Jerzy Kruszczyński (born 27 June 1958) 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 lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He was often referred to by the pseudonym ''Kruchy''.

Football

Early years

Growing up in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, Kruszczyński started playing for his local professional teams,

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 Arkonia Szczecin. He joined the Pogoń youth teams at the age of 12, before signing his first professional contract with Pogoń in 1976, aged 18. After twi seasons with Pogoń, Kruchy moved to rivals Arkonia. He stayed with them for five seasons until 1983.

Lechia Gdańsk

Kruchy joined

Lechia Gdańsk Lechia Gdańsk () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Gdańsk. As of the 2025–26 Ekstraklasa, 2025–26 season, they compete in the Ekstraklasa. The club was founded in 1945 by people Polish population transfers (1944–1946 ...

in 1983, just after the team had won the

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

and secured promotion to

II liga II liga (Druga liga, ), currently named Betclic II liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is a Polish football league that sits at the third tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, ''II Liga'' referre ...

, the second tier in Polish football. His first competitive match for Lechia was the

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 2024, the Polish Super Cup has been ...

final against

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...

. Lechia ended up winning the final due to Kruszczyński's 88th-minute goal to secure a 1–0 win. His first season with the club was also Lechia's first ever season taking part in a continental competition, despite being in the second tier. Lechia were drawn with Italian and European giants,

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

. Lechia lost 10–2 over both legs, with the home leg finishing 3–2 to Juventus, but with Kruszczyński scoring the second Lechia goal in the game, a penalty in the 63rd minute to put Lechia 2–1 ahead. The season was successful for both Lechia and Kruszczyński. Lechia won the

, securing promotion to the

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

for the first time in 22 years, while he ended up being the league's top goal-scorer scoring 31 goals in 30 games, including hat-tricks in both games against arch rivals

Arka Gdynia Morski Związkowy Klub Sportowy Arka Gdynia () is a professional football club based in Gdynia, Poland, that plays in the Ekstraklasa after winning the 2024–25 I liga. The club was founded as Klub Sportowy Gdynia in 1929. History The h ...

. The following season Lechia were back in the top flight. While the season was not as spectacular in terms of goals scored or competitions they competed in, Lechia succeed in avoiding relegation, with Kruszczyński scoring an important 8 goals in 27 appearances.

Lech Poznań

Kruchy moved to

for the 1985–86 season. While at Lech, he didn't make the same goal scoring impact he initially had at Lechia, scoring six goals in his first season. In total, he made 108 league appearances and recorded 30 goals for Lech. The Lech team was much more competitive than Lechia, and offered him the chance to win more silverware. Lech won the

in the 1987–88 season, and finished runners-up in the

the following season, but failed to win the title while Kruszczyński was at the club. While at Lech, Kruchy competed in European competitions every season, two of these seasons being the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

. In his final season with Lech, the club beat Albanian team

Flamurtari Vlorë Flamurtari Football Club is an Albanian professional football club based in Vlorë, Albania. The club plays in the Kategoria Superiore, which is the first tier of football in the country. Founded in 1923, the club is one of the oldest in Alba ...

in the first round, securing a second-round game against the Spanish giants

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. Both legs finished 1–1, with Kruszczyński once again scoring from the penalty spot in the home leg. After finishing as a draw after extra-time, Barcelona went through after winning 5–4 on penalties.

Return to Lechia

After four seasons with Lech, Kruszczyński had a brief spell in Sweden with

Umeå FC Umeå FC is a Swedish professional football club located in Umeå, Sweden. The club, formed in 1987, is currently playing in the third tier of the Swedish league, Ettan. The club is affiliated to the Västerbottens Fotbollförbund. Season to se ...

before returning to Lechia Gdańsk again. The stay at Lechia was only for half a season, with him scoring three goals in nine games for Lechia, before finally retiring from football.

Sweden

After returning from playing professional football, Kruchy moved to Sweden where he managed two female football teams, Umeå Södra FF, the female section of Umeå FC where he briefly played, and Gislaveds FF. In total he spent 10 years working in Sweden before returning to Poland.

Personal life

Kruszczyński is commemorated by a star at the MOSiR Stadium in Gdańsk. The "Avenue of Stars" commemorates the efforts and success of former players and coaches.

Honours

Lechia Gdańsk * II liga West: 1983-84 *

: 1983 Lech Poznań *

: 1987-88 Individual *

top scorer: 1983-84

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruszczyński, Jerzy 1958 births Living people Footballers from Szczecin Men's association football forwards Polish men's footballers Pogoń Szczecin players Arkonia Szczecin players Lechia Gdańsk players Lech Poznań players Ekstraklasa players I liga players Polish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Polish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Polish football managers Polish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Sweden 20th-century Polish sportsmen