Janusz Kowalik

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Janusz Kowalik

| fullname = Janusz Antoni Kowalik

| image = Telstar tegen Sparta 1-4 Kowalik (rechts) (Sparta) scoort keeper Van der Meeren, Bestanddeelnr 923-7728.jpg

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1944|3|26|df=y}}

| birth_place = Nowy Sącz, Poland

| height = 1.70 m

| position = Striker

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1960–1967

| clubs1 = Cracovia

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 = 1968

| clubs2 = Chicago Mustangs

| caps2 = 28

| goals2 = 30

| years3 = 1968

| clubs3 = California Clippers

| caps3 = 0

| goals3 = 0

| years4 = 1969–1974

| clubs4 = Sparta Rotterdam

| caps4 = 123

| goals4 = 67

| years5 = 1974–1976

| clubs5 = NEC

| caps5 = 31

| goals5 = 6

| years6 = 1976

| clubs6 = Chicago Sting

| caps6 = 14

| goals6 = 9

| years7 = 1976–1977

| clubs7 = MVV

| caps7 = 9

| goals7 = 2

| years8 = 1977

| clubs8 = Chicago Sting

| caps8 = 6

| goals8 = 1

| years9 = 1977–1979

| clubs9 = MVV

| caps9 = 55

| goals9 = 24

| years10 = 1979–1980

| clubs10 = Patro Eisden

| caps10 =

| goals10 =

| nationalyears1 =

| nationalteam1 = Poland U18

| nationalcaps1 =

| nationalgoals1 =

| nationalyears2 = 1965–1966

| nationalteam2 = Poland

| nationalcaps2 = 6

| nationalgoals2 = 0

| manageryears1 = 1979–1980

| managerclubs1 = Patro Eisden

| manageryears2 = 1981–1982

| managerclubs2 = Eendracht Rotem

| manageryears3 = 1982–1984

| managerclubs3 = Genk

| manageryears4 = 1985–1986

| managerclubs4 = Vitesse

| manageryears5 = 1987–1989

| managerclubs5 = Nigeria U23

| manageryears6 = 1987–1989

| managerclubs6 = Enugu Rangers

| manageryears7 = 1989–1991

| managerclubs7 = Ionikos

| manageryears8 = 1992

| managerclubs8 = Górnik Zabrze

| manageryears9 = 1995–1996

| managerclubs9 = KFC Eeklo

| medaltemplates =

{{Medal|Country|{{fb|POL}}}}

}}

Janusz "John" Kowalik (born 26 March 1944) is a Polish former football manager and player who played as a striker. A prolific scorer in the European leagues and the North American Soccer League, he was the 1968 NASL MVP.

Player

=Club career=

Kowalik was born in Nowy Sącz. In 1968, the owners of the Chicago Mustangs of the North American Soccer League (NASL) signed Kowalik. That season, he led the league in scoring with thirty goals in twenty-eight games. This led to his selection as the league MVP and a first team All Star.{{Cite web |url=http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1968.html |title=The Year in American Soccer - 1968 |access-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726055314/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1968.html |archive-date=26 July 2015 |url-status=dead }} At the end of the season, he moved to the California Clippers. However, the NASL lost most of its teams with all west coast teams, but the Clippers, folding. The Clippers decided to leave the NASL, join a local league and exist on playing exhibition games against foreign teams. In January 1969, the team ownership decided to cease operations.

In 1969, Kowalik returned to Europe where he signed with Sparta Rotterdam of the Dutch Eredivisie. In 1974, he moved to NEC for one season.

Kowalik returned to the NASL with the Chicago Sting in 1975, where he played fourteen games, scoring nine goals in 1976.

He then returned to the Netherlands to play with MVV Maastricht.

In 1977, he returned to the Sting where he scored only one goal in an unknown number of games.[http://home.att.net/~nasl/teams/sting.txt Chicago Sting All Time Scoring Records] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050225171158/http://home.att.net/~nasl/teams/sting.txt |date=25 February 2005 }}

In the 1978–79 season he returned to MVV.

=International career=

He was capped 6 times for the Poland national team.

Coaching career

Kowalik later coached Vitesse Arnhem, Górnik Zabrze and Rangers International of Enugu.

Honours

Poland U18

UEFA European Under-18 Championship runner-up: 1961{{cite web |title=Janusz Kowalik |url=http://www.90minut.pl/kariera.php?id=8396 |website=90minut.pl |access-date=3 August 2024 |language=pl}}

References

External links

[http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/K/Kowalik.John.htm NASL stats]
{{90minut|8396}}
[http://www.vi.nl/Spelers/Speler.htm?dbid=39684&typeofpage=84137 Janusz Kowalik] at Voetbal International {{in lang|nl}}
{{NFT player|id=31307}}

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Category:Living people

Category:1944 births