Wladyslaw Zmuda

Born on June 6, 1954, Waldyslaw, was a Polish footballer who played at Centre-Back position. He has 91 caps for Poland and has been a four-time FIFA World- Cup participant.

Background

He started his football stint with Motor Lublin club and spent a long time there, from 1960-1972,learning the game. In 1973, he switched to Gwardia Warsaw after which he played for other clubs as well like, Slask Wroclaw, and later Widzew Lodz.

Debut

He made his debut for the national squad on October 21, 1973.

Rise to glory

He was named Best Young Player of 1974 FIFA World Cup. He was a significant player at 1976 Summer Olympics where Poland bagged a medal.

His team was the Polish Cup Winner in 1975, Polish Championship Winner thrice, in 1976, 1980 and 1981 in Lotto Ekstraklasa leagues. His team has won the World Cup many times, secured third place in 1978, been World Cup participant in 1982, 1978, 1974 and 1986.

Club career

He has participated in International Cup Competitions like Europeans Champions Clubs’ Cup in 1977 for Slask Wroclaw, in 1981 for Widzew Lodz, in UEFA Cup 1978 for Slask Wroclaw, in National Cup Competition Coppa Italia, in 1983 for Hellas Verona and in 1985, 1986 for US Cremonese.

He has even been a part of national leagues like Serie A in 1982, 1983 for Hellas Verona, in 1984 for US Cremonese, Serie B in 1985-86 for US Cremonese.

Records

He stands second in the all time rankings for his appearances for the national team. He has the third most appearances ever in World Cup finals where he has played a total of 21 matches.

Retirement

Wladyslaw retired on July 1, 1987. After his retirement, he became a coach for Slask Wroclaw, Gornik Zabrze, GKS Katowice, Widzew Lodz, Ruch Chorzow and Esperance de Tunis.