Dariusz Paweł Dziekanowski (born 30 September 1962) is a Polish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

pundit, coach and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

. He was known as Jacki Dziekanowski during his time playing in the Scottish and English leagues. He started his career at

Polonia Warsaw Polonia Warsaw (, ), founded on 19 November 1911, is the oldest existing sports club in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, best known for its Association football, football and basketball teams. It also has track and field, Swimming (sport), swimm ...

, between 1973 and 1979, throughout the youth set-up and into a very young first team, but went to Gwardia Warszawa from 1979 to 1983. Having not impressed the coach during his final season, he moved to

Widzew Łódź RTS Widzew Łódź () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames ''Czerwona Armia'' (Red Army) and ''Czerwono-biało-czerwoni'' (Red-wh ...

in 1985. However, the following year he was selected in Poland 's roster for the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

. He won the Polish Cup in 1989. He also had a minor career in archery, in 1988. He decided to move to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in 1989 and became a fan favourite after scoring four goals in a

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

tie against

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, lin ...

. He left Celtic to join

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

in 1992. Troubled years followed where he travelled all around Europe, but eventually he found himself settled back in Warsaw in his retirement season of 1996–97. Since his retirement, he has worked in Polish television as a football commentator. From July 2006 to May 2008 he was an assistant to

Leo Beenhakker Leo Beenhakker (; 2 August 1942 – 10 April 2025) was a Dutch football player and coach. Nicknamed "Don Leo" for his role in Spanish football, he had an extensive and successful career both at club and international level. After his amateur pl ...

for the

Poland national football team The Poland national football team () represents Poland in men's international Association football, football competitions since their first match in 1921. It is governed by the Polish Football Association (PZPN), the governing body for football ...

. In 1985, he was the winner of the Polish Footballer of the Year plebiscite organized by the '' Piłka Nożna'' football weekly.

Career statistics

International

International goals

Honours

Widzew Łódź *

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

: 1985–86 Legia Warsaw *

: 1988–89 Polonia Warsaw * II liga West: 1995–96 Poland *

Nehru Cup The Nehru Cup was an international football tournament organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), named after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. It was launched in 1982, but was not held from 1998 to 2006. After ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Poland U18 *

UEFA European Under-18 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

runner-up:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

Individual * ''Piłka Nożna'' Polish Footballer of the Year: 1985 *

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

top scorer: 1987–88

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dziekanowski, Dariusz 1962 births Living people Footballers from Warsaw Men's association football forwards Polish men's footballers 1986 FIFA World Cup players Poland men's international footballers Poland men's youth international footballers Polonia Warsaw players Gwardia Warsaw players Widzew Łódź players Legia Warsaw players Celtic F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Alemannia Aachen players 1. FC Köln players Ekstraklasa players I liga players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Oberliga (football) players Polish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland 20th-century Polish sportsmen