Jacek Waldemar Bąk (; born 24 March 1973) is a Polish former 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 lea ...
who played as a
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
.
Other than his country, he competed in France, Qatar and Austria, notably appearing in more than 150 competitive games for
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
and contributing to win the
2002 national championship.
Bąk represented
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
for 15 years, appearing for the nation in two
World Cups
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
and
Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
.
Since 2004 he is a French citizen.
Club career
Born in
Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
, Bąk made his senior debuts with local
Motor Lublin
Motor Lublin () is a Polish professional football club based in Lublin. The club was founded in December 1950. Their nickname ''The Yellow, White and Blues'' reflects their official colours. They compete in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of Polish ...
aged just 16, moving to
Lech Poznań
Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division.
...
two years later. In the
1992–93 season, he contributed with 28 games to help the latter club win its third national championship in four years.
Bąk signed for
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...
in the 1995 summer, going on to spend one full decade in the French
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
with that team and
RC Lens
Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...
, joining the latter in January 2002. The sides he played for during
that campaign finished in first and second position.
Bąk retired in June 2010 at the age of 37, after two years in the
Qatar Stars League
The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...
with
Al-Rayyan SC
Al-Rayyan Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club fielding teams in a number of sports such as football, futsal, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, table tennis, and swimming. It is based at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Umm ...
and three with
Austrian Bundesliga
The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...
's
Austria Wien
Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...
.
International career
Bąk gained his first
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
for the
Poland national team on 1 February 1993, in a 0–0 away
friendly draw with
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. He was picked for the squads that competed in the
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
(one appearance, a 2–0 group stage loss to co-hosts
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
) and the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...
s, with both tournaments ending in elimination after three matches.
In November 2006, Bąk claimed he was offered €10,000 to concede a
penalty
Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to:
Sports
* Foul (sports)
** Penalty (golf)
** Penalty (gridiron football)
** Penalty (ice hockey)
** Penalty (rugby)
** Penalty (rugby union)
** Penalty kick (assoc ...
in a
UEFA Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...
qualifier between
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and Poland in the former's favour, and
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
opened an investigation. Selected for the finals by manager
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 ...
, he was left out of the final group phase clash against
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, and retired with 96 appearances, fourth-most at the time.
Career statistics
:''Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bąk goal.''
Honours
Lech Poznań
*
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 ...
:
1992–93
Lyon
*
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...
:
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
Al Rayyan
*
Emir of Qatar Cup
Emir of Qatar Cup (), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by all first and second division teams in Qatar. The tournament is played in a knockout system, ...
: 2005–06
Austria Wien
*
Austrian Cup
The Austrian Cup (), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for a record 27th time. Wo ...
:
2008–09
References
External links
*
*
*
National team data
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bak, Jacek
1973 births
Living people
Footballers from Lublin
Polish men's footballers
French men's footballers
Polish emigrants to France
Naturalized citizens of France
Men's association football defenders
Ekstraklasa players
Motor Lublin players
Lech Poznań players
Ligue 1 players
Olympique Lyonnais players
RC Lens players
Qatar Stars League players
Al-Rayyan SC players
Austrian Football Bundesliga players
FK Austria Wien players
Poland men's international footballers
2002 FIFA World Cup players
2006 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2008 players
Polish expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar
Expatriate men's footballers in Austria
Polish expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
Polish expatriate sportspeople in Austria
French expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
French expatriate sportspeople in Austria