Maciej Żurawski
Personal information
Full name Maciej Stanisław Żurawski
Date of birth (1976-09-12) 12 September 1976[1]
Place of birth Poznań, Polish People's Republic
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1982–1994 Warta Poznań
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1997 Warta Poznań 59 (5)
1997–1999 Lech Poznań 56 (19)
1999–2005 Wisła Kraków 153 (101)
2005–2008 Celtic 55 (22)
2008–2009 AEL 38 (15)
2009–2010 Omonia Nicosia 23 (8)
2010–2011 Wisła Kraków 21 (1)
2014–2015 Poroniec Poronin 32 (21)
Total 437 (192)
International career
1998–2008 Poland 72 (17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Maciej Stanisław Żurawski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈmatɕɛj ʐuˈrafski]; born 12 September 1976) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Żurawski appeared 72 times and scored 17 goals for Poland, representing them at two World Cups and Euro 2008. He also scored 121 goals in the Polish Ekstraklasa (11th most in history) and was the top league goalscorer twice.[2][3] He also played in Scotland, Greece and Cyprus.

Club career

Warta Poznań

Born in Poznań, Żurawski started his career as a youth at Warta Poznań, the club where his father Andrzej was one of the football coaches. He made his debut for Warta Poznań in Ekstraklasa on 31 July 1994 in a league match against Widzew Łódż, at the age of 17. At the end of his first season, Warta was relegated from the Ekstraklasa.[4]

Lech Poznań

In November 1997, Żurawski went to Lech Poznań on a six-month loan. The loan was extended and, finally, he moved to Lech Poznań on a permanent transfer. Żurawski scored his first Ekstraklasa goal on 29 March 1998 against Górnik Zabrze. In his last game for Lech on 26 September 1999, he scored two goals against his new club Wisła Kraków. When leaving Lech, he gave autographed cards to fans with the dedication 'Remember Żuraw, the boy who left his heart in Poznań'.[4]

Wisła Kraków

Żurawski made his debut for Wisła Kraków in Ekstraklasa on 2 November 1999 in a match against ŁKS Łódź.[5] On 4 March 2000, he scored his first goal for Wisla in the Ekstraklasa in a match against Odra Wodzisław.[6] He won the Ekstraklasa championship in 2000–01 season with Wisła Kraków.[7] In 2001–02 season, Żurawski scored 21 goals in 27 matches and was the Ekstraklasa top goalscorer. In 2002–03 season Żurawski played very well in UEFA Cup, where he scored ten goals in ten matches, including seven goals in matches against Parma, Schalke 04 and Lazio.[8] When Kamil Kosowski left Wisła Kraków, Żurawski has been chosen new Wisła Kraków captain. In 2003–04 season Żurawski scored 20 goals in 26 matches and led Wisła Kraków to achieve the Ekstraklasa title. He was the Ekstraklasa top goalscorer in 2003–04 season. In 2004–05 he won his fourth Ekstraklasa title with Wisła Kraków. In this season he scored 24 goals in 25 matches for Wisła in Ekstraklasa.[9]

Celtic

Żurawski playing for Celtic against Basel in July 2007

He joined Scottish Premier League side Celtic from Wisła Kraków in July 2005 and signed a three-year contract. He inherited the number 7 shirt from Juninho Paulista (previously with Henrik Larsson), and was nicknamed "Magic Żurawski" by the fans.[10][11]

On 19 February 2006, Żurawski scored four goals as Celtic set a new SPL record by beating Dunfermline Athletic 8–1 at East End Park. Żurawski was subsequently voted the SPL Player of the Month for February. Zurawski finished Celtic's joint top scorer in the 2005–06 season along with John Hartson with 20 goals each.[12]

For the 2006–07 season, Celtic signed strikers Kenny Miller and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink as replacements for Hartson and Dion Dublin. Żurawski formed decent strike partnerships with both players. Having made a good start to the season, notching up 10 goals by January 2007, Żurawski then suffered an injury that kept him out for most of the season and scored no further goals during the campaign.

Żurawski with Wisła Kraków

Chris Killen and Scott McDonald were signed before the start of season 2007–08. Żurawski started Celtic's opening day clash with Kilmarnock at Celtic Park,[13] but fell down the pecking order after McDonald returned from suspension and Killen came back from injury. The only other impact Żurawski made during the season was scoring the winning penalty in a Champions League penalty shootout against Spartak Moscow.[14] His time at Celtic was ultimately over after the signing of Georgios Samaras in January 2008.[15]

Larissa

On the deadline day of the 2008 winter transfer window he was signed by the Greek side A.E. Larissa for £500,000. He scored a goal in his Greek league debut, the only goal of the game to defeat AEK Athens 1–0. Żurawski was Larissa's top scorer for 2008–09 season with nine goals.

Omonia Nicosia

On 2 June 2009, it was announced that Żurawski had signed for Cypriot League runners-up Omonia Nicosia. He played for Omonia for one year and helped the team to return to titles after five years. He was released in May 2010.

Wisła Kraków

On 30 June 2010, Żurawski returned to Wisła Kraków after five years, on a one-year deal. In the 2010–11 season he won his fifth Ekstraklasa title with Wisła.

International career

Żurawski in a match against Costa Rica in 2006 FIFA World Cup

World Cup 2002

Żurawski was selected in the Poland national team's 23-man squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan. He played in all three of the team's games and missed a penalty in the match against the United States, although Poland won 3–1.

World Cup 2006

He was selected in the 23-man Polish squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany. His side finished third in the group and were eliminated at the first hurdle, losing to hosts Germany and a determined Ecuador before defeating Costa Rica. Zurawski did not score in any of the three matches.

Euro 2008

Zurawski was named as Captain in Poland's Euro 2008 squad, starting their first game against Germany on 8 June but later got injured and was substituted at half time. This injury meant that he would miss the rest of the tournament and the captaincy was given to Jacek Bąk and Michał Żewłakow for the second and third group stage matches.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Domestic League Domestic Cups European Cups Other [16] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Warta Poznań 1994–95 Ekstraklasa 21000––210
1995–96 I liga 22100––221
1996–97 II liga 20––20
1997–98 I liga 164–––164
Total 595200000615
Lech Poznań 1997–98 Ekstraklasa 17210––182
1998–99 Ekstraklasa 301110––3111
1999–2000 Ekstraklasa 961042–148
Total 56193042006321
Wisła Kraków 1999–2000 Ekstraklasa 20672––278
2000–01 Ekstraklasa 2787360–4011
2001–02 Ekstraklasa 27218784–4332
2002–03 Ekstraklasa 2822761010–4538
2003–04 Ekstraklasa 26201085–3525
2004–05 Ekstraklasa 252411653–4133
Total 1531014124372200241149
Celtic 2005–06 Scottish Premier League 24164420–3020
2006–07 Scottish Premier League 2663450–3410
2007–08 Scottish Premier League 500030–80
Total 552278100007230
Larissa 2007–08 Super League Greece 11610––126
2008–09 Super League Greece 27920–40339
Total 38153000404515
Omonia 2009–10 A Katigoria 2384232–3012
Wisła Kraków 2010–11 Ekstraklasa 2113141–283
Poroniec Poronin 2013–14 III liga 22–––22
2014–15 III liga 2014–––2014
2015–16 III liga 105–––105
Total 3221–––3221
Career total 4371926335582740562254

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Poland 199810
199930
200020
200110
2002114
200371
2004124
2005116
2006110
200781
200851
Total7217

International goals

Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Żurawski goal.
List of international goals scored by Maciej Żurawski
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
110 February 2002Limassol, Cyprus Faroe Islands2–1Friendly
2
318 May 2002Warsaw, Poland Estonia1–0Friendly
421 August 2002Szczecin, Poland Belgium1–1Friendly
516 November 2003Płock, Poland Serbia and Montenegro4–3Friendly
618 August 2004Poznań, Poland Denmark1–5Friendly
74 September 2004Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland3–02006 World Cup qualification
88 September 2004Chorzów, Poland England1–22006 World Cup qualification
913 October 2004Cardiff, Wales Wales3–22006 World Cup qualification
109 February 2005Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Poland Belarus1–3Friendly
1130 March 2005Warsaw, Poland Northern Ireland1–02006 World Cup qualification
1229 May 2005Szczecin, Poland Albania1–0Friendly
134 June 2005Baku, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan3–02006 World Cup qualification
143 September 2005Chorzów, Poland Austria3–22006 World Cup qualification
157 September 2005Warsaw, Poland Wales1–02006 World Cup qualification
1628 March 2007Kielce, Poland Armenia1–0Euro 2008 qualification
1727 May 2008Reutlingen, Germany Albania1–0Friendly

Honours

Wisła Kraków

Celtic

Omonia

Individual

  • Ekstraklasa top goalscorer: 2001–02, 2003–04
  • Polish Footballer of the Year: 2002
  • Football Oscar "Footballer of the Year": 2002
  • Ekstraklasa Footballer of the Year: 2001, 2002
  • Ekstraklasa Striker of the Year: 2003
  • SPL Player of the Month: February 2006

References

  1. ↑ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ↑ Polska, Grupa Wirtualna. "Lotto Ekstraklasa - Piłka nożna - WP SportoweFakty".
  3. ↑ "Historia Klub 100 bramek - Piłka nożna - Onet.pl Sport". Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 Nosal, Bartosz (24 February 2012). "Wychowanek Warty i gwiazda Lecha kończy karierę". Gazeta Wyborcza.
  5. ↑ Kusina, Maciej. "Wisła Kraków 1-0 Łódzki KS".
  6. ↑ Kusina, Maciej. "Wisła Kraków 3-1 Odra Wodzisław Śląski".
  7. ↑ Kusina, Maciej. "I liga 2000/2001".
  8. ↑ Kusina, Maciej. "Puchar UEFA 2002/2003".
  9. ↑ "Maciej Żurawski" (in Polish). 90minut.pl.
  10. ↑ "'Magic' Zurawski, a Pole apart". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  11. ↑ "Polish World Cup star tips Zurawski to weave magic in Germany". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  12. ↑ Zurawski is player of the month, BBC Sport.
  13. ↑ "Celtic 0-0 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 5 August 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  14. ↑ Harris, Nick (30 August 2007). "Celtic 1 Spartak Moscow 1 (Celtic win 4-3 on pens): Boruc the hero as Celtic see off Spartak in shoot-out drama". The Independent. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  15. ↑ "Maciej Zurawski's Shock Swipe At Celtic". Daily Record. 14 March 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  16. ↑ Including play-off matches
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