Jacek Bąk

Jacek Waldemar Bąk (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjatsɛɡ ˈbɔŋk];[1] born 24 March 1973) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

Not to be confused with Jacek Bąk (footballer, born 1962) who also played for Lech Poznań from 1982–1985.

Jacek Bąk
Bąk playing for Poland in 2008
Personal information
Full name Jacek Waldemar Bąk
Date of birth (1973-03-24) 24 March 1973
Place of birth Lublin, Poland
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
Motor Lublin
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1992 Motor Lublin 46 (2)
1992–1995 Lech Poznań 84 (2)
1995–2001 Lyon 114 (4)
2002–2005 Lens 85 (2)
2005–2007 Al Rayyan 26 (0)
2007–2010 Austria Wien 80 (7)
Total 435 (17)
National team
1993–2008 Poland 96 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Other than his country, he competed in France, Qatar and Austria, notably appearing in more than 150 competitive games for Lyon and contributing to win the 2002 national championship.

Bąk represented Poland for 15 years, appearing for the nation in two World Cups and Euro 2008.

Club career

Born in Lublin, Bąk made his senior debuts with local Motor Lublin aged just 16, moving to Lech Poznań two years later. In the 1992–93 season, he contributed with 28 games to help the latter club win its third national championship in four years.

Bąk signed for Olympique Lyonnais in the 1995 summer, going on to spend one full decade in the French Ligue 1 with that team and RC Lens, joining the latter in January 2002. The sides he played for during that campaign finished in first and second position.[2]

Bąk retired in June 2010 at the age of 37, after two years in the Qatar Stars League with Al Rayyan SC and three with Austrian Football Bundesliga's FK Austria Wien.

International career

Bąk gained his first cap for Poland on 1 February 1993, in a 0–0 away friendly draw with Cyprus. He was picked for the squads that competed in the 2002 (one appearance, a 0–2 group stage loss to co-hosts South Korea[3]) and the 2006 FIFA World Cups, with both tournaments ending in elimination after three matches.[4][5][6]

In November 2006, Bąk claimed he was offered €10,000 to concede a penalty in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier between Belgium and Poland in the former's favour, and UEFA opened an investigation.[7][8] Selected for the finals by manager Leo Beenhakker, he was left out of the final group phase clash against Croatia, and retired with 96 appearances, fourth-most at the time.[9][10]

Career statistics

International
Sources:[10][11]
Poland
YearAppsGoals
199360
199461
199720
199840
199960
200040
200150
200270
2003101
200480
2005100
2006130
200791
200860
Total963

International goals
Source:[11]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.17 August 1994Radomiaka Radom, Radom, Poland Belarus1–1DrawFriendly
2.12 November 2003Polish Army Stadium, Warsaw, Poland Italy3–1WinFriendly
3.24 March 2007Polish Army Stadium, Warsaw, Poland Azerbaijan5–0WinEuro 2008 qualifying

Honours

References
  1. Jacek in isolation: [ˈjatsɛk].
  2. "Le 4 mai 2002, l'OL remporte son premier titre de champion de France" [On 4 May 2002, l'OL wins its first French champion title] (in French). Lyon Capitale. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  3. "Korea win ignites World Cup". BBC Sport. 4 June 2002. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  4. "Poland 0–2 Ecuador". BBC Sport. 9 June 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  5. "Germany 1–0 Poland". BBC Sport. 14 June 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. "Costa Rica 1–2 Poland". BBC Sport. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  7. "Poland's Bak says he was offered bribe for Belgium game". ESPN. 16 November 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  8. "Uefa to investigate Poland bribe claim". World Soccer. 17 November 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  9. "Klasnić completes Croatian clean sweep". UEFA.com. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  10. "Jacek Bak – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  11. "Jacek Bąk". European Football. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  12. "Lyon 3-2 Montpellier (Aggregate: 4 - 2)". uefa.com. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
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