Mirosław Szymkowiak

Mirosław Szymkowiak (Polish pronunciation: [miˈrɔswaf ʂɨmˈkɔvjak]; born 12 November 1976) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Szymkowiak is also a former member of the Poland national team.

Mirosław Szymkowiak
Personal information
Full name Mirosław Szymkowiak[1]
Date of birth (1976-11-12) 12 November 1976
Place of birth Poznań, Poland
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1994 Olimpia Poznań 44 (5)
1995–2000 Widzew Łódź 132 (11)
2001–2004 Wisła Kraków 91 (13)
2005–2006 Trabzonspor 55 (14)
2014–2019 Prądniczanka Kraków
2019–2020 Podgórze Kraków
2020–2022 LKS Szaflary
Total 322 (43)
International career
Poland U16
Poland U17
Poland U21
1997–2006 Poland 33 (3)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Poland
UEFA Euro U-16
Winner1993 Turkey
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born in Poznań, Poland, Szymkowiak first started playing at Olimpia Poznań, where he played from 1992 until 1994, when he joined Widzew Łódź. He remained there for five and a half years, when he left to join Wisła Kraków in the middle of the 2000–01 season. He helped them to win the championship in his first season, and to two further championships in 2003 and 2004. In January 2005, he joined the Turkish club Trabzonspor. In his first six months at Trabzonspor he scored nine goals in fifteen starts.

As well as playing for Trabzonspor, Szymkowiak appeared 33 times and scored three goals for the Poland national team. He was selected to the 23-men squad that competed at the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany.

Retirement

In December 2007, he announced his retirement from football.[2] Szymkowiak finished his career due to health reasons. In an interview for a Polish website he said: "I'm just turning 31, and already I've gone through eight surgeries! I've got four screws in both my knees, one in my ankle. They [doctors, red.] removed one I had in the shoulder, but I also have two titanium nets in my groins. I feel older than my dad, and in a couple of years time I'd like to walk like a normal person."[3] Later, in an interview for Polish newspaper Super Express, he stated that his retirement was mainly attributed to his drug use: he used rofecoxib for his pain problems, which was related to his injuries, but it was found to cause serious blood and bone marrow problems, resulting in lowering his performance and stamina.

Post-playing career

Szymkowiak works as a pitch reporter for Canal+ Poland. His debut as a reporter was an Ekstraklasa game between GKS Bełchatów and Zagłębie Lubin on 5 April 2007.[4] He also owns two beauty salons in Kraków.

Honours

Widzew Łódź[5]

Wisła Kraków[7]

Poland U16

References
  1. "Miroslaw Szymkowiak" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  2. Ajansı, Anadolu (30 December 2007). "Mektup Szymkowiak'tan". NTV Spor (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  3. "Szymkowiak: Czuję się inwalidą" (in Polish). sport.pl. 13 April 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  4. "Szymkowiak zadebiutował w nowej roli" (in Polish). sport.interia.pl. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  5. "Urodziny Mirosława Szymkowiaka". widzewtomy.net (in Polish). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  6. "Jedenastka Legend Widzewa - Mirosław Szymkowiak (2)". widzewiak.pl (in Polish). 11 March 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  7. "Wiślacki dyrygent opuszcza scenę: 16 lat od ostatniego meczu Mirosława Szymkowiaka w barwach Białej Gwiazdy" (in Polish). Wisła Kraków. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  8. "Puchar Ligi 2000/2001 - Finał - II mecz". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  9. "Superpuchar 2001 - Finał". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  10. "30 lat temu Polacy zostali mistrzami Europy do lat 16. "Nikt nie spodziewał się tego sukcesu"". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). 8 May 2023.
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