Thiago Rangel Cionek is a Brazilian-born Polish professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Italian club S.P.A.L.and the Polish national team. Club career
Born in Curitiba, Cionek began his career with local Cuiabá Esporte Clube. He moved to Europe for a brief spell at Portugal's GD Braganca before returning to Brazil with Clube de Regatas Brasil. In 2008, Cionek went back to Europe, playing four seasons with Jagiellonia Białystok in his ancestral Poland. The team won the 2009–10 Polish Cup and the 2010 Polish SuperCup. He then had a year in the Italian Serie B with Padova Calcio, before signing for another club from the same division, Modena FC on 2 September 2013. On 11 January 2016, he joined his third Italian club, US Citta di Palermo of Serie A. International career
While having been born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil, Cionek's family is of Polish descent and he therefore applied for Polish citizenship, which he received in October 2011. Cionek made his international debut for Poland on 13 May 2014, starting in a goalless friendly draw against Germany in Hamburg. Cionek then was called up by Poland's national team to play in the 2016 European Championship in France. |
