Dariusz Michalak (born July 21, 1966) 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 ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Career

From the age of 7, he trained football in

Stal Stalowa Wola Stal Stalowa Wola Piłkarska Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Stal Stalowa Wola (), is a Polish professional football club based in Stalowa Wola, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Founded in 1938, the club competes in the III liga, group IV, ...

, of which he is a home-grown. Among his coaches was Rudolf Patkoló. In the colors of "Stalówka" he was promoted twice to

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 ...

(1990–91 and 1993–94 seasons). He had his direct share in the first of these successes, when on June 19, 1991, in the last game of the

I liga I liga ( pl, Pierwsza liga, ), currently named Fortuna I liga due to its sponsorship by Fortuna, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga vi ...

season, which was also a derby match with

Siarka Tarnobrzeg Siarka Tarnobrzeg () is a Polish professional football club, based in Tarnobrzeg, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, which competes in II liga in the 2022–23 season, the third tier of the national football league system. In early 1990s, Siarka playe ...

, he scored a goal (as Stal won 2-0), thus ensuring Stal's first place competitions. In the colors of Stal he played in the highest league of the 1991–92 and 1994–95 editions. In total, he played 25 games in

, in which he scored two goals. In the summer of 1995 he became a player of the

III liga III liga (Trzecia liga) is a Polish football league that sits in the fourth tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, III liga referred to a league at the third tier (now called II liga) but this was ch ...

side

Stal Sanok Ekoball Stal Sanok is a Polish football club based in Sanok. They reached the 1/4 of final in the Polish Cup in the 2008/2009 season, and notable cup exploits include giant-killing Legia Warsaw. The club spent majority of time at third and ...

for the 1995–96 season. After the autumn round in this team he returned to Stal Stalowa Wola. He was an active footballer until the age of 40 as the

Sokół Nisko Miejski Klub Sportowy Sokół Nisko, commonly referred to as Sokół Nisko (), is a Polish football club based in Nisko, Podkarpackie Voivodeship. From the 2023–24 season, participating in the Stalowa Wola district class, as a result of relegat ...

's player. He was a right-footed athlete. After completing his professional career, he worked in

Huta Stalowa Wola Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW SA) is a defense contractor that operates a steel mill in the city of Stalowa Wola, Poland. It is a major producer of military equipment and one of the largest heavy construction machinery producers in East-Central Europe. ...

. As a coach, he led the Sokół Nisko junior team and was a playing coach for the senior team until 2006. He was also the coach of youth groups in his home Stal Stalowa Wola.

Private life

He is the son of Jan Michalak, the ZKS Stal Stalowa Wola's boxer.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michalak, Dariusz 1966 births Living people Polish footballers Stal Stalowa Wola players Sokół Nisko players Avia Świdnik players Resovia (football) players Place of birth missing (living people) Association football midfielders Ekstraklasa players I liga players III liga players