Jakub Błaszczykowski

Jakub "Kuba" Błaszczykowski (born 14 December 1985) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a winger, currently a businessman and Wisła Kraków's part owner.

He started his professional football career at Wisła Kraków establishing himself at a young age.

In 2002, at age 16, he joined the youth side of Górnik Zabrze.

In early 2003, he joined KS Częstochowa and played in the Polish fourth league until the end of 2004.

His uncle, former Poland captain Jerzy Brzęczek, then helped him get a trial at Wisła Kraków, where he impressed then-manager Werner Lička.

Błaszczykowski quickly broke into Wisła's first team, with his first league appearance coming on 20 March 2005 against Polonia Warsaw.

By the end of the season, he was an established part of the starting 11.

With Wisła he won the Polish Ekstraklasa title in his debut season, and they were runners-up the following season.

Additionally he won Canal+'s "Football Oscar" for the best midfielder in the Polish top division.

He was also named to the Ekstraklasa Best XI of the 2006–07 season in the Polish Footballers' Association voting.

Błaszczykowski debuted for the Poland national team on 28 March 2006 in a friendly against Saudi Arabia.

He did not receive a call up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup due to injury.

In 2007, he joined Borussia Dortmund, where he spent the majority of his career, making over 250 appearances and winning two Bundesliga titles, two DFL-Supercups, and one DFB-Pokal.

In February 2007, Błaszczykowski signed a four-year contract with Borussia Dortmund for an undisclosed fee, joining the Bundesliga side in July of that year.

He scored his first goal for Poland on 22 August 2007 in a friendly against Russia.

Błaszczykowski was twice named Polish Footballer of the Year in 2008 and 2010.

During the 2008–09 season, he was plagued by a torn leg muscle.

He was, nevertheless, voted Polish Footballer of the Year in December 2008.

Błaszczykowski with Borussia Dortmund won the Bundesliga title for two consecutive seasons in 2010–11 and 2011–12.

He also won the 2011–12 DFB-Pokal, providing two assists in the final 5–2 victory over Bayern Munich.

With 109 appearances, he is the second-most capped player of the Poland national team, and captained them as they co-hosted UEFA Euro 2012, while also appearing at UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Raised in Truskolasy near Częstochowa, Błaszczykowski began training at Raków Częstochowa when he was eight years old.

He played with the shirt name "Kuba", a diminutive form of his first name, until 2012.

In July 2012, he was named on UEFA's 32-man shortlist for the Best Player in Europe award.

Błaszczykowski signed a new contract with Borussia Dortmund on 24 July 2012, keeping him with the German club until 2016.

He scored his first goal of the 2012–13 season in the opening round of the DFB-Pokal on 18 August 2012, setting up Marco Reus for Dortmund's opening goal before netting their second, as the Yellow-Blacks achieved a 3–0 victory at FC Oberneuland.

On 25 January 2013, Błaszczykowski scored two goals within the first 21 minutes against 1. FC Nürnberg, sending Dortmund on their way to a 3–0 victory and putting the defending champions within just nine points of league leaders Bayern.

In Dortmund's 3–2 victory over Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 3 February, which moved Dortmund above Leverkusen into second place, he converted a penalty in the ninth minute to put his side up 2–0.

He scored Dortmund's third goal in a 3–0 rout of Shakhtar Donetsk on 5 March, completing a 5–2 aggregate victory over the Ukrainian champions as Dortmund progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The result meant that the Yellow-Blacks had advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time in 15 years.

On 2 June 2013, Błaszczykowski signed a new contract with Borussia Dortmund, keeping him at the club until 2018.

On 27 July 2013, Błaszczykowski won the 2013 DFL-Supercup with Dortmund 4–2 against rivals Bayern Munich.

On 26 October 2013, Błaszczykowski scored a goal for Dortmund in the Revierderby against rivals Schalke in a 3–1 win for Dortmund.

On 31 August 2015, Błaszczykowski joined Fiorentina for a season-long loan from Borussia Dortmund.

On 1 August 2016, Błaszczykowski joined VfL Wolfsburg on a three-year contract for a reported fee of €5 million.

In January 2019, his contract with Wolfsburg was dissolved.

On 7 February 2019, Błaszczykowski rejoined former club Wisła Kraków on a free transfer.

In April 2020, he became part owner of the club.

He missed most of the 2021–22 and 2022–23 campaigns after suffering a torn ACL in November 2021.

On 20 July 2023, on the eve of the 2023–24 season, Błaszczykowski announced his retirement from professional football, at age 37.