Jakub Błaszczykowski

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Jakub Błaszczykowski
Jakub Błaszczykowski3.jpg
Błaszczykowski with Poland in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth (1985-12-14) 14 December 1985 (age 27)
Place of birth Truskolasy,[1] Poland
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Winger
Club information
Current club Borussia Dortmund
Number 16
Youth career
1993–2002 Raków Częstochowa
2002 Górnik Zabrze
2003 KS Częstochowa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2004 KS Częstochowa 24 (11)
2005–2007 Wisła Kraków 51 (3)
2007– Borussia Dortmund 166 (25)
National team‡
2004 Poland U19 8 (0)
2005–2006 Poland U21 3 (1)
2005 Poland B 1 (0)
2006– Poland 60 (12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 May 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 March 2013

Jakub "Kuba" Błaszczykowski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjakub bwaʂt͡ʂɨˈkɔfskʲi] ( listen); born 14 December 1985) is a Polish footballer who plays as a winger for Borussia Dortmund. He is the captain of the Poland national football team.

Contents

Club career [edit]

Early career [edit]

Błaszczykowski was raised in Truskolasy near Częstochowa. When he was eight years old, he and his older brother Dawid began training at Raków Częstochowa.[2] In September 1996, at the age of 10, he lost his mother in a family tragedy and was then raised by his grandmother.[3][4] He subsequently gave up football, but with the encouragement of his uncle, Jerzy Brzęczek, a former captain of the Polish national football team, he decided to resume training at Raków Częstochowa two months later.[4][5] In 2002, he joined Górnik Zabrze youth side. In early 2003 he joined KS Częstochowa and played in the Polish fourth league until the end of 2004. His uncle then helped him get a trial at Wisła Kraków where he impressed then-manager Werner Lička.[4]

Wisła Kraków [edit]

Błaszczykowski quickly broke into Wisła's first team, with his first league appearance coming on 20 March 2005 against Polonia Warsaw. By the end of the season, he was an established part of Wisła's starting eleven. With Wisła he won the Polish Ekstraklasa title in his debut season, and they were runners-up the following season. Additionally he won Canal+'s "Football Oscar" for the best midfielder in the Polish top division. He was also named to the Ekstraklasa Best XI in 2006–07 in Polish Footballers' Association voting.[6]

Borussia Dortmund [edit]

With Borussia in 2007

In February 2007, Błaszczykowski signed a four-year contract with Borussia Dortmund for an undisclosed fee and joined the Bundesliga side in July of that year. He usually plays on the wing, where he shows his dribbling and pace.

He scored his first league goal for Borussia on 25 April 2008 in a 1–1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.

In December 2008, he was voted Polish Footballer of the Year.[7] and a month later, in January 2009 he was voted the best Borussia Dortmund Player of the Year by fans, outrunning Neven Subotić and Alexander Frei. The Polish midfielder garnered more than 35% of the votes cast.

During the 2008–09 season, he was plagued by a torn leg muscle.[8]

Błaszczykowski with Borussia Dortmund won the Bundesliga title for two seasons in a row in 2010–11 and 2011–12. He also won 2011–12 DFB-Pokal, providing two assists in the final 5–2 victory over Bayern Munich.[9] Until 2012 he played with a diminutive form of his name, 'Kuba', on his shirt.[10]

In July 2012, Błaszczykowski was named on UEFA's 32-man shortlist for the Best Player in Europe award.[11] On 24 July 2012, he signed a new contract with Borussia Dortmund, keeping him with the German club until 2016.[12][13]

2012–13 [edit]

Błaszczykowski bagged his first goal of the season in the opening round of the DFB-Pokal on 18 August 2012, setting up Marco Reus for Dortmund's opening goal before netting their second, as the Yellow-Blacks cruised to a 3–0 victory at FC Oberneuland.[14]

On 25 January 2013, Błaszczykowski scored two goals within the first 21 minutes against 1. FC Nuremberg, sending Dortmund on their way to a 3–0 victory and putting the defending champions within just nine points of league leaders Bayern.[15] In Dortmund's clash with Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 3 February, he converted a penalty in the ninth minute to put his side up 2–0; despite an epic fightback from Leverkusen, which included a brace by Stefan Reinartz, Dortmund came out on top 3–2 and moved above Leverkusen into second place.[16]

He scored Dortmund's third goal in a 3–0 rout of Shakhtar Donetsk on 5 March, completing a 5–2 aggregate victory over the Ukrainian champions as Dortmund progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.[17] The result meant that the Yellow-Blacks had advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time in 15 years.[18]

International career [edit]

Błaszczykowski playing for Poland

Błaszczykowski debuted for the Poland national football team on 28 March 2006 in a friendly against Saudi Arabia. Błaszczykowski, however, did not receive a call up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup due to injury.[19]

Błaszczykowski scored his first goal for Poland on 22 August 2007 in a friendly against Russia.[20] He was an important part of Poland's successful UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.[21] He was named in Poland's squad for UEFA Euro 2008 but withdrew due to injury.[21]

On 17 November 2010, in a friendly match against Côte d'Ivoire, Błaszczykowski made his debut as captain of the Polish national team.

Euro 2012 [edit]

On 8 June 2012, in the opening game of UEFA Euro 2012 against Greece, he assisted Robert Lewandowski's goal in a 1–1 draw. In the second group stage match against Russia, he scored a long range equalising goal in a 1–1 draw and was named Man of the Match.[22]

World Cup 2014 qualifying [edit]

Błaszczykowski is Poland's current top scorer in their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign with two goals. Both have come from the penalty spot, his first gave Poland an early lead in their opening group game with Montenegro, a match which finished 2–2. His second goal came four days later, again giving Poland the lead in their 2–0 win over Moldova. He did not feature in the 1–1 draw with England due to injury. Blaszczykowski got the assist for Piszczek's goal in the 3-1 defeat to Ukraine. He did not feature against San Marino four days later due to an injury sustained in the pre-match warm up.

International goals [edit]

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 22 August 2007 Moscow, Russia  Russia
2–2
2–2
 Friendly
2. 11 October 2008 Chorzów, Poland  Czech Republic
2–0
2–1
 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 3 March 2010 Warsaw, Poland  Bulgaria
1–0
2–0
 Friendly
4. 9 October 2010 Chicago, USA  United States
2–2
2–2
 Friendly
5. 10 August 2011 Lubin, Poland  Georgia
1–0
1–0
 Friendly
6. 6 September 2011 Gdańsk, Poland  Germany
2–1
2–2
 Friendly
7. 7 October 2011 Seoul, South Korea  South Korea
2–2
2–2
 Friendly
8. 11 October 2011 Wiesbaden, Germany  Belarus
1–0
2–0
 Friendly
9. 2 June 2012 Warsaw, Poland  Andorra
3–0
4–0
 Friendly
10. 12 June 2012 Warsaw, Poland  Russia
1–1
1–1
 UEFA Euro 2012
11. 7 September 2012 Podgorica, Montenegro  Montenegro
0–1
2–2
 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
12. 11 September 2012 Wrocław, Poland  Moldova
1–0
2–0
 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Career statistics [edit]

(correct as of 4 May 2013)
Club Season League Domestic League Domestic Cups European Cups Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
KS Częstochowa 2002–03 III Liga 2 0 – – 2 0
2003–04 13 5 – – 13 5
2004–05 9 6 – – 9 6
Wisła Kraków 2004–05 Ekstraklasa 11 1 4 1 – 15 2
2005–06 17 0 2 0 1 0 20 0
2006–07 23 2 1 1 8 0 32 3
Borussia Dortmund 2007–08 Bundesliga 24 1 3 0 – 27 1
2008–09 27 3 0 0 2 0 29 3
2009–10 32 1 2 0 – 34 1
2010–11 29 3 1 0 7 0 37 3
2011–12 29 6 6 0 5 1 40 7
2012–13 25 11 4 2 9 1 38 14
Total KS Częstochowa 24 11 – – – – 24 11
Total Wisła Kraków 51 3 7 2 9 0 67 5
Total Borussia Dortmund 166 25 16 2 23 2 205 29
Career total 241 39 23 4 32 2 296 45

Honours [edit]

Łukasz Piszczek and Jakub Błaszczykowski celebrating the 2011–12 Bundesliga title.

Wisła Kraków [edit]

Borussia Dortmund [edit]

Individual [edit]

Personal life [edit]

As a child, Błaszczykowski witnessed a tragedy, which had a major influence on his life.[3] When he was ten years old, his father stabbed his mother to death.[27] After his father went to prison, Błaszczykowski and his brother were raised by their grandmother. Błaszczykowski said that he owes his successes to his grandmother.[28] Błaszczykowski is a devout Roman Catholic, who reads the Bible on a daily basis, prays often, and participates in the "I am not ashamed of Jesus" project.[29] Every goal he scores, he dedicates to his mother and can be seen looking up in the sky during goal celebrations.

Błaszczykowski and fiancee Agata Gołaszewska were married in June 2010.[30] Their daughter, Oliwia, was born on 20 April 2011.[3][31]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Informacje – Jakub Błaszczykowski". Retrieved 27 July 2011. 
  2. ^ Białoński, Michał (5 January 2007). "Narodziny gwiazdy "Białej Gwiazdy"". Gazeta.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 22 April 2009. 
  3. ^ a b c Fowler, Jonathan (13 June 2012). "Unassuming Kuba is Poland's captain fantastic". Agence France-Presse (Google News). 
  4. ^ a b c Leniarski, Radosław (6 June 2008). "Kuba Błaszczykowski: Siedem pechów Kuby". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Retrieved 6 June 2009. 
  5. ^ "Życiorys". jakub-blaszczykowski.pl. Retrieved 12 June 2012. 
  6. ^ "Wyniki wyborów". pzp.info.pl. Retrieved 16 June 2012. 
  7. ^ "Błaszczykowski najlepszym piłkarzem roku". Wirtualna Polska (in Polish). 13 December 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2009. 
  8. ^ "Beenhakker names Poland World Cup qualifying squad". The Associated Press. 13 March 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2009. 
  9. ^ "Król Lewandowski, Borussia z pucharem!" (in Polish). przegladsportowy.pl. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012. 
  10. ^ "Wraca nazwisko. Czy w Borussii?". kubablaszczykowski.pl. Retrieved 17 July 2012. 
  11. ^ "UEFA Best Player in Europe Award contenders". uefa.com. Retrieved 17 July 2012. 
  12. ^ "Blaszczykowski signs new Dortmund deal until 2016". Goal.com. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012. 
  13. ^ "Blaszczykowski signs new deal". ESPN Soccernet. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012. 
  14. ^ "SHOCK FOR HOFFENHEIM AS DFB CUP CRANKS INTO GEAR". Bundesliga. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2013. 
  15. ^ "Dortmund up to second". ESPN FC. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013. 
  16. ^ "DORTMUND TRIUMPH IN EPIC SECOND PLACE SHOWDOWN". Bundesliga. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013. 
  17. ^ "Borussia Dortmund 3 Shakhtar 0 (agg 5–2): Gotze and Co show ruthless streak to seal progression to quarter-finals". Daily Mail. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013. 
  18. ^ "Devastating Dortmund sweep Shakhtar aside". UEFA. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013. 
  19. ^ "Janas: Błaszczykowski i Janczyk mogli jechać na mundial". pilka.pl. Retrieved 13 June 2012. 
  20. ^ "Poland rallies to draw 2–2 with Russia in friendly ahead of key Euro 2008 qualifiers". Associated Press. 22 August 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008. 
  21. ^ a b Milosavljevic, Zoran (5 June 2008). "Blaszczykowski out of finals". Reuters. Retrieved 13 October 2008. 
  22. ^ "'Kuba' crowned for captain's performance". uefa.com. Retrieved 13 June 2012. 
  23. ^ a b "Wyniki plebiscytu na najlepszych zawodników 2010 roku". pzpn.pl. Retrieved 16 June 2012. 
  24. ^ "Kuba Błaszczykowski wygrał plebiscyt Sportu". gazeta.pl. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  25. ^ "Jakub Błaszczykowski wygrał plebiscyt "Sportu"". sportowefakty.pl. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  26. ^ "Kuba piłkarzem roku Borussii!". sport.interia.pl. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  27. ^ "Kuba Błaszczykowski: RODZICE – ojciec zadźgał matkę" (in Polish). gwizdek24.se.pl. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012. 
  28. ^ Grzelak, Bartosz (1 May 2012). "Niepokonany" (in Polish). igol.pl. Retrieved 18 May 2012. 
  29. ^ "Odważna deklaracja "Kuby". Nowy Citko?" (in Polish). futbolnews.pl. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2012. 
  30. ^ "Błaszczykowski wziął ślub. Zobacz jego miłość!" (in Polish). 21 June 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010. 
  31. ^ "Kuba Błaszczykowski został ojcem. Zostanie mistrzem?" (in Polish). 22 April 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011. 

External links [edit]

Poland squad – UEFA Euro 2012
Poland
Borussia Dortmund – current squad
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