Janusz Bogdan Kupcewicz (9 December 1955 – 4 July 2022)[1] was a Polish professional footballer who played as a midfielder.[2]
Widely regarded as one of the best Polish players of his era, he most notably won the bronze with the national team at 1982World Cup,[3] in which he was a key player with his final goal being instrumental in the success.[4]
He played for a number of other clubs, including abroad,[7] and after retirement from playing he was a manager,[8][9] PE teacher,[10][11] and local politician.[12]
Career
Club career
Despite being from Gdańsk, he started his career at the two Olsztyn clubs: Warmia and Stomil,[9][1][5] having gone through the youth teams at the former.[3]
He then returned to his native Gdańsk and spent 8 seasons at Arka Gdynia having arrived there in 1974.[5] The following season, 1975–76, he was the Second Division's top scorer.[5] With Arka he achieved a historic club first Polish Cup[6] in 1979.[5] This success, along with his national team exploits, earned him a transfer to Lech Poznań,[5] where he also won a historic national title[6] in 1983.[5][11]
He then moved abroad to France to play for AS Saint-Etienne,[9][1][4] with the transfer fee raised privately to the sum of €380 000.[12] He stayed there for 2 seasons (1983–1985), however they were relegated from the Premier Division in 1984.[5] He spent the 1985–86 season[5] at Greek club Larissa.[9][1][4] However his time abroad was plagued by injuries.[12]
He returned to his hometown and joined Lechia[9][1][4] where he stayed for the next two seasons.[5] This caused controversies given his links and allegiance to bitter derby rivals Arka.[12] He suffered relegation with Lechia in 1989.[5]
He finished his playing career at Turkish club Adanaspor.[9]
International career
In his career he earned overall 20 caps for the Poland national team, scoring 5 goals.[1][13] He made his national debut in 1976.[10] He was at the 1978 tournament as a reserve player, but by the 1982 World Cup he was a key member of the squad, with Poland finishing in third place.[7] The third place was won thanks to his famous winning goal against France to make it 3–2.[3][6]
He was a Gdynia City Council candidate on the Civic Platformelectoral list in 2006 and a Sejm candidate in 2007.[17][18] Then, having switched to the Polish People's Party, he ran as a candidate for the Pomeranian Voivodeship Assembly in 2010 and to the lower house of parliament in 2011.[17][18] In 2014, he became a regional councillor, his only electoral success.[17][18] In 2015 and 2019, he unsuccessfully ran for the Sejm again.[17][18] In 2018 he did not renew his councillor seat mandate.[18]
Personal life, death and legacy
Kupcewicz's father, Aleksander, and his brother, Zbigniew, were also both professional footballers.
Late in his life, Kupcewicz was in deteriorating health, leading to his death due to a stroke on 3 July 2022 at the age of 66.[1][19] He was reported to have fallen ill while travelling by train and fainted on the train platform in Gdynia; an ambulance then transported him to a hospital in Gdańsk where he subsequently died.[20] His diabetes and related cardiovascular complications were cited as likely contributors to his death.[20]
Zbigniew Boniek called him one of the best ever Polish playmakers.[8]Grzegorz Lato stated he was incredibly saddened and shocked at the news of his death as they only spoke recently and that they were very close friends in regular contact with each other.[21][20]
His winning goal in Alicante against France at the 1982World Cup to win the bronze medal for Poland was deemed to be his highlight of his career.[4][6][3] Regarded as an exceptionally talented player, he was judged to have never reached his full potential due to persistent injuries during his playing career.[22]
His involvement in the infamous Polish football corruption scandal was never fully explained; he never denied the allegations that he handled and transported bribes, but claimed in court he was far too drunk to remember the exact details.[17]
He is widely regarded as Arka's best-ever players, featuring in their all-time XI,[5] Arka being a club he personally supported.[12]
