Łukasz Załuska (; born 16 June 1982) is a Polish 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 ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. After playing for Stomil Olsztyn, Legia Warsaw,

Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the Reserve Battalion in Białystok. Jagiellonia play their home g ...

(on loan) and

Korona Kielce Korona Kielce, , (Korona – ''Crown'' – symbol of club and city, Kielce – name of city where club is based) is a Polish football club, which will compete in Ekstraklasa in the 2022–23 season. In the years 2002–08 the club ...

in Poland, Załuska continued his career in Scotland, joining

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

in 2007. He then signed for

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

in 2009, spending six years mainly as a back-up goalkeeper, before joining

Darmstadt 98 Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was briefly known as ''Rasen-Sp ...

in 2015. He has made one international appearance for

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, in 2009.

Club career

In Poland

Born in

Wysokie Mazowieckie Wysokie Mazowieckie is a town in north-eastern Poland, in Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Wysokie Mazowieckie County. Population is 10,034 . In town there is one of the biggest dairy companies in this part of Europe - " Mlekovita ...

, Załuska began his career in 1997 with Ruch Wysokie Mazowieckie but left within a few months to join MSP Szamotuły. After a year, he moved on to Sparta Oborniki, before spending time with Zryw Zielona Góra. In 2001, Załuska moved to Stomil Olsztyn and made his first appearance in the

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 cl ...

in August 2001. In 2002, he joined Legia Warsaw but made no appearances for the club. From here, he had two

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

spells with

before joining

in 2004. Załuska spent two years with Kielce, culminating in a

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...

runners-up medal in just before moving to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in May 2007.

Dundee United

Załuska joined

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

team

on a two-year contract on 30 May 2007. He played in pre-season for United but suffered a broken foot before the start of the domestic season, prompting the club to sign countryman Grzegorz Szamotulski as a short-term replacement. After returning to training in late October, it was feared Załuska had broken his foot a second time in early November. Załuska finally made his competitive debut for United on 26 January 2008, just days before Szamotulski's departure. United won 2–1 in what was captain

Barry Robson Barry Gordon George Robson (born 7 November 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player who currently works for Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. Robson played as a midfielder for several clubs in Scotland, England and Canada and r ...

's final match for the club. In February 2008, after helping United beat

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in the semi-final of the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

, Załuska was reported to the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

(SFA) for making gestures to the Aberdeen fans. In the match, both keepers faced missiles thrown by sets of opposing fans, including plastic cups, chocolate and £1 coins. Referee

Iain Brines Iain Robertson Brines (born 22 July 1967) is a former Scottish football referee in the Scottish Premier League. Brines had been a referee since 1989 and was a FIFA-listed referee from 2003;

was also hit by a coin thrown from the Aberdeen supporters' end. A month later, Załuska received a £500 fine and a warning from the SFA for his actions. On 17 December 2008, it was reported that he had declined a new contract and would be leaving the club at the end of the season after the current one expires.

Celtic

On 23 December 2008, Załuska signed a pre-contract agreement with

and would be joining at the start of the 2009–10 season. He officially became a Celtic player on 1 June 2009. He made his debut on 21 September 2009, in a 4–0

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

victory over

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

. On 25 October 2009, he made his league debut for the Hoops against

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...

as a replacement for his injured compatriot

Artur Boruc Artur Boruc (; born 20 February 1980) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He began his career in the Polish third division with hometown club Pogoń Siedlce. He joined Ekstraklasa team Legia Warsaw in 1999 a ...

and pulled off several saves in a 2–1 win. On 10 April 2010, Zaluska played in a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

which they lost 2–0 to Ross County. At the start of the 2010–11 season Załuska became Celtic's first choice goalkeeper after Boruc left for Italian side

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...

. However Celtic signed

Fraser Forster Fraser Gerard Forster (born 17 March 1988) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur. Forster sta ...

on loan from

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and Załuska once again became second choice goalkeeper. At the start of the 2011–12 season Załuska became Celtic's first choice goalkeeper after Forster returned to Newcastle United. He started the opening

SPL SPL may refer to: Association football * Saudi Professional League * Scottish Premier League * SportPesa Premier League, Kenya * Singapore Premier League * RoboCup Standard Platform League, matches between autonomous robots Computing Program ...

game against Hibernian, keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory. However, Celtic's re-signing of Forster on loan again pushed Zaluska down the pecking order. On 29 September Zaluska started in the Europa League against

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...

. Although Zaluska played well and made several good saves, the match finished 1–1 with Udinese scoring from a penalty. After Forster was sold to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, the recently acquired

Craig Gordon Craig Sinclair Gordon (born 31 December 1982) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian, where he is club captain, and the Scottish national team. Gordon started his c ...

established himself as first choice for season 2014–15.Celtic's Lukasz Zaluska assaulted in Glasgow
Sky Sports. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2015. In October 2014, Załuska was injured in an apparent assault in

Ashton Lane Ashton Lane is a cobbled backstreet in the West End of Glasgow. It is connected to Byres Road by a short linking lane beside Hillhead subway station and is noted for its bars, restaurants and a licensed cinema. Overview The Lane was not always ...

, in Glasgow's West End. Having only made two league starts by October, Zaluska kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 league defeat of Inverness CT on 1 November 2014. Zaluska, an used substitute in the 2015 Scottish League Cup Final victory, did come off the bench in a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,McDiarmid Park McDiarmid Park is a stadium in Perth, Scotland, used mainly for association football. It has been the home ground of Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone since its opening in 1989. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of . As well as St Jo ...

keeping a clean sheet with a string of fine saves in a 0–0 league draw. He left Celtic in June 2015.

Darmstadt 98

On 31 August 2015, Załuska joinen SV Darmstadt 98, newly promoted to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

, on a contract until 30 June 2016 as their third keeper behind Christian Mathenia and Patrick Platins.

Pogoń Szczecin

On 9 June 2017, he signed a contract with

Pogoń Szczecin Pogoń Szczecin Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Pogoń Szczecin (), is a Polish professional football club, based in Szczecin, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, which plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the national football league s ...

International career

Załuska was called up to the

squad for the first time in August 2008, following

's suspension, although he remained unused. He was called up again in November, with Boruc missing due to injury. He won his first international cap on 6 June 2009, against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Honours

Celtic *

: 2011–12, 2012–13 *

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

References

External links

* * *
Łukasz Załuska
at Kicker * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaluska, Lukasz 1982 births Living people People from Wysokie Mazowieckie Sportspeople from Podlaskie Voivodeship Polish footballers Poland international footballers Polish expatriate footballers Association football goalkeepers OKS Stomil Olsztyn players Legia Warsaw players Jagiellonia Białystok players Korona Kielce players Dundee United F.C. players Celtic F.C. players SV Darmstadt 98 players Wisła Kraków players Pogoń Szczecin players Miedź Legnica players Ekstraklasa players I liga players Scottish Premier League players Bundesliga players Expatriate footballers in Scotland Polish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate footballers in Germany Polish expatriate sportspeople in Germany