Łukasz Tomasz Żygadło (born 2 August 1979 in

Sulechów Sulechów (pronounced , german: Züllichau) is a town located within the Zielona Góra County, in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the administrative seat of the Gmina Sulechów. Established in the Middle Ages, the town features many h ...

) is a Polish

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

player, member of the

Poland men's national volleyball team The Poland national men's volleyball team is controlled by the Polish Volleyball Federation, which represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. Poland is one of the world's strongest teams, they are ranked first in ...

in 1998–2014 (247 matches in the national team) and Qatari club Al Arabi, participant at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

, 2012 World League winner, silver medallist at the 2006 World Championship and 2011 World Cup, Polish Champion (2000), two–time Italian Champion (2012, 2015), three–time Iranian Champion (2016, 2017, 2018), two–time winner of the Asian Club Championship, multiple Champions League and Club World Championship winner with the Italian team,

Trentino Volley Trentino Volley is a professional Italian volleyball team based in Trento, in northern Italy. It plays in the Italian Volleyball League without interruption since 2000. It has won four times the Italian Volleyball League, the Italian Cup, the Ita ...

Personal life

Łukasz Żygadło was born in

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 populou ...

. He attended School of Sports Championship in

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian ...

. He graduated from Częstochowa University of Technology with a master's degree in Management and Marketing. He is married to Agnieszka. He is an honorary resident of

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He speaks Polish, Italian, English, Russian. He graduated in 2015 and receive diploma from Associazione Italiana Sommelier. He is a member of AIS in Italy.

Career

Clubs

He started his career in club Orion Sulechów. When he was 15, he moved to

AZS Częstochowa KS AZS Częstochowa SSA was a Polish professional men's volleyball club based in Częstochowa, founded in 1945 as a university team (AZS). The club competed in the Polish PlusLiga from to 1979 to 2017. Six–time Polish Champion, two–time Po ...

. After graduation, he continued his career at the club from Częstochowa. Between 1997-2001, he won gold, silver and bronze medals in the Polish Championship and Polish Cup of 1998. Then he played for Polish clubs Nordea Czarni Radom and

Skra Bełchatów Skra Bełchatów, competing for sponsorship reasons as PGE Skra Bełchatów and officially called KPS Skra Bełchatów SA, is a professional men's volleyball club based in Bełchatów in central Poland, founded in 1957. They compete in the Polis ...

. In the 2003/2004 season, he won the Polish Cup with his club, Polska Energia Sosnowiec. In 2004 he moved to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, to play for

Panathinaikos Athens Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club b ...

. With this club, he won the bronze medal of the Greek Championship. In the next season, 2005/2006, he played for

Halkbank Ankara Halkbank Ankara is a professional men's volleyball team based in Ankara, Turkey and sponsored by the state-owned Halkbank. It was founded on 21 July 1983 as Halkbank Spor Kulübü with blue, white and red colors ...

and won the bronze medal of the Turkish Championship. He was awarded the title of best setter of the Turkish League in 2006. In next the two seasons, he played for Polish club,

ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, officially known for sponsorship reasons as Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, is a professional men's volleyball club based in Kędzierzyn-Koźle in southern Poland, founded in 1994. They compete in the Polish PlusL ...

and Russian club Dinamo Kaliningrad. In 2008, Żygadło moved to an Italian club, Itas Diatec Trentino, where he played for four seasons. During his time playing in

, he won the gold medal at the

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tot ...

three times with his club (2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2010/2011) and the bronze medal in 2012. He was chosen as the best setter of Champions League 2010. He won three gold medals in the FIVB Club World Championship (2009, 2010, 2011). With the club from

, he won three silver (2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2011/2012) and one gold medal of the Italian Championship (2010/2011) and two Italian Cups (2010, 2012). After four years, Żygadło moved to the Russian League, where he played for Fakel Novy Urengoy for one season, 2012/2013. Then he moved to another Russian club, Zenit Kazan. He signed a 2-year contract and replaced Italian setter Valerio Vermiglio. On October 6, 2013 he was injured during training. He lost season 2013/2014, because of injury. He broke his foot, which is after two surgeries and reconstructions of bone. In the club from

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

he has been replaced by Serbian setter

Nikola Grbić Nikola Grbić ( sr-cyrl, Никола Грбић; born 6 September 1973) is a Serbian professional volleyball coach and former player, who is currently serving as head coach for the Poland national team. The Olympic Champion Sydney 2000, a bro ...

. After two surgeries, bone reconstruction and rehabilitation, Żygadło returned to training in March 2014. After the season 2013/2014 Żygadło left Zenit Kazan. The contract was terminated by mutual agreement of both parties. After two seasons spent in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Żygadło accepted an offer from Italian club

. He returned to the club, where he won several titles in 2008-2012. His official return to the club from

was announced on July 10, 2014 and the player stated he was glad about his return to the city and the team. On May 13, 2015 he won title of Italian Champion with

. In July 2015 he decided to leave the Italian team and signed a contract with newly founded Iranian club Sarmayeh Bank Tehran. On March 14, 2016 Iranian Volleyball Federation decided that Sarmayeh Bank Tehran achieved title of Iranian Champion because their opponent in finale Paykan Tehran was not able to attend in the third and the decisive game of the final series. Żygadło was one of the notable players in Iranian League that season and one of the best in his position. In 2016-2017 season he went on to win second Iranian Championship with his team. On 6 July he won for second time Asian Club Championship which were held in Vietnam, received Best Setter Award of the tournament.

National team

He debuted in the Polish national team in 2000, when he was appointed to the matches of the World League, European and World Championships. On December 3, 2006, he won with the national team the silver medal of World Championship 2006 in Japan. On July 5, 2010, he gave up his career in the national team, because of the lack of training and lack of competition for his position in the composition. On March 31, 2011, he returned to the national team after receiving an appointment from coach

Andrea Anastasi Andrea Anastasi (born 8 October 1960) is an Italian professional volleyball coach and former player. He was a member of the Italy national team from 1981 to 1991. The 1990 World Champion, 1989 European Champion, and a two–time World League ...

. In 2011, he won three medals with the Polish national team: silver at

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

and two bronzes at World League and European Championship. He is a gold medalist of World League 2012 in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

.''Poland wins historical gold at the 2012 World League''
– fivb.org – 08-07-2012 Despite his injury and lack of play in the 2013/2014 season, Polish coach Antiga appointed Żygadło to the national team in summer 2014.

Sporting achievements

2008/2009 – with

2009/2010 – with

2010/2011 – with

* FIVB Club World Championship ** Gold medal world centered-2

2009 Doha – with

2010 Doha – with

2011 Doha – with

* AVC Asian Club Championship ** Gold medal asia

2016 Naypyidaw – with Sarmayeh Bank Tehran ** Gold medal asia

2017 Vietnam – with Sarmayeh Bank Tehran * CEV Cup ** Simple silver cup

2014/2015 – with

* National championships ** 1997/1998 Simple gold cup

Polish Cup, with

** 1999/2000 Gold medal with cup

Polish Championship, with

** 2003/2004 Simple gold cup

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. ...

, with

Płomień Sosnowiec Płomień Sosnowiec was a men's volleyball team based in Sosnowiec in southern Poland, founded in 1992. The successor of Płomień Milowice. One time Polish Champion (1996) and two–time Polish Cup winner (2003, 2004). In 2008, due to finan ...

** 2009/2010 Simple gold cup

Italian Cup, with

** 2010/2011 Gold medal with cup

Italian Championship, with

** 2011/2012 Simple gold cup

Italian Cup, with

** 2014/2015 Gold medal with cup

Italian Championship, with

** 2015/2016 Gold medal with cup

Iranian Championship, with Sarmayeh Bank Tehran ** 2016/2017 Gold medal with cup

Iranian Championship, with Sarmayeh Bank Tehran ** 2017/2018 Gold medal with cup

Iranian Championship, with Sarmayeh Bank Tehran