Marcin Oleksy
Polish disabled footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marcin Oleksy (born 11 April 1987) is a Polish amputee footballer who plays as a forward for Warta Poznań and the Poland national amputee football team.[1] He was the winner of the FIFA Puskás Award in 2022.[2][3]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| National team | Poland |
| Born | 11 April 1987 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Amputee football |
| Position | Forward |
| Club | Warta Poznań |
Biography
Until 2010, Oleksy played as a goalkeeper for Polish club Korona Kożuchów. His coach, Andrzej Sawicki, was under the impression that he could have achieved a lot in his further career.[1] In 2010, Olesky stopped his career to focus on working as a construction worker.[1]
In November 2010, Oleksy lost his leg to an accident at his workplace. In 2019, he started playing for Warta Poznań, and in 2021 for the Poland national amputee team.[1]
Puskás Award
On 28 February 2023, Oleksy received the FIFA Puskás Award for the best goal of the year, which he claimed at The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 Gala.[3] His goal won over other finalists Dimitri Payet and Richarlison. The winning goal was an overhead kick scored on 6 November 2022 in a match between Warta Poznań and Stal Rzeszów.[2][1] He was the first Polish player and first amputee footballer to win the award, as well as the oldest winner at the age of 35.