Roman Jacek Kosecki (born 15 February 1966) 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 ...
who played as a
striker.
Career
In his club career, Kosecki played for RKS URSUS,
Gwardia Warsaw
Gwardia Warszawa was a Polish sports club based in Warsaw. The club was founded in 1948. It participated in the Polish 1st League from 1953–1960 (8 seasons), 1962–1966 (5 seasons), 1967–1968, 1969–1975, 1978–1979 and 1981–1983. The ...
,
Legia Warsaw,
Galatasaray
Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...
,
CA Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El Sa ...
,
Atlético Madrid
Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...
,
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
,
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
, and the
Chicago Fire. Osasuna transferred Kosecki to Atlético Madrid after the
1992–93 La Liga season, the second most expensive transfer of a foreign player in that window. After a successful year with Atlético Madrid and the Poland national team, Kosecki was chosen as the 1994 Polish footballer of the year by ''Piłka Nożna'' magazine. He came to
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
in the Fire's inaugural season in 1998, joining fellow Polish internationals
Peter Nowak
Piotr "Peter" Nowak (; born 5 July 1964) is a Polish professional football manager and former player. He was most recently in charge of Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia Białystok.
Nowak played in Europe for Polish clubs such as Zawisza Bydgoszcz ...
and
Jerzy Podbrozny. Kosecki proceeded to score the first goal in Fire's history in a 2–0 win over the
Miami Fusion
The Miami Fusion was a professional soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for four seasons, from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one of the league's first two expansion teams, their best seas ...
. He then helped the club to the
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...
and
U.S. Open Cup double. Kosecki played two seasons in MLS, scoring 12 goals and 19 assists in league play, before retiring as a player.
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 ...
, Kosecki was capped 69 times, scoring 19 goals between 1988 and 1995.
He was a deputy (
poseł) to the Polish
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 ...
from
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 ...
in 2005.
Kosecki ran for the position of president of the
PZPN
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 ...
in 2012 but lost to Polish soccer legend
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 t ...
. Boniek however appointed him to vice president of youth development.
Personal life
His son
Jakub Kosecki
Jakub Kosecki (; born August 29, 1990) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Weszło Warsaw.
Career
Having been around the world in various youth teams as a child, in March 2009, Kosecki moved to Legia Warsaw.
He was ...
is also a professional football player.
International goals
::''Scores and results table. Poland's goal tally first:''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosecki, Roman
1966 births
Living people
Polish footballers
Poland international footballers
Polish football managers
Legia Warsaw players
Galatasaray S.K. footballers
CA Osasuna players
Atlético Madrid footballers
FC Nantes players
Montpellier HSC players
Chicago Fire FC players
Ekstraklasa players
Ligue 1 players
La Liga players
Süper Lig players
Polish expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Turkey
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Expatriate footballers in France
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Polish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Polish expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Polish expatriate sportspeople in France
Polish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
People from Piaseczno
Major League Soccer players
Major League Soccer All-Stars
Gwardia Warsaw players
Sportspeople from Masovian Voivodeship
Association football forwards
Civic Platform politicians
Polish sportsperson-politicians
Members of the Polish Sejm 2005–2007
Members of the Polish Sejm 2007–2011
Members of the Polish Sejm 2011–2015