Michał Żewłakow
{{Short description|Polish footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Michał Żewłakow
| image = Michał Żewłakow 2011.jpg
| upright = 0.8
| caption = Żewłakow with Legia Warsaw in 2011
| fullname = Michał Ryszard Żewłakow{{cite web |url=https://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageId=30&kisiID=1343945 |title=Michal Ryczard Zewlakow |publisher=Turkish Football Federation |access-date=3 October 2019 |language=tr}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1976|04|22|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Warsaw, Poland
| height = 1.83 m
| position = Centre-back, full-back
| currentclub = Legia Warsaw (sporting director)
| youthyears1 = 1987–1988| youthclubs1 = Drukarz Warsaw
| youthyears2 = 1988–1990| youthclubs2 = Marymont Warsaw
| youthyears3 = 1990–1995| youthclubs3 = Polonia Warsaw
| years1 = 1993–1998| clubs1 = Polonia Warsaw | caps1 = | goals1 =
| years2 = 1995–1996| clubs2 = → Hutnik Warsaw (loan) | caps2 = | goals2 =
| years3 = 1998–1999| clubs3 = Beveren | caps3 = 24| goals3 = 1
| years4 = 1999–2002| clubs4 = Mouscron | caps4 = 91| goals4 = 4
| years5 = 2002–2006| clubs5 = Anderlecht | caps5 = 94| goals5 = 3
| years6 = 2006–2010| clubs6 = Olympiacos | caps6 = 87| goals6 = 3
| years7 = 2010–2011| clubs7 = Ankaragücü | caps7 = 19| goals7 = 1
| years8 = 2011–2013| clubs8 = Legia Warsaw | caps8 = 44| goals8 = 0
| totalcaps = 359 | totalgoals = 12
| nationalyears1 = 1999–2011| nationalteam1 = Poland | nationalcaps1 = 102| nationalgoals1 = 3
}}
Michał Ryszard Żewłakow ({{IPA|pol|ˈmixaw ʐɛvˈwakɔf}}; born 22 April 1976) is a Polish football executive, pundit and former professional player who played as a defender. He is currently the sporting director of Ekstraklasa club Legia Warsaw.
Żewłakow earned 102 caps for the Poland national team during a 13-year international career, served as captain from 2006, and represented his country at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, as well as the UEFA Euro 2008, Poland's first appearance at the UEFA European Championship. He is Poland's third most capped player ever. Besides Poland, he has played in Belgium, Greece, and Turkey.
Club career
=Early career in Poland=
Born in Warsaw in April 1976, Żewłakow spent eight years with Polonia Warsaw and broke into the first team in the 1996–97 season.
=Belgium=
Żewłakow moved to Belgian side KSK Beveren in October 1998 before signing – together with his twin brother Marcin – for Mouscron for a combined fee of €485,000 the following year. Żewłakow went on to become a key player, helping the club reach the 2002 Belgian Cup final.
=Anderlecht=
After following coach Hugo Broos to Anderlecht, in his second season he made his UEFA Champions League debut as Anderlecht wrested back the league title from Club Brugge. The next season, he lost his place but regained it for the 2005–06 campaign as Anderlecht won the league again.
=Olympiacos=
In the summer 2006, Żewłakow moved to Super League Greece club Olympiacos on a free transfer.[http://sport.interia.pl/news/michal-zewlakow-w-olympiakosie,713139 Michał Żewłakow w Olympiakosie] 1 February 2006, interia.pl[https://sport.fakt.pl/pilka-nozna/michal-zewlakow-prawdziwa-historia-czesc-druga/t949zzn Żewłakow: W Grecji uciekałem przed kibicami] sport.fakt.pl
=Ankaragücü=
At the end of the 2009–10 season, after reportedly receiving a low contract offer from Olympiacos, Żewłakow decided not to renew his contract. On 16 June 2010, Turkish club Ankaragücü signed him on a free transfer.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723194127/http://it.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=tur/news/newsid=1498762.html Doppio colpo per l’Ankaragücü]
=Legia Warsaw=
In June 2011, Żewłakow joined Polish club Legia Warsaw on a one-year contract.[https://archive.today/20120720085124/http://sport.onet.pl/pilka-nozna/michal-zewlakow-podpisal-kontrakt-z-legia-warszawa,1,4417758,wiadomosc.html Michał Żewłakow podpisał kontrakt z Legią Warszawa] 13 June 2011, onet.pl
International career
The Poland national team's first-choice left-back during qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Żewłakow was the only player to appear in all ten of his country's qualifying matches. He played in two games at the 2002 World Cup and was a regular in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, where he again appeared three times in the finals in Germany.
Post-playing career
Immediately after retiring at the end of the 2012–13 season, Żewłakow joined Legia Warsaw's executive staff as head of the scouting department, before being appointed sporting director in 2015.{{cite web |last1=Wieczorek |first1=Bartosz |title=Wielki powrót do Legii Warszawa. To on ma zostać nowym dyrektorem sportowym! |url=https://sport.tvp.pl/85823693/michal-zewlakow-ma-zostac-nowym-dyrektorem-sportowym-legii-warszawa-wielki-powrot |website=sport.tvp.pl |access-date=27 March 2025 |language=pl |date=27 March 2025}}
Responsible for Legia's transfer activity, he oversaw the signings of Kasper Hämäläinen, Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Thibault Moulin, Krzysztof Mączyński, returns of Miroslav Radović, Artur Jędrzejczyk and Iñaki Astiz, among others. He left Legia on 13 September 2017,{{cite web |title=Jacek Magiera odchodzi z Legii |url=http://www.90minut.pl/news/280/news2808871-Jacek-Magiera-odchodzi-z-Legii.html |website=90minut.pl |access-date=27 March 2025 |language=pl |date=13 September 2017}} having helped win two league titles, one national cup and reach the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League group stage.
In June 2018, Żewłakow was appointed sporting director of fellow Ekstraklasa club Zagłębie Lubin, where he supervised the signings of players such as Damjan Bohar, Patryk Szysz, Saša Živec, and the appointment of Martin Ševela as manager. He left his post at the end of 2019.{{cite web |last1=Miga |first1=Mateusz |title=Michał Żewłakow nie jest już dyrektorem sportowym Zagłębia Lubin |url=https://sport.tvp.pl/45988444/michal-zewlakow-nie-jest-juz-dyrektorem-sportowym-zaglebia-lubin |website=sport.tvp.pl |access-date=27 March 2025 |language=pl |date=30 December 2019}}
On 19 August 2020, he joined Canal+ Sport's coverage team as a pundit and co-commentator.{{cite web |title=Mateusz Borek i Michał Żewłakow dołączają do redakcji sportowej CANAL+! |url=https://www.canalplus.com/pl/articles/sport-polska/mateusz-borek-i-michal-zewlakow-dolaczaja-do-redakcji-sportowej-canal |website=canalplus.com |access-date=27 March 2025 |language=pl |date=19 August 2020}}
On 3 November 2020, Żewłakow was announced as the new sporting director of II liga side Motor Lublin, a role he would hold concurrently with his position at Canal+. He left the club by mutual consent on 8 November 2021.{{cite web |title=Michał Żewłakow odchodzi z Motoru |url=https://motorlublin.eu/aktualnosci/michal-zewlakow-odchodzi-z-motoru |publisher=Motor Lublin |access-date=27 March 2025 |language=pl |date=8 November 2021}}
On 27 March 2025, Legia Warsaw confirmed that Żewłakow would be returning to the role of sporting director at the club, on a deal until the end of the 2026–27 season.{{cite web |last1=Czaplewski |first1=Jacek |title=Oficjalnie: Michał Żewłakow w Legii Warszawa. Co nowy dyrektor sportowy zrobi z Goncalo Feio? |url=https://gol24.pl/oficjalnie-michal-zewlakow-w-legii-warszawa-co-nowy-dyrektor-sportowy-zrobi-z-goncalo-feio/ar/c2-19093343 |website=gol24.pl |access-date=27 March 2025 |language=pl |date=27 March 2025}}
Personal life
Career statistics
=International=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="13"|Poland
|1999 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 1 | 0 | |
| colspan="2"|Total | 102 | 3 |
:Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Żewłakow goal.
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Michał Żewłakow | ||||||
| scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align="center"|1 | 28 March 2001 | Warsaw, Poland | {{fb|ARM}} | align="center"|1–0 | align="center"|4–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| align="center"|2 | 7 February 2007 | Jerez de la Frontera, Spain | {{fb|SVK}} | align="center"|1–2 | align="center"|2–2 | Friendly |
| align="center"|3 | 6 September 2008 | Wrocław, Poland | {{fb|SVN}} | align="center"|1–0 | align="center"|1–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{90minut}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20101018043331/http://www.pzpn.pl/index.php/pol/Reprezentacje/Reprezentacje-meskie/Reprezentacja-A/Kadra?zawodnik=344 National team stats] on the website of the Polish Football Association {{in lang|pl}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Poland squads
| bg = white
| fg = #D4213D
| bordercolor = red
| list1 =
{{Poland Squad 2002 World Cup}}
{{Poland Squad 2006 World Cup}}
{{Poland Squad 2008 Euro Cup}}
}}
{{Polish Newcomer of the Year Award}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zewlakow, Michal}}
Category:Polish men's footballers
Category:Footballers from Warsaw
Category:Men's association football fullbacks
Category:Poland men's international footballers
Category:FIFA Men's Century Club
Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players
Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players
Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players
Category:Belgian Pro League players
Category:Polonia Warsaw players
Category:K.S.K. Beveren players
Category:R.E. Mouscron players
Category:R.S.C. Anderlecht players
Category:Olympiacos F.C. players
Category:MKE Ankaragücü footballers
Category:Hutnik Warsaw players
Category:Super League Greece players
Category:Polish expatriate men's footballers
Category:Polish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Category:Polish expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
Category:Polish expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
Category:Polish sports executives and administrators
Category:Polish football executives