Michel Lewandowski (born Mieczyslaus Lewandowski; 28 May 1914 – 7 September 1990) was a 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Born in the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, he played his entire career in France and was a French military international.

Playing career

Mieczyslaus Lewandowski was born in

Waltrop Waltrop ( is a town in the Recklinghausen (district), district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approximately 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund. ...

in the

, German Empire. He was of Polish descent. Having first played for Pogon-Marles and , Lewandowski was discovered by

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

in 1938, where he became professional. He played eleven matches for Lens in the 1938–39 Division 1. In 1945, he signed for Roubaix-Tourcoing. He won the 1946–47 Division 1 with the club before leaving in 1950, signing for JA Armentières that year.

Naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

on 23 February 1939, Lewandowski was selected for the France military national team.

Managerial career

After his retiring from football, Lewandowski went on to coach US Billy-Berclau and AS Lens.

Honours

Roubaix-Tourcoing * Division 1: 1946–47

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewandowski, Michel 1914 births 1990 deaths People from Recklinghausen (district) Footballers from Münster (region) Naturalized citizens of France German men's footballers German emigrants to France French men's footballers French people of Polish descent German people of Polish descent Men's association football midfielders RC Lens players CO Roubaix-Tourcoing players Ligue 1 players French football managers German football managers 20th-century French sportsmen 20th-century German sportsmen