Jacek Bąk

Jacek Bąk
Bąk playing for Poland in 2008
Personal information
Full name Jacek Waldemar Bąk
Date of birth (1973-03-24) 24 March 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth Lublin, Poland
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
Motor Lublin
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1992 Motor Lublin 46 (2)
1992–1995 Lech Poznań 84 (2)
1995–2001 Lyon 114 (4)
2002–2005 Lens 85 (2)
2005–2007 Al Rayyan 26 (0)
2007–2010 Austria Wien 80 (7)
Total 435 (17)
International career
1993–2008 Poland 96 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jacek Waldemar Bąk (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjatsɛɡ ˈbɔŋk];[1] born 24 March 1973) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

Other than his country, he competed in France, Qatar and Austria, notably appearing in more than 150 competitive games for Lyon and contributing to win the 2002 national championship.

Bąk represented Poland for 15 years, appearing for the nation in two World Cups and Euro 2008.

Since 2004 he is a French citizen.[2]

Club career

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Born in Lublin, Bąk made his senior debuts with local Motor Lublin aged just 16, moving to Lech Poznań two years later. In the 1992–93 season, he contributed with 28 games to help the latter club win its third national championship in four years.

Bąk signed for Olympique Lyonnais in the 1995 summer, going on to spend one full decade in the French Ligue 1 with that team and RC Lens, joining the latter in January 2002. The sides he played for during that campaign finished in first and second position.[3]

Bąk retired in June 2010 at the age of 37, after two years in the Qatar Stars League with Al-Rayyan SC and three with Austrian Bundesliga's Austria Wien.

International career

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Bąk gained his first cap for the Poland national team on 1 February 1993, in a 0–0 away friendly draw with Cyprus. He was picked for the squads that competed in the 2002 (one appearance, a 2–0 group stage loss to co-hosts South Korea[4]) and the 2006 FIFA World Cups, with both tournaments ending in elimination after three matches.[5][6][7]

In November 2006, Bąk claimed he was offered €10,000 to concede a penalty in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier between Belgium and Poland in the former's favour, and UEFA opened an investigation.[8][9] Selected for the finals by manager Leo Beenhakker, he was left out of the final group phase clash against Croatia, and retired with 96 appearances, fourth-most at the time.[10][11]

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[11][12]
National team Year Apps Goals
Poland 1993 6 0
1994 6 1
1995 0 0
1996 0 0
1997 2 0
1998 4 0
1999 6 0
2000 4 0
2001 5 0
2002 7 0
2003 10 1
2004 8 0
2005 10 0
2006 13 0
2007 9 1
2008 6 0
Total 96 3
Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bąk goal.
List of international goals scored by Jacek Bąk[12]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 August 1994 Stadion Miejski, Radom, Poland  Belarus 1–0 1–1 Friendly
2 12 November 2003 Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland  Italy 1–0 3–1 Friendly
3 24 March 2007 Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland  Azerbaijan 1–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

Honours

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Lech Poznań

Lyon

Al Rayyan

Austria Wien

References

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  1. ^ Jacek in isolation: [ˈjatsɛk].
  2. ^ "Najwięcej występów w piłkarskiej reprezentacji Polski. Oto czołowa dziesiątka!". najlepsipilkarze.pl. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Le 4 mai 2002, l'OL remporte son premier titre de champion de France" [On 4 May 2002, l'OL wins its first French champion title] (in French). Lyon Capitale. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Korea win ignites World Cup". BBC Sport. 4 June 2002. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Poland 0–2 Ecuador". BBC Sport. 9 June 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Germany 1–0 Poland". BBC Sport. 14 June 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Costa Rica 1–2 Poland". BBC Sport. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Poland's Bak says he was offered bribe for Belgium game". ESPN. 16 November 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Uefa to investigate Poland bribe claim". World Soccer. 17 November 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Klasnić completes Croatian clean sweep". UEFA.com. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  11. ^ a b "Jacek Bak – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  12. ^ a b "Jacek Bąk". European Football. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Encyklopedia - Bąk Jacek II" (in Polish). Lech Poznań. Archived from the original on 6 August 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Lyon 3-2 Montpellier (Aggregate: 4 - 2)". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2004. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  15. ^ ""Jaaaaceeek! To my, Polacy!" Jacek Bąk, Katar i kontrola drogowa na "Chuchnij"". przegladsportowy.onet.pl (in Polish). 25 November 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Jacek Bąk zdobył Puchar Austrii". sport.pl (in Polish). 24 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
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