Kamil Antoni Wilczek (Polish pronunciation: ; born 14 January 1988) is a Polish 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'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er who plays for

Piast Gliwice Gliwicki Klub Sportowy Piast Gliwice () is a Polish football club based in Gliwice. In the 2018–19 season, Piast won its first Polish championship. As of 2022–23, it competes in the Ekstraklasa, Poland's top division. History The club wa ...

and the Poland national team. He is usually deployed as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

for both club and country. Wilczek played for

Carpi Carpi may refer to: Places * Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, a large town in the province of Modena, central Italy * Carpi (Africa), a city and former diocese of Roman Africa, now a Latin Catholic titular bishopric People * Carpi (people), an ancie ...

in 2015, before making the move to the danish club

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional association football club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was p ...

half a year later in January 2016. He became captain of Brøndby in 2019 following the departures of

Johan Larsson Johan Larsson may refer to: * Johan Larsson (musician) (born 1974), Swedish bassist * Johan Larsson (ice hockey, born 1986), Swedish ice hockey player * Johan Larsson (ice hockey, born 1992), Swedish ice hockey player, drafted by the Minnesota Wil ...

and Benedikt Röcker. He is also the club's all-time leading Superliga-goalscorer, having scored a total of 71 goals in the competition. After a short stay at Göztepe, he made a highly controversial move to Brøndby's archrivals

FC Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...

in August 2020, signing a three-year contract. In October 2016, Wilczek won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for Poland, having previously played for the under-21 team.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Wodzisław Śląski Wodzisław Śląski (; german: Loslau, cs, Vladislav, la, Vladislavia, yi, וואידסלוב, Voydislav, szl, Władźisłůw) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 47,992 inhabitants (2019). It is the seat of Wodzisław Cou ...

, Wilczek began his career with local club WSP Wodzisław Śląski, then moved on loan to LKS Silesia Lubomia. He also played for UD Horadada and

Elche CF Ilicitano Elche Ilicitano Club de Fútbol, known officially as Elche Ilicitano is a Spanish football team based in Elche, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1932 as Club Deportivo Ilicitano, a farm team, it is the reserve team of Elche CF, ...

for short periods before moving on to

GKS Jastrzębie Klub Sportowy GKS Jastrzębie Spółka Akcyjna ( en, Sports Club GKS Jastrzębie Joint Stock Company), commonly known as GKS Jastrzębie (), is a football club based in Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland. As of the 2022–23 season, they will compete i ...

in the

Polish First League 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 ...

from September 2007 to December 2008. He joined

during the winter transfer window and made his

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 ...

debut in February 2009. In June 2010, he moved to

Zagłębie Lubin Zagłębie Lubin S.A. () is a Polish professional football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as ''OMTUR Lubin'', the club competes in the Ekstraklasa. History The football team was founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin by local members of the ''Yo ...

, where he played for three years before returning to Piast Gliwice in 2013. In 2015, he became the top goalscorer of the Ekstraklasa with 20 goals. Following the expiration of his contract with Gliwice in June 2015, Wilczek signed a three-year deal with

. However, he failed to impress in Italy and only made three appearances for the club.

Brøndby

In January 2016, Wilczek signed a three-and-a-half year contract with Danish club

. In April 2018, with Brøndby in the race for the Superliga title, Wilczek scored seven goals in five matches. His performances led to him being named as the Danish Superliga ''Player of the Month'' for April 2018. On 10 May 2018, he scored twice as Brøndby beat

Silkeborg IF Silkeborg Idrætsforening, (; commonly known as Silkeborg IF or SIF in short) is a professional football club based in Silkeborg, Denmark. The club was founded in 1917, reached the highest level of Danish football in 1987, and afterwards became ...

3–1 in the

2017–18 Danish Cup The 2017–18 Danish Cup was the 64th season of the Danish Cup competition. Brøndby IF, Brøndby won the tournament, earning qualification into the third qualifying round of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. Structure In the first round, there ...

final. At the end of the spring campaign Wilczek had scored 11 goals in 14 matches which earned him the ''

Tipsbladet ''Tipsbladet'' is a weekly Danish sports magazine focusing on football. It the oldest football magazine in Scandinavia and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. History and profile ''Tipsbladet'' was founded by Elwin Hansen in 1948. The magaz ...

Player of the Spring Award''. Wilczek started the 2018–19 season where he left off, opening his goalscoring account in the 63rd minute of the season opener against

Randers FC Randers FC () is a professional football club based in Randers, East Jutland, Denmark, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 2003, the club builds upon the license of Rand ...

, which ended in a 2–0 away win. In the following weeks, Wilczek scored against

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six t ...

and

FC Nordsjælland Football Club Nordsjælland, commonly known as FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland () or FCN, is a professional Danish football team from the North Zealand town of Farum. Founded as ''Farum Boldklub'' from the merger of the town's two football club ...

before scoring a brace against newly promoted

Vendsyssel FF Vendsyssel Forenede Fodboldklubber is a professional football club based in Hjørring, Denmark. The team competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of Danish football. The club plays home matches at Nord Energi Arena, which has a capaci ...

, helping Brøndby win the match 2–1. He continued his goalscoring form throughout the fall, becoming one of the most scoring players in Europe in 2018, only surpassed by the likes of

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

and

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

. In December 2018, Wilczek signed a two-year contract extension at Brøndby, which would keep him at the club until 2021. This deal came after a record year for the Polish striker: his 25 league goals of 2018 made him highest scoring player of a calendar year in

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...

history. After the departure of Benedikt Röcker, Wilczek was appointed as new permanent club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, having temporarily replaced the former captain while he was benched during large parts of the spring campaign. He continued his goal form in the 2019–20 season, closing in on the club record for most goals in the Superliga held by Brøndby-legend,

Ebbe Sand Ebbe Sand (; born 19 July 1972) is a former professional footballer from Denmark who played as a forward for Brøndby IF in Denmark and FC Schalke 04 in Germany. He was the Bundesliga top scorer in 2001, and won the DFB-Pokal in 2001 and 2002 wi ...

. Wilczek scored braces against OB,

Hobro IK Hobro Idræts Klub () is a professional association football club based in the town of Hobro, Denmark, that competes in the 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league system. Founded in 1913, it is known by the short names 'Ho ...

, as well as in the

Copenhagen Derby The Copenhagen Derby is a Danish football rivalry between Brøndby and Copenhagen. Matches ''As of 28 October 2021'' Abbreviations *DSL – Danish Superliga *DC – Danish Cup *RL – Royal League Total This gives a total of: Other stati ...

against

F.C. Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...

, securing a 3–1 win over the archrivals. On 1 December, Wilczek scored in a loss to F.C. Copenhagen at

Telia Parken Parken Stadium, also known simply as Parken and as Telia Parken (2014–2020), is a football stadium in the Indre Østerbro (''Inner Østerbro'') district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from 1990 to 1992. The stadium, which features a retractable ...

, his 70th Superliga goal for Brøndby, claiming the record for most goals scored in the Superliga for Brøndby from Sand.

Göztepe

On 22 January 2020, Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

Göztepe SK Göztepe (''watch hill'' in Turkish) may refer to: *Göztepe, Kadıköy, a neighbourhood of Kadıköy district in Istanbul, Turkey ** Göztepe railway station, a train station **Göztepe (Istanbul Metro, M4), a metro station * Göztepe, Konak, a ne ...

confirmed the signing of Wilczek on a one-and-a-half year contract. He made his first appearance on 26 January, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for

Cameron Jerome Cameron Zishan Rana-Jerome (born 14 August 1986), known as Cameron Jerome, is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Luton Town. Jerome began his career as a trainee with Huddersfield Town, Grimsby Town, Sheffield ...

as Göztepe defeated

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

2–1. On 8 July, he scored his first goal for the club – a

penalty shot A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

– in a 2–2 draw against Ankaragücü. Wilczek made 14 league appearances for Göztepe, scoring one goal.

Copenhagen

On 6 August 2020, less than seven months after leaving Brøndby, Wilczek made a surprising and controversial move to Brøndby's bitter rivals

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. He signed a three-year contract with the club. Upon signing, he stated that he understood the disappointment of Brøndby's fans, but that he hoped they would also see the situation from his point of view. Wilczek had at that point already been labelled "

Judas Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

" by some Brøndby supporters, with angry fans of the team recording videos of themselves burning his jersey. On the evening after the move was announced, a large group of fans protested in front of

Brøndby Stadium Brøndby Stadium ( da, Brøndby Stadion, ) is a football stadium in Brøndbyvester, Denmark and the home ground of Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF. It is the second-largest stadium in Denmark. Built in 1965 and inaugurated on 31 July 1966 where i ...

to show their discontent with Wilczek's transfer. On 13 September, in the first match-day of the season, Wilczek scored a brace in a 3–2 loss to OB after being down 3–0 at half-time. He made his first European appearance for Copenhagen on 17 September in a 2–1 win over

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the ...

Ullevi Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi (, ''New Ullevi''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the ...

in the

second qualifying round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

of the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. A few days later, on 20 September, Wilczek scored the opener against former club and rivals Brøndby, as Copenhagen lost 2–1.

Third stint at Piast

On 31 January 2022, Wilczek terminated his contract with Copenhagen and joined

on a two-and-a-half-year deal, making it the third time in his career he signed with the Silesian side.

International career

Wilczek was a part of Poland u19 and Poland u21 teams. He got his debut call-up in the Poland national team for the

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

qualifiers against

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 ...

and

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

in October 2015. He debuted for Poland in a 2–1

2018 World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...

win over

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

11 October 2016. In May 2018 he was included in the Poland preliminary 35-man team for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

in Russia. However, he did not make the final 23.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Brøndby IF *

Danish Cup The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will quali ...

: 2017–18 Individual *

top scorer: 2014–15 (20 goals) *

Best Player: 2014–15 *

Best Forward: 2014–15 * ''

'' Player of the Spring: 2018 *Brøndby Player of the Year: 2018,Brøndby IF Player of the year
16 December 2018, ronaldo.com 2019 * Superliga Player of the Month: October 2019

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilczek, Kamil 1988 births Living people People from Wodzisław Śląski Sportspeople from Silesian Voivodeship Association football forwards Polish footballers Polish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Polish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Polish expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Polish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Poland international footballers Poland under-21 international footballers Poland youth international footballers Polish expatriate footballers Elche CF Ilicitano footballers Piast Gliwice players Zagłębie Lubin players A.C. Carpi players Brøndby IF players F.C. Copenhagen players Ekstraklasa players Serie A players Danish Superliga players Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate footballers in Turkey GKS Jastrzębie players Göztepe S.K. footballers