Grzegorz Lato

Grzegorz Lato

Grzegorz Lato in 1973
Personal information
Full name	Grzegorz Bolesław Lato
Date of birth	April 8, 1950 (1950-04-08)
Place of birth	Malbork, Poland
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1966–1980	Stal Mielec	295	(117)
1980–1982	Lokeren	64	(12)
1982–1984	Atlante	45	(15)
1984–1991	Polonia Hamilton	?	(?)
Total		min. 404	(min. 144)
National team
1971–1984	Poland	100	(45)
Honours Competitor for Poland Men's football Gold 1972 Munich Team Competition Silver 1976 Montreal Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Grzegorz Bolesław Lato (born 8 April 1950 in Malbork) is a former Polish football striker, and the leading scorer at the 1974 World Cup. Lato's playing career coincided with the golden era of Polish football, which began with Olympic gold in Munich in 1972 and ended a decade later with third place at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, a repeat of the Poles' impressive finish in 1974 in Germany. He is the only Polish player ever to win the Golden boot at a World Cup.

He is best known for his pace.

From 2001 to 2005 Lato, as a member of Democratic Left Alliance, was a senator in Poland. On October 30, 2008 he was elected President of Polish FA.

Biography

1974 World Cup

For Poland, Lato has been capped a record 104 times between 1971 and 1984; he scored 45 goals, which is second-best in national history behind Włodzimierz Lubański. Other than the 1974 World Cup, where he scored seven goals, he also participated in the 1978 and 1982 tournaments. In the 1974 World Cup, he won the Golden Shoe after scoring 7 goals throughout the tournament. In a difficult Group 4, the Poles made an early impression, defeating Argentina by a score of 3–2, with two goals from Lato, the first being scored after just seven minutes of play. Buoyed by that success, Poland then posted the tournament's second largest win with a 7–0 defeat of Haiti (the largest being Yugoslavia's 9–0 demolition of Zaire), with Lato weighing in with another two strikes. In the second round, the Stal Mielec-based striker was even more instrumental, scoring winning goals against Group B rivals Sweden (1–0) and Yugoslavia (2–1). And while even Lato was powerless to prevent an agonising 1–0 defeat by Germany in Frankfurt the in-form marksman was able to propel his team to third place courtesy of the only goal in the play-off victory over Brazil. He was then known as Poland's favorite player. While playing for Poland, he helped them win several titles.

Conclusion of international career

After a second-round finish at the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, where Lato scored goals against Tunisia and Brazil, the striker earned another bronze medal in Spain in 1982, where he would record his last strike for his country against Peru. Lato officially retired from international football in April 1984 after collecting his 104th cap against Belgium. He ended his career with the Polish national team with 45 goals – a record that stands to this day – and a total achieved accompanied by an impressive ratio of 0.43 goals per game.[1] Lato had also won the gold medal for Poland at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal in 1976.

Club career

Lato spent most of his club career with Stal Mielec and led them to Polish Premier League championships in 1973 and 1976, as well as an appearance in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in the 1975–76 season. He earned the distinction as the league's top goalscorer in 1973 (13 goals) and in 1975 (19 goals). Lato spent most of his career with the club, where he made 272 appearances and scored 111 goals in the Polish Premier League. The Polish league prohibited player transfers abroad until a player reached the age of 30, which hindered Lato's opportunities to display his talent on a regular basis for a larger audience across the continent. Lato had turned down a personal invitation from Pelé to play for the New York Cosmos, and in 1980, he began playing for the Belgian club K.S.C. Lokeren. He had also played in Mexico during the 1982–83 season for Atlante F.C., where he amassed 15 goals. He also spent some time in Canada, playing for Polonia Hamilton in the mid-1980s in an amateur league in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Life after football

Lato's official portrait as a senator

From 2001 to 2005 Lato, as a member of Democratic Left Alliance, was a senator in Poland. In October 2008 he was elected President of the Polish FA (PZPN).

Playing style and recognition

Blessed with remarkable acceleration, the talented right-winger consistently lived up to the high expectations placed before him whenever he was given the opportunity to compete at the international level. Lato was not renowned as crowd pleaser, but rather as a consistent and complete team player. His uncanny awareness on the playing field was ostensibly what allowed him to achieve great success at the international and club levels. Despite his accomplishments at the three World Cup tournaments at which he participated, Lato was not selected by UEFA as one of the European 50 best players, as compiled for its 50th anniversary in 2004. It exemplified the common assertion that Lato is one of the most underrated players in European football history.[2]

Club statistics

Club performance			League
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals
Belgium			League
1980/81	Koninklijke Standaard Lokeren	First Division	33	6
1981/82			31	6
Mexico			League
1982/83	Atlante	Primera División	36	15
1983/84			5	1
Country	Belgium		64	12
	Mexico		41	16
Total			105	28

International goals

Scores and results table. Poland's goal tally first:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	19 August 1973	Varna, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	2-0	Friendly
2	19 August 1973	Varna, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	2-0	Friendly
3	26 September 1973	Chorzów, Poland	Wales	3-0	FIFA World Cup 1974 qualifying
4	15 May 1974	Warszawa, Poland	Greece	2-0	Friendly
5	15 June 1974	Stuttgart, West Germany	Argentina	3-2	1974 FIFA World Cup
6	15 June 1974	Stuttgart, West Germany	Argentina	3-2	1974 FIFA World Cup
7	19 June 1974	Munich, West Germany	Haiti	7-0	1974 FIFA World Cup
8	19 June 1974	Munich, West Germany	Haiti	7-0	1974 FIFA World Cup
9	26 June 1974	Stuttgart, West Germany	Sweden	1-0	1974 FIFA World Cup
10	30 June 1974	Frankfurt, West Germany	Yugoslavia	2-1	1974 FIFA World Cup
11	6 July 1974	Munich, West Germany	Brazil	1-0	1974 FIFA World Cup
12	1 September 1974	Helsinki, Finland	Finland	2-1	UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying
13	4 September 1974	Warsaw, Poland	East Germany	1–3	Friendly
14	9 October 1974	Poznan, Poland	Finland	3-0	UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying
15	26 March 1975	Poznan, Poland	United States	7-0	Friendly
16	26 March 1975	Poznan, Poland	United States	7-0	Friendly
17	28 May 1975	Halle, East Germany	East Germany	2-1	Friendly
18	24 June 1975	Seattle, United States	United States	4-0	Friendly
19	6 July 1975	Montreal, Canada	Canada	8-1	Friendly
20	6 July 1975	Montreal, Canada	Canada	8-1	Friendly
21	6 July 1975	Montreal, Canada	Canada	8-1	Friendly
22	10 September 1975	Chorzów, Poland	Netherlands	4-1	UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying
23	25 July 1976	Montreal, Canada	North Korea	5-0	1976 Summer Olympics
24	25 July 1976	Montreal, Canada	North Korea	5-0	1976 Summer Olympics
25	31 July 1976	Montreal, Canada	East Germany	1-3	1976 Summer Olympics
26	16 October 1976	Porto, Portugal	Portugal	2-0	FIFA World Cup 1978 qualifying
27	16 October 1976	Porto, Portugal	Portugal	2-0	FIFA World Cup 1978 qualifying
28	15 May 1977	Limassol, Cyprus	Cyprus	3-1	FIFA World Cup 1978 qualifying
29	29 May 1977	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Argentina	1-3	Friendly
30	12 June 1977	La Paz, Bolivia	Bolivia	2-1	Friendly
31	7 September 1977	Volgograd, Soviet Union	Soviet Union	1-4	Friendly
32	21 September 1977	Chorzów, Poland	Denmark	4-1	FIFA World Cup 1978 qualifying
33	5 April 1978	Poznan, Poland	Greece	5-2	Friendly
34	26 April 1978	Warsaw, Poland	Bulgaria	1-0	Friendly
35	6 June 1978	Rosario, Argentina	Tunisia	1-0	1978 FIFA World Cup
36	21 June 1978	Mendoza, Argentina	Brazil	1-3	1978 FIFA World Cup
37	6 September 1978	Reykjavík, Iceland	Iceland	2-0	UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying
38	21 March 1979	Algiers, Algeria	Algeria	1-0	Friendly
39	4 April 1979	Chorzów, Poland	Hungary	1-1	Friendly
40	29 August 1979	Warsaw, Poland	Romania	3-0	Friendly
41	26 March 1980	Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	1-2	Friendly
42	4 April 1980	Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	1-2	Friendly
43	22 June 1980	Warsaw, Poland	Iraq	3-0	Friendly
44	29 June 1980	São Paulo, Brazil	Brazil	1-1	Friendly
45	22 June 1982	La Coruna, Spain	Peru	5-1	1982 FIFA World Cup

Honors

Club level

Stal Mielec

• Polish Premier League – 1st place: 1973, 1976
• Polish Premier League – 2nd place: 1975
• Polish Premier League – 3rd place: 1974, 1979
• Polish Cup – 2nd place: 1976
• UEFA Cup – quarter-finalist: 1975/76

Atlante F.C.

• CONCACAF Champions Cup – Winner: 1983

Individual distinctions

• Polish Premier League Top Goalscorer: 1973, 1975
• Piłka Nożna Player of the Year: 1977
• Sport Player of the Year: 1974, 1977

International level

Team accomplishments with Poland

• Olympic gold medal: 1972
• Olympic silver medeal: 1976
• FIFA World Cup – 3rd place: 1974, 1982

Individual distinctions

• FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe: 1974

External links

• International appearances and goals
• Profile and image of Lato

Preceded by Gerd Müller

FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe 1974

Succeeded by Mario Kempes