Czesław Zajac (born July 12, 1968) is a Polish former

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 le ...

Playing career

Zajac began his professional career in his native

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 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 ...

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 ...

in 1992. After appearing in only 2 matches, he signed with Dąb Dębno, a club which mostly featured in the lower leagues. In 1996, he went abroad to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and signed with Oakville Canadian Westerns of the

Canadian National Soccer League The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

. He reached the playoffs with Oakville by finishing fourth in the league standings. He featured in the semi-final match against

Toronto Italia The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

, but unfortunately were eliminated by the eventual playoff champions by a score of 5-4 goals on aggregate. In April 1997, he signed with the newly expanded franchise

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes ...

of the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

. His signing was announced in a press conference which revealed the team roster. Zajac made his debut for the club on April 12, 1997 in the Lynx's first official match against

Jacksonville Cyclones The Jacksonville Cyclones were a professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They played in the A-League from 1997 to 1999. The team originated as the Tampa Bay Cyclones, who played in Tampa, Florida from 1995 to 1996 before moving ...

; the game would eventually result in a 3-1 defeat for the fledgling side. Unfortunately, after appearing in only 2 matches, he was released from his contract. For the remainder of the year, he returned to the CNSL and signed with

Toronto Supra SC Toronto was a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its incep ...

. Zajac made his debut on June 13, 1997 against

Toronto Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

in 0-0 draw. Supra reached the cup finals, but once more Zajac failed to win a piece of silverware after losing 4-3 on goals on aggregate to

St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines Roma Wolves (also known as St. Catharines Wolves or simply Roma Wolves), are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1967. The team currently plays in the semi-professional League1 Ontario in both the men's and women's divisions. The ...

. The following year, he signed with Toronto Croatia of the newly formed Canadian Professional Soccer League. He made his debut on June 3, 1998 in an

Open Canada Cup The Open Canada Cup was an annual knock-out cup competition in Canadian Soccer. The competition was first held during the 1998 season as the CPSL League Cup. It was organized by the Canadian Soccer League (formerly the Canadian Professional So ...

match against

Glen Shields The Glen Shields Sun Devils were a soccer team which played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League from 1998–2002. They played their home matches in Thornhill, Ontario. The franchise was one of the original teams of the CPSL. Originally f ...

in a 3-1 defeat. He would score his first two goals in the next match against London City in a 5-1 victory. In 1999, Zajac returned to the Croatian side, but missed the majority of the season due to an injury and managed to return late in the season to help Toronto finish second in the league standings, clinching a postseason berth. In the postseason, he contributed a goal in a 5-2 victory over Glen Shields in the semifinals, and advanced to the playoff finals but were defeated by the

Toronto Olympians Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

in a 2-0 victory.

Personal life

His son Marcel Zajac also became a

. His daughter Nicole Zajac also became a

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zajac, Czeslaw 1968 births Living people People from Duszniki-Zdrój Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Ekstraklasa players Polish footballers Pogoń Szczecin players Toronto Croatia players Toronto Lynx players SC Toronto players Sportspeople from Lower Silesian Voivodeship Canadian National Soccer League players Association football midfielders