Kazimierz Deyna (1947–1989) was a Polish football player, one of the best shooters in the history of Polish sports.

Kazimierz Deyna was born October 23, 1947 in Starogard Gdański. In 1958 he started playing in the youth club of the local Włókniarz Starogard Gdański Football Club. In 1966 he briefly appeared in the ŁKS Łódź, but his career started when he was transferred to the Legia Warszawa.

In 1969 and 1970 his team held the Championship of Poland. On April 24, 1968, he also played in the national representation of Poland for the first time (in a match against Turkey in Chorzów. Together with his team he won the gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and the bronze in Football World Cup 1974, after a match against Brazil. In 1972 he was also the Top Goalscorer of the Olympic Games, with the score of 9 goals. In 1976 Summer Olympics his team yet again reached the finals and won the silver medal.

In his career he played in the representation of Poland 102 times scoring 45 goals, often as the team captain. He could shoot goals from most unusual positions (e.g. corner). Thanks to his skills, he was chosen several times the Football Player of the Year by Polish fans. In 1978 he was the captain of the Polish team at the Football World Cup in Argentina, where his team reached the semi-finals. Soon afterwards he was transferred to Manchester. In 1981 he emigrated to the USA, where he played in San Diego Sockers and later Legends San Diego . He died in a car accident while driving his favourite BMW on September 1, 1989, in San Diego, California.

In 1994 he was chosen by the PZPN and the readers of all Polish sports-related newspapers as the Polish Football Player of All Times.

Teams

• Włókniarz Starogard Gdański (1958-1966)
• ŁKS Łódź (1966)
• Legia Warszawa (1966-1978)
• Manchester (1978-1981)
• San Diego Sockers (1981-1987)
• Legends San Diego (1988-1989)

External link

• Kazimierz Deyna fansite