Dariusz Raczyński (30 May 1962 – 12 October 2022) was a Polish

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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is best known for winning the

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

and

Polish Super Cup The Polish Super Cup (, ) is an annually held match between the champions of the Ekstraklasa and the Polish Cup winners or, if the Ekstraklasa champions also win the Polish Cup, the Cup's runners-up. As of 2024, the Polish Super Cup has been ...

in 1983 with his hometown club

Lechia Gdańsk Lechia Gdańsk () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Gdańsk. As of the 2025–26 Ekstraklasa, 2025–26 season, they compete in the Ekstraklasa. The club was founded in 1945 by people Polish population transfers (1944–1946 ...

, their first major trophies and greatest success to date.

Career

Raczyński was born in

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

on 30 May 1962. He made his footballing debut with

on 16 March 1980 playing against PKS Odra Wrocław. In his first three seasons he made 48 appearances and scored 5 goals in the

II liga II liga (Druga liga, ), currently named Betclic II liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is a Polish football league that sits at the third tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, ''II Liga'' referre ...

, with Lechia suffering relegation to the third tier at the end of his third season. Despite being relegated it was a time which would become an historic period for the club. The 1982–83 season saw Lechia winning the

III liga III liga (Trzecia liga), currently named Betclic III liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, 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 ref ...

with Raczyński making 13 appearances and scored 2 league goals as Lechia won the division and playing in five games of Lechia's winning

run, beating

Piast Gliwice Gliwicki Klub Sportowy Piast Gliwice () is a Polish professional football club based in Gliwice. In the 2018–19 season, Piast won its first Polish championship. As of 2025–26, it competes in the Ekstraklasa, Poland's top division. Histo ...

in the final 2–1. The following season Lechia won the

final by beating the Polish champions

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...

1–0, with Raczyński starting the game. He also played in a 3–2 home defeat against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in a European competition due to the previous season's cup win. Lechia also won promotion to the top division that season by winning the

for the 1983–84 season. That season would prove to be his last playing for Lechia, having made his final appearance for the club on 8 June 1985 against

GKS Katowice GKS Katowice (; GKS stands for , ) is a Polish professional football club based in Katowice. They currently compete in the Ekstraklasa in the 2024–25 season after gaining promotion from the I liga in 2024. History In 1963 in Katowice a spe ...

. In total for Lechia he made 111 appearances and scored 9 in all competitions. Raczyński then played a further two seasons for Igloopol Dębica and then one and a half for

Arka Gdynia Morski Związkowy Klub Sportowy Arka Gdynia () is a professional football club based in Gdynia, Poland, that plays in the Ekstraklasa after winning the 2024–25 I liga. The club was founded as Klub Sportowy Gdynia in 1929. History The h ...

, with whom he won promotion to the second division in 1988 before retiring six months later.

Death

Raczyński died in his hometown

after a serious illness on 12 October 2022, at the age of 60.

Honours

Lechia Gdańsk *

: 1982–83 *

: 1983 * II liga (western group): 1983–84 * III liga (group II): 1982–83 Arka Gdynia * III liga (group II): 1987–88

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raczynski, Dariusz 1962 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Gdańsk Men's association football midfielders Polish men's footballers Lechia Gdańsk players Igloopol Dębica players Arka Gdynia players Ekstraklasa players I liga players II liga players 20th-century Polish sportsmen