Waldemar Piątek (born 2 November 1979) 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 played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Club career

He started his career in

Wisłoka Dębica Wisłoka Dębica () is one of the oldest existing sports clubs in Poland, founded in 1908 by a group of Dębica's high school students. The name comes from the River Wisłoka, which flows by the town of Dębica (south-east Poland, 110 kilometers ...

where he played until the spring season of 2001. Then, he moved to

KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski () is a Polish football club based in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Poland. It was founded on August 11, 1929. History Initially, a club called ''Ostrovia'' existed in the city. It was established between 1922 and 1 ...

, and in the spring of 2003 he was bought by Lech Poznań. In the 2003–04 season, while representing Lech, he won the Polish Cup and

Polish Super Cup 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 ...

. Piątek was highly regarded as a goalkeeper, before having his career cut short after being diagnosed with

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

in mid-2005.

International career

In July 2004 Piątek was called up to 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 ...

for a friendly game in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. However, he spent the entirety of the 1–1 draw on the bench.

Managerial career

In 2021 and 2022 he served as a

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

of Ekstraklasa side

Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza Klub Sportowy Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza, is a professional Polish football club based in Nieciecza, Poland. The team was established in 1922. The club was founded after Wo ...

, following the

Mariusz Lewandowski Mariusz Lewandowski (; born 18 May 1979) is a Polish football manager and a former player. He currently manages Polish Ekstraklasa side Radomiak Radom. He was mostly a central defender and could also play as a defensive midfielder. He spent th ...

's lay-off and preceding the beginning of cooperation with Michał Probierz.

Honours

Club

Lech Poznań * Polish Cup: 2003–04 *

: 2004

References

1979 births Living people Polish footballers KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski players Lech Poznań players Ekstraklasa players I liga players Polish football managers Ekstraklasa managers I liga managers Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza managers People from Dębica Sportspeople from Podkarpackie Voivodeship Men's association football goalkeepers {{Poland-footy-goalkeeper-stub