Kazimierz Deyna (; 23 October 1947 – 1 September 1989) 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. Throughout his career he played for such clubs as Legia Warsaw, Manchester City and San Diego Sockers.

At the international level, he earned 97 caps and scored 41 goals helping Poland claim 3rd place at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. At the 1972 Summer Olympics, he won gold with Poland and was the top goalscorer of the tournament. From 1973 to 1978, he served as captain of the national representation. In 1976, he won silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.

In 1973 and 1974, he won the Polish Footballer of the Year Award. In 1974, he claimed third place in the Ballon d'Or. He was named "the greatest Polish footballer of the 20th century" by the Piłka Nożna football weekly.

Early life Deyna was born in Starogard to Franciszek (1911–1976), a dairy worker, and Jadwiga (1917–1981), 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.

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). 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. 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, and being one of the first wave of overseas players to play in the English league. 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. 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

Deyna appeared in the 1981 film Escape to Victory as Paul Wolcheck. 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.Sockers set free Deyna, 4 others The San Diego Union (CA) – Friday, 12 June 1987 He was a 1983 NASL Second Team All Star.NASL All Star Teams

International career

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, and the bronze in Football World Cup 1974, after a match against Brazil. In 1972, he was also the Top Goalscorer of the Olympic Games, with a total of nine goals.

In 1976 Summer Olympics his team yet again reached the finals and won the silver medal. 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) 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

Deyna died in a car accident in San Diego, California on 1 September 1989, aged 41 (just two days before another fatal car accident claimed the life of another international football star, the Italian Gaetano Scirea, which coincidentally happened in Poland). 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 competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsŁKS Łódź1966–67Ekstraklasa10Legia Warsaw1966–67Ekstraklasa12611–001371967–6823620–4429101968–69261265–6238191969–7023543–8335111970–7123344–613381971–72261068–4036181972–7325874–3335151973–7427832–5235121974–7526500–202851975–76261121–28121976–7728940–2234111977–7828941–33101978–7911221–133Total30493Manchester City1978–79First Division1362010111771979–8022600102361980–8130000030Total3812San Diego Sockers1981North American Soccer League391519822611198318151984238Total10649Career total449159539203

International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsPoland19685019698719705219715119721091973141197412419758619768319771241978104Total9741

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

+ List of international goals scored by Kazimierz DeynaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 20 April 1969 Kraków, Poland 4–0 8–0 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification2 5–03 15 June 1969 Sofia, Bulgaria Bulgaria 1–2 1–4 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification4 27 August 1969 Łódź, Poland 3–0 6–1 Friendly5 12 October 1969 Luxembourg, Luxembourg 1–1 5–1 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification6 5–17 9 November 1969 Warsaw, Poland Bulgaria 3–0 3–0 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification8 16 May 1970 Kraków, Poland 1–0 1–1 Friendly9 2 September 1970 Warsaw, Poland 2–0 5–0 Friendly10 5 May 1971 Lausanne, Switzerland 3–1 4–2 Friendly11 30 August 1972 Regensburg, West Germany 3–0 4–0 1972 Summer Olympics12 3 September 1972 Regensburg, West Germany 1–1 1–1 1972 Summer Olympics13 5 September 1972 Augsburg, West Germany 1–1 2–1 1972 Summer Olympics14 8 September 1972 Nürnberg, West Germany 3–0 5–0 1972 Summer Olympics15 5–016 10 September 1972 Munich, West Germany 1–1 2–1 1972 Summer Olympics17 2–118 15 October 1972 Bydgoszcz, Poland 1–0 3–0 Friendly19 2–020 10 October 1973 Rotterdam, Netherlands 1–1 1–1 Friendly21 17 April 1974 Liège, Belgium 1–1 1–1 Friendly22 19 June 1974 Munich, West Germany Haiti 2–0 7–0 1974 FIFA World Cup23 23 June 1974 Stuttgart, West Germany 2–0 2–1 1974 FIFA World Cup24 30 June 1974 Frankfurt, West Germany 1–0 2–1 1974 FIFA World Cup25 26 March 1975 Poznań, Poland 3–0 7–0 Friendly26 6–027 7–028 6 July 1975 Montreal, Canada 3–0 8–1 Friendly29 6–130 9 July 1975 Toronto, Canada 4–1 4–1 Friendly31 22 July 1976 Montreal, Canada 2–1 3–2 1976 Summer Olympics32 31 October 1976 Warsaw, Poland 1–0 5–0 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification33 3–034 10 July 1977 Lima, Peru 2–0 3–1 Friendly35 21 September 1977 Chorzów, Poland 3–0 4–1 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification36 29 October 1977 Chorzów, Poland 1–0 1–1 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification37 12 November 1977 Wrocław, Poland 2–1 2–1 Friendly38 5 April 1978 Poznań, Poland 2–0 5–2 Friendly39 4–040 12 April 1978 Łódź, Poland 2–0 3–0 Friendly41 10 June 1978 Rosario, Argentina 2–1 3–1 1978 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Legia Warsaw Ekstraklasa: 1968–69, 1969–70 Polish Cup: 1972–73

Poland Olympic Games: 1972 FIFA World Cup third place: 1974

Individual Olympic top scorer: 1972 FUWO European Team of the Season: 1972 Sport Ideal European XI: 1972, 1973 Piłka Nożna Polish Footballer of the Year: 1973, 1974 ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 1973, 1974 Ballon d'Or third place: 1974; FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1974 World XI: 1974 Polish Football Association National Team of the Century: 1919–2019

National Gold Cross of Merit: 1972 Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta: 1974 Polish Olympic Committee Gold Medal: 2012 (posthumously)

Notes

References

External links

Kazimierz Deyna Official Website

Goals in International Matches

NASL profile