Igor Sypniewski (10 November 1974 – 4 November 2022) was a Polish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. A resident of the Bałuty area of

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

, he was believed to be one of the greatest prospects of Polish football, however his struggle with alcohol,

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

and

mental health problems A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

prevented him from realising his full potential and is considered to this day one of the biggest unfulfilled talents. An

ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, athletics and in the past ice ...

legend, regarded as a phenomenal player in both Greece and Sweden aside from his native country, his career highlight is considered to be the 2000–01 and 2001–2002 seasons with Greek club

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

for whom he scored important Champions League goals in Europe.

Career

Early life and career

Born in

on 10 November 1974, Sypniewski's career revolved around

, his boyhood club. He reportedly had his first beer when he was 9 years old, whilst hanging around the Koziny area, where he would go on to frequent during his life. He started playing for PTC Pabianice aged 11, his first formal club. He had behavioural problems early on, frequently getting into fights with players from other neighbourhoods. After appearing intoxicated at training several times, he was transferred to temporarily and subsequently to

Opoczno Opoczno ) is a town in south-central Poland, in eastern part of Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Piotrków Trybunalski Voivodeship (1975–1998). It has a long and rich history, and in the past it used to be one of the most importa ...

-based Ceramika as a result. He went on to play several seasons in the Polish

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 cl ...

and

Polish First League I liga ( pl, Pierwsza liga, ), currently named Fortuna I liga due to its sponsorship by Fortuna, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga vi ...

for ŁKS.

Success in Greece

Sypniewski then spent several seasons playing in the

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

with

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

Panathinaikos F.C. Panathinaikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναθηναϊκός Α.Ο. ), known as Panathinaikos, or by its full name, and the name of its parent sports club, Panathinaikos A.O. or PAO (; ''Panathinaïkós Athlitikós Ómilos'', "All-Athenian ...

and

OFI Crete OFI may refer to: * Overseas Filipino Investors, Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy of the Philippines through remittances, buying property, and creating businesses * OFI Crete, a Greek association football club based on the island ...

. Unknown outside Poland, he was successful at

and it was soon evident that a bigger club would be after him. He appeared in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

with

, one of the powerhouses of Greek football, and was overall reasonably successful with the club, even though he failed to win the

Greek championship The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

. He performed very well for Panathinaikos in the 2000–01 and 2001–2002 seasons, especially in Europe, including an outstanding match against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Sypniewski later said that United player

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...

, whom he

nutmegged A nutmeg, also known by dozens of national and regional variations, is a skill used mainly in association football, but also in field hockey, ice hockey, and basketball. The aim is to kick, roll, dribble, throw, or push the ball (or puck) between ...

in the game, was average and that he had played against many better footballers. He also scored a goal against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

which was at the time guarded by goalkeeper

David Seaman David Andrew Seaman (born 19 September 1963) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a career lasting from 1981 to 2004, he is best known for his time playing for Arsenal. He won 75 caps for England, and is the country's ...

. Sypniewski broke his arm and his play progressively deteriorated; he left Panathinaikos soon after. He briefly appeared at

but he only made 10 appearances before the club released him. In 1999 and 2001, Sypniewski made two appearances for the Poland national team; against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

respectively.

Decline

Following his spell in Greece, Sypniewski had a short stint with top division side

RKS Radomsko RKS Radomsko is an association football club based in the city of Radomsko, in the south of Poland. Their home stadium is Stadion RKS. Currently, they compete in the IV liga group Łódź. History Established in 1979, the club has played most ...

, scoring four goals in nine league games, before signing with

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. It currently competes in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system. It ...

in 2002, who at the time completely dominated Polish football. Several weeks after his transfer, however, due to his frequent

absenteeism Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation without good reason. Generally, absenteeism is unplanned absences. Absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implici ...

and

excessive drinking Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence, in extreme cases resulting in health problems for individuals and large scale social problems such as alcohol-r ...

, he was released by the club. He then signed on with the Swedish club

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Socia ...

. He scored nine goals in 13 games during the spring in the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

season, which rendered him a reputation as a fearsome striker in the series. He also snubbed international invitations from the Poland national team to focus on his club performances. It was at this time where it seemed he was relatively healthy. During the ensuing autumn season, Sypniewski suffered from a mysterious illness, while Halmstad dropped from fourth to ninth in the standings. He was suspended by the club from taking part in the final game of the season, since he had agreed to join

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association, ...

on a free transfer for the 2004 season. Along with

Patrik Andersson Patrik Jonas Andersson (; born 18 August 1971) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Starting off his career with Malmö FF in the late 1980s, he went on to play professionally in England, Germany, and Spain, an ...

and

Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior (born 30 January 1981), better known as Afonso Alves, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He represented Atlético Mineiro, Örgryte, Malmö FF, Heerenveen, Middlesbrough, Al-Sadd ...

, Sypniewski joined the Malmö team that had come close to winning the championship in successive years, and he was expected to play alongside

Niklas Skoog Jan Niklas Skoog (born 15 June 1974) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was the Allsvenskan top scorer in 1995 with Västra Frölunda IF and in 2003 with Malmö FF. A full international between 2002 and 200 ...

, with Alves and central midfielder

Tobias Grahn Tobias Grahn (born 5 March 1980) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He won the 2002 Norwegian Football Cup with Vålerenga and the 2004 Allsvenskan with Malmö FF. A full international between 200 ...

supplying the necessary passes. Following some unexpected problems in pre-season, while not wanting to practice properly on Malmö's camp in

La Manga Club La Manga Club is a sports and leisure resort located in the south-eastern region of Spain, Murcia, south of La Manga, and bordered by the Mar Menor and Calblanque Regional Park. The resort complex opened in 1972 and covers an area of 1,400 a ...

, Sypniewski hit back and scored twice in a 5–1 whitewash for Malmö at home against

Örebro SK Örebro Sportklubb, more commonly known as Örebro SK, Örebro or (especially locally) ÖSK, is a Swedish professional football club based in Örebro. The club are affiliated to Örebro Läns Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Behrn A ...

in front of over 20 thousand supporters. Following that game, Sypniewski started struggling with his form and temper, eventually going to such lengths that Malmö terminated his three-year contract after only six months. When Sypniewski departed, Afonso Alves moved up to a striking position, where he fired Malmö to the championship. Sypniewski was not given a medal due to not appearing in a sufficient amount of games. He turned up at bottom side

Trelleborgs FF Trelleborgs Fotbollsförening, more commonly known as Trelleborgs FF or simply Trelleborg, is a Swedish football club located in Trelleborg. Formed 6 December 1926, the club plays in Superettan, the second tier in the Swedish Football system. T ...

in a desperate attempt to save the strugglers from relegation, but Sypniewski was completely out of shape and out of the club following a few matches. Sypniewski returned to Poland and scored sixteen goals across a season-and-a-half at ŁKS. He then made a shocking return to Malmö to play with Bunkeflo in the third-tier division. Following a promising start with several goals and with rumours surfacing about interest from higher levels, Sypniewski managed to get into trouble once more, committing

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is invo ...

in Malmö; he was sacked from Bunkeflo as a result and was forced to move back to Poland.

Withdrawal from football and health issues

His former club

offered him a helping hand, but his personal problems continued."Interwencja", Episode: Igor Sypniewski,

Polsat 2 Polsat 2 is a Polish pay television channel. Telewizja Polsat 1 March 1997 roku. Telewizja Polsat Polsat 2 Oprawa Graficzna 2 1997-2002 2002-2007 2007-2012 2012-2020 2020-2021 30 August 2021 roku. Poniedzialek Polsat 2 Telewizja Polsat History ...

. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPd1ia1lecw Sypniewski made several attempts at getting back into football, but due to his addiction, he trialled with several clubs other than ŁKS, mostly local lower league teams until he eventually retired altogether. Sypniewski re-appeared in 2007 when he went to watch ŁKS Łódź play

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation' ...

as a spectator in the stands. In a state of intoxication he, along with a group of ŁKS

hooligans Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

, attacked the Lech fans in the away sector.} He was also later reported by a local woman to the police in

who claimed that unprovoked, he was verbally abusive towards her and threw empty bottles at her. In 2008, he was jailed for a year and a half for domestic violence. Sypniewski's

semi-autobiography An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of Autobiography, autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of bein ...

was published in November 2014 with the help of two local Łódź journalists, Żelisław Żyżyński and Paweł Hochstim. He continued attending ŁKS matches until the very end of his life. Igor openly talked about his continued suffering from

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

gambling addiction Problem gambling or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to ''DSM-5'' if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological gambling is ...

and

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

, stating that he frequently binge drank after taking strong

anti-psychotic medication Antipsychotics, also known as neuroleptics, are a class of psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), principally in schizophrenia but also in a range of oth ...

. He also had made a

suicide attempt A suicide attempt is an attempt to die by suicide that results in survival. It may be referred to as a "failed" or "unsuccessful" suicide attempt, though these terms are discouraged by mental health professionals for implying that a suicide res ...

and suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. Many of his colleagues attempted to help improve his health but to no avail.

Death

According to Polish media, Sypniewski died overnight in the hospital on 4 November 2022, six days before his 48th birthday.

Honours

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...

: 2001–02 with

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

with

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sypniewski, Igor 1974 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Łódź Polish men's footballers Polish expatriate men's footballers Poland men's international footballers ŁKS Łódź players Ceramika Opoczno players Wisła Kraków players Kavala F.C. players Panathinaikos F.C. players OFI Crete F.C. players Athens Kallithea F.C. players Halmstads BK players Malmö FF players Trelleborgs FF players RKS Radomsko players IF Limhamn Bunkeflo (men) players Allsvenskan players Super League Greece players Ekstraklasa players I liga players Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Polish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Polish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Men's association football forwards