Błaszczykowski with Poland in 2011 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 14 December 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Truskolasy,[1] Poland | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Borussia Dortmund | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1993–2002 | Raków Częstochowa | ||
| 2002 | Górnik Zabrze | ||
| 2003 | KS Częstochowa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2004 | KS Częstochowa | 24 | (11) |
| 2005–2007 | Wisła Kraków | 51 | (4) |
| 2007– | Borussia Dortmund | 125 | (8) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2004 | Poland U19 | 8 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Poland U21 | 3 | (1) |
| 2005 | Poland B | 1 | (0) |
| 2006– | Poland | 48 | (8) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Jakub Błaszczykowski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjakub bwaʂtʂɨˈkɔfski] ( listen); born 14 December 1985 in Truskolasy[1]), also known by his Bundesliga shirt name Kuba, is a Polish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Borussia Dortmund. He is the captain of Poland national football team.
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Jakub Błaszczykowski was raised in Truskolasy near Częstochowa. When he was 8 years old, he and his older brother Dawid began training at Raków Częstochowa.[2] At the age of 11, he lost his mother in a family tragedy. He was then raised by his grandmother, however, as a result of the shock of his mother's death, he stopped playing football entirely.[3] A year later, he was persuaded to take part in a futsal tournament where he was voted best player. His uncle Jerzy Brzęczek, a former captain of the Polish national football team urged him not to waste his talent.[3] He decided to resume training at Raków Częstochowa. In 2002, he transferred to Górnik Zabrze but was unable to break through at the club. In early 2003 he joined KS Częstochowa and played in the Polish fourth league until the end of 2004. His uncle then helped him get a trial at Wisła Kraków where he impressed then-manager Werner Lička.[3]
Błaszczykowski quickly broke into Wisła's first team, with his first league appearance coming on 20 March 2005 against Polonia Warsaw. By the end of the season, he was an established part of Wisła's starting eleven. With Wisła he won the Polish Ekstraklasa title in his debut season, and they were runners-up the following season. Additionally he won Canal+'s "Football Oscar" for the best midfielder in the Polish top division.
In February 2007 he signed a four-year contract with Borussia Dortmund for three million euros and joined the Bundesliga side in July of that year. He usually plays on the wing where his dribbling and pace come in handy but Borussia have also played him at right-wingback on a few occasions.
He scored his first league goal for Borussia on 25 April 2008 in a 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.
He wears 'Kuba' on the back of his Dortmund shirt only. Kuba is a diminutive form of Jakub.
In December 2008 he was voted Polish Footballer of the Year.[4] and a month later, in January 2009 he was voted the best Borussia Dortmund Player of the Year by fans, outrunning Neven Subotić and Alexander Frei. The Polish midfielder garnered more than 35% of the votes cast.
During the 2008–09 season he was plagued by a torn leg muscle.[5]
Błaszczykowski debuted for the Poland national football team on 28 March 2006 in a friendly against Saudi Arabia. Although he did not receive a call up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was an important part of Poland's 2008 Euro qualifying campaign.[6] He scored his first goal for Poland on 22 August 2007 in a friendly against Russia.[7]
He was named in Poland's squad for Euro 2008 but withdrew due to injury.[6]
On 17 November 2010, he made his debut as captain of the Polish national team.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 22 August 2007 | Moscow, Russia | Russia |
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Friendly |
| 2. | 11 October 2008 | Chorzów, Poland | Czech Republic |
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2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 3 March 2010 | Warsaw, Poland | Bulgaria |
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Friendly |
| 4. | 9 October 2010 | Chicago, USA | United States |
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Friendly |
| 5. | 10 August 2011 | Lubin, Poland | Georgia |
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Friendly |
| 6. | 6 September 2011 | Gdańsk, Poland | Germany |
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Friendly |
| 7. | 7 October 2011 | Seul, South Korea | South Korea |
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Friendly |
| 8. | 11 October 2011 | Wiesbaden, Germany | Belarus |
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Friendly |
| Club | Season | League | Domestic League | Domestic Cups | European Cups | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| KS Częstochowa | 2002–03 | III Liga | 2 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | III Liga | 13 | 5 | – | – | 13 | 5 | |||
| 2004–05 | III Liga | 9 | 6 | – | – | 9 | 6 | |||
| Wisła Kraków | 2004–05 | Ekstraklasa | 11 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | 15 | 2 | |
| 2005–06 | Ekstraklasa | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | Ekstraklasa | 23 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 32 | 3 | |
| Borussia Dortmund | 2007–08 | Bundesliga | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 27 | 1 | |
| 2008–09 | Bundesliga | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 3 | |
| 2009–10 | Bundesliga | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11 | Bundesliga | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 37 | 3 | |
| 2011–12 | Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 1 | |
| Total | KS Częstochowa | 24 | 11 | - | - | - | - | 24 | 11 | |
| Total | Wisła Kraków | 51 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 67 | 5 | |
| Total | Borussia Dortmund | 125 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 148 | 9 | |
Błaszczykowski and fiancee Agata Gołaszewska were married in June 2010.[11] Their daughter was born on 20 April 2011.[12]
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