Jerzy Patoła (April 19, 1946 - July 1, 2016) was a Polish

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 in the

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 ...

, and the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

Career

Patoła began his football career in 1964 with

Zagłębie Sosnowiec Zagłębie Sosnowiec () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Sosnowiec. They compete in II liga in the 2025–26 II liga, 2025–26 season, following relegation from the 2023–24 I liga. The club was establishe ...

of the

where he played for 13 seasons. During his tenure with Sosnowiec his achievements were reaching the

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 ...

finals in 1970/1971, finishing runners up three times, and featuring in several

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 discon ...

tournaments. He made his debut for the club on May 24, 1964, in a match against

Ruch Chorzów Ruch Chorzów () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland, having won fourteen List of Polish football champions, Polish Championship ...

, and made his final appearance on November 30, 1975, against

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. ...

. In 1976, he went overseas to Canada to sign with Toronto Falcons of the

. He played with the club until the 1981 season.

International career

He played with the Poland Olympic football team in a match against Sweden on May 19, 1966. He eventually retired from competitive soccer and settled in Canada as machinist. He died on July 1, 2016, in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

.In memory of Jerzy Patola April 19, 1946 - July 1, 2016
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patola, Jerzy 1946 births 2016 deaths Polish men's footballers Polish expatriate men's footballers Zagłębie Sosnowiec players Toronto Falcons (1975–1982) players Ekstraklasa players Canadian National Soccer League players Footballers from Sosnowiec Men's association football goalkeepers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Polish expatriate sportspeople in Canada 20th-century Polish sportsmen