Yan Klukowski

Yan Klukowski

Klukowski celebrates scoring for Forest Green Rovers
Personal information
Full nameYan Klukowski [1]
Date of birth1 January 1987
Place of birthChippenham, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Newport County
Number18
Youth career
FC Chippenham Youth
Bath City
2005–2008CCSU Blue Devils
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2003–2005Bath City14(0)
2005Chippenham Town7(0)
2007Ottawa Fury16(1)
2008Cape Cod Crusaders14(5)
2009Western Mass Pioneers12(1)
2009Chippenham Town2(0)
2010Larkhall Athletic8(6)
2010–2014Forest Green Rovers160(49)
2014–Newport County24(4)
National team
2006British Universities
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:50, 15 February 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Yan Klukowski (born 1 January 1987) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Newport County.

Club career

Youth and College

Born in Chippenham, Klukowski was educated at Sheldon School. His football education began at local youth side FC Chippenham Youth before moving to Bath City. At 18 years of age the forward managed to break into the first team set-up at Bath City, making 14 appearances. Klukowski also earned England Schoolboy caps before a brief stint at Chippenham Town and then a move to the United States after signing a scholarship with Central Connecticut State University.

At CCSU, Klukowski was the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year, playing for the All Conference first team. He was named to the All-NEC first team and received second team NSCAA/Adidas All-North Atlantic Region honors as a sophomore in 2006. While in 2007 he led the NEC in assists and was named to the All-NEC second team and the NSCAA/adidas All-North Atlantic Region first team.

During his college years season Klukowski also played with Ottawa Fury[2] and the Cape Cod Crusaders in the USL Premier Development League.[3]

Professional

Klukowski turned professional in 2009 and joined the Western Mass Pioneers of the USL Second Division, where he played 12 times scoring once in the 2–1 win over Wilmington Hammerheads.

Following the conclusion of the USL2 season Klukowski returned to England in an attempt to find a professional club to play for during the 2009–2010 season and beyond. His first trial was provided by Carlisle United who were originally impressed and extended his trial period before deciding against offering him a contract.[4][5]

Klukowski was then offered a trial with Swindon Town.[6] While on trial, he had scored twice in a 3–2 win over Swindon Supermarine[7] and scored once more in a 3–3 draw with Cirencester Town. However, he was not offered a deal at Swindon.

In August 2009, Klukowski joined Chippenham Town, making two league appearances in a brief spell. He later joined Larkhall Athletic until the end of the 2009–10 season, scoring 6 times in 8 league appearances.[8] In June 2010, he returned to Bath City in an attempt to earn a deal with the club following their promotion to the Conference National.[9]

On 23 July 2010 he represented Forest Green Rovers as a triallist in a friendly game against fierce local rivals Shortwood United eventually joining the club on a permanent basis.[10] He scored his first goal for the club in August 2010 in only his second appearance against Wrexham.[11]

He was awarded a longer extended contract by Rovers after a number of impressive appearances until the end of the 2011/12 season.[12] After suffering an injury in the latter months of the 2010/11 season, Klukowski was required to have surgery and returned to first team action at the start of the 2011/12 season. He scored his first goal in the 2011/12 season in a 6–1 away win over Alfreton Town in August 2011.[13] On 31 March 2012, in a home game against Barrow, Klukowski scored his first hat-trick for Forest Green.[14] Klukowski ended the 2011–12 campaign for Forest Green as the club's golden boot winner having found the back of the net 18 times.

On 12 June 2012, Klukowski signed a contract extension at Forest Green, keeping him at the club until 2014.[15] On 15 April 2014, a brace in a 2–1 away win over Macclesfield Town saw him overtake Alex Meechan as Forest Green's all time leading Conference National goal scorer with a total of 48 league goals for the club.[16][17]

On 28 April 2014, it was revealed that he had turned down the offer of a new contract with Forest Green in the hope he could earn a deal with a Football League club.[18]

On 20 May 2014, it was announced that he had secured a move to the Football League with Newport County.[19][20] He made his Football League debut for Newport County on the opening day of the 2014–15 season against Wycombe Wanderers on 9 August 2014 as a second half substitute.[21] His first goal for Newport County came in a 2–1 home defeat against Swindon Town on 23 September 2014 in the first round of the Football League Trophy.[22]

International career

Klukowski represented Great Britain at World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand in 2006, and was also selected to represent Great Britain university football team for the 2007 Summer Universiade.

References

  1. ↑ Yan Klukowski career statistics at Soccerbase
  2. ↑ Inside Connecticut Sports Online Magazine – BLUE DEVILS TURN TO CAPTAIN YAN
  3. ↑ http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2008/839728.html
  4. ↑ Klukowski on trial with Carlisle, Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  5. ↑ Cumbrians end Klukowski interest, BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  6. ↑ Robins looking at duo, Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  7. ↑ This Is Swindon Town FC – Swindon Supermarine 2 Swindon Town 3
  8. ↑ "Yan Klukowski". Larkhall Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  9. ↑ "Yan could be the man for Bath City once again". The Bath Chronicle. 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  10. ↑ "Forest Green reveal six signings". BBC Sport. 2010-08-13. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  11. ↑ "Forest Green 3–0 Wrexham". BBC Sport. 17 August 2010.
  12. ↑ Player News In's and Out's at The New Lawn , Forest Green Rovers FC. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  13. ↑ "Alfreton Town 1–6 Forest Green". BBC Sport. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  14. ↑ "Forest Green 3–0 Barrow". BBC Sport. 31 March 2012.
  15. ↑ "Forest Green Rovers hand deals to Yan Klukowski and Kieron Forbes". BBC Sport. 12 June 2012.
  16. ↑ "Macclesfield Town 1–2 Forest Green". BBC Sport. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  17. ↑ "Forest Green Rovers want midfielder to stay". BBC Sport. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  18. ↑ "Yan Klukowski exits with nine players". BBC Sport. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  19. ↑ "Newport County sign Darren Jones and Yan Klukowski". BBC Sport. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  20. ↑ "Yan Klukowski aims to take the Football League by storm". Stroud News & Journal. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  21. ↑ "Newport 0–2 Wycombe". BBC Sport. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  22. ↑ "Newport County 1–2 Swindon Town". BBC Sport. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.

External links

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