Józef Kałuża Explained

Józef Kałuża
Fullname:Józef Ignacy Kałuża
Birth Date:11 February 1896
Birth Place:Przemyśl, Austria-Hungary
Death Place:Kraków, Poland
Position:Striker
Years1:1909–1911
Clubs1:Robotniczy KS Kraków
Years2:1911–1931
Clubs2:Cracovia
Nationalyears1:1913
Nationalteam1:Galicia
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:1921–1928
Nationalteam2:Poland
Nationalcaps2:16
Nationalgoals2:7
Manageryears1:1927–1928
Managerclubs1:Cracovia
Manageryears2:1930
Managerclubs2:Legia Warsaw
Manageryears3:1932–1939
Managerclubs3:Poland

Józef Ignacy Kałuża (11 February 1896 – 11 October 1944) was a Polish footballer and later coach,[1] was one of the legends of Polish sports.

Club career

Kałuża was one of the most experienced forward players of 1920s Poland. His whole career was connected with Cracovia[2] - with this team in 1921 he won the first, historic Championships of Poland. By 1921, Kałuża had scored 297 goals in 200 games. [3] Altogether, he played 408 games in Cracovia’s jersey, scoring 465 goals. Also, in the years 1921-1928 Kałuża represented Poland in various international games, scoring 7 goals.[4]

Career statistics

ClubSeasonEkstraklasaGalician ChampionshipKraków A-ClassFriendliesTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cracovia II Kraków191200000027222722
191300420026293131
191400320014151717
19150000000000
19160000003535
191700000016331633
191800000027362736
191900000022592259
1920000041017272139
1921890061524313855
19220000559131418
19230000641692013
19240000862182914
192500000023202320
1926440091011132427
192700003226232925
19282090000472416
192923100000773017
19300000001212
19310000001010
Total4723744152295361397412

Later life

In 1932, after retirement from playing, he became a trainer/manager of the Poland national team. Directed by him, Poland slowly began to achieve successes on an international scale. In 1936, during Berlin's Olympic Games, the white-red placed 4th (some claim that had Ernest Wilimowski gone to Berlin, the Poles would have won gold). Two years later, during the FIFA World Cup 1938, Poland, after a fierce battle, lost to Brazil 5-6. This legendary game is to this day not only regarded as one of the best in the history of Polish football, but also as one of the best in all of World Cup history.

Kałuża's last game as coach took place on Sunday 27 August 1939 in Warsaw. Poland, after a very good game, beat the then vice-champions of the world, Hungary, 4-2. It was the last game of interwar Poland - on 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and World War II started.

During the war, Kałuża, as one of the few officials of the Polish Football Federation (PZPN), remained in his homeland, where he died in 1944. In 1946, to commemorate him, PZPN begun organizing Józef Kałuża's Cup, but after a few years this idea was given up. Józef Piłsudski's Cracovia Stadium is located on Kałuża's street.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Józef Kałuża . Olympedia . 26 August 2021.
  2. Web site: Józef Kałuża - WikiPasy.pl - Encyklopedia KS Cracovia. 6 September 2022 .
  3. Przegląd Sportowy : Tygodnik ilustrowany, poświęcony wszelkim gałęziom sportu : Oficjalny organ Polskiego Związku Piłki Nożnej oraz Krakowskiego, Warszawskiego, Lwowskiego i Łódzkiego Związku Okręgowego Piłki Nożnej. 1921, nr 32 . Biblioteka Jagiellońska, 4574 V Czasop . 24 December 1921 . Synowiec . Tadeusz Red .
  4. Web site: Kadra.pl - Reprezentanci . 2009-09-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100926133748/http://kadra.pl/index.php?dzial=his_rep&litera=K . 2010-09-26 .