Janusz Bogdan Kupcewicz (9 December 1955 – 4 July 2022) was 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 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 ...

. Widely regarded as one of the best Polish players of his era, he most notably won the bronze with the national team at

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, in which he was a key player with his final goal being instrumental in the success. He was voted in

Arka Gdynia Morski Związkowy Klub Sportowy Arka Gdynia () is a Polish professional football club, based in Gdynia, Poland, that plays in the Polish I liga. The club was founded as Klub Sportowy Gdynia in 1929. History The history of Arka dates back to ...

's best all-time XI after winning their first ever

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. ...

in 1979. He then went on to win the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

with

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

in 1983. He played for a number of other clubs, including abroad, and after retirement from playing he was a manager, PE teacher, and local politician.

Career

Club career

Despite being from

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, he started his career at the two

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

clubs: Warmia and Stomil, having gone through the youth teams at the former. He then returned to his native Gdańsk and spent 8 seasons at

having arrived there in 1974. The following season, 1975–76, he was the Second Division's top scorer. With Arka he achieved a historic club first

in 1979. This success, along with his national team exploits, earned him a transfer to

, where he also won a historic

national title A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

in 1983. He then moved abroad to France to play for

AS Saint-Etienne As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic male voic ...

, with the transfer fee raised privately to the sum of €380 000. He stayed there for 2 seasons (1983–1985), however they were relegated from the Premier Division in 1984. He spent the 1985–86 season at Greek club

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

. However his time abroad was plagued by injuries. He returned to his hometown and joined

Lechia The ethnonyms for the Poles (people) and Poland (their country) include endonyms (the way Polish people refer to themselves and their country) and exonyms (the way other peoples refer to the Poles and their country). Endonyms and most exonyms ...

where he stayed for the next two seasons. This caused controversies given his links and allegiance to bitter derby rivals Arka. He suffered relegation with Lechia in 1989. He finished his playing career at Turkish club

Adanaspor Adanaspor is a Turkish professional football club based in Adana, currently performing at the TFF First League. The club is founded in 1954 by the middle-class merchants and artisans in response to the alienation within city's then most popular c ...

International career

In his career he earned overall 20

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Poland national team, scoring 5 goals. He made his national debut in 1976. He was at the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

tournament as a reserve player, but by the

1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...

he was a key member of the squad, with Poland finishing in third place. The third place was won thanks to his famous winning goal against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to make it 3–2.

Managerial career

After retiring from playing, he became the manager of the

Poland national futsal team The Poland national futsal team is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for futsal in Poland and represents the country in international futsal competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championships. To ...

in the early 90s. He then went on to coach the then sixth division

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

n club

Radunia Stężyca Radunia Stężyca is a Polish football club based in Stężyca, Pomeranian Voivodeship. They compete in the third-tier II liga. The club was founded in 1982. In the 2020–2021 season, Radunia was promoted to the II liga for the first time in ...

between 1996 and 1999, the Polish U-21 team as assistant manager 1999–2001, briefly

Lechia Gdańsk Lechia Gdańsk () is a Polish football club based in Gdańsk. The club was founded in 1945 by people expelled from Lwów, who were supporters of Poland's oldest football team Lechia Lwów, founded in 1903. The club's name comes from Lechia, a ...

in 1995, and between 2004 and 2005 lower league

Cartusia Kartuzy Cartusia Kartuzy is a Polish football club based in Kartuzy, 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 . ...

. He was also a consultant at

between 2001 and 2003. He returned to Arka as a consultant once more in 2012, alongside

Tomasz Korynt Tomasz Korynt (born 27 October 1954) was a former Polish international footballer who played as a forward. He spent the start of his career with teams in the Tricity area, starting his career with Lechia Gdańsk, before later playing for Arka Gd ...

Teaching career

He taught PE at

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

number 10 in the Chylonia district of Gdynia.

Political career

He was a Gdynia City Council candidate on the

Civic Platform Civic Platform ( pl, Platforma Obywatelska, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a political party in Poland. It is currently led by Donald Tusk. It w ...

electoral list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

in 2006 and a

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

candidate in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. Then, having switched to the

Polish People's Party The Polish People's Party ( pl, Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) is an agrarian political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although it ...

, he ran as a candidate for the Pomeranian Voivodeship Assembly in 2010 and to the lower house of parliament in

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 ...

. In 2014, he became a regional councillor, his only electoral success. In

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 ...

and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, he unsuccessfully ran for the Sejm again. In 2018 he did not renew his councillor seat mandate.

Personal life, death and legacy

Late in his life, Kupcewicz was in deteriorating health, leading to his death due to a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

on 3 July 2022 at the age of 66. He was reported to have fallen ill while travelling by train and fainted on the train platform in

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...

; an ambulance then transported him to a hospital in

where he subsequently died. His diabetes and related cardiovascular complications were cited as likely contributors to his death.

Zbigniew Boniek Zbigniew Boniek (; born 3 March 1956) is a Polish former footballer and manager as well as current UEFA vice-president. A former midfielder, who was also capable of playing mostly as a right winger and second striker, he is considered one of the ...

called him one of the best ever Polish playmakers.

Grzegorz Lato Grzegorz Bolesław Lato (Polish pronunciation: ; born 8 April 1950) is a Polish former professional football player and manager who played as a winger. He was a member of Poland's golden generation of football players who rose to fame in the 1 ...

stated he was incredibly saddened and shocked at the news of his death as they only spoke recently and that they were very close friends in regular contact with each other. His winning goal in

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

against

at the

to win the bronze medal 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 ...

was deemed to be his highlight of his career. Regarded as an exceptionally talented player, he was judged to have never reached his full potential due to persistent injuries during his playing career. His involvement in the infamous Polish football corruption scandal was never fully explained; he never denied the allegations that he handled and transported bribes, but claimed in court he was far too drunk to remember the exact details. He is widely regarded as Arka's best-ever players, featuring in their all-time XI, Arka being a club he personally supported.

Honours

Arka Gdynia *

: 1978–79 Lech Poznań *

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 ...

: 1982–83 Poland *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

bronze medal:

Individual *

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

top scorer: 1975–76 * All time best Arka Gdynia XI

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kupcewicz, Janusz 1955 births 2022 deaths Sportspeople from Gdańsk Polish footballers Association football midfielders Poland international footballers 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1982 FIFA World Cup players Ekstraklasa players Süper Lig players Super League Greece players Arka Gdynia players Lech Poznań players AS Saint-Étienne players Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players Lechia Gdańsk players Adanaspor footballers Polish football managers Lechia Gdańsk managers Polish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Polish expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in Greece Polish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate footballers in Turkey Polish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Polish sportsperson-politicians