Timothée Kolodziejczak

Timothée Christian Kolodziejczak (French pronunciation: [timɔte kolodʒezak]; born 1 October 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender. He can play as either a centre or left-back.

Timothée Kolodziejczak
Kolodziejczak with Saint-Étienne in 2020
Personal information
Full name Timothée Christian Kolodziejczak[1]
Date of birth (1991-10-01) 1 October 1991
Place of birth Arras, France
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1999 Saint-Maurice Loos
1999–2000 Avion
2000–2008 Lens
2008–2009 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 Lyon 12 (0)
2010–2012 Lyon B 23 (4)
2012–2014 Nice 71 (2)
2014–2017 Sevilla 52 (1)
2017 Borussia Mönchengladbach 1 (0)
2017–2020 Tigres UANL 6 (0)
2018–2019 → Saint-Étienne (loan) 36 (3)
2019–2020 → Saint-Étienne (loan) 15 (0)
2020–2022 Saint-Étienne 54 (2)
2022–2023 Schalke 04 1 (0)
International career
2007 France U16 1 (0)
2007–2008 France U17 15 (1)
2008–2009 France U18 6 (0)
2009–2010 France U19 14 (2)
2010–2012 France U20 18 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 June 2023

Kolodziejczak is a French youth international and has competed at all levels. He played on the under-19 team that won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. Due to the difficulty of pronouncing his surname, he is a commonly referred to as Kolo.[3]

Personal life

Kolodziejczak was born on 1 October 1991 in Arras, France, to a Polish father and a Martiniquais mother.[4][5][6]

Club career

Early career

Kolodziejczak began his career at the age of seven playing for local club US Saint-Maurice Loos-en-Gohelle. In July 1999, he moved to hometown club Avion where he spent a year. In June 2000, Kolodziejczak joined the professional club of Lens.[3] While in the club's youth academy, he trained alongside youth and international teammate Gaël Kakuta at the Centre de Préformation de Football in nearby Liévin, a training center exclusively for players brought up in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. He spent two years at the center training there during the weekdays and playing with Lens on the weekends. One of his trainers at the facility was former Polish international Joachim Marx.[5]

After graduating from the club's youth academy, he was offered a five-year professional contract as Lens were attempting to tie down the defender who was being scouted by several prominent European clubs, most notably Manchester United.[7] Kolodziejczak turned down the offer with hopes of signing elsewhere stating he had no confidence in the club.[3] Following negotiations, it was announced on 21 August 2008 that Kolodziejczak agreed to join seven-time Ligue 1 champions Lyon on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent deal with Lens demanding at least €3 million in compensation for the player.[8]

Lyon

Upon his arrival to the club, Kolodziejczak was given the number 12 shirt on the first-team. However, due to signing late in the transfer window, he missed Lyon's entire pre-season campaign and was placed on the club's Championnat de France Amateur team in the fourth division by manager Claude Puel. He made his reserve debut on 13 September 2008 in the derby match against Saint-Étienne's reserve team. The match resulted in a 2–1 victory with Kolodziejczak playing the entire match picking up a yellow card.[9] Two months later, Kolodziejczak was called up to the first team for a league match against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on 23 November 2008 to serve as the backup left back. In the match, he made his professional debut coming on as a substitute for the severely injured Anthony Réveillère in the 11th minute. Lyon lost the match 1–0 with Kolodziejczak being penalized with a yellow card late in the second half.[10] Following the season, Lyon signed Kolodziejczak on a permanent deal with the player agreeing to a four-year deal and the transfer fee being priced at €2.5 million.[11][12]

For the 2009–10 season, Kolodziejczak's playing time was limited. On 29 September 2009, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in the team's 4–0 victory over Hungarian club Debrecen appearing as a substitute for starting left back Aly Cissokho.[13] Four days later, Kolodziejczak made another substitute appearance in a 2–0 win against his former club Lens.[14] On 21 November, he made his first professional start playing 76 minutes in a 1–1 draw against Grenoble.[15]

Nice

In the summer of 2012, Kolodziejczak moved to fellow Ligue 1 club Nice on a four-year contract.[16]

Sevilla

Kolodziejczak joined Sevilla on 27 August 2014, signing a three-year contract on a transfer fee of €3 million.[17] On 18 September he made his first appearance, as the club defeated Feyenoord 2–0 in the UEFA Europa League.[18] He debuted in La Liga six days later, playing the entirety of a 1–0 home win against Real Sociedad.[19] On 2 October, he was shown a straight red card in a Europa League match at HNK Rijeka for conceding a penalty on Andrej Kramarić. This was converted for the first equaliser in an eventual 2–2 draw.[20]

He scored his first goal on 29 October, opening a 6–1 win at CE Sabadell in the first leg of the Copa del Rey round of 32.[21] He made nine appearances as they won the Europa League in his first season, including the 3–2 win over Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the final in Warsaw.[22]

Borussia Mönchengladbach

On 4 January 2017, Kolodziejczak signed for German club Borussia Mönchengladbach.[23][24]

Tigres UANL

On 4 September 2017, Kolodziejczak joined Liga MX club Tigres UANL.[25]

Saint-Étienne

In August 2018, Kolodziejczak joined Ligue 1 club Saint-Étienne on loan with an option to buy.[26] On 22 August 2019, Kolodziejczak was loaned again at Saint-Étienne for another season.[27] Saint-Étienne exercised their option to purchase Kolodziejczak in the summer of 2020 for €4.5m.[28]

Schalke 04

On 21 October 2022, Kolodziejczak signed for Schalke 04 on a contract until the end of the season.[29]

International career

Kolodziejczak has featured for all of France's national youth teams beginning with the under-16 team. He made his debut with the team in the team's last match against Germany at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on 30 May 2006. Germany won the match 1–0 with Felix Kroos scoring the lone goal.[30] With the under-17 team, Kolodziejczak was a regular and made his debut in the team's opening match against Switzerland in a 4–0 victory.[31] In qualification for the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, he appeared in both rounds of qualification with the team finishing the Elite Round portion unbeaten, which led to qualification to the UEFA-sanctioned tournament. At the tournament, Kolodziejczak scored his first youth international goal against Turkey in the semi-finals. The goal came in the 69th minute with France trailing 1–0. The team later won the match 4–3 on penalties.[32] In the final, France were defeated 4–0 by Spain.[33][34]

Kolodziejczak made his debut in France national under-18 football team's opening match against the Ukraine.[35] He only made six appearances with the team. With the under-19 team, Kolodziejczak was again called upon by coach Francis Smerecki making his first appearance with the team on 9 October 2009 in 4–2 defeat to the Netherlands. After consistently appearing with the team for the campaign, on 7 June 2010, he was named to Smerecki's 18-man squad to participate in the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. Kolodziejczak played in all five of the team's matches including the final match against Spain, which France won 2–1. The title is the country's second UEFA Under-19 championship.[36]

Following France's victory at the UEFA Under-19 championship, the nation qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which merited under-20 team appearances for Kolodziejczak. He made his debut with the team on 7 October 2010 in a friendly match against Portugal, which ended 3–3.[37] Kolodziejczak, subsequently, appeared in four matches for the team during the 2010–11 campaign and, on 10 June 2011, was named to the 21-man squad to participate in the U-20 World Cup. He made his debut in the competition on 30 July 2011 in the team's 4–1 defeat to the hosts Colombia.[38]

Kolodziejczak is also eligible to represent Poland at international level through his father.[39] At the age of 15, he was issued a proposal by the Polish Football Association (PZPN) who sought for him to play for the country's youth international teams. However, due to not having Polish citizenship, Kolodziejczak would have been unable to play in an official match for Poland, which led to his father rejecting the opportunity, and instead deciding that it would be better to wait a few years until coming to a decision.[5]

Career statistics
As of 26 June 2023[40]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lyon 2008–09 Ligue 1 1000000010
2009–10 Ligue 1 2000001[lower-alpha 1]030
2010–11 Ligue 1 8000001[lower-alpha 1]090
2011–12 Ligue 1 1000000010
Total 120000020140
Lyon B 2010–11 CFA 123———123
2011–12 CFA 111———111
Total 234———234
Nice 2012–13 Ligue 1 3702021—411
2013–14 Ligue 1 34230212[lower-alpha 2]0413
Total 712504220824
Sevilla 2014–15 La Liga 18151—9[lower-alpha 2]0322
2015–16 La Liga 29080—13[lower-alpha 3]1501
2016–17 La Liga 5020—2[lower-alpha 4]090
Total 521151—241913
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2016–17 Bundesliga 1000—1[lower-alpha 2]020
Tigres UANL 2017–18 Liga MX 6010—1[lower-alpha 5]080
Saint-Étienne (loan) 2018–19 Ligue 1 3632000—383
2019–20 Ligue 1 15041106[lower-alpha 2]1262
Saint-Étienne 2020–21 Ligue 1 24010——250
2021–22 Ligue 1 30230——332
Total 105510110611227
Saint-Étienne B (loan) 2019–20 National 2 10———10
Schalke 04 2022–23 Bundesliga 10———10
Career total 272123125236234418
  1. Appearances in the UEFA Champions League
  2. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  3. Six appearances in the Champions League; seven appearances and a goal in the Europa League
  4. One appearance in the UEFA Super Cup and one in the Champions League
  5. Appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League

Honours

Sevilla

UANL

Saint-Étienne

Individual

References
  1. "Acta del Partido celebrado el 24 de enero de 2016, en Madrid" [Minutes of the Match held on 24 January 2016, in Madrid] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  2. "Timothée Kolodziejczak" (in German). FC Schalke 04. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  3. "Thimothée Kolodziejczak: "Une grande fierté"". Lyon Capitale (in French). 22 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  4. "Timothée Kolodziejczak: "Je viens à Nice pour m'épanouir"" [Timothée Kolodziejczak: "I'm joining Nice in order to develop"] (in French). Nice Matin. 26 June 2012. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
  5. "Koscielny nie jest jeszcze spalony". Polish Football Association (in Polish). 15 July 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  6. "Kolodziejczak, un nom à retenir". Radio Monte Carlo. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  7. "United linked to Lyon target". Sky Sports. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  8. "Lyon snap up Lens starlet Kolodzieczak". Union of European Football Associations. 21 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
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  10. "PSG v. Lyon Match Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 23 November 2008. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  11. http://www.actusnewswire.com/documents/ACTUS-0-3288-OL-DDR-0809-GB.pdf
  12. "L'OL aime et ne compte pas". Sports.fr (in French). 19 July 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  13. "Debrecen floored by early Lyon blitz". Union of European Football Associations. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  14. "Lens v. Lyon Match Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 3 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  15. "Grenoble v. Lyon Match Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 21 November 2009. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  16. "KOLODZIEJCZAK SIGNE POUR 4 ANS" (in French). ogcnissa.com. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  17. "El francés Kolodziejczak fichará tres campañas por el Sevilla" [The Frenchman Kolodziejczak will sign for Sevilla for three seasons]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 August 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
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