Maciej Żurawski

Not to be confused with Maciej Żurowski.
Maciej Żurawski
Personal information
Full name Maciej Żurawski
Date of birth (1976-09-12) 12 September 1976
Place of birth Poznań, Poland
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position 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 Larissa 38 (15)
2009–2010 Omonia Nicosia 23 (8)
2010–2011 Wisła Kraków 21 (1)
Total 405 (171)
National team
1998–2008 Poland 72 (17)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Maciej Żurawski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈmatɕɛj ʐuˈrafski]; born 12 September 1976 in Poznań, Poland) is a retired Polish footballer who played as a striker.

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.[1][2] He also played in Scotland, Greece and Cyprus.

Club career

Wisła Kraków

He made his debut for Wisła Kraków in Ekstraklasa on 2 November 1999 in a match against ŁKS Łódź.[3] On 4 March 2000 he scored his first goal for Wisla in the Ekstraklasa in a match against Odra Wodzisław.[4] He won the Ekstraklasa championship in 2000–01 season with Wisła Kraków.[5] 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 10 goals in 10 matches, including 7 goals in matches against Parma F.C., FC Schalke 04 and S.S. Lazio.[6] 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.[7]

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.

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.[8]

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, 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 FC Spartak Moskow. His time at Celtic was ultimately over after the signing of Georgios Samaras.

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 F.C. 1–0. Żurawski was Larissa's top scorer for 2008–09 season with 9 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 23-man Polish squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals in South Korea & 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 June 8 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.

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1. 10 February 2002 Limassol, Cyprus  Faroe Islands 2–1 Win Friendly
2. 10 February 2002 Limassol, Cyprus  Faroe Islands 2–1 Win Friendly
3. 18 May 2002 Warsaw, Poland  Estonia 1–0 Win Friendly
4. 21 August 2002 Szczecin, Poland  Belgium 1–1 Draw Friendly
5. 16 November 2003 Płock, Poland  Serbia and Montenegro 4–3 Win Friendly
6. 18 August 2004 Poznań, Poland  Denmark 1–5 Loss Friendly
7. 4 September 2004 Belfast, Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland 3–0 Win 2006 World Cup qualification
8. 8 September 2004 Chorzów, Poland  England 1–2 Loss 2006 World Cup qualification
9. 13 October 2004 Cardiff, Wales  Wales 3–2 Win 2006 World Cup qualification
10. 9 February 2005 Grodzisk Wielkopolski, Poland  Belarus 1–3 Loss Friendly
11. 30 March 2005 Warsaw, Poland  Northern Ireland 1–0 Win 2006 World Cup qualification
12. 29 May 2005 Szczecin, Poland  Albania 1–0 Win Friendly
13. 4 June 2005 Baku, Azerbaijan  Azerbaijan 3–0 Win 2006 World Cup qualification
14. 3 September 2005 Chorzów, Poland  Austria 3–2 Win 2006 World Cup qualification
15. 7 September 2005 Warsaw, Poland  Wales 1–0 Win 2006 World Cup qualification
16. 28 March 2007 Kielce, Poland  Armenia 1–0 Win Euro 2008 qualification
17. 27 May 2008 Reutlingen, Germany  Albania 1–0 Win Friendly

Statistics

Club Season League Domestic League Domestic Cups European Cups Other [9] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Warta Poznań 1994–1995 Ekstraklasa 21000––210
1995–1996 I Liga 22100––221
1996–1997 II Liga 20––20
1997–1998 I Liga 164–––164
Lech Poznań 1997–1998 Ekstraklasa 17210––182
1998–1999 Ekstraklasa 301110––3111
1999–2000 Ekstraklasa 961042–148
Wisła Kraków 1999–2000 Ekstraklasa 20672––278
2000–2001 Ekstraklasa 2787360–4011
2001–2002 Ekstraklasa 27218784–4332
2002–2003 Ekstraklasa 2822761010–4538
2003–2004 Ekstraklasa 26201085–3525
2004–2005 Ekstraklasa 252411653–4133
Celtic 2005–2006 SPL 24164420–3020
2006–2007 SPL 2663450–3410
2007–2008 SPL 500030–80
Larissa 2007–2008 Super League 11610––126
2008–2009 Super League 27920–40339
Omonia 2009–2010 A Katigoria 2384232–3012
Wisła Kraków 2010–2011 Ekstraklasa 2113141–283
Total Warta Poznań 59 5 2 0 – – – – 61 5
Total Lech Poznań 56 19 3 0 4 2 – – 63 21
Total Celtic 55 22 7 8 10 0 – – 72 30
Total Larissa 38 15 3 0 – – 4 0 45 15
Total Wisła Kraków 174 102 44 25 41 23 – – 259 150
Total Career Total - - - - - - – – 500 221

Honours

Club
Wisła Kraków
Celtic
Omonia

Individual

References

  1. ↑ http://ekstraklasa.wp.pl/kat,77160,wid,8405991,wiadomosc.html
  2. ↑ http://sport.onet.pl/74318,1248685,11621,0,tabela.html
  3. ↑ http://www.90minut.pl/mecz.php?id_mecz=3793
  4. ↑ http://www.90minut.pl/mecz.php?id_mecz=3857
  5. ↑ http://www2.90minut.pl/liga/0/liga28.html
  6. ↑ http://www.90minut.pl/liga/0/liga156.html
  7. ↑ "Maciej Żurawski" (in Polish). 90minut.pl.
  8. ↑ Zurawski is player of the month, BBC Sport.
  9. ↑ Including play-off matches
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