Włodzimierz Smolarek
Polish footballer (1957–2012)
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Włodzimierz Wojciech Smolarek (16 July 1957 – 7 March 2012) was a Polish footballer who played as a winger or an attacking midfielder.
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Włodzimierz Smolarek | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 16 July 1957 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Aleksandrów Łódzki, Poland | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 7 March 2012 (aged 54) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Aleksandrów Łódzki, Poland | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Positions | |||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Włókniarz Aleksandrów Łódzki | |||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1976 | Widzew Łódź | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1976–1977 | Widzew Łódź | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1978 | Legia Warsaw | 18 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 1979–1986 | Widzew Łódź | 181 | (61) | ||||||||||||||
| 1986–1988 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 63 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–1990 | Feyenoord | 46 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| 1990–1996 | Utrecht | 166 | (32) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 474 | (123) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1992 | Poland | 60 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2009 | Feyenoord (youth) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
He played most of his 20-year professional career with Widzew Łódź and Utrecht, appearing in more than 200 official games for the former. He amassed Eredivisie totals of 212 matches and 45 goals, over the course of eight seasons.
Smolarek represented Poland in two World Cups, earning 60 caps. In 1984 and 1986, he won the Polish Footballer of the Year Award of the Piłka Nożna football weekly.[1]
Club career
Born in Aleksandrów Łódzki, Smolarek played for Widzew Łódź and Legia Warsaw in his country. He won the Ekstraklasa championship with the former side in 1981 and 1982, as well as the 1985 Polish Cup.
In 1986, aged 29, Smolarek was allowed to leave the Iron Curtain nation, starting with Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga where he won the German Cup in his second season, playing the full 90 minutes in the 1–0 win against VfL Bochum.[2] He retired at 39 after eight years in the Netherlands, with Feyenoord and FC Utrecht, then went on to work with the first club as youth coach for nearly one decade.
International career
Smolarek made his debut for the Poland national team on 12 October 1980, in a 1–2 friendly loss in Argentina. Over the next 12 years he appeared in a further 59 internationals, being selected for the squads at two FIFA World Cups: in 1982 he helped the country finish third in Spain, scoring the opener in a 5–1 first group stage win against Peru. Four years later, celebrating his 50th appearance, he netted the only goal in the group phase contest against Portugal (his 12th and penultimate) in an eventual round-of-16 exit.[3]
In October 2009, Smolarek was hired by the Polish Football Association to oversee the national side's youth program.[4]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Legia Warsaw | 1977–78[5] | Ekstraklasa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 1978–79[5] | Ekstraklasa | 15 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | 17 | 6 | ||
| Total | 18 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | 20 | 6 | |||
| Widzew Łódź | 1978–79[6] | Ekstraklasa | 4 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80[7] | Ekstraklasa | 26 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 30 | 9 | |
| 1980–81[8] | Ekstraklasa | 25 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 6[b] | 1 | 33 | 7 | |
| 1981–82[9] | Ekstraklasa | 28 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2[c] | 2 | 33 | 12 | |
| 1982–83[10] | Ekstraklasa | 20 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 5[c] | 1 | 26 | 11 | |
| 1983–84[11] | Ekstraklasa | 23 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3[b] | 0 | 28 | 9 | |
| 1984–85[12] | Ekstraklasa | 29 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 4[b] | 1 | 39 | 11 | |
| 1985–86[13] | Ekstraklasa | 26 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2[d] | 0 | 30 | 11 | |
| Total | 181 | 61 | 18 | 4 | 24 | 5 | 223 | 70 | ||
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 1986–87[14] | Bundesliga | 30 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | 33 | 5 | |
| 1987–88[15] | Bundesliga | 33 | 9 | 6 | 2 | — | 39 | 11 | ||
| Total | 63 | 13 | 9 | 3 | — | 72 | 16 | |||
| Feyenoord | 1988–89[16] | Eredivisie | 31 | 10 | ? | 2 | — | 31+ | 12 | |
| 1989–90[16] | Eredivisie | 15 | 3 | ? | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 16+ | 3 | |
| Total | 46 | 13 | ? | 2 | 1 | 0 | 47+ | 15 | ||
| Utrecht | 1989–90[16] | Eredivisie | 15 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 1990–91[16] | Eredivisie | 32 | 11 | ? | 1 | — | 32+ | 12 | ||
| 1991–92[16] | Eredivisie | 31 | 8 | ? | 1 | 4[b] | 3 | 35+ | 12 | |
| 1992–93[16] | Eredivisie | 33 | 9 | 2 | 3 | — | 35 | 12 | ||
| 1993–94[16] | Eredivisie | 30 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| 1994–95[16] | Eredivisie | 23 | 3 | ? | 0 | — | 23+ | 3 | ||
| 1995–96[16] | Eredivisie | 2 | 0 | ? | 0 | — | 2+ | 0 | ||
| Total | 166 | 32 | ? | 6 | 4 | 3 | 173+ | 41 | ||
| Career total | 474 | 123 | 32+ | 17 | 29 | 8 | 535+ | 148 | ||
- Includes Polish Cup, DFB-Pokal, KNVB Cup
- Appearances in European Cup
- Appearances in European Cup Winners' Cup
International
- Poland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Smolarek goal.[3]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 December 1980 | Empire Stadium, Gżira, Malta |  Malta | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 10 October 1981 | Zentrastadion, Leipzig, East Germany |  East Germany | 2–0 | 3–2 | |
| 3 | 3–1 | 3–2 | ||||
| 4 | 15 November 1981 | Olympic Stadium, Wrocław, Poland | Malta | 2–0 | 6–0 | |
| 5 | 4–0 | 6–0 | ||||
| 6 | 22 June 1982 | Estadio Riazor, A Coruña, Spain |  Peru | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1982 FIFA World Cup |
| 7 | 8 September 1982 | Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland |  Finland | 1–0 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 8 | 17 April 1983 | 10th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland | Finland | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| 9 | 17 October 1984 | Municipal Stadium, Zabrze, Poland |  Greece | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 31 October 1984 | Municipal Stadium, Mielec, Poland |  Albania | 1–0 | 2–2 | |
| 11 | 19 May 1985 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | Greece | 1–0 | 4–1 | |
| 12 | 7 June 1986 | Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico |  Portugal | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1986 FIFA World Cup |
| 13 | 17 May 1987 | Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary |  Hungary | 2–1 | 3–5 | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying |
Personal life
Smolarek was married to Zdzisława, fathering sons Euzebiusz and Mariusz. The former was also a footballer and a forward, who also represented Feyenoord and Poland and also had a three-year spell with Borussia Dortmund.[17]
Smolarek died on 7 March 2012 at the age of 54, in his hometown, Aleksandrów Łódzki.[18][19]
Honours
Widzew Łódź[20]
- Ekstraklasa: 1980–81, 1981–82
- Polish Cup: 1984–85
Eintracht Frankfurt
Poland
- FIFA World Cup third place: 1982[20]
Individual
- Order of Polonia Restituta Knight's Cross[21]
- Piłka Nożna Polish Footballer of the Year: 1984, 1986[22]