Jakub "Kuba" Blaszczykowski is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a winger for German club VfL Wolfsburg and the Poland national team. He started his professional football at Wisla Kraków establishing himself at a young age. In 2007, he joined Borussia Dortmund, where he spent the majority of his career, making over 250 appearances and winning two Bundesliga titles, two DFL-Supercups, and one DFB-Pokal.<\/P>
Blaszczykowski was twice named Polish Footballer of the Year in 2008 and 2010. With 97 appearances he is the third-most capped player for Poland, and captained them as they co-hosted UEFA Euro 2012, while also appearing at UEFA Euro 2016.<\/P>
Club career
Borussia Dortmund
In February 2007, Blaszczykowski signed a four-year contract with Borussia Dortmund for an undisclosed fee, joining the Bundesliga side in July of that year. He was voted Polish Footballer of the Year in December 2008.<\/P>
Blaszczykowski with Borussia Dortmund won the Bundesliga title for two consecutive seasons in 2010–11 and 2011–12. He also won the 2011–12 DFB-Pokal, providing two assists in the final 5–2 victory over Bayern Munich. In July 2012, he was named on UEFA's 32-man shortlist for the Best Player in Europe award.<\/P>
Blaszczykowski signed a new contract with Borussia Dortmund on 24 July 2012, keeping him with the German club until 2016.<\/P>
On 2 June 2013, Blaszczykowski signed a new contract with Borussia Dortmund, keeping him at the club until 2018.<\/P>
Fiorentina (loan)
On 31 August 2015, Blaszczykowski joined Fiorentina for a season-long loan from Borussia Dortmund.<\/P>
VfL Wolfsburg
On 1 August 2016, Blaszczykowski joined VfL Wolfsburg on a three-year contract for a reported fee of €5 million.<\/P>
International career
Blaszczykowski debuted for the Poland national football team on 28 March 2006 in a friendly against Saudi Arabia. He did not receive a call up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup due to injury. He scored his first goal for Poland on 22 August 2007 in a friendly against Russia. Blaszczykowski was an important part of Poland's successful UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign and was named in Poland's squad for UEFA Euro 2008, but he withdrew due to injury. On 17 November 2010, in a friendly match against Côte d'Ivoire, Blaszczykowski made his debut as captain of the Polish national team.<\/P>
Euro 2012
On 8 June 2012, in the opening game of UEFA Euro 2012 against Greece, Blaszczykowski assisted Robert Lewandowski's goal in a 1–1 draw. In the second group stage match against Russia, he scored a long range equalising goal in a 1–1 draw and was named Man of the Match.<\/P>
World Cup 2014 qualifying
Blaszczykowski was Poland's current top scorer in their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign with four goals. His first two strikes were from the penalty spot, his first gave Poland an early lead in their opening group game with Montenegro, a match which finished 2–2. His second goal came four days later, again giving Poland the lead in their 2–0 win over Moldova. He did not feature in the 1–1 draw with England due to injury. Blaszczykowski got the assist for Piszczek's goal in the 3–1 defeat to Ukraine. He did not feature against San Marino four days later due to an injury sustained in the pre-match warm up. On 7 June 2013, he scored his third goal of the qualifying campaign by grabbing the opener against Moldova – a game which finished 1–1. After San Marino scored an equaliser in a qualifying match on 10 September 2013, Blaszczykowski restored the lead just a minute later and Poland went on to win the match 5–1.<\/P>
Euro 2016
During nearly half of the qualifying campaign, Blaszczykowski was out of the national squad due to injury. He marked his return when coming on as a substitute in a qualifying match against Georgia, where the former Polish captain provided an assist against Georgia for the current captain, Robert Lewandowski, who scored a hat-trick in the final five minutes of the match in a 4–0 win. He scored a penalty against Gibraltar in an 8–1 victory and played in all the remaining games of qualification.<\/P>
On 12 June, Poland's opening game, Blaszczykowski played a key role in providing a cross and assisting in Arkadiusz Milik's goal in a 1–0 win over Northern Ireland. This was Poland's first win at European Championship. Blaszczykowski also played in a goalless draw against Germany, but was dropped to the bench for the final group game against Ukraine. He came on as a substitute at halftime to score the only goal which sealed Poland the victory, earned them second spot in the group with seven points, behind Germany on goal difference. This marked their first advancement to the knockout stage at a European championship. On 25 June, the first game in the group of 16, Blaszczykowski scored the opening goal for Poland against Switzerland. The game ended 1–1, going into extra time and then a penalty shootout. Blaszczykowski delivered his spot kick and Poland won 5–4, advancing to the quarter final. The next knockout game against Portugal ended 1–1 after extra time, but Poland lost in the penalty shootout after he could not convert his penalty kick.<\/P>","A16D5E6475634BB126EF698FB3550B8C":"0","8DC362CCE065919BCF40467C0DE6A7E8":"
CLUB<\/U><\/STRONG><\/P> Wis\u0142a Krakow<\/STRONG> Borussia Dortmund INDIVIDUAL<\/U><\/STRONG><\/P> Ekstraklasa Midfielder of the Year:<\/STRONG> Ekstraklasa Best XI:<\/STRONG> Polish Footballer of the Year:<\/STRONG> Polish Footballer of the Year by Polish Footballers' Association: Poland national football team's Best Player: Footballer of the Year by the readers of "Sport":<\/STRONG> Borussia Dortmund Player of the Year:<\/STRONG>
Ekstraklasa: 2004–05; Runner-up: 2005–06<\/P>
<\/STRONG>Bundesliga: 2010–11, 2011–12;
DFB-Pokal: 2011–12;
DFL-Supercup: 2013
UEFA Champions League Runner-up: 2012–13<\/P>
2006<\/P>
2006–07<\/P>
2008, 2010<\/P>
<\/STRONG>2010<\/P>
<\/STRONG>2010<\/P>
2008,2010<\/P>
2008<\/P>","0C852134AA40B2DD":"1","82CBDCB828DBDF896209A361CA981BCF":"","A16D5E6475634BB1C2248B183B7E41495B218039EB2EF0A3":"1","2B5572269355781B0007104B7181FA88":"1985-12-14","DA5E7C1A0F1CB829A66A16651D2472FD":"Poland","09702F2B27619389F07D77F05427B135":"2019-2-7","18E9F76C307DDD99":"312","9EBD0BFF9766B31DEF99430639A2F292":"VfL Wolfsburg","5E8F53D0A504BF86":"Jakub Blaszczykowski,Kuba","30A86FC0880FF75E":"176cm","F27CBDD6332F20A59321B0F4E9CF2AB8":"16","C6E00DEB351621C4":"46750","A7F9B63E25A659E5":"Jakub Blaszczykowski,Kuba","FA149E2002A43ED77C24C62CDFF094A5":"1","4678B5349347B7EB":"77kg","e_index":1};