Michał Pazdan (, born 21 September 1987) is 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 plays as a
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for
Ekstraklasa club
Jagiellonia Białystok.
Club career
Pazdan began his football career at
Hutnik Kraków
Hutnik Kraków (Polish pronunciation: ) is a Polish football club based in Kraków, Poland.
History
The club was founded in 1950. Hutnik have played seven seasons in the Polish Ekstraklasa (Polish first division). The team's greatest success is ...
. He gradually made his way up the ranks and became part of the main team in the 2003–04 season.
In 2007, he joined
Górnik Zabrze. He debuted in the
Ekstraklasa on 14 September 2007 with
Jagiellonia Białystok against
Polonia Bytom. During that season he appeared 19 times for the club, 17 of those as a starter, and helped his team finish in 8th place that season.
On 24 June 2015, Pazdan joined
Legia Warsaw
Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...
.
On 29 January 2019, Pazdan signed two-year deal with
Ankaragücü.
International career
Pazdan has earned 35 caps for the
Poland national team. He made his debut on 15 December 2007 in a 1–0
friendly
Friendly may refer to:
Places
* Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England
* Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States
* ...
win against
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
.
Poland manager,
Leo Beenhakker
Leo Beenhakker CM (; born 2 August 1942) is a Dutch international football coach. He has had an extensive and successful career both at club and international level. He led both Ajax and Feyenoord to Dutch championships and also had domestic s ...
, called him up to participate in the 23-man squad at
Euro 2008, however, along with
Łukasz Garguła, he was the only player not to have played a single minute.
As of late, Pazdan has only been called up as a reserve for any players that may get injured, he was, however, called up on 21 November 2008 for friendly matches in
Antalya
Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...
, Turkey.
During
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 ...
, Pazdan became a national hero after the game against World Champions, Germany, where he was pronounced as
Man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
and led the team to a draw, which helped Poland to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time in history. His performances also led to reported interest from
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
clubs. Poland then beat
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
on penalties to qualify for the quarter-finals; however, Pazdan and the Polish defence conceded their first goal of the tournament to
Xherdan Shaqiri
Xherdan Shaqiri (; born 10 October 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire and the Switzerland national team.
Shaqiri began his career at FC Basel, winning honours including t ...
.
In May 2018 he was named in Poland's preliminary 35-man squad for the
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
in Russia.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Legia Warsaw
*
Ekstraklasa:
2015–16,
2016–17,
2017–18
*
Polish Cup:
2015–16,
2017–18
Individual
*FIFA San Miguel Cup Team of the Tournament: 2009
*Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej Sony Cup runner-up
*Olejandro Oleguer Cup: 2010
*Defender of the Year in Ekstraklasa: 2014–15
*Eleventh of Ekstraklasa in the plebiscite of the Polish Footballers' Union: 2016
*Discovery of the 2016 European Championships according to UEFA and France Football
*Player of the year in the Football (Piłka Nożna) Plebiscite: 2016
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pazdan, Michal
1987 births
Living people
Footballers from Kraków
Polish footballers
Poland men's international footballers
Men's association football defenders
Hutnik Kraków players
Górnik Zabrze players
Jagiellonia Białystok players
Legia Warsaw players
MKE Ankaragücü footballers
Ekstraklasa players
UEFA Euro 2008 players
UEFA Euro 2016 players
2018 FIFA World Cup players
Polish expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Turkey
Polish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey