Mirosław Mieczysław Pękala (born 15 October 1961) 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. His playing career lasted 11 years during which time he played for

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław (), is a Polish professional Association football, football club based in Wrocław that plays in , the second level of the Polish football leagu ...

and

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 ...

Career

Born in

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; ; ; ) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse (Nysa Kłodzka) river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko County (and of the ru ...

, Pękala started playing football for his local team Nysa Kłodzko. He eventually joined Piast Nowa Ruda, being transferred to

at the age of 15. He made his league debut for Śląsk in August 1977 against

Ruch Chorzów Ruch Chorzów () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Chorzów, Upper Silesia. It is one of the most successful football teams in Poland, having won fourteen List of Polish football champions, Polish Championship ...

at the age of 15, being the youngest ever player to have played for the team. After shining in his early years, his high amount of playing time and early exposure to alcohol abuse took its toll on Pękala's development. During his time with Śląsk he was involved in a night of drinking when he and three other players partied in a

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

tank outside of a Soviet cemetery. In the winter of 1984 Pękala was involved in a hit and run driving accident, eventually surrendering himself to the authorities. Eventually Śląsk had had enough of the player and his antics and he was transferred to

in early 1985. In total for Śląsk Pękala made 137 league appearances in the

I liga I liga (, ), currently named Betclic I liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga via promotion/rel ...

. Pękala made his Lechia debut on 23 March 1985 against

ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, boxing, and in the past ice hockey, ...

. After his initial troubles at Śląsk, Pękala initially had a more structured life and stayed away from alcohol when he joined the club. However Pękala returned to his lifestyle outside of football. One event that took place during his time with Lechia was that a player was sent to find Pękala after a night of drinking, eventually finding him in the 54th house they checked. Despite his antics frustrating the club and management, the manager at the time Wojciech Łazarek saw his importance for the team, with Łazarek saying he'd prefer one Pękala over an additional three players on the pitch. Eventually his drinking habits led to his retirement from football in 1988 at the age of 27, having made 114 appearances and scored 14 goals in all competitions for Lechia.

International career

It is reported that Pękala made nearly 100 appearances for the Polish international youth teams. He made his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

international debut on 25 January 1981 against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In total, he earned six caps for Poland, four of those coming against Japan during an international team tour of the country in 1981, with the other two games coming against

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. His only international goal came against Japan.

Honours

Poland U18 *

UEFA European Under-18 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

runner-up:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pękala, Mirosław 1961 births Living people People from Kłodzko Footballers from Lower Silesian Voivodeship Polish men's footballers Poland men's youth international footballers Poland men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Śląsk Wrocław players Lechia Gdańsk players Ekstraklasa players I liga players 20th-century Polish sportsmen