Radosław Cierzniak

Radosław Cierzniak (Polish pronunciation: [raˈdɔswaf ˈtɕɛʐɲak]; born April 24, 1983 in Szamocin) is a Polish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Legia Warsaw in the Ekstraklasa. He previously played for Scottish club Dundee United. He has been capped once for Poland.

Radosław Cierzniak
Cierzniak playing for Dundee United in 2012
Personal information
Full name Radosław Cierzniak
Date of birth (1983-04-24) 24 April 1983
Place of birth Szamocin, Poland
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Legia Warsaw
Number 33
Youth career
Sokół Szamocin
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001 MSP Szamotuły
2001 Lubuszanin Drezdenko
2002 Obra Kościan
2002 Sparta Oborniki
2002 Volyn Lutsk 0 (0)
2002 Karpaty Lviv 0 (0)
2003 Stomil Olsztyn 13 (0)
2003–2004 Aluminium Konin 29 (0)
2004–2006 Amica Wronki 36 (0)
2006 Lech Poznań 0 (0)
2007–2010 Korona Kielce 57 (0)
2011 Alki Larnaca 21 (0)
2012 Cracovia 1 (0)
2012–2015 Dundee United 112 (0)
2015–2016 Wisła Kraków 21 (0)
2016– Legia Warsaw 19 (0)
National team‡
2009 Poland 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 July 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:04, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Career

Cierzniak started his career in the 2001-02 season and went on to play for a number of teams in both Poland and Ukraine, such as Obra Kościan, Sparta Oborniki, Volyn Lutsk, Karpaty Lviv, Amica Wronki and Lech Poznań. In 2002, he joined Volyn Lutsk on a one-year contract[1] but lack of opportunities led him to returning to Poland by joining Stomil Olsztyn, where he made 13 appearances.

He then joined Aluminium Konin, where he became first choice goalkeeper and made 29 appearances. The club would finish in second place in the league. After 29 appearances at Aluminium Konin, he signed for Amica Wronki. He made his UEFA Cup debut against French side Auxerre, coming on as substitute for Arkadiusz Malarz after he had been injured, but only 9 minutes later, Cierzniak was sent off for professional foul.[2] On 20 April 2005, he made his league debut in a 2-2 draw against Odra Wodzisław. The following season, he became the first-choice goalkeeper for the club.

In 2006 Amica Wronki merged with Lech Poznan. Cierzniak made his Lech Poznán debut in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in a 3-1 loss against Tiraspol on 8 July 2006. However, he rarely featured in the first team as Krzysztof Kotorowski took the goalkeeping position. After six months at Lech Poznań, he joined Korona Kielce. On 28 April 2007, he made his debut in a 1-0 loss against Odra Wodzisław. Three season later, Cierzniak lost his first team place to Zbigniew Małkowski, which resulted in him leaving the club when his contract expired on 31 December 2010.[3]

On 12 January 2011, he signed a 1-year contract with Cypriot club Alki Larnaca.[4] By the end of the season, he had made 21 appearances.

Cierzniak agreed a two-year contract with Scottish Premier League club Dundee United in February 2012, due to start in the summer.[5] He joined KS Cracovia in his homeland on a 3-month deal in preparation for his move to Dundee United.[6] Cierzniak made his debut for Cracovia on 23 March 2012 in a 3-1 loss against Górnik Zabrze.[7] On 2 August 2012, Cierzniak made his debut for Dundee United, in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League as United drew 2-2 draw against Russian team Dynamo Moscow[8] However, Dynamo Moscow would thrash Dundee United 5-0 in the second leg, eliminating the club from the Europa League.[9] On 5 August 2012 he made his league debut in a 3-0 win over Hibernian, where he got his first clean sheet.[10] In the next league match, a derby against Dundee, which Dundee United won 3-0, he made a double save from Nicky Riley to prevent Dundee taking an early lead. After the match, teammate Willo Flood praised Cierzniak's performance.[11] Cierzniak said he was delighted to have experienced his first ever derby.[12] Having been established as the club's first choice goalkeeper throughout the season, on 6 March 2013, Cierzniak signed a new contract at Dundee United, keeping him at the club until May 2015. Upon signing the new contract, United Manager Jackie McNamara said on the club's website: "This extension is merited because Rado has shown that he is an excellent SPL goalkeeper."[13]

Honours

Legia Warsaw

National team

He debuted for Poland in a friendly versus Lithuania in February 2009.[14]

References
  1. "In "Volyn" move promising Polish goalkeeper (in Russian:В "Волынь" переедет перспективный польский голкипер)" (in Russian). UA Football. 13 August 2002. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  2. "Pieroni hat-trick fires Auxerre". uefa.com. 3 December 2004. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  3. "Goalkeeper loses crown" [Korona straci bramkarza]. sports.pl. 1 December 2010. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  4. "Radosław Cierzniak piłkarzem AS Alkí" (in Polish). 90minut. 14 January 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  5. "Dundee United sign Polish goalkeeper Radoslaw Cierzniak". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  6. "Dundee United signing Radoslaw Cierzniak stays at home to prepare for Tannadice switch". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  7. "CRACOVIA KRAKÓW VS. GÓRNIK ZABRZE 1 - 3". Soccerway. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  8. "Europa League qualifier: Dundee Utd 2 Dynamo Moscow 2". Daily Record. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  9. "Five star Russians: United crash out of Europe". Daily Record. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  10. "Dundee United 3 Hibernian 0". Daily Record. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  11. "Rad to the bone: Flood hails mouthy Cierzniak after super saves". Daily Record. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  12. "Dundee United No.1 Radoslaw Cierzniak delighted to experience first-ever derby after turning out for 13 clubs". Daily Record. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  13. "Goalkeeper Radoslaw Cierzniak signs contract extension with Dundee United". STV. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  14. "Poland-Lithuania 1:1. A Night To Forget…". World Cup Blog. 8 February 2009. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
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