Thiago Cionek

Thiago Cionek is a professional footballer who currently plays for the Serie A team, S.P.A.L. and the Poland national team. Born on 21 April 1986 in Brazil, Cionek is of Polish descent and received polish citizenship in 2011. The centre-back is known for his ability to seamlessly fit into any position in the defense.

Early days

Thiago started his footballing days with a local club of his hometown Curitiba, known as Vila Hauer Esporte Clube, where he was part of the youth system. 2005 saw him joining division 3 club Cuiaba Esporte Clube, however he did not get a chance to play.

Debut

Following a brief stint with Cuiaba, Cionek moved to the Portuguese footballing system in 2006, when he joined division three club, Braganca. Cionek made his professional debut with the team in the same year, but could not manage to establish himself in the first team as he only managed to appear on the field on 2 occasions while netting the ball once.

After receiving Poland citizenship in 2011, Cionek finally emerged on the international platform in 2014, where he debuted in a 0-0 friendly against Germany.

Rise to glory

Thiago Cionek moved back to Brazil in 2007, when he joined division two club CRB with whom he was associated with for a period of one year. In spite of the lack of time spent on the field, he was scouted by Polish club, Jagiellonia Bialystok which plays in Polish division one, Ekstraklasa. Cionek quickly moved up the ranks after joining the club and had soon secured his seat in the first team of the club. Staying with the club for four seasons, Cionek made 91 appearances while scoring on 3 of them. Cionek also carried his team to victories in Polish cup as well as Polish Super cup in 2010

2012 saw the centre back changing leagues again. This time the player moved to Italian club Padova, which plays in Serie A. He was sent on loan to another Serie A club, Modena in 2013, who ended up buying the player in the year 2014. Cionek appeared in almost every game of the season for Modena, making 51 appearances across all competitions and scored one goal.

2016 saw Cionek move to another Serie A club, Palermo for a transfer fee of 315k pounds. However, the club was relegated to Serie B in the same season which prompted Cionek to move again. He joined recently promoted Serie A club S.P.A.L in 2018 and has made 9 appearances for them while scoring one goal.

After his debut with the Poland national football team in 2014, he was called up to play in the Euro 16, where the team was knocked out in the quarter finals. Since his debut, Cionek has made 17 goalless appearances for Poland. With the 2018 World Cup just round the corner, Cionek would be an integral part of the Polish team, who would be hoping to better their record in the World Cup.