Władysław Szczepaniak

Władysław Szczepaniak (19 May 1910 in Warsaw, Poland - 6 May 1979 in Warsaw) was a Polish football player. A defender for his entire career, he played for Polonia Warsaw, where he was the captain. Szczepaniak was one of Polonia’s symbols, also he played for the Poland national football team.

Władysław Szczepaniak
Personal information
Full name Władysław Szczepaniak
Date of birth (1910-05-19)19 May 1910
Place of birth Warsaw, Congress Poland
Date of death 6 May 1979(1979-05-06) (aged 68)
Place of death Warsaw, Poland
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Defender, Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1926–1948 Polonia Warsaw 166+6 (37)
National team
1930–1947 Poland 34 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

Szczepaniak debuted in the Polish Soccer League debut in 1928 and he played as a forward player. After a few years he moved to defense, becoming one of the pillars of Polonia’s team as well as its captain.

His debut for the Polish national football team occurred in 1930, during a game versus Sweden. His career lasted for almost 20 years. His last game, in 1947, was also against Sweden.

Szczepaniak had a toal of 34 caps for the national team, and in most matches was the captain. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics, where Poland finished fourth. Also, he was captain in the 1938 FIFA World Cup game of Poland versus Brazil. The game was played on 5 June 1938 in Strasbourg, France which Poland lost 5-6.

During the Second World War, he took part in unofficial football championships, despite the fact that the German occupying forces had forbidden the Poles to organise football matches. Under his leadership, the Polonia underground team became the champion of the Warsaw district in 1942 and 1943.[1]

References
  1. Thomas Urban, “Football ‘Only for Germans’, in the Underground and in Auschwitz: Championships in Occupied Poland“, in European Football During the Second World War. Ed. M. Herzog/F. Brändle. Oxford 2018, pp. 373.

See also
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