Grzegorz Szamotulski

Grzegorz Szamotulski

Personal information
Full name	Grzegorz Szamotulski
Date of birth	13 May 1976 (1976-05-13)
Place of birth	Gdańsk, Poland
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Olimpia Elbląg
Youth career
1991–1993	Lechia Gdańsk
1993–1994	Hutnik Warszawa
1994–1995	Polonia Warsaw
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995–2000	Legia Warsaw	103	(0)
2000–2001	PAOK	14	(0)
2001	Śląsk Wrocław	8	(0)
2001–2004	Amica Wronki	76	(0)
2004–2005	Admira Wacker	35	(0)
2005–2007	Sturm Graz	57	(0)
2007–2008	Dundee United	18	(0)
2008	Preston North End	0	(0)
2008	F.C. Ashdod	10	(0)
2009	Hibernian	12	(0)
2009	Jagiellonia Białystok	3	(0)
2010–2011	FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda	5	(0)
2011	Korona Kielce	2	(0)
2011	Warta Poznań	5	(0)
2012–	Olimpia Elbląg	0	(0)
National team‡
1996–2003	Poland	13	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 February 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 April 2011

Grzegorz Szamotulski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈɡʐɛɡɔʂ ʂamɔˈtulski]; born 13 May 1976 in Gdańsk) is a Polish footballer.

He has had a nomadic career, playing for 11 different clubs in six different countries: Poland, Greece, Austria, Scotland, England and Israel.

Successes

Legia Warsaw

• 1x Polish Cup: 1996/97
• 1x Polish SuperCup: 1997

Career

Early career

He started his career with Lechia Gdańsk before making over 100 appearances for Legia Warsaw. Grzegorz then went on to play for PAOK FC, Śląsk Wrocław, Amica Wronki, Admira Wacker Mödling and Sturm Graz.

Dundee United

Grzegorz was then brought to Dundee United on a six-month short term contract to cover for the absence of his countryman Łukasz Załuska, who had broken a bone in his foot. He made his debut in a friendly against Barcelona on 26 July 2007. He was nicknamed "The Monk" by Dundee United fans due to his resemblance to the character from the film Mean Machine.

Craig Levein admitted that Szamotulski would be leaving the club at the end of his six month contract, as he had rejected a contract offered by Dundee United. Hearts and Celtic were among the favourites to capture his signature.

Preston North End

Szamotulski signed a six-month deal with Preston North End on 6 February 2008, but soon suffered a knee injury. Two months later, and without making an appearance, Szamotulski left Deepdale by "mutual consent".

Ashdod

Szamotulski joined Israeli side F.C. Ashdod in August 2008, but he was released on 3 December.

Hibernian

After leaving Ashdod, Szamotulski was linked with a move to Hibernian. Initially a contract could not be agreed with Hibs, but he signed for them on 2 January 2009 on a six month deal to last until the end of the season.

Szamotulski made his first appearance for Hibs against Hearts as a half-time substitute for Yves Ma-Kalambay. He kept a clean sheet in his first start in a 2–0 league win against St. Mirren. Later in the season he kept four successive clean sheets, the first time a Hibs goalkeeper had achieved that feat since 1991. Injury problems affected Szamotulski after this, however, and he left Hibs at the end of the season.

Slovakia

On 26 February 2010 FK DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda from Slovakian first division signed the former Polish international, who was a free agent.

Korona Kielce

In April 2011, he signed a contract with Korona Kielce.

Warta Poznań

In October 2011, he signed a contract with Warta Poznań.

International career

Szamotulski represented Poland 13 times between 1996 and 2003.

See also

• Dundee United F.C. season 2007–08
• Hibernian F.C. season 2008–09

External links

• Grzegorz Szamotulski career stats at Soccerbase (English)
• Grzegorz Szamotulski at National-Football-Teams.com (English)
• Grzegorz Szamotulski at 90minut.pl (Polish) (Polish)