Kazimierz Deyna
Deyna in 1970
Personal information
Full name Kazimierz Deyna
Date of birth (1947-10-23)23 October 1947
Place of birth Starogard Gdański, Poland
Date of death 1 September 1989(1989-09-01) (aged 41)
Place of death San Diego, California, United States
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1958–1966 Włókniarz Starogard Gdański
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1966 ŁKS Łódź 1 (0)
1966–1978 Legia Warsaw 304 (93)
1978–1981 Manchester City 38 (12)
1981–1984 San Diego Sockers 90 (44)
1981–1987 San Diego Sockers (indoor) 169 (118)
Total 602 (267)
International career
1968–1978 Poland 97 (41)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Poland
FIFA World Cup
Third place 1974 West Germany
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kazimierz Deyna (Polish pronunciation: [kaˈʑimjɛʐ ˈdɛjna] ⓘ;[a] 23 October 1947 – 1 September 1989)[1] was a Polish professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder in the playmaker role and was one of the most highly regarded players of his generation, due to his excellent vision.[2]

Early life

Deyna was born in Starogard Gdański to Franciszek (1911–1976) – a dairy worker, and Jadwiga (1917–1981)[3] – a housewife. He had six sisters and two brothers – Henryk and Franciszek, who also were footballers; Henryk played for Włókniarz Starogard Gdański, while Franciszek was a Starogardzki KS player.[4]

Club career

Legia Warsaw

Deyna began playing youth football in 1958 at his local club Włókniarz Starogard Gdański. In 1966 he made one appearance for ŁKS Łódź (on 8 October in a 0–0 draw against Górnik Zabrze).[5] But he was quickly snapped up by Legia Warsaw. In communist Poland each team had its own "sponsor". The Warsaw club was much more powerful as it was the military club. Moreover, it was the favourite club of the authorities. Deyna was called up into the army and in this way he had to play for Legia Warsaw. He made a name for himself during his first season, becoming one of Legia's most important players. In 1969 and 1970 his team won the Polish Championship.[6] After his performances at the 1974 World Cup, European top teams like AS Saint-Étienne, AS Monaco, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich tried to acquire his services but he was unable to join, since the communist regime in Poland prevented him from moving to Western Europe. Real Madrid was so determined to acquire Deyna that they sent a shirt to Warsaw with his name and number "14".

Manchester City

Soon afterwards Deyna was transferred to English club Manchester City, making his debut in November 1978,[7] and being one of the first wave of overseas players to play in the English league.[8] His time in England was marred by a series of injuries, and he left in January 1981, shortly after Manchester City made a managerial change, having made only 43 appearances in all competitions. However, he was regarded as an exceptionally gifted playmaker and became a cult figure with City fans.[8] Deyna scored thirteen goals in his time with the club. Furthermore, his seven goals in the last eight games of the 1978–79 season were crucial for Manchester City in their relegation battle.

San Diego Sockers

The jersey that Deyna wore during his run on San Diego Sockers

Deyna appeared in the 1981 film Escape to Victory as Paul Wolcheck.[1] In the same year, he emigrated to the United States, where he signed with the San Diego Sockers of the North American Soccer League in January 1981. During the next seven years, he played four NASL outdoor seasons, one NASL indoor season and five Major Indoor Soccer League seasons with the Sockers, winning five championships. The Sockers released him in June 1987.[9] He was a 1983 NASL Second Team All Star.[10]

International career

Deyna with Poland in 1974

On 24 April 1968, Deyna made his debut for the Poland national team in a match against Turkey in Chorzów. He won the gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich,[11] and the bronze in Football World Cup 1974, after a match against Brazil.[12] In 1972, he was also the Top Goalscorer of the Olympic Games, with a total of nine goals.[13]

In 1976 Summer Olympics his team yet again reached the finals and won the silver medal.[11] Additionally, he was ranked third in the European Footballer of the Year for 1974, behind Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer.

Deyna played for Poland on 97 (84 after the deduction of Olympic Football Tournament competition games[14]) occasions, scoring 41 goals, and often captained the side. He had the ability to score from unusual positions, for example directly from a corner. Because of his achievements and talents, he was chosen Football Player of the Year several times by Polish fans. In 1978, he captained Poland at the Football World Cup in Argentina, where the team reached the second phase.

Death

Kazimierz Deyna tomb in Powązki Military Cemetery

Deyna died in a car accident in San Diego, California, aged 41. In 1994, he was chosen by the Polish Football Association (PZPN) and the readers of all Polish sports-related newspapers as the Greatest Polish Football Player of All Time. His number 10 is retired by Legia Warsaw and the Sockers. In June 2012 Kazimierz Deyna's remains were exhumed and reburied in Warsaw's Powązki Military Cemetery.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[15][16]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
ŁKS Łódź 1966–67 Ekstraklasa 1 0
Legia Warsaw 1966–67 Ekstraklasa 12 6 1 1 – 0 0 13 7
1967–68 23 6 2 0 – 4 4 29 10
1968–69 26 12 6 5 – 6 2 38 19
1969–70 23 5 4 3 – 8 3 35 11
1970–71 23 3 4 4 – 6 1 33 8
1971–72 26 10 6 8 – 4 0 36 18
1972–73 25 8 7 4 – 3 3 35 15
1973–74 27 8 3 2 – 5 2 35 12
1974–75 26 5 0 0 – 2 0 28 5
1975–76 26 11 2 1 – 28 12
1976–77 28 9 4 0 – 2 2 34 11
1977–78 28 9 4 1 – 33 10
1978–79 11 2 2 1 – 13 3
Total 304 93
Manchester City 1978–79 First Division 13 6 2 0 1 0 1 1 17 7
1979–80 22 6 0 0 1 0 23 6
1980–81 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 38 12
San Diego Sockers 1981 North American Soccer League 39 15
1982 26 11
1983 18 15
1984 23 8
Total 106 49
Career total 449 159 539 203

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Poland 1968 5 0
1969 8 7
1970 5 2
1971 5 1
1972 10 9
1973 14 1
1974 12 4
1975 8 6
1976 8 3
1977 12 4
1978 10 4
Total 97 41
Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Deyna goal.
List of international goals scored by Kazimierz Deyna[17]
No. Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 20 April 1969 Kraków, Poland  Luxembourg 8–0 FIFA World Cup 1970 qualification
2
3 15 June 1969 Sofia, Bulgaria  Bulgaria 1–4 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 27 August 1969 Łódź, Poland  Norway 6–1 Friendly
5 12 October 1969 Luxembourg, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 5–1 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
6
7 9 November 1969 Warsaw, Poland  Bulgaria 3–0 FIFA World Cup 1970 qualification
8 16 May 1970 Kraków, Poland  East Germany 1–1 Friendly
9 2 September 1970 Warsaw, Poland  Denmark 5–0 Friendly
10 5 May 1971 Lausanne, Switzerland   Switzerland 4–2 Friendly
11 30 August 1972 Regensburg, West Germany  Ghana 4–0 1972 Summer Olympics
12 3 September 1972 Regensburg, West Germany  Denmark 1–1 1972 Summer Olympics
13 5 September 1972 Augsburg, West Germany  Soviet Union 2–1 1972 Summer Olympics
14 8 September 1972 Nürnberg, West Germany  Morocco 5–0 1972 Summer Olympics
15
16 10 September 1972 Munich, West Germany  Hungary 2–1 1972 Summer Olympics
17
18 15 October 1972 Bydgoszcz, Poland  Czechoslovakia 3–0 Friendly
19
20 10 October 1973 Rotterdam, Netherlands  Netherlands 1–1 Friendly
21 17 April 1974 Liège, Belgium  Belgium 1–1 Friendly
22 19 June 1974 Munich, West Germany Haiti 7–0 1974 FIFA World Cup
23 23 June 1974 Stuttgart, West Germany  Italy 2–1 1974 FIFA World Cup
24 30 June 1974 Frankfurt, West Germany  Yugoslavia 2–1 1974 FIFA World Cup
25 26 March 1975 Poznań, Poland  United States 7–0 Friendly
26
27
28 6 July 1975 Montreal, Canada  Canada 8–1 Friendly
29
30 9 July 1975 Toronto, Canada  Canada 4–1 Friendly
31 22 July 1976 Montreal, Canada  Iran 3–2 1976 Summer Olympics
32 31 October 1976 Warsaw, Poland  Cyprus 8–0 FIFA World Cup 1978 qualifying
33
34 10 July 1977 Lima, Peru  Peru 3–1 Friendly
35 21 September 1977 Chorzów, Poland  Denmark 4–1 FIFA World Cup 1978 qualifying
36 29 October 1977 Chorzów, Poland  Portugal 1–1 FIFA World Cup 1978 qualifying
37 12 November 1977 Wrocław, Poland  Sweden 2–1 Friendly
38 5 April 1978 Poznań, Poland  Greece 5–2 Friendly
39
40 12 April 1978 Łódź, Poland  Republic of Ireland 3–0 Friendly
41 10 June 1978 Rosario, Argentina  Mexico 3–1 1978 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Exhibition dedicated to Kazimierz Deyna at Legia Warsaw Museum
Deyna's statue on Łazienkowska Street in Warsaw

Legia Warsaw[18]

Poland[18]

Individual

National

Notes

  1. ^ In isolation, Kazimierz is pronounced [kaˈʑimjɛʂ].

References

  1. ^ a b "Kazimierz Deyna". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  2. ^ "Polonia 1972 – 1974: generazione di fenomeni" (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Kazimierz Deyna" (in Polish). 20 June 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Kazimierz Deyna – Legenda, która trwa" (in Polish). kazimierdzeyna.pl. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  5. ^ "Kariera" (in Polish). deyna.info. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  6. ^ "Legia Warszawa". polishsoccer.net. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  7. ^ "Kazimierz Deyna". sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  8. ^ a b Ric Turner (25 February 2009). "The 50 greatest Manchester City players". The Times. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  9. ^ Sockers set free Deyna, 4 others The San Diego Union (CA) – Friday, 12 June 1987
  10. ^ NASL All Star Teams Archived 11 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ a b "Kazimierz Deyna". DatabaseOlympics. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  12. ^ "1974 FIFA World Cup Germany". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  13. ^ "Munich, 1972". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  14. ^ "France '98 and USA '99 influence the Century Clubs". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  15. ^ "Kazimierz DEYNA".
  16. ^ "Historia Legii Warszawa - Legia.Net".
  17. ^ "Kazimierz Deyna - Goals in International Matches".
  18. ^ a b "Warsaw remembers Poland legend Deyna". UEFA.com. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  19. ^ "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1974". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Eric Batty's World XI – The Seventies". Beyond The Last Man. 7 November 2013. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Nowiny Rzeszowskie : organ KW Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej. 1972, nr 242-268, 270-271". pbc.rzeszow.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  22. ^ "Pogrzeb Kazimierza Deyny na polskiej ziemi". sport.interia.pl (in Polish). 6 June 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

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