Jakub Rzeźniczak (born 26 October 1986) is 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 lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back 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 ...

for

III liga III liga (Trzecia liga), currently named Betclic III liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is a Polish football league that sits in the fourth tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, III liga ref ...

club Stal Kraśnik. Besides Poland, he has played in Azerbaijan.

Club career

During his first couple of seasons at

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

, Rzeźniczak struggled with consistency, and was eventually loaned out 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 ...

, where he spent the 2006–07 season. He returned to Legia the next season and eventually became a regular starter. On 6 July 2017, Rzeźniczak signed a two-year contract with Azerbaijani club Qarabağ. Rzeźniczak was released by Qarabağ at the end of his contract. Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Rzeźniczak returned to Poland and signed a one-year contract with

Wisła Płock Wisła Płock Spółka Akcyjna (Wisła Płock S.A.), commonly referred to as Wisła Płock (), is a Polish professional football club based in Płock, Masovian Voivodeship. They will compete in the Ekstraklasa in the 2025–26 season after wi ...

. On 19 June 2023, Rzeźniczak joined

II liga II liga (Druga liga, ), currently named Betclic II liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is a Polish football league that sits at the third tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, ''II Liga'' referre ...

club

Kotwica Kołobrzeg The (; Polish for 'anchor') was an emblem of the Polish Underground State and (AK; 'Home Army') used during World War II. It was created in 1942 by members of the Wawer minor sabotage unit within the AK, as an easily usable emblem for the ...

. In the autumn round of the

2023–24 II liga The 2023–24 II liga (also known as eWinner II liga due to sponsorship reasons) was the 76th season of the third tier domestic division in the Polish football league system since its establishment in 1948 and the 16th season of the Polish II liga ...

season, he made 16 appearances, recorded one assist, and also served as the team's captain. On 30 December 2023, the club issued an announcement stating that Rzeźniczak was given a free hand to look for a new team. On 9 January 2024, Kotwica unilaterally terminated the player's deal, citing his breach of the contract and the

Polish Football Association The Polish Football Association ( PZPN) is the governing body of association football in Poland. It organizes the Polish football leagues (without the ), the national cups, and manages the men's and women's national teams. It also runs the nati ...

's Code of Ethics. In November 2024, Rzeźniczak won a court ruling against Kotwica for unjust termination, obligating the club to pay him arrears of wages with interest. On 4 April 2025, Rzeźniczak announced his return to professional football, joining fifth-tier club Stal Kraśnik on a three-month deal with an extension option.

International career

Rzeźniczak was formerly a regular member of the Poland U21 team. He has earned nine caps for the senior national team.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Legia Warsaw *

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 ...

: 2005–06,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17 *

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 ...

: 2007–08,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2011–12,

, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

Polish Super Cup The Polish Super Cup (, ) is an annually held match between the champions of the Ekstraklasa and the Polish Cup winners or, if the Ekstraklasa champions also win the Polish Cup, the Cup's runners-up. As of 2024, the Polish Super Cup has been ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Qarabağ *

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League (), also known as Misli Premyer Liqası for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Azerbaijan and the highest level of the Azerbaijani football league system. It is contested by twelve ...

: 2017–18, 2018–19 Stal Kraśnik *

IV liga Lublin IV liga Lublin group (grupa lubelska) is one of the groups of IV liga, the fifth level of Polish football league system. The league was created in the 2000–01 season, after a new administrative division of Poland was implemented. Until the end ...

: 2024–25

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rzezniczak, Jakub 1986 births Living people Footballers from Łódź 21st-century Polish sportsmen Men's association football defenders Polish men's footballers Poland men's international footballers Poland men's under-21 international footballers Widzew Łódź players Legia Warsaw players Legia Warsaw II players Qarabağ FK players Wisła Płock players Kotwica Kołobrzeg (football) players Stal Kraśnik players Ekstraklasa players II liga players III liga players IV liga players Azerbaijan Premier League players Polish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Azerbaijan Polish expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan