Zbigniew Boniek

Zbigniew Boniek
Zbigniew Boniek
	Boniek in 2007
26th President of the PZPN
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 26 October 2012
Preceded by	Grzegorz Lato
Personal details
Born	3 March 1956 (age 68); Bydgoszcz, Poland
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Occupation	Footballer; Football administrator;
Position(s)
Position(s)	Wide midfielder; centre forward;
Youth career
1966–1973	Zawisza Bydgoszcz
Senior career*
Years	Team
1973–1975	Zawisza Bydgoszcz
1975–1982	Widzew Łódź
1982–1985	Juventus
1985–1988	Roma
Total
International career
1976–1988	Poland
Managerial career
1990–1991	Lecce
1991–1992	Bari
1992–1993	Sambenedettese
1994–1996	Avellino
2002	Poland
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Zbigniew "Zibì" Kazimierz Boniek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈzbiɡɲɛv ˈbɔɲɛk]; born 3 March 1956 in Bydgoszcz) is a former Polish footballer and manager and the current head of the Polish Football Association (PZPN). A former midfielder, he is considered one of the greatest Polish players of all time,^[1] and was selected by Pelé as one of the 100 best living footballers in 2004.

In an 80-cap international career, he scored 24 goals and played at three consecutive World Cups, helping Poland to 3rd place in 1982 and making the Team of the Tournament. His greatest achievements in club football were at Juventus in Italy, winning the 1985 European Cup.

In the early 1990s he managed several Italian clubs, and also the Polish national team in 2002.

Club career

Boniek first played at Zawisza Bydgoszcz and later at Widzew Łódź. He transferred to Italian football giants Juventus in 1982. With Juventus he won the Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup in 1984 (scoring in the final of the former) and the European Cup in 1985. After finishing his professional career at Roma in 1988, he had a successful business career.

As a player, Boniek was known for his blistering pace and acceleration. He was one of the best dribblers of his time and also displayed superb technique. The Juventus president Gianni Agnelli nicknamed him Bello di notte ("Beauty at night", which is a play on the title of the Buñuel movie Belle de Jour) because of his performances in European club tournament matches, which were played in the evening. Boniek was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers and by FIFA as one of the 100 best-ever players. On 12 October 2009, he received a Golden Foot career award.^[2]

International career

Boniek represented Poland in 80 internationals and scored 24 goals. He won a bronze medal (third place) as part of the Polish team at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

Managerial career

Boniek has also coached in Italy, with stints at Lecce in 1990–91, Bari in 1991–92, Sambenedettese in 1992–93, and Avellino in 1994–96.

Boniek has served as vice-president of the Polish Football Association, and in July 2002 he became the manager of Poland. He resigned in December 2002, after just five matches (2 wins, 1 draw, 2 defeats, including a 1–0 home loss against Latvia in a European Championship qualifier).

Later career

According to reports back in Poland, Boniek had been favored to become the new Minister of Sport for his country, but he denied the claims and stated that he had no intention of taking up the job.^[3]

On 26 October 2012, he became the chairman of the Polish Football Association.^[4] As the head of Polish football he is hugely popular with supporters due to his view on decriminalising football fans and in favour of legalising pyrotechnics inside stadiums, which is common ultras practice.^[5]

Honduran international footballer Óscar Boniek García was given the middle name Boniek in honour of Zbigniew Boniek.^[6] García chose to have the name "Boniek" written across the back of his jersey while playing for Houston.

Career statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Poland			League		Polish Cup		Europe		Total
1975–76	Widzew Łódź	Ekstraklasa	27	7	0	0	0	0	27	7
1976–77			24	9	1	0	0	0	25	9
1977–78			30	11	2	1	4	3	36	15
1978–79			28	4	1	1	0	0	29	5
1979–80			26	10	2	1	2	1	30	12
1980–81			11	1	0	0	5	0	16	1
1981–82			26	8	3	2	2	0	31	10
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
1982–83	Juventus	Serie A	28	5	12	3	9	2	49	10
1983–84			27	3	6	2	9	4	42	9
1984–85			26	6	6	3	10	3	42	12
1985–86	Roma		29	7	5	1	0	0	34	8
1986–87			26	4	6	4	2	0	34	8
1987–88			21	6	3	1	0	0	24	7
Total	Poland		172	50	9	5	13	4	194	59
Total	Italy		157	31	38	14	30	9	225	54
Career total			329	81	47	19	43	13	419	113

International goals

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

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	11 May 1976	Basel, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–2	Friendly
2	31 October 1976	Warsaw, Poland	Cyprus	5–0	FIFA World Cup 1978 qualifying
3	19 June 1977	São Paulo, Brazil	Brazil	1–3	Friendly
4	5 April 1978	Poznań, Poland	Greece	5–2	Friendly
5	12 April 1978	Łódź, Poland	Republic of Ireland	3–0	Friendly
6	10 June 1978	Rosario, Argentina	Mexico	3–1	FIFA World Cup 1978
7	10 June 1978	Rosario, Argentina	Mexico	3–1	FIFA World Cup 1978
8	15 November 1978	Wrocław, Poland	Switzerland	2–0	UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying
9	18 April 1979	Leipzig, East Germany	East Germany	1–2	UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying
10	2 May 1979	Chorzów, Poland	Netherlands	2–0	UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying
11	29 August 1979	Warsaw, Poland	Romania	3–0	Friendly
12	13 May 1980	Frankfurt, West Germany	West Germany	1–3	Friendly
13	28 May 1980	Poznań, Poland	Scotland	1–0	Friendly
14	28 October 1981	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Argentina	2–1	Friendly
15	15 November 1981	Wrocław, Poland	Malta	6–0	FIFA World Cup 1982 qualifying
16	18 November 1981	Łódź, Poland	Spain	2–3	Friendly
17	22 June 1982	A Coruña, Spain	Peru	5–1	FIFA World Cup 1982
18	28 June 1982	Barcelona, Spain	Belgium	3–0	FIFA World Cup 1982
19
20
21	22 May 1983	Chorzów, Poland	Soviet Union	1–1	UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
22	27 March 1984	Zurich, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–1	Friendly
23	19 May 1985	Athens, Greece	Greece	4–1	FIFA World Cup 1986 qualifying
24	30 May 1985	Tirana, Albania	Albania	1–0	FIFA World Cup 1986 qualifying