Krzysztof Warzycha
Krzysztof Ireneusz Warzycha (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkʂɨʂtɔf vaˈʐɨxa]; Greek: Κριστόφ Βαζέχα; born 17 November 1964) is a Polish former professional footballer. For the majority of his career he played for Greek club Panathinaikos.
 Warzycha | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Krzysztof Warzycha | ||
| Date of birth | 17 November 1964 | ||
| Place of birth | Katowice, Poland | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1989 | Ruch Chorzów | 164 | (66) |
| 1989–2004 | Panathinaikos | 390 | (244) |
| Total | 554 | (310) | |
| National team | |||
| 1984–1997 | Poland | 50 | (9) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2009–2010 | Panathinaikos (assistant) | ||
| 2012 | Egaleo | ||
| 2012 | Fokikos | ||
| 2013–2014 | Kallithea | ||
| 2014–2015 | Fostiras | ||
| 2015–2016 | Omonia (assistant) | ||
| 2017 | Ruch Chorzów | ||
| 2018 | Sparta | ||
| 2020 | Enosis Aspropyrgos | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Club career
Ruch Chorzów
Warzycha played for Polish team Ruch Chorzów, won the Polish Championship in 1989 and was the top scorer in the Polish premier league the same year.
Panathinaikos
Warzycha joined Panathinaikos in December 1989, and won five Greek championships (1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2004), five Greek cups (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2004), two Greek super cups 1993, 1994, while he was the highest scorer of the Greek championship 3 times (1994, 1995, 1998).
He is Panathinaikos' all-time leading goalscorer and an idol for the club. Warzycha is considered by many to be one of the best foreign players who have played in Greece. He was one of two Poles in the title-winning side of 1995, with fellow countryman Józef Wandzik keeping over a dozen clean sheets (shutouts) during the season.
He was the top scorer of Panathinaikos with 319 goals in all competitions.
The most iconic goal
On 3 April 1996, Warzycha scored probably the most important goal of his career (according to a late interview), against Ajax Amsterdam in Amsterdam Olympic Stadium and gave Ajax their first home defeat in four years, in their last home match before the demolition of the stadium.
First goal scorer
At the end of the 2000–01 season, Warzycha had scored an incredible 235 goals in 352 matches and had been the Greek Alpha Ethniki premier league's top scorer in three different years in the 90s (1994, 1995 and 1998 seasons). His appearances in the UEFA Champions League have been no less impressive – he scored six goals in Panathinaikos' nine games on the way to the semi-finals of the 1995–96 competition.
With eight goals scored in all UEFA Champions League games, Warzycha remained the best scorer of Polish nationality in this competition until the 2012–13 season, when Robert Lewandowski scored 10 times for Dortmund in Dortmund's surprise run to the Champions League final.
On 29 April 2001, during the match with Ionikos FC, Warzycha scored the 233rd goal of his career in Greece, climbing to second place on the list of all-time goal scorers, tied with Mimis Papaioannou. Warzycha later scored his 234th goal and become sole occupant of this spot.
He was granted Greek citizenship in 1998. He retired in 2004.
Managing career
After Panathinaikos head coach Henk Ten Cate was let go on 8 December 2009, Warzycha was appointed as assistant coach alongside Nikos Nioplias.[1]
On 1 March 2012, Warzycha was appointed as the head coach of Delta Ethniki side Egaleo, with this being his first venture into management.[2]
In 2012, Warzycha was the head coach of Fokikos F.C.[3]
In April 2017 he replaced Waldemar Fornalik on Ruch Chorzów manager position.[4]
International career
Warzycha played 50 times for Poland, scoring 9 goals. He played the last game for the Polish national team in April 1997 against Italy in Napoli (3–0 loss).
Later life
He ran in the Greek local elections, 2014 with a New Democracy backed combination for the municipality of Athens.[5] Former player was also an ANEL candidate to parliament in January 2015 legislative elections, but without success.[6]
Career statistics
Club
| Panathinaikos | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season | Apps | Goals |
| 1989–90 | 21 | 14 |
| 1990–91 | 33 | 18 |
| 1991–92 | 25 | 12 |
| 1992–93 | 37 | 36 |
| 1993–94 | 35 | 26 |
| 1994–95 | 37 | 32 |
| 1995–96 | 43 | 25 |
| 1996–97 | 44 | 25 |
| 1997–98 | 36 | 19 |
| 1998–99 | 38 | 10 |
| 1999–00 | 48 | 19 |
| 2000–01 | 22 | 9 |
| 2001–02 | 34 | 8 |
| 2002–03 | 21 | 13 |
| 2003–04 | 9 | 0 |
| Total in Greece | 503 | 288 |
Last updated: 2015-01-27
Source: [7]
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 19 October 1988 | Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Albania | 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 2. | 7 February 1989 | Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica |  Costa Rica | Friendly | ||
| 3. | ||||||
| 4. | 12 February 1989 | Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala |  Guatemala | |||
| 5. | 19 May 1992 | Stadion Lehen, Salzburg, Austria |  Austria | |||
| 6. | 27 May 1992 | City Stadium, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland |  Czechoslovakia | |||
| 7. | 19 May 1993 | Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} San Marino | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 8. | 27 August 1996 | Stadion GKS, Bełchatów, Poland |  Cyprus | Friendly | ||
| 9. | 10 November 1996 | Stadion GKS Katowice, Katowice, Poland |  Moldova | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Club
Ruch Chorzów
Panathinaikos
Individual
- Ekstraklasa top goalscorer: 1988–89 (24 goals)
- Super League top goalscorer: 1993–94 (24 goals), 1994–95 (29 goals), 1997–98 (32 goals),
Awards
Warzycha's goalscoring ability made him famous throughout Europe during his career. In 2001 the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) awarded him the Third Prize for the most active goalscorer.
References
- "Τέλος ο Τεν Κάτε, νέος προπονητής ο Νίκος Νιόπλιας (Panathinaikos sacked Ten Cate, Nioplias the new coach)". Eleftherotypia (in Greek). 8 December 2009.
- "Ο Κριστόφ Βαζέχα προπονητής στο Αιγάλεω (Krzysztof Warzycha the coach of Egaleo)" (in Greek). skai.gr. 1 March 2012.
- Προπονητής στον Φωκικό ο Βαζέχα (in Greek). www.sport.gr. 9 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013.
- "Krzysztof Warzycha trenerem Ruchu" (in Polish). 90minut. 21 April 2017.
- http://www.koutipandoras.gr/article/111907/ypopsifios-me-syndyasmo-spiliotopoyloy-o-kristof-vazeha
- http://www.gazetaprawna.pl/artykuly/849038,polski-pilkarz-krzysztof-warzycha-greckim-poslem.html
- "Krzysztof Warzycha". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
External links
- Krzysztof Warzycha at 90minut.pl (in Polish)
- Krzysztof Warzycha at National-Football-Teams.com