Tadeusz Polak (born November 17, 1944) is a Polish former footballer who played in the

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 ...

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

, and the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

. Polak began his career with

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 ...

of the

in 1958. He recorded his first goal for the club on October 14, 1964 against

Karpaty Krosno KKS Karpaty Krosno is a Polish sports club based in Krosno, Poland. The name "Karpaty" refers to the Carpathian mountains. The football side is currently playing in the IV liga Subcarpathia, the men's volleyball team plays in the II division, ...

. In total he played in 185 matches, recorded fifteen goals, and won the

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. ...

in 1967. In 1974, he went overseas to Canada to sign with

Toronto Metros-Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

of the

. He featured in the

Soccer Bowl '76 Soccer Bowl '76 was the championship final of the 1976 NASL season, between the Toronto Metros-Croatia and the Minnesota Kicks. The match was played on August 28, 1976 at the Kingdome, in Seattle, Washington. The Toronto Metros-Croatia won th ...

against

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initiall ...

and won the championship by a score of 3-0. In 1979, he signed with the Toronto Falcons of the

. He retired with Polonia Hamilton in a local amateur league. He made two appearances 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 ...

. He made his debut on May 7, 1972 in a match against Bulgaria. His final appearance for Poland came in a friendly match on May 10, 1972 against Switzerland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polak, Tadeusz 1944 births Living people Polish men's footballers Polish expatriate men's footballers Poland men's international footballers Wisła Kraków players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players Toronto Falcons (1975–1982) players Ekstraklasa players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Canadian National Soccer League players People from Steyr-Land District Men's association football midfielders Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Polish expatriate sportspeople in Canada