Zbigniew Boniek

Zbigniew Boniek (; born 3 March 1956) is a Polish former footballer and was most recently a UEFA vice-president. A former midfielder, who was also capable of playing mostly as a right winger and second striker, he is considered one of the greatest Polish players of all time, and was selected by Pelé as one of the 100 best living footballers in 2004.

In the early 1990s, Boniek managed several Italian clubs, and also the Poland national team in 2002. In 2019, he was inducted in the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Club career Boniek was born in Bydgoszcz. He first played for Polish clubs Zawisza Bydgoszcz and later at Widzew Łódź.

Boniek transferred to Italian football giants Juventus in 1982. With Juventus he won the Coppa Italia in his first season, also managing a second-place finish in the league and reaching the 1983 European Cup Final in the same season. The following season, his performances proved decisive, as Juventus won both the Serie A title and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1984, with Boniek scoring the matching-winning goal in the 2–1 victory over Porto in the final of the latter tournament in Basel; he followed up these victories by claiming the European Super Cup later that year, scoring twice in the 2–0 win against Liverpool. He also won the European Cup in 1985, against Liverpool once again, winning the penalty that Michel Platini subsequently converted to win the title for Juventus, although the team's victory was overshadowed by the Heysel Disaster.

The following season, Boniek joined Roma, where he won a second Coppa Italia in 1986, and eventually ended his professional career with the club in 1988. but was forced to miss the semi-final defeat to eventual champions Italy due to a suspension after being booked in the 88th minute of a 0–0 draw against the Soviet Union.

The Juventus president at the time of Boniek's tenure with the club, Gianni Agnelli, nicknamed him Bello di notte ("Beauty at night", which is a play on the title of the Buñuel movie Belle de Jour) because of his excellent performances in European club tournament matches, which were played in the evening; indeed, during continental tournaments, his opponents usually allowed him more space and time on the ball than in Serie A, which allowed him to get forward, undertake individual dribbling runs and score goals himself, or drop deep, link up with midfielders and create chances or provide assists for his teammates, courtesy of his passing, vision, and clever movement. He was also nicknamed Zibì by the Italian press. as well as one of the best players in the history of both Serie A and Juventus. However, in 2010, he was controversially not included among the Turin based club's 50 stars; Boniek was vocally critical of his exclusion on Twitter, and in particular of the fact that Edgar Davids had been chosen in his place, despite the doping allegations against the latter.

Honduran international footballer Óscar Boniek García was given the middle name Boniek in honour of Zbigniew Boniek. García chose to have the name "Boniek" written across the back of his jersey while playing for Houston.

Boniek Forbes (born 30 September 1983) is a Guinea-Bissau footballer who plays as a winger for Cheshunt. He played for Leyton Orient in the Football League.

In 2018, Boniek became an honorary citizen of Łódź. In 2019, he was named the most influential person in Polish sport by the Forbes Polska magazine and Pentagon Research. The same year, he was voted as a member of Poland's Team of the Century in a poll organized on the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Polish Football Association.

In 2020, Boniek's biography entitled Zibi, czyli Boniek written by Roman Kołtoń was published. The footballer himself also published his autobiography the same year entitled Zbigniew Boniek. Mecze mojego życia (Zbigniew Boniek: The Matches of My Life).

Managerial career Following his retirement, Boniek pursued a coaching career, but with less success; he also coached in Italy, with stints at Lecce in 1990–91, Bari in 1991–92, Sambenedettese in 1992–93, and Avellino in 1994–96.

In 2004, Boniek was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers, as part of FIFA's centenary celebrations.

On 26 October 2012, he became the chairman of the Polish Football Association. He is popular for speaking in favour of decriminalising football fans by legalising pyrotechnics inside stadiums, a common practice among ultras. His term of office ended on 18 August 2021, and he was succeeded by Cezary Kulesza.

Personal life Boniek has a university diploma in education. In 1976, he married his wife Wiesława, a specialist in Romance studies, with whom he has three children: two daughters Karolina and Kamila and son Tomasz.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Boniek goal.

Honours

Widzew Łódź Ekstraklasa: 1980–81, 1981–82

Juventus

Individual Polish Newcomer of the Year: 1976 Piłka Nożna Polish Footballer of the Year: 1978, 1982 FIFA World Cup All-star Team: 1982 ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 1982 FIFA 100: 2004 Golden Foot Legends Award: 2009 FAI International Football Awards – International Personality: 2012 Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2019 Polish Football Association National Team of the Century: 1919–2019

Orders