Top 5 Greatest Polish Football Players
The Best Polish Football Players in History
In this article, we will rank Poland’s top football stars, including players of the past and active Polish players.
Poland are FIFA World Cup regulars, playing in eight editions of the tournament. This year will make it nine in Qatar.
Despite not experiencing much success, Poland regularly produces quality footballing talent, and football is one of the most popular modern sports in Poland.
Poland finished third place in the World Cups of 1974 and 1982, in what was considered their golden era.
The white and reds also won Olympic gold in Munich in 1972, highlighting that the 1970s and early 1980s truly were the peak of Polish football.
5. Jakub Blaszczykowski
Caps: 108
Goals: 21
Jakub Blaszczykowski is regarded as one of the greatest Polish footballers of all time. Kuba was a winger who made a name for himself early in his career while playing for Wisla Kraków.
He joined Borussia Dortmund in 2007, where he played for most of his career. In addition to two Bundesliga championships, two DFL-Supercups and one DFB-Pokal, he has participated in almost 250 games.
In 2008 and 2010, Blaszczykowski won the title of Polish Footballer of the Year. He is Poland's second-most-capped player, and at UEFA Euro 2012 he served as the national team captain.
Kuba also participated in the 2018 World Cup and the 2016 UEFA European Championships, in which Blaszczykowski was the star player.
Poland reached the Quarter Finals, managing to score two goals as well as converting in the shootout against Switzerland.
4. Kazimierz Deyna
Caps: 97
Goals: 41
Kazimierz Deyna is one of the most well-known Polish football players in history.
Due to his exceptional vision, he was one of the most skilled players of his generation when he played as an offensive midfielder in the playmaker role.
Deyna scored spectacular, unique goals- and once scored directly from a corner. He received multiple votes from Polish fans for Football Player of the Year as a result of his accomplishments and abilities.
He was also the mastermind behind Kazimierz Górski's incredible team, who put on the greatest Polish display in tournament history.
Deyna, who scored forty-one goals while playing ninety-seven games for Poland, was frequently the team's captain.
After the success of The Eagles in the World Cup, Deyna finished third behind Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer in the France Football vote for the best player at the 1974 tournament.
He also captained Poland at the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, in which the squad advanced to the knockout round.
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3. Grzegorz Lato
Caps: 100
Goals: 45
Grzegorz Lato was a tricky right-winger who spent the majority of his career with Stal Mielec, where he starred in 272 league matches- finding the net 111 times.
Lato was a major factor in the club, winning the Ekstraklasa twice. He was also the league's top scorer both times.
Similar to other players on this list, such as Deyna, Lato also fell victim to the Polish FA's policy of not allowing players to transfer abroad until they reach 30.
This meant he (and many others) could not showcase their quality to a wider European audience.
He represented Poland in five major competitions over ten years. He was a medallist in two tournaments, making him one of the most successful Polish footballers of all time.
2. Robert Lewandowski
Caps: 132
Goals: 76
Lewandowski is well-known for his tendency to be in the right place at the right time, as well as his technique.
He also converted any chances that he received as a result of attacking space. He is widely recognised as one of the best players in the world, as well as one of the best strikers in Bundesliga history.
He has almost 500 goals in his career for his clubs and Poland. Lewandowski finished second in the 2021 Ballon d'Or, and he was beaten to it by Lionel Messi.
The former Lech Poznan forward won the Bundesliga twice with Borussia Dortmund before moving on to Bayern Munich in 2014, where he has won the title every season since.
Lewandowski was one of the greatest players in Bayern's treble-winning season, which included a UEFA Champions League triumph in 2019-20.
The striker was the top scorer in the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal as well as the UCL, and he is one of only two players to achieve the feat.
Lewandowski is Poland's all-time leading scorer, with 63 international goals.
In 2015, he was named the International Federation of Football History and Statistics Top International Goal Scorer of the Year.
He has won the Polish Player of the Year award a record eight times.
1. Zbigniew Boniek
Caps: 80
Goals: 24
Zbigniew Boniek is recognised as one of the greatest Polish footballers of all time. He was a midfielder who could also play on the right flank, and as a second striker.
In 2004, Pelé named him in his list of the 100 greatest living football players.
In eighty international appearances, Boniek scored twenty-four goals and appeared in three straight World Cups, propelling Poland to third place in 1982 and making Team of the Tournament.
During his career, his best achievements in club football came with Juventus in Italy.
Between 1983 and 1985, he won the Serie A, Coppa Italia, European Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and European Super Cup. Boniek was also the first Polish player to be crowned a champion of Europe!
Boniek was fortunate enough to play in Poland’s greatest era of football, but he was a huge driving force in their success. He had excellent teammates around him, such as Deyna and Lato.
However, this doesn’t take away from his individual ability on the field.
