Poland Greatest All-time team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

World Cup 1982

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Polish diaspora

Poland entered its first ever World Cup Finals in 1938.  They played an epic match against Brazil, where Ernst Wilimowski scored 4 goals.  However, for the next 34 years, Polish football did not make any other mark internationally.  Then, Poland had a Golden era between 1972 and 1986. They won the Olympic Gold in 1972.  And then, progressed to the semifinal of the WC Finals in 1974 and 1978.  In 1974, Poland probably fielded their greatest ever team(even through Wlodzimierz Lubanski missed the Finals).  Their heroics actually started with the World Cup Qualifier against England at Wembley in 1973. They drew England and eliminated them in the progress.  It was considered one of England's blackest nights in their football history.  Then, Poland came third in the WC Finals.  Grzegorz Lato finished as the top scorer. Some football historians considered Poland 1974 as good as Netherlands and West Germany of the same tournament.  In 1982, Poland eliminated the Soviet Union in the 2nd round under the cloud of the Solidarity movement of the 1980's.  They again finished 3rd.  

After the World Cup Finals in 1986, the standard of Polish football declined.  They had high expectations at the World Cup Finals in 2006, where they played in next door Germany, but they failed to go past the Group stage.  Again, in 2008, Poland hosted the European Championship, but failed to reach the second stage.

This is my all-time team for Poland. If there were an All-Time World Cup, this would be the 23 players I would bring to the tournament.  

Euro 2016

Team
GK: Jan Tomaszewski
Jan Tomaszewski was considered one of the top keepers in the history of the game.  Before the important World Cup Qualifiers vs England in 1973, Brian Clough called him a "clown".  He responded by playing a man-of-the-match performance in which Poland eliminated England and qualified for the WC Finals in West Germany.  At the World Cup Finals, Poland reached the semifinal.  he won 63 caps for Poland, making him his country's most-capped 'keeper.

Jan Tomaszewski

GK: Jozef Mlynarczyk
Jozef Mlynarczyk left Poland in 1984 to play in the West.  He first played in Bastia.  He was best remembered for his stint with F.C. Porto where he won the European Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 1987.  He was the starting keeper for Poland at the World Cup Finals in 1982 and 1986. He was Polish Player of the Year in 1983. He had 42 caps between 1979 and 1986.

GK:  Edward Szymkowiak
Edward Szymkowiak was a keeper from the late 1950's and 1960's.  He was the starting keeper in 1957 when Poland beat the Soviet Union.  He was Poland's Player of the season four times: 1957, 1958, 1965, 1966.  He played for such a clubs like Ruch Chorzów and Legia Warszawa, but most of his career he spent in Polonia Bytom. He is one of the legend of that club. The stadium of Polonia Bytom is named after him.

RB: Antoni Szymanowski
Antoni Szymanowski was a member of the Poland national football team in two FIFA World Cups: 1974 and 1978.  He won a Gold Model at the 1972 Olympics and participated in the 1976 edition. He is considered to be one of Poland's greatest defenders.  He spent most of his career with Wisła Kraków. He played briefly in Belgium with Club Brugge at the end of his career. between 1981 and 1984.

RB:  Łukasz Piszczek
Lukasz Piszczek is among the top fullback playing in the Bundesliga. He started his career with Hertha Berlin. He is a member of Borussia Dortmund team that finished as the runner-up at the Champions' League, having previously played for Hertha BSC and Zagłębie Lubin.  In 2021, he joined Goczałkowice-Zdrój.  Since 2007, he picked up over 66 caps for Poland. He participated at the European Championship of 2008, 2012 and 2016, and the 2018 World Cup Finals.

Lukasz Piszczek 

CB: Stanisław Oślizło
Stanisław Oślizło was a captain of Górnik Zabrze in the Cup Winners Cup final in 1970 versus Manchester City.  He played for them between 1960 and 1973.  It was their greatest era.  He also played for Odra Wodzisław and later Górnik Radlin in Poland before that. He played for Poland 57 times scoring one goal (1961–1971). He played right before the Golden Generation.

CB: Kamil Glik
The previous clubs Glik played for include Piast Gliwice from 2008 to 2010, Palermo from 2010 to 2011, Torino from 2011 to 2016 and Monaco from 2017 to 2020, the latter two of which he was appointed captain of the team. Since 2021, he plays for Benevento Calcio. He also played for Real Madrid C team at one point. He represented Poland at UEFA Euro 2016, the 2018 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2020. For Poland, he played over 90 times since 2010.  

CB:  Jerzy Gorgon
Jerzy Gorgon is considered to be one of Poland's greatest defensive players playing along side Władysław Zmuda. With Górnik Zabrze, he won five consecutive Polish Cups in 1968-72.  He had 55 caps. He was a participant at the World Cup Finals in 1974 and 1978.  Gorgoń moved to Argentina in 1978. He had a mostly unsuccessful time there and moved back to Switzerland in 1980 to play for FC Gallen.

CB:  Władysław Zmuda
Władysław Zmuda was probably Poland's best ever defender.  He earned 91 caps for the Poland and is a four-time FIFA World Cup participant.  He played a total of 21 matches at the World Cup finals, which (tied with Uwe Seeler and Diego Maradona) is the third most appearances ever, behind only Lothar Matthaus and Paolo Maldini. At the club level, he played for Śląsk Wrocław, Widzew Łódź, Hellas Verona, New York Cosmos and US Cremonese.

Władysław Zmuda

LB:  Adam Musial
Adam Musial spent the best part of his career with Wisla Krakow. He also played in Poland for Arka Gdynia and in England for Hereford in 1980 and 1983.  He also played in the United States at the end of his career. He was capped 34 times. He played for Poland at the World Cup finals in 1974, where Poland finished third.

LB: Zygmunt Anczok

Anczok played 48 times for Poland between 1965 and 1973, winning an Olympic Gold in 1972.  At the time of his arrival in the national game, a player of such speed and agility was practically unheard of in Poland, and he frequently was substituted into games to bring to his teams extra power in not just defense, but attack. He missed the 1974 World Cup through an injury that ended his international career.

DM: Zygmunt Maszczyk
Zygmunt Maszczyk had 36 caps and played for Poland at the World Cup finals in 1974. He won the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics and a silver medal four years at the 1976 Summer Olympics.  He played mostly for Ruch Chorzów, where he was an icon.  He was instrumental in Ruch becoming three time national champion (1968, 1974, 1975) and winning the Polish Cup (1974). At the end of his career, he played a single season for Valenciennes FC.

DM: Grzegorz Krychowiak 
Grzegorz Krychowiak started his career in France with Bordeaux, but played mainly with Stade de Reims.  From 2014 and 2016, he played for Sevilla, where he won Europa League each of his two seasons. In 2016, he joined Paris St Germain, but spent his time on loan. He played for Lokomotiv Moscow. Since 2008, he was capped by Poland. He played in the 2016 European Championship and the 2018 World Cup Finals.

Grzegorz Krychowiak

CM: Henryk Kasperczak
As a player, Kasperczak took part in two FIFA World Cups with Poland, achieving third place in 1974.  He won a silver medal  at the 1976 Summer Olympics. With Stal Mielec, Kasperczak won two Ekstraklasa Championships in his native Poland. He had also played for the reserve team of Legia Warsaw, before ending his career in FC Metz.

RW:  Grzegorz Lato
Grzegorz Lato was a key player during Poland's Golden era in football, largely beginning at the 1972 Olympics where they won the Gold Medal and ended with the World Cup Finals in 1986.   He was the leading scorer at the 1974 World Cup.  Lato spent most of his club career with Stal Mielec and led them to Polish Premier League championships in 1973 and 1976.  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.,

Grzegorz Lato

LW: Robert Gadocha
Robert Gadocha was capped 62 times form 1967 to 1975.  He was also member of the 1972 Summer Olympics, winning a Gold Medal and as well as attending the 1974 World Cup Finals in Wesr Germany.  He started his career in Garbarnia Krakow, but he spent most of his career with Legia Warsaw. He also played in FC Nantes in France between 1975 and 1978 and the Chicago Sting in NASL in 1978.

AM: Kazimierz Deyna
Kazimierz Deyna was one of the greatest playmakers from Eastern Europe.  He played for Poland on 97 times, scoring 41 goals, and often captained the side.  He won the Gold Medal in the 1972 Olympic Games.  He went to the WC Finals in 1974, where he made the Team of the Tournament. He played mostly for Legia Warsaw. Later, he played for Manchester City between 1978 and 1981 and San Diego Sockers in the 1980's.

Kazimierz Deyna

FW: Ernst Wilimowski

Born in 1916, Ernst Wilimowski was a native of Silesia. He was one of the best goalscorers in the history of both the Polish national team and in Polish club soccer.  He played for Poland at the WC in 1938, where he became the first player to score 4 goals in a game.  During the War, he retook German citizenship because of the situation in Silesia.  He played for Germany from 1941, earning 8 caps scoring 13 goals in his career.   

FW/RW/LW: Zbigniew Boniek

Zbigniew Boniek is one of the greatest Polish players in the history of the game.  He was capped 80 times. Boniek first played for Polish clubs Zawisza Bydgoszcz and later at Widzew Łódź.  After a starring role at the World Cup Finals in 1982, he moved to Italy and played for Juventus alongside Platini, Zoff and Rossi.  He won the penalty that sealed the European Cup in 1985 for Juvnetus.  He is an all-time greats with the club.  He also played for Roma at the end of his career.

Zbigniew Boniek

ST:  Wlodzimierz Lubanski
Wlodzimierz Lubanski is Poland's greatest striker.  He was at one point the all-time highest goal scorer for the Polish national team. For his national team, Lubański amassed 75 caps between 1963 and 1980, scoring 48 goals.  He missed the WC Finals in 1974 because of injury, but he went to play in the 1978 World Cup Finals. He played for Górnik Zabrze in Poland before heading to play in the West in 1975.

ST: Gerard Cieslik

Cieslik spent his entire career with Ruch, from July 1939 to June 1959, a tenure which included victory in the 1951 Polish Cup, and 3 Poland Master titles (1951, 1952, 1953). In total, he scored 177 goals for Ruch.is most noted for having scored two goals against the Soviet Union on 20 October 1957 at Stadion Śląski.   He had a total of 45 caps.  He was voted by Polish FA as their greatest player in 1969 as their greatest ever player for their 50th Anniversary.

ST:  Andrzej Szarmach
Andrzej Szarmach played in the Golden Generation of the early 1970's.  Szarmach profited from the absence of Włodzimierz Lubański to lead the Polish attack at the World Cup Finals in 1974, where he scored 5 goals. He won a silver medal at the 1976 Olympics where he finished as the top scorer. In Poland, he played for Górnik Zabrze and Stal Mielec.  Later, he played for AJ Auxerre.
 
ST:  Robert Lewandowski
At the time of writing, Robert Lewandowski is Poland's all-time leading scorer.  He started with Znicz Pruszków and Lech Poznań, but he is known for his career with Borussia Dortmund, where he scored over 70 goals and reached the Champions' League Final in 2013.  After the 2013-2014 season, he moved to rival Bayern Munich under a controversial situation.  For Poland, he was capped over 90 times.  He played in Euro 2012 and 2016, and the World Cup Finals in 2018.

Robert Lewandowski

Honorable Mention
Hubert Kostka, Mieczysław Wiśniewski, Wojciech Szczęsny, Jerzy Dudek, Artur Boruc, Łukasz Fabiański, Edward Madejski, Józef Wandzik, Stanislaw Oslizlo, Stefan Majewski, Jacek Krzynówek, Józef Młynarczyk, Piotr Nowak, Ebi Smolarek, Tadeusz Parpan, Roman Wójcicki, Tomasz Wałdoch, Władysław Szczepaniak, Pavel Janes, Michał Żewłakow, Jacek Bąk and Mirosław Bulzacki, Henryk Martyna, Mirosław Bulzacki, Piotr Świerczewski, Marek Dziuba, Henryk Szczepański, Stefan Majewski, Lucjan Brychczy, Dariusz Dziekanowski, Krzysztof Warzycha, Jakub Błaszczykowski, Włodzimierz Smolarek, Lucjan Brychczy, Ernst Pohl.

Poland World Cup 1974

Squad Explanation 
-- This team was created in 2014.  I went for a simple review in 2019. Then, in July, 2022, I completely redid the team.  

-- Robert Lewandowski, Jan Tomaszewski, Ernst Wilimowski, Władysław Zmuda, Jerzy Gorgon, Zbigniew Boniek, Kazimierz Deyna and Grzegorz Lato were automatic selections.  No need for explanations.

-- The original team was created in December, 2014.  Poland in the last decade was their best since the 1980's. They reached the quarterfinal of Euro 2016 before being eliminated by Portugal. In 2014, Łukasz Piszczek and Robert Lewandowski already made the team.  I later added Grzegorz Krychowiak and Kamil Glik.  Since 2014, Roberto Lewandowski firmly established himself among the best strikers in the world. He had a decorated career playing in Germany.  He was unfairly lost out in winning the Ballon D'or. I now considered him as the greatest player ever from Poland.

-- Most of the squad played between the 1972 Olympics and the 1986 World Cup Finals.  Sixteen of the 23 members on this team played during that period. Poland won a Gold Medal in the 1972 Olympics and then, a silver medal four years later.  They also qualified 4 straight World Cup Finals.  They advanced to the semi-final twice in this period.  Their entire starting eleven from the 1974 World Cup team was selected.

-- Poland first established themselves to reckon with during the World Cup Qualifier in 1973.  They qualified ahead of a very good English side.  I did a what if England World Cup 1974 side. Without Peter Shilton and Norman Hunter's blunders in the Wembley's World Cup Qualifier in 1973, Poland's legacy would not be the same. Bobby Moore also had another blunder in the earlier game against them too. 

Goalkeepers

-- In 2014, I went with three older keepers in Jan Tomaszewski, Jozef Mlynarczyk and Edward Szymkowiak. For the English speaking world, Jan Tomaszewski was the most famous goalkeeper from Poland due to his heroic performance against England in 1973.  Józef Młynarczyk (FC Porto) was the second Pole to win the European Cup. His FC Porto defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 in the 1987 final.  He also led Poland to a third place finish at the 1982 World Cup Finals.  The two were undisputed selections, but I would reexamine Szymkowiak's status.

-- Jerzy Dudek was the hero of Liverpool's victory in the Champions' League.  However, for Poland, his career was uneventful.  I seriously  considered to take him over Edward Szymkowiak.  However, Szymkowiak was the longest-serving goalkeeper in the history of the Polish national team. He was the hero of Poland's famous victory over the USSR in 1957, which was then a great moment for Polish football.

-- Wojciech Szczęsny, Artur Boruc and Łukasz Fabiański were also considered for the third spot. Both Wojciech Szczęsny and Artur Boruc established themselves playing club football in Western Europe.  However, Wojciech Szczęsny was haunted by bad luck at big international tournaments.  He received a red card against Greece at the Euro 2012. He was injured after the first game four years later at the Euro 2014.  He then had a blooper against Senegal at the 2018 World Cup Finals followed by an own goal against Slovakia in the Euro 2020.  His contemporary Łukasz Fabiański did well for Poland in Euro 2016, but was a flop in Arsenal.  Artur Boruc did well at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008, but he was lesser known than Jerzy Dudek in their prime. I would have chosen Dudek over him.

-- Hubert Kostka helped Poland to win a Gold Medal at the 1972 Olympics, but he was replaced by the younger Jan Tomaszewski.  I also came upon two old timers Mieczysław Wiśniewski and Edward Madejski.  Wiśniewski played in the 1924 Olympics, and Madejski played between the World War II.  They made honorable mentions.  

Defenders

-- Władysław Zmuda was one of the most underrated defenders of the 1970's.  Jerzy Gorgon was even more underrated.  The two of them helped Poland to become a force in Europe during the Golden Generation.  Their selections were unquestioned.  Stanisław Oślizło was a captain of Górnik Zabrze in the Cup Winners Cup final in 1970 versus Manchester City.  Their tournament was a milestone in Polish football history.

 Stanisław Oślizło

-- In 2014, I selected Roman Wójcicki on the team.  However, when I updated the team in 2019, I looked at players from the 2010's generation. I dropped Roman Wójcicki and replaced him with Kamil Glik who proved himself at the club level with AS Monaco.  During my review in 2022, I started to reexamine both players along with Tomasz Wałdoch, Władysław Szczepaniak, Pavel Janes, Michał Żewłakow, Jacek Bąk and Mirosław Bulzacki for the 4th central defender.

-- Tomasz Wałdoch's name came up on several Polish language sources as one of Poland's greatest centerbacks. He was a star of Schalke 04 in his prime.   For some old timers, Pavel Janes should have been my 4th central defender.  He successfully inherited Gorgon's position and helped Poland to finish 3rd at the 1982 World Cup Finals.

-- Władysław Szczepaniak who helped Poland to finish 4th at the 1938 Olympics was mentioned as Poland's greatest ever in one Polish source even ahead of Władysław Zmuda and Jerzy Gorgon.  However, I did not see his name anywhere else.  Another source talked about Henryk Martyna, but again, I could not find him elsewhere.

-- Mirosław Bulzacki partnered both Gorgon and Zmuda internationally between the emerge of one and after the decline of another.  However, he was overshadowed by both players.  Michał Żewłakow is its third most capped player ever.  Both were not mentioned much among the top four in their position.  

-- Kamil Glik was impressive at the Euro 2016, where Poland had their best run in a major tournament since 1980's. Monaco bought him from Torino for Euro 11 million, making him the most expensive Polish defender ever.  I found a poll where he received the third highest number of votes as Poland's greatest central defenders, but the poll was conducted right after the Euro 2016.  His performance was fresh in the minds of the fans.  Nevertheless, I decided to keep him as my 4th central defender, regardless of the poll.

Kamil Glik 

-- Łukasz Piszczek was one of the best fullback playing in the Bundesliga during his generation.  Antoni Szymanowski was mentioned as Poland's greatest rightback frequently. Both of them were voted into Poland FA's Team of the Century. However, Poland had some depth in the rightback position. Marek Dziuba who was a contemporary of Antoni Szymanowski deserved an honorable mention. He actually represented Poland more than Szymanowski and was as decorated.  Henryk Szczepański was one of the best Polish defenders of the 1950s and 1960s.  He played 45 matches in the national team, 24 of which as a captain.

-- For leftback, I selected Zygmunt Anczok and Adam Musial. Anczok was widely considered Poland's greatest leftback, but an injury kept him off the 1974 World Cup team. Musial was Anczok's replacement for the 1974 World Cup Finals. Marek Koźmiński played about 10 years in Serie A when it was the best league in the world.  He could have replace one of the two on the team. Dariusz Wdowczyk played over 50 times for Poland, but was bypassed for the 1986 World Cup Finals.  I also looked into Tomasz Rząsa.

Midfielders/Wingers

-- I first selected Kazimierz Deyna, Henryk Kasperczak and Zygmunt Maszczyk.  The trio made up Poland's midfield in the 1974 World Cup Finals. Deyna finished third in the 1974 Ballon D'or in 1974 after Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer for his performance at the World Cup Finals.  

-- Zygfryd Szołtysik did not have the exposure outside Poland because he played before the Golden Generation. It was hard to judge him.  I left him off the team.

-- The original 2014 team lacked midfielders.  So in 2019, I also added Grzegorz Krychowiak to the team.  He proved himself playing with Sevilla. I also looked into Piotr Świerczewski.

-- Poland had strong wide players, especially the pair from the 1974 World Cup Finals. Robert Gadocha was one of the best player at the 1974 World Cup Finals.  According some reports, he was the top assist player in the tournament.  I could not ignore him for being an important player in Poland's greatest football moments. Grzegorz Lato won the Golden Boot award at the 1974 World Cup Finals with 7 goals.  Zbigniew Boniek could also deploy out in the wide.

-- I preferred a team balanced with players from different eras and I did not have many players from the modern generation.  So right winger Jakub Błaszczykowski was high on the revised team in 2019. In fact, I added him to the team. However, in 2022, I thought that the team already had Robert Gadocha, Grzegorz Lato and Zbigniew Boniek. 

-- Błaszczykowski was twice named Polish Footballer of the Year in 2008 and 2010. With 108 appearances, he is the second most capped player for Poland.  He also did well with Borussia Dortmund. However, Gadocha and Lato had outstanding international career while Boniek's club and international career spoke for itself.  So I left him off.  I considered dropping Zygmunt Maszczyk or a forward for him. 

-- Zygmunt Maszczyk's name came up frequently in my research.  He was an unsung hero of the 1974 World Cup Finals.  He was hard working midfielder who kept the team moving.   Meanwhile, Henryk Kasperczak was more of a deep lying playmaker while Deyna was a classic playmaker.  Grzegorz Krychowiak's defensive presence is needed.  So each of them had a specific role.  So do I need so more wide players or central midfielders? At the moment, the team had three wide players and 4 central midfielders on the team.  The central midfield position probably needed that extra body more than the wide position.   I had too many forwards, but the forwards I selected were among the greatest ever for Poland.  In the end, I dropped Błaszczykowski.

-- Henryk Kasperczak consistently mentioned as one of Poland's greatest midfielders after Denya. I did not know much about his style.  He seemed to play a deep role than Denya.

Forwards

-- Poland went through a dark period after the World Cup Finals in 1986. The current generation of Polish players is the best since the 1980's. Robert Lewandowski is now probably Poland's greatest ever player. 

-- Wlodzimierz Lubanski was selected as Poland's UEFA Jubilee Player in 2003. At the age 16, he was Poland's youngest ever international player. Before the 1974 World Cup Finals,  he was considered Poland's star player, but an injury kept him off the tournament.  His replacement Andrzej Szarmach scored 5 goals.  at the World Cup Finals in 1974. However, three of the goals came against Haiti. Nevertheless, he established himself after the World Cup Finals as Poland's leading striker.

-- Ernst Wilimowski was the best ever Polish player before the 1970's.  With over 500 goals, he is among the highest goal scorers in the history of the game. He was of Silesian German background.  During the War, he switched back to German citizen and played for Germany.  Let's leave politics away from this blog. He played for Poland making him eligible.  
-- Ernest Pohl was not as well-known as Wilimowski. He was one of the all-time greats before 1970's.  He remained the all-time leading scorer in the Polish league.   During the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, he scored a rare 5 goals in a 6:1 win against Tunisia.  In 2014, I never thought that he should not be on this team.  However, his place was in doubt during the 2022 review.  Gerard Cieślik whom I never heard of until my 2022 research was chosen as Poland's best ever player in 1969 for the 50th anniversary of the Polish FA.  He remained as the 5th greatest by the 75th Anniversary in 1994. Internationally, he scored 2 goals against the Soviet Union in 1957, a victory considered to be Poland's greatest moment up until that point in history.  So he was probably better than Pohl.  

Gerard Cieślik 

-- Krzysztof Warzycha is considered by many to be one of the best foreign players who have played in Greece, but as compared to others, he was less historically significant for Poland.

-- Lucjan Brychczy is Legia Warsaw's all-time leading scorer and appearance leader.  He also helped the club to reach the semifinal of the 1969-1970 European Club.  However, the players who were selected ahead of him had done more internationally for Poland.  He was one of the last player cut on this team.  He and Ernst Pohl are the biggest names missing on this team.  They both went to the 1960 Summer Olympics.

Starting lineup
Formation 4-3-3

 
The squad is based upon the starting lineup of the World Cup 1974.  This is actually the best ever lineup and it just happened that it was dominated by the 1974 team. Only three players are not on that team. In 2020, I updated the lineup.  I started Robert Lewandowski over Lubanski who missed the actual 1974 tournament. Piszczek was also added to the lineup.