Kamil Wilczek

Kamil Antoni Wilczek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkamil ˈvilt͡ʂɛk]; born 14 January 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays for Copenhagen and the Poland national team. He is usually deployed as a striker for both club and country.

Kamil Wilczek

With Brøndby IF in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Kamil Antoni Wilczek
Date of birth	14 January 1988[1]
Place of birth	Wodzisław Śląski, Poland
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s)	Striker
Club information
Current team	Copenhagen
Number	9
Youth career
	WSP Wodzisław Śląski
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2006	Silesia Lubomia
2006	Horadada
2007	Elche Ilicitano
2007–2008	GKS Jastrzębie	32	(5)
2009–2010	Piast Gliwice	39	(7)
2010–2013	Zagłębie Lubin	42	(2)
2013–2015	Piast Gliwice	66	(29)
2015–2016	Carpi	3	(0)
2016–2020	Brøndby	124	(71)
2020	Göztepe	14	(1)
2020–	Copenhagen	11	(5)
National team^‡
2006–2007	Poland U19	4	(1)
2009–2010	Poland U21	8	(0)
2016–	Poland	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:27, 20 December 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 November 2017

Wilczek began his career in Poland and made the move to Italian side Carpi in 2015, before making the move to the danish club Brøndby IF half a year later in January 2016. He became captain of Brøndby in 2019 following the departures of Johan Larsson and Benedikt Röcker. He is also the club's all-time leading Superliga-goalscorer, having scored a total of 71 goals in the competition. After a short stay at Göztepe, he made a highly controversial move to Brøndby's archrivals FC Copenhagen in August 2020, signing a three-year contract.

In October 2016, Wilczek won his first cap for Poland, having previously played for the under-21 team.

Club career

Early career

Born in Wodzisław Śląski, Wilczek began his career with local club WSP Wodzisław Śląski, then moved on loan to LKS Silesia Lubomia. He also played for UD Horadada and Elche CF Ilicitano for short periods before moving on to GKS Jastrzębie in the Polish First League from September 2007 to December 2008.[2] He joined Piast Gliwice during the winter transfer window and made his Ekstraklasa debut in February 2009.[3] In June 2010, he moved to Zagłębie Lubin,[4] where he played for three years before returning to Piast Gliwice in 2013. In 2015, he became the top goalscorer of the Ekstraklasa with 20 goals.

Following the expiration of his contract with Gliwice in June 2015, Wilczek signed a three-year deal with Carpi.[5] However, he failed to impress in Italy and only made three appearances for the club.[6]

Brøndby

In January 2016, Wilczek signed a three-and-a-half year contract with Danish club Brøndby IF.[7][8] In April 2018, with Brøndby in the race for the Superliga title, Wilczek scored seven goals in five matches. His performances led to him being named as the Danish Superliga Player of the Month for April 2018.[9] On 10 May 2018, he scored twice as Brøndby beat Silkeborg IF 3–1 in the 2017–18 Danish Cup final.[10] At the end of the spring campaign Wilczek had scored 11 goals in 14 matches which earned him the Tipsbladet Player of the Spring Award.[11]

Wilczek started the 2018–19 season where he left off, opening his goalscoring account in the 63rd minute of the season opener against Randers FC, which ended in a 2–0 away win.[12] In the following weeks, Wilczek scored against Vejle Boldklub and FC Nordsjælland before scoring a brace against newly promoted Vendsyssel FF, helping Brøndby win the match 2–1.[13] He continued his goalscoring form throughout the fall, becoming one of the most scoring players in Europe in 2018, only surpassed by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.[14] In December 2018, Wilczek signed a two-year contract extension at Brøndby, which would keep him at the club until 2021. This deal came after a record year for the Polish striker: his 25 league goals of 2018 made him highest scoring player of a calendar year in Danish Superliga history.[15]

After the departure of Benedikt Röcker, Wilczek was appointed as new permanent club captain, having temporarily replaced the former captain while he was benched during large parts of the spring campaign.[16] He continued his goal form in the 2019–20 season, closing in on the club record for most goals in the Superliga held by Brøndby-legend, Ebbe Sand.[17] Wilczek scored braces against OB,[18] Hobro IK,[19] as well as in the Copenhagen Derby against F.C. Copenhagen, securing a 3–1 win over the archrivals.[20] On 1 December, Wilczek scored in a loss to F.C. Copenhagen at Telia Parken, his 70th Superliga goal for Brøndby, claiming the record for most goals scored in the Superliga for Brøndby from Sand.[21]

Göztepe

On 22 January 2020, Turkish Süper Lig club Göztepe SK confirmed the signing of Wilczek on a one-and-a-half year contract.[22] He made his first appearance on 26 January, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Cameron Jerome as Göztepe defeated Beşiktaş 2–1.[23] On 8 July, he scored his first goal for the club – a penalty shot – in a 2–2 draw against Ankaragücü.[24] Wilczek made 14 league appearances for Göztepe, scoring one goal.

Copenhagen

On 6 August 2020, less than seven months after leaving Brøndby, Wilczek made a surprising and controversial move to Brøndby's bitter rivals Copenhagen.[25] He signed a three-year contract with the club.[26] Upon signing, he stated that he understood the disappointment of Brøndby's fans, but that he hoped they would also see the situation from his point of view.[27][28] Wilczek had at that point already been labelled "Judas" by some Brøndby supporters, with angry fans of the team recording videos of themselves burning his jersey.[29][30] On the evening after the move was announced, a large group of fans protested in front of Brøndby Stadium to show their discontent with Wilczek's transfer.[31]

On 13 September, in the first match-day of the season, Wilczek scored a brace in a 3–2 loss to OB after being down 3–0 at half.[32] He made his first European appearance for Copenhagen on 17 September in a 1–2 win over IFK Göteborg at Ullevi in the second qualifying round of the Europa League.[33] A few days later, on 20 September, Wilczek scored the opener against former club and rivals Brøndby, as Copenhagen lost 1–2.[34]

International career

Wilczek was a part of Poland under-19[35] and Poland under-21[36] teams. He got his first call up to the senior Poland squad for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers against Scotland and Republic of Ireland in October 2015.[37] He debuted for Poland in a 2–1 2018 World Cup qualification win over Armenia national football team 11 October 2016.[38]

In May 2018 he was named in Poland's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[39] However, he did not make the final 23.[40]

Career statistics

Club

As of 20 December 2020.[41][42][43]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Play-offs		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GKS Jastrzębie	2007–08	I liga	22	3	0	0	–		–		22	3
	2008–09		10	2	1	0	–		–		11	2
	Total		32	5	1	0	–		–		33	5
Piast Gliwice	2008–09	Ekstraklasa	13	2	–		–		–		13	2
	2009–10		26	5	1	0	–		–		27	5
	Total		39	7	1	0	–		–		40	7
Zagłębie Lubin	2010–11	Ekstraklasa	16	2	1	0	–		–		17	2
	2011–12		16	0	0	0	–		–		16	0
	2012–13		10	0	4	1	–		–		14	1
	Total		42	2	5	1	–		–		47	3
Piast Gliwice	2013–14	Ekstraklasa	31	9	1	0	1	0	–		33	9
	2014–15		35	20	2	0	–		–		37	20
	Total		66	29	3	0	1	0	–		70	29
Carpi	2015–16	Serie A	3	0	1	0	–		–		4	0
Brøndby IF	2015–16	Superliga	13	5	2	0	–		–		15	5
	2016–17		30	13	4	2	8	4	–		42	19
	2017–18		30	15	5	6	4	0	–		39	21
	2018–19		33	21	3	2	4	3	1	1	41	27
	2019–20		18	17	1	0	6	3	0	0	25	20
	Total		124	71	15	10	22	10	1	1	162	92
Göztepe	2019–20	Süper Lig	14	1	0	0	–		–		14	1
Copenhagen	2020–21	Superliga	11	5	2	0	3	1	0	0	16	5
Career total			324	118	28	11	25	10	1	1	378	140

International

As of 10 November 2017.[41]

Poland
Year	Apps	Goals
2016	2	0
2017	1	0
Total	3	0

Honours

Brøndby IF

• Danish Cup: 2017–18

Individual

• Ekstraklasa top scorer: 2014–15 (20 goals)[44]
• Ekstraklasa Best Player: 2014–15[45]
• Ekstraklasa Best Forward: 2014–15[46]
• Brøndby Player of the Year: 2018,[47] 2019
• Superliga Player of the Month: October 2019[48]

References

1. "spillerprofil". brondby.com (in Danish). Retrieved 1 April 2020.
2. Kamil Wilczek zawodnikiem GKS-u Jastrzębie Archived 24 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine 31 August 2007, 90minut.pl
3. Wolał Gliwice niż Chorzów Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine 7 February 2009, sportslaski.pl
4. Wilczek piłkarzem Zagłębia 10 June 2010, wp.pl
5. Russo, Alessandro (1 July 2015). "Primo acuto Carpi: Wilczek. In Polonia è mister 20 gol". Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 30 June 2016.
6. Hoffskov, Ole (22 January 2016). "Carpi tager afsked med Wilczek". Tipsbladet (in Danish). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
7. Kamil Wilczek podpisał kontrakt z Brondby
8. "Calciomercato Carpi, via Wilczek: ufficiale al Brondby". Tuttosport (in Italian). 22 June 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
9. "Efter syv mål på fem kampe: Kamil Wilczek er månedens spillery". Tipsbladet (in Danish). 3 May 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
10. "Brøndby er pokalmester - ender ti års pokaltørke" [Brøndby are cup winners - after ten years of cup drought] (in Danish). TV2 Sport. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
11. "Kamil Wilczek er Forårets Profil i Superligaen" [Kamil Wilczek is Player of the Spring in the Superliga] (in Danish). Tipsbladet. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
12. "Erceg og Wilczek gav Brøndby drømmestart" [Erceg and Wilczek gave Brøndby dream start] (in Danish). bold.dk. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
13. "Stjerneangriber redder Brøndby: To mål fra Wilczek var nok" [Star Striker Saves Brøndby: Two Goals from Wilczek Was Enough] (in Danish). bold.dk. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
14. "Vilde Wilczek i klub med Messi og Ronaldo" [Wild Wilczek in Same League as Messi and Ronaldo] (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
15. "Stor Brøndby-nyhed: Kamil Wilczek forlænger" [Big Brøndby News: Kamil Wilczek Extends] (in Danish). Tipsbladet. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
16. "Wilczek udpeget som Brøndby-anfører – Mensah viceanfører". 3point.dk (in Danish). 11 July 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
17. "Wilczek om at takke nej til gratis mad, at Brøndby kæmpede for ham, hans fantastiske forhold til klubbens fans og Ebbe Sands rekord". 3point.dk (in Danish). 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
18. "Bedst og værst: Kyniske Kamil Wilczek nedlagde OB". tipsbladet.dk (in Danish). 28 July 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
19. "Kamil Wilczek brandvarm i Hobro - se målene fra Brøndbys 2-0-sejr". tv3sport.dk (in Danish). 11 August 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
20. "Brøndbys skarpe angrebsduo afgør arvefjendeopgør mod FCK". Berlingske.dk (in Danish). 6 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
21. "Skuffet Wilczek afviser at tale om rekord". bold.dk (in Danish). 1 December 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
22. "Göztepe Kamil Wilczek'i transfer etti". Fanatik. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
23. "Billeder: Kamil Wilczek-debut i sejr over storhold". 3point. 26 January 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
24. Giriş, Haber; Güncelleme, Son (8 July 2020). "Göztepe 2-2 Ankaragücü - Maçın özeti ve golleri". hurriyet.tr. Hürriyet. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
25. Wehlast, Mads Glenn (6 August 2020). "Officielt: FC København henter Brøndby-legenden Kamil Wilczek". ekstabladet.dk. Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
26. "FCK henter Kamil Wilczek". www.fck.dk. F.C. Copenhagen. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
27. "Wilczek håber på forståelse: FCK var min bedste mulighed". jyllands-posten.dk. Jyllands-Posten. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
28. Wehlast, Mads Glenn (6 August 2020). "Nu taler Wilczek om skiftet". ekstrabladet.dk. Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
29. Grau Andersen, Nicolai (6 August 2020). "Fans koger over efter transferbombe: 'Trøjen skal brændes!'". www.bt.dk. B.T. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
30. Møller Karlsen, Nanna (6 August 2020). "Officielt: Kamil Wilczek skifter til FCK - kontrakt til 2023". 3point.dk. 3point. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
31. Wojciech Kokborg, Johnny (6 August 2020). "Rasende fans samlet - Wilczek-protest i Brøndby". www.bt.dk. B.T. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
32. Kjeldtoft, Jan (13 September 2020). "FCK og Wilczek på randen af ydmygelse i vildt drama" (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
33. Thorsen, Gisle (17 September 2020). "FC København er videre i Europa League efter sejr over IFK Göteborg" (in Danish). Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
34. Ritzau (20 September 2020). "Dramatisk derby: Brøndby tager sejren med overtidsscoring". www.dr.dk (in Danish). DR. Retrieved 20 September 2020. Mikael Uhre blev matchvinder for Brøndby mod FCK, i et opgør hvor Kamil Wilczek også scorede.
35. U-19: Kadra na konsultację i mecze z Ukrainą 1 March 2007, reprezentacja.com.pl
36. Powołania do reprezentacji młodzieżowej U-21 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine 16 February 2010, pilkanozna.pl
37. "Poland announce squad for Scotland clash". scottishfa.co.uk. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
38. "Poland v Armenia". BBC Sport. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
39. "Russia, Iceland & Poland name provisional squads". FIFA.com. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
40. Tyers, Alan (24 June 2018). "Poland World Cup 2018 squad list and team guide". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
41. "Kamil Wilczek". 90minut.
42. "Kamil Wilczek". Soccerway.
43. "Kamil Wilczek » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
44. Polish Eskstraklasa top scorer 16 December 2018, hitc.com
45. Ekstraklasa player Player of the year 16 December 2018, sport.nowiny.pl
46. Eskstraklasa best forward 16 December 2018, ronaldo.com
47. Brøndby IF Player of the year 16 December 2018, ronaldo.com
48. Skovsgaard Tøfting, Nicolai (7 November 2019). "Kamil Wilczek er månedens Superliga-spiller". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 1 December 2020.

External links

• Kamil Wilczek at 90minut.pl (in Polish)
• Kamil Wilczek at Soccerway