Paweł Łukasz Brożek (; born 21 April 1983) is a Polish former 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 played as a striker. Brozek previously represented various youth squads for Poland. He made his

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 ...

debut in 2005, scored over 30 international appearances and competed at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

and

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

Club career

Early career

Paweł Brożek was born in

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...

. In 1992 he began his career at Polonia Białogon Kielce, together with his twin brother Piotr. In 1998, he moved to

Zabrze Zabrze (; German: 1915–1945: ''Hindenburg O.S.'', full form: ''Hindenburg in Oberschlesien'', Silesian: ''Zŏbrze'', yi, זאַבזשע, Zabzhe) is an industrial city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The west district of the Sil ...

to play for SMS Zabrze. A half a year later he joined

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. It currently competes in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system. It ...

, together with his brother.

Wisła Kraków

He made his debut for Wisła Kraków 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 ...

on 8 April 2001 in a match against

Górnik Zabrze Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Górnik Zabrze S.A. or simply Górnik Zabrze (), is a Polish football club from Zabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning the second-most Poli ...

. On 21 April 2001, he scored his first goal in the Ekstraklasa in a match against

Odra Wodzisław Odra may refer to: Rivers * Odra (Poland), also known as Oder, a river in Czech Republic, Poland and Germany * Odra (Kupa), a river in Croatia * Odra (Spain), a river in Spain Populated places * Odra, Silesian Voivodeship, a village in southern ...

. In May 2001 Brożek signed a new 10-year contract with Wisła Kraków. He won the Ekstraklasa championship in 2000–01 season with Wisła Kraków. In 2002, he was loaned to

ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, athletics and in the past ice ...

to play 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 ...

. A half year later he returned to Wisła Kraków and won with his second club Ekstraklasa title, in 2002–03 season. In 2004, he was loaned to

GKS Katowice GKS Katowice (; GKS stands for , "Miners Sporting Club") is a Polish football club based in Katowice, Poland. The club currently plays in the I liga, after having won promotion in 2021. History In 1963 in Katowice a special organizational ...

for a year and a half. He was a stand out player at GKS Katowice. In December 2004 he was invited for a trial together with his twin brother Piotr by

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. In January 2005 Paweł Brożek returned to

, because the then Wisła manager

Werner Lička Werner may refer to: People * Werner (name), origin of the name and people with this name as surname and given name Fictional characters * Werner (comics), a German comic book character * Werner Von Croy, a fictional character in the ''Tomb Rai ...

wanted him to come back from loan. Brożek won the

title in 2004–05 season with Wisła Kraków. In 2005–06 season he began to play regularly for the

first squad. Subsequently, he scored 13 goals in 30 matches. In 2006–07 season Brożek played very well in

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

, where he scored 4 goals in group stage matches against

AS Nancy Association Sportive Nancy Lorraine (), commonly known as AS Nancy Lorraine, or simply Nancy, is a French association football club founded in 1967 in Nancy, Grand Est and located in Tomblaine, in the inner suburbs of Nancy. The club currently ...

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...

and

Feyenoord Rotterdam Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after it ...

. In 2007–08 season Brożek scored 23 goals in 27 matches and led Wisła Kraków to achieve the Ekstraklasa title. He was the Ekstraklasa Top Goalscorer in 2007–08 season. In 2008–09 season he won his sixth Ekstraklasa title with Wisła and was the Ekstraklasa Top Goalscorer for the second time in a row. In the following 2009–10 season, Brożek led his team in goals and assists while Wisła finished second in the league.

Trabzonspor

In January 2011, Paweł together with his twin brother Piotr, joined 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 ...

side

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

on a -year deal for an undisclosed fee from Wisła Kraków. Brożek made his debut for Trabzonspor in a

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

match against

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 ...

on 26 January 2011, assisting Alanzinho's goal with a back-heel pass. In the

2010–11 Süper Lig The 2010–11 Süper Lig (known as the ''Spor Toto Süper Lig'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 53rd season since its establishment. The season began on 14 August 2010 and concluded on 22 May 2011. Fenerbahçe claimed their 18th title, but th ...

season, he contributed with two goals and two assists for the eventual runners-up. In the following campaign, Brożek could not establish himself in the Trabzonspor starting line-up, blocked by Turkish international

Burak Yılmaz Burak Yılmaz (born 15 July 1985) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard. Yılmaz is one of nine players to play for each of the Big Three clubs of Turkey, and one of only two players w ...

, who played as the sole striker in the system preferred by coach

Şenol Güneş Şenol Güneş, T.C., (, born 1 June 1952) is a Turkish football manager and former player. His most notable managerial achievements to date include coaching the Turkey national team to third place in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and winning two S� ...

Loan to Celtic

On 29 January 2012, Brożek agreed terms to join

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for 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' ...

outfit

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

on loan from Trabzonspor until the end of the season, subject to a medical. The following day, he signed a contract with Celtic after passing the medical exams. He was given the number 17 shirt. On 8 February 2012, he made his debut in the 4–0 win over Heart of Midlothian in a

match, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Scott Brown Scott Brown may refer to: Sportsmen *Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State * Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *Scott Brown (footballer, bor ...

. He made three appearances in total for the eventual league champions, failing to score in any of them. At the end of his loan spell at Celtic, Brożek criticised

Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish football coach and former player. During his playing career he represented English clubs Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Leicester City. Lennon moved to Celtic in 2000, where he ...

, stating that the Celtic manager "...promised me something and then another thing happened afterwards. I did not get many opportunities from him and I was left dry of games."

Recreativo de Huelva

In August 2012, Brożek joined Spanish second-tier club

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...

. Brożek did not play regularly and the team were nowhere near achieving promotion, eventually finishing in thirteenth place with Brożek scoring only twice in 18 league appearances. In June 2013, it was reported Brożek was leaving Recreativo.

Wisła Kraków

On 23 July 2013, it was reported that Brożek was undergoing medical tests with

with a view to rejoining his previous club. Contract negotiations involved the player agreeing to lower his wages, but receive increased bonuses for wins and goals. A week later, Brożek's signing was confirmed. On 3 May 2014, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

against

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 ...

and also his 100th goal in Ekstraklasa, it took 227 appearances to achieve that. Brożek retired from playing after the 2019–20 season.

International career

In 1999, he played at the

FIFA U-17 World Championship The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fédération ...

tournament. In 2000 Brożek played at the

UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Under-17 Championship, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the European men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain national under ...

tournament. With

Poland national under-17 football team The Poland national under-17 football team represents Poland in international football at this age level and is controlled by Polish Football Association. This team is for Polish players aged 17 or under at the start of a two-year European Under- ...

Brożek won Vaclav Jezek Tournament in 2000 and was Top Goalscorer of the tournament with 6 goals. In 2001, he won

UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain and Englan ...

with Poland national under-18 football team. He played in first squad in all matches at the tournament. He was the youngest member of the team. All other u-18 team members were born in 1982, while Brożek was born in 1983. He showed a great performance in UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2004–2006 qualifying round where he scored 9 goals in 8 matches he played. Brożek made his first appearance for the

against Mexico in 2005, scoring in the process. He was selected to the 23-man national squad for the

finals held in Germany, where, coming on as a substitute he nearly scored a goal against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

in their 2–0 defeat, with a left foot shot that hit the post. In May 2012, he was called up to the 23-man

for

. At the tournament, Brożek played in two group stage matches. Although he has not retired from international football, he has not appeared for the side since 2014.

Personal life

His twin brother, Piotr, is also a former footballer.

Career statistics

¹ All appearances in

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 ...

.
² All appearances in

Polish SuperCup 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 2021, the Polish Super Cup has been pl ...

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Brożek goal''.

Honours

Club

Wisła Kraków U-19 * Polish U-19 Championship: 2000 Wisła Kraków *

: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2008–09,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

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. ...

: 2001–02, 2002–03 *

: 2000–01 *

: 2001

International

Poland * UEFA U-18 Championship: 2001

Individual

top scorer: 2007–08, 2008–09 * Polish Domestic Best Player: 2008 * Ekstraklasa Footballer of the Season: 2008–09

References

External links

*
National team stats
on the website of the

Polish Football Association The Polish Football Association ( pl, Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej; PZPN) is the governing body of association football in Poland. It organizes the Polish football leagues (without the Ekstraklasa), the Polish Cup and the Polish national footb ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brozek, Pawel 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Kielce Association football forwards Polish footballers Poland international footballers Poland under-21 international footballers Poland youth international footballers Polish expatriate footballers Wisła Kraków players ŁKS Łódź players GKS Katowice players Trabzonspor footballers Celtic F.C. players Recreativo de Huelva players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players Ekstraklasa players Süper Lig players Scottish Premier League players Segunda División players Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Scotland Expatriate footballers in Spain Polish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Polish twins Twin sportspeople