Michael Klukowski

Michael Władysław Klukowski (Polish pronunciation: [kluˈkɔfskʲi]; born 27 May 1981 in Amstetten, Austria) is a Canadian soccer player who last played for APOEL in the Cypriot First Division and the Canadian national team.

Mike Klukowski
Personal information
Full name Michael Władysław Klukowski[1]
Date of birth (1981-05-27) 27 May 1981
Place of birth Amstetten, Austria
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Left back
Youth career
1997 Oshawa Kicks
1998 Scarborough Azzurri-Blues
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–1999 Dijon 32 (9)
1999–2000 US Tourcoing 25 (12)
2000–2002 Lille OSC B 30 (1)
2002–2005 La Louvière 90 (3)
2005–2010 Club Brugge 175 (1)
2010–2011 Ankaragücü 23 (1)
2011–2012 Manisaspor 26 (0)
2012–2013 APOEL 16 (1)
Total 417 (28)
National team‡
2001 Canada U20 6 (0)
2003 Canada U23 1 (0)
2003–2012 Canada 36 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 May 2013
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 March 2016

Klukowski has enjoyed a rapid rise since his move to Belgium in 2002. Born to Polish parents who had stopped in Austria while on their way to Canada, he is of Polish descent and holds Polish citizenship.[3][4][5]

Club career

He began his career in Canada playing for the Oshawa Kicks and Scarborough Azzurri-Blues, before travelling across the Atlantic to link up with Dijon FCO in 1999. A move to Tourcoing FC followed the next year before his performances caught the attentions of Ligue 1 outfit Lille OSC whom he joined in 2001. He only played for their reserves team however so his time at the Stade Grimonprez-Jooris was equally fleeting though but he finally found his feet at La Louvière, making 72 league appearances over the next two-and-a-half seasons and growing in stature. While at La Louvière he helped them win the 2002–03 Belgian Cup.[6]

Club Brugge

At La Louvière, he attracted interest from Club Brugge K.V. who signed the well-travelled youngster in a deal thought to be worth €900,000 during the winter break in January 2005. He initially had to bide his time at the Jan Breydel Stadium but did make six appearances towards the end of the campaign as Club Brugge sealed the title. Michael Klukowski was the number one left back for five seasons with Brugge. He replaced Peter Van Der Heyden, who suffered a knee injury, during the last season with Trond Sollied. Michael left Brugge with 178 official games including 26 European appearances and 2 Belgian Supercup Final appearances.[7]

Ankaragücü

In mid-August Klukowski was transferred from his home of 5 season with Club Brugge to Ankaragücü in the Turkish League for an estimated value of €750,000 while signing a three-year deal.[8] He made his debut for the club in a 1–1 home draw against Kayserispor on 27 August 2010.[9] Michael scored his first goal in Turkey on 4 December 2010 in a 1–1 home draw against Sivasspor, he scored the opening goal in the 11th minute at the Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium until Erman Kılıç tied it up with a goal in the 56th.[10] In early April 2011 it was announced that Klukowski was leaving his Turkish club Ankaragucu over unpaid wages, the club was in the news earlier that year when former England international Darius Vassell was kicked out of his hotel room because the club failed to pay for his accommodation.[11] In April 2011 Klukowski sued Ankaragucu for unpaid wages and compensation for the 2 years left on his contract for the amount of 1.5 M €. In July 2013 Klukowski won his case and Ankaragucu were forced to pay him 800 000 €.

Manisaspor

In early June prior to the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup it was announced that Klukowski had signed for Manisaspor for the upcoming season. Canadian international Josh Simpson Manisaspor's leading goal scorer from the 2010–11 season played a major factor in Klukowski's decision to sign with the Western Turkish club.[12] Klukowski made his debut for Manisaspor on 10 September in a 1–1 draw against Trabzonspor.[13]

APOEL

On 20 July 2012, Klukowski signed a two-year contract with Cypriot side APOEL.[14] At the end of the season he was crowned champion after winning the 2012–13 Cypriot First Division with APOEL. On 12 August 2013, APOEL unilaterally terminated Klukowski's contract because of serious breaches of discipline and breaches of contract and internal regulations of the club by the player.[15] After the termination of his contract he took Apoel FC to court at Fifa. On June 20, 2015 he won his court case. Apoel were forced to pay him over 200 000 € in compensation.

International career

After representing Canada at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina, Klukowski made the step up to the senior side in March 2003. He made his debut for Canada in a February 2003 friendly match against Libya. He has represented Canada in ten FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[16] As of 13 June 2012, he has earned a total of 36 caps, scoring no goals.

He managed to make the All-Tournament team of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup along with fellow Canadian Julian de Guzman.

References
  1. "Michael Wladyslaw Klukowski" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  2. "Mike Klukowski". canadasoccer.com. Canadian Soccer Association. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  3. "On byłby lepszy od Boenischa". Dziennik. 16 November 2009. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2009.
  4. Van Uytvange, Koen (20 August 2009). "Michael Klukowski : 'Ik keer terug naar mijn roots". Het Nieuwsblad. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  5. "Michael Klukowski". ClubBrugge.be. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  6. "La Louvière wint Beker van België". vi.nl. 1 June 2003. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  7. Klukowski Transferred Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine – Clube Brugge
  8. Klukowski Transfer to Turkey – Goal
  9. Ankaragücü vs. Kayserispor 27 August 2010 – ESPN
  10. Match: Ankaragucu vs. Sivasspor Archived 23 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine – ESPN
  11. Across the Pond – 11 April 2011 – red nation
  12. Manisaspor’da Klukovski tamam – Hürriyet Ege
  13. Manisaspor vs. Trabzonspor – Soccerway
  14. "Michael Klukowski" (in Greek). APOEL FC. 20 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  15. Ανακοίνωση [Announcement] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 12 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  16. Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA
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