| Wojciech Kowalczyk | |
| Fullname: | Wojciech Kowalczyk |
| Birth Date: | 14 April 1972 |
| Birth Place: | Warsaw, Poland |
| Position: | Striker |
| Youthclubs1: | Olimpia Warsaw |
| Years1: | 1990 |
| Clubs1: | Polonez Warsaw |
| Years2: | 1990–1994 |
| Caps2: | 109 |
| Goals2: | 39 |
| Years3: | 1994–1997 |
| Caps3: | 62 |
| Goals3: | 14 |
| Years4: | 1998–1999 |
| Caps4: | 28 |
| Goals4: | 6 |
| Years5: | 2001 |
| Caps5: | 15 |
| Goals5: | 3 |
| Years6: | 2001–2002 |
| Caps6: | 27 |
| Goals6: | 24 |
| Years7: | 2003–2004 |
| Caps7: | 16 |
| Goals7: | 3 |
| Years8: | 2005–2006 |
| Clubs8: | Absolwent UW Warsaw |
| Years9: | 2018–2019 |
| Caps9: | 7 |
| Goals9: | 1 |
| Totalcaps: | 257 |
| Totalgoals: | 89 |
| Nationalyears2: | 1991–1999 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 39 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 11 |
Wojciech Kowalczyk (born 14 April 1972) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently working as a football pundit.
The bulk of his professional career was spent with Legia Warsaw and in Spain. Early into his international career, he helped the Poland national team win the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Born in Warsaw, Kowalczyk played his youth football with local Olimpia and Polonez, joining country giants Legia Warsaw in 1990 at the age of 18. Almost from the very beginning, he was an automatic first-choice; in his weakest season, his first, he only appeared in 11 Ekstraklasa games, but was crucial in helping oust U.C. Sampdoria in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup by scoring twice in Genoa for the 2–2 draw and qualification for the semifinals 3–2 on aggregate.
After having started the 1994–95 campaign with Legia (five matches, three goals, another league title), Kowalczyk moved abroad and signed with La Liga side Real Betis, but was never able to reproduce his previous form. He finished his five-year spell in Spain with UD Las Palmas in the second division, where he also appeared sparingly.
After almost one year out of football, Kowalczyk returned to his country and his main club, Legia. In late 2001 he changed countries again, joining Cyprus' Anorthosis Famagusta FC and netting a career-best 24 goals; after a nearly non-existent second season he finished his professional career in the same country, with APOEL FC, retiring at 32 – afterwards, he would play in amateur football until 2019, with AZS Absolwent UW Warsaw and Weszło Warsaw.
Kowalczyk gained 39 caps for Poland, scoring 11 goals. His debut came at the age of 19 on 21 August 1991, against Sweden.[1]
His biggest international highlight was helping the Olympic squad win silver at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He did not score at all in the group stage, but eventually ranked third in the charts at four, three behind compatriot Andrzej Juskowiak.
Scores and results table. Poland's goal tally first:
| Date | Place | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 August 1991 | Friendly | ||||
| 2 | 19 May 1992 | |||||
| 3 | 14 October 1992 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 4 | 27 October 1993 | |||||
| 5 | 25 April 1995 | Zabrze, Poland | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying | |||
| 6 | 1 May 1996 | Mielec, Poland | Friendly | |||
| 7 | 24 September 1997 | Olsztyn, Poland | ||||
| 8 | 25 March 1998 | Warsaw, Poland | ||||
| 9 | 10 November 1998 | 3–1 | ||||
| 10 | ||||||
| 11 | 10 February 1999 |
Following his retirement, Kowalczyk became a football expert. He worked for the Polsat Sport TV station.[2] Since 2018, he has been publishing columns for the Weszło internet portal. He is also a participant of the Weszło TV's "Liga Minus" program, dealing with the topics of Ekstraklasa matches.[3] [4] He works for Kanał Sportowy.[5]
Together with the sports journalist Krzysztof Stanowski, he wrote the book "Kowal. Prawdziwa historia" (Kowal. True story). It had its re-release in 2021.[6]
His brother, Artur Kowalczyk, was also the player until he finished his career with Grom Lipowo in the 2013–14 season.[7]
Legia Warsaw
1993–94
1994
Anorthosis
APOEL
Poland Olympic
Individual
1991[8]