Zbigniew Boniek

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Zbigniew Boniek

Zbigniew Boniek (IPA: ['zbigɲɛf 'bɔɲɛk]) (born March 3, 1956 in Bydgoszcz) is a famous Polish football player. He first played at Zawisza Bydgoszcz, later at Widzew Łódź.

In 1982 he transferred to Juventus, thus becoming the first Polish football player to play in one of Europe's major leagues. He won a bronze medal (third place) at soccer's World Cup (1982), Cup Winners' Cup (1984), European Super Cup (1984) and European Cup (1985).

He scored 24 goals in 80 matches for the Polish national team. After finishing his professional career at A.S. Roma in 1988 he had a successful business career.

The Juventus president nicknamed him Bello di notte ("Beauty at night") because of his performance at evening matches.

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.

Lately, Boniek has served as vice-president of the Polish Football Association, and in July 2002 he accepted a nomination for the post of the main coach of the Polish national team. He resigned in December 2002, after just 5 matches (2 wins, 1 draw, 2 defeats, including a 0:1 debacle home to Latvia in an European Championship qualifier).

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Image:Flag of Poland (bordered).svg	Poland squad - 1978 FIFA World Cup	Image:Flag of Poland (bordered).svg
1 Tomaszewski \| 2 Mazur \| 3 Maculewicz \| 4 Szymanowski \| 5 Nawałka \| 6 Gorgoń \| 7 Iwan \| 8 Kasperczak \| 9 Żmuda \| 10 Rudy \| 11 Masztaler \| 12 Deyna \| 13 Kupcewicz \| 14 Justek \| 15 Kusto \| 16 Lato \| 17 Szarmach \| 18 Boniek \| 19 Lubański \| 20 Wójcicki \| 21 Kukla \| 22 Kostrzewa \| Coach: Gmoch

Image:Flag of Poland (bordered).svg	Poland squad - 1982 FIFA World Cup Third Place	Image:Flag of Poland (bordered).svg
1 Młynarczyk \| 2 Dziuba \| 3 Kupcewicz \| 4 Dolny \| 5 Janas \| 6 Skrobowski \| 7 Jałocha \| 8 Matysik \| 9 Żmuda \| 10 Majewski \| 11 Smolarek \| 12 Wójcicki \| 13 Buncol \| 14 Pałasz \| 15 Ciołek \| 16 Lato \| 17 Szarmach \| 18 Kusto \| 19 Iwan \| 20 Boniek \| 21 Kazimierski \| 22 Mowlik \| Coach: Piechniczek

Image:Flag of Poland (bordered).svg	Poland squad - 1986 FIFA World Cup	Image:Flag of Poland (bordered).svg
1 Młynarczyk \| 2 Przybyś \| 3 Żmuda \| 4 Ostrowski \| 5 Wójcicki \| 6 Matysik \| 7 Tarasiewicz \| 8 Urban \| 9 Karaś \| 10 Majewski \| 11 Smolarek \| 12 Kazimierski \| 13 Komornicki \| 14 Kubicki \| 15 Buncol \| 16 Pałasz \| 17 Zgutczyński \| 18 Pawlak \| 19 Wandzik \| 20 Boniek \| 21 Dziekanowski \| 22 Furtok \| Coach: Piechniczek