Piotr Oliver Celeban (born June 25, 1985 in

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

) is a Polish former 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 currently serves as a fitness coach for

Śląsk Wrocław II Śląsk Wrocław II is a Polish football team, which serves as the reserve side of Śląsk Wrocław. They compete in the II liga after having won promotion in 2020, the highest league a reserve team is allowed to play in. They play their home g ...

. Although primarily a

central defender 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 ...

, when needed he operated as a

right-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 ...

. He is known for his powerful heading and goal scoring ability. Besides Poland, he has played in Romania.

Club career

Celeban made his first appearance in

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 ...

in May 2005 against

Górnik Łęczna Gornik may refer to one of the following. * Gornik, Pleven Province, a village in Chechen Republic * April Gornik, an American painter *Górnik (means " Miner" in Polish) is a common name of Polish sports teams: **Górnik Konin ** Górnik Łęczna ...

Vaslui

2012–13 season

On 20 June 2012, fVaslui announced that they had reached an agreement to sign Celeban on a free transfer from Śląsk Wrocław. He signed a four-year contract and was handed the number 5 shirt. On 4 July, he made his debut for Vaslui in a 9–1 win in a preseason friendly over

Bischoffen Bischoffen is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Bischoffen lies in the Lahn-Dill Highland at the Aar Dam (''Aartalsperre''). This dam holds back the river Aar, a tributary to the Dill, forming a 57-ha la ...

. He made his Liga I debut for Vaslui on 22 July in a 2–2 draw with

Rapid București Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a '' cascade' ...

. Despite playing as a right back in Vaslui's opening against Rapid, Celeban established himself in the central defence alongside Cape Verde international Fernando Varela. Celeban scored his first goal for Vaslui on 27 August in a 3–1 win against Steaua București. On 1 September, Celeban scored a late header against Viitorul Constanța, assisted by a cross from

Dacian Varga Dacian Şerban Varga (born 15 October 1984, in Petroșani) is a Romanian footballer who plays mainly as a midfielder. He is the son of Ioan Varga, a former player of Dinamo Bucharest. Career Childhood Varga began his football career at the ag ...

. Celeban made it 2–2 which also was the final score. On 3 November, he scored a brace, bringing his tally to 4 goals in 10 league games, as Vaslui defeated Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț 4–3. On 1 April 2013, he scored another brace in a 3–2 win against Viitorul Constanța, which ended Vaslui's run of five games without a win. Celeban continued to impress and scored with a header his seventh league goal of the season against

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

. He managed to finish as Vaslui's top goalscorer with 7 goals, alongside team captain

Lucian Sânmărtean Lucian Iulian Sânmărtean (born 13 March 1980) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a winger. Regarded by coach Ioan Sabău as the country's most talented player after Gheorghe Hagi, he was awa ...

. He was also Liga I's top scorer defender and Liga I's top header scorer with 5 goals, alongside

Takayuki Seto Takayuki Seto ( ja, 瀬戸貴幸, ''Seto Takayuki''; born 5 February 1986) is a Japanese professional association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder for Liga I club FC Petrolul Ploiești, Pet ...

and Bojan Golubović. Celeban was selected for the ProSport Team of the Year alongside teammate

Zhivko Milanov Zhivko Milanov ( bg, Живко Миланов; born 15 July 1984) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who is currently an assistant manager of Lokomotiv Sofia. He was primarily deployed as a right back, but when needed he could also ...

2013–14 season

Celeban scored Vaslui's first goal of the season on 5 August against

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vas ...

with a 4th-minute header from

Adrian Sălăgeanu Adrian Ioan Sălăgeanu (born 9 April 1983 in Carei, Romania) is a Romanian football player. Career Oțelul Galați He played 4 years for Oțelul Galați being a key player in the 11/12 season where he won his first league title. FC V ...

's corner. The final score was established in the 33rd minute as 4–0. On 19 August, Celeban scored against

Săgeata Năvodari Săgeata is a commune in Buzău County, Muntenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgari ...

at Municipal, with a 26th-minute header giving Vaslui a 1–0 win.

Career statistics

Club

''Statistics accurate as of match played 24 September 2019''

International career

He debuted for the

Poland national football team The Poland national football team ( pl, Reprezentacja Polski w piłce nożnej) has represented Poland in men's international tournaments football competitions since their first match in 1921. The team is controlled by the Polish Football Associ ...

in the friendly versus

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

on December 14, 2008.

Honours

Club

;

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław, Śląsk Wrocław () or simply Śląsk, is a Polish football club based in Wrocław that plays in Ekstraklasa, the highest level of the Polish fo ...

: 2011–12 *

Ekstraklasa Cup The Ekstraklasa Cup ( pl, Puchar Ekstraklasy) was an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs who play in the Polish 1st Division Ekstraklasa. The Ekstraklasa Cup was the fourth attempt at introducing a League Cup competition in Poland. T ...

: 2009

Individual

* Vaslui Player of the Season (1): 2012-13

Family

Celeban's brother Adam is also a professional football player who plays for

Pogoń Szczecin Pogoń Szczecin Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Pogoń Szczecin (), is a Polish professional football club, based in Szczecin, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, which plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the national football league s ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Celeban, Piotr 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Szczecin Polish footballers Poland international footballers Ekstraklasa players II liga players III liga players Liga I players Pogoń Szczecin players Śląsk Wrocław players Korona Kielce players FC Vaslui players Polish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Romania Polish expatriate sportspeople in Romania Association football defenders Poland youth international footballers Poland under-21 international footballers