Zbigniew Boniek

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Zbigniew Boniek
Personal information
Date of birth March 3, 1956 (1956-03-03) (age 52)
Place of birth    Bydgoszcz, Poland
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11+12 in)
Playing position Striker, Winger
Youth clubs
1966-1975 Zawisza Bydgoszcz
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1975-1982
1982-1985
1985-1988
Widzew Łódź
Juventus
AS Roma
172 (50)
81 (14)
91 (23)   
National team
1976-1988 Poland 80 (24)
Teams managed
1990-1991
1991-1992
1992-1993
1994-1996
2002
Lecce
Bari
Sambenedettese
Avellino
Poland

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Zbigniew Boniek (IPA['zbigɲɛf 'bɔɲɛk]) (born 3 March 1956 in Bydgoszcz) is a former Polish footballer and coach. He first played at Zawisza Bydgoszcz and later at Widzew Łódź. Boniek was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers and by FIFA as one of the 100 best-ever players.

Boniek was transferred to Italian football giants Juventus in 1982. That same year he won a bronze medal (third place) as part of the Polish team at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. With Juventus he won the Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup in 1984 and the European Cup in 1985.

Boniek represented Poland in 80 internationals and scored 24 goals. After finishing his professional career at A.S. Roma in 1988 he had a successful business career.

As a player, Boniek was known for his blistering pace and acceleration. He was one of the best dribblers of his time and also displayed superb technique.

The Juventus president nicknamed him Bello di notte ("Beauty at night") because of his performance at evening matches.

Boniek has also coached in Italy, with stints at Lecce in 1990-91, Bari in 1991-92, Sambenedettese in 1992-93, and Avellino in 1994-96.

Lately, Boniek has served as vice-president of the Polish Football Association, and in July 2002 he accepted a nomination for the post of the main coach of the Polish national team. He resigned in December 2002 after just five matches (2 wins, 1 draw, 2 defeats, including a 0:1 debacle at home against Latvia in a European Championship qualifier).

[edit] Statistics


Club Performance League Cup Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Poland League Polish Cup Total
1975-76 Widzew Łódź Ekstraklasa 16 7
1976-77 22 9
1977-78 28 11
1978-79 28 4
1979-80 26 10
1980-81 11 1
1981-82 25 8
Italy League Coppa Italia Total
1982-83 Juventus Serie A 28 5
1983-84 27 3
1984-85 26 5
1985-86 29 7
1986-87 Roma Serie A 26 4
1987-88 21 6
Total Poland 156 50
Italy 157 30
Career Total 313 80

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Flag of Poland Janusz Pyciak-Peciak
Polish Sportspersonality of the Year
1982
Succeeded by
Flag of Poland Zdzisław Hoffmann
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Flag of Poland Jerzy Engel
Poland National Team Coach
July 15, 2002 – November 20, 2002
Succeeded by
Flag of Poland Paweł Janas