Kowal. Prawdziwa historia (Kowal: The True Story), which was reissued in 2021.[8]

Personal life

His brother, Artur Kowalczyk, was also the player until he finished his career with Grom Lipowo in the 2013–14 season.[9]

Honours

Legia Warsaw

Anorthosis

APOEL

Weszło Warsaw

Poland Olympic

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Poland – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  2. ^ Wojciech Kowalczyk – FIFA competition record (archived)
  3. ^ "Polsat zerwał współpracę z Wojciechem Kowalczykiem po jego ostrych wpisach na Twitterze". Wirtualnemedia. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Wojciech Kowalczyk kontra Krzysztof Stanowski. "Przestań pie***lić i zbijać łatwe lajki u ludzi"". Meczyki. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Liga Minus: Wszystkich nas nie zwolnicie". Weszło. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Wojciech Kowalczyk zniknął z Kanału Sportowego. "Kontakt się urwał"". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). 1 October 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Pełny skład Kanału Zero. Krzysztof Stanowski ogłosił ostatnie nazwiska". rozrywka.spidersweb.pl (in Polish). 1 February 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  8. ^ "Rekordowa sprzedaż książek Krzysztofa Stanowskiego. Ponad 2 mln złotych w 3 tygodnie". Wirtualnemedia. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Artur Kowalczyk". 90minut. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Klasa B 2018/2019, grupa: Warszawa III". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Laureaci". pilkanozna.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 16 July 2024.