A wily midfield enforcer, Mariusz Lewandowski is the man who makes things happen in the Poland midfield. An experienced European campaigner with FC Shakhtar Donetsk, the Ukrainian club to which he has been affiliated for the past seven years, he keeps possession well, shoots accurately from distance and is also strong in the air.

Started out with Zagłębie Lubin but made little headway; only truly emerged at Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski, where he largely operated at centre-back.

Captain of Poland Under-21s, he joined Shakhtar in 2001 and won the title in first season, ending FC Dynamo Kyiv's nine-year monopoly, plus Ukrainian Cup, beating Dynamo 3-2 after extra time in final (played all 120 minutes).

Further domestic successes in following years, including back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006 plus three UEFA Champions League campaigns.

Dropped from national team by coach Paweł Janas after 2-1 home defeat by England in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier; makes finals squad but just two appearances as sub in Germany.

Different story under Leo Beenhakker, who has built team around him; twelve UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying outings and opening goal in 2-2 draw away to Portugal.

Did you know?
Lewandowski was the first ever Polish footballer to play in the Ukrainian Premier League.