thumb|265px| Copy of W. Lubański medal and autograph in [[:pl:Aleja Gwiazd Sportu w Dziwnowie|Avenue Sport Stars in Dziwnów ]]
thumb|265px|Lubański in 1981
Włodzimierz 'Włodek' Leonard Lubański (<small>Polish pronunciation</small>: ; born 28 February 1947) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the second-highest all-time goal scorer for the Poland national team, behind Robert Lewandowski, and the youngest-ever player to appear for Poland, making his debut at the age of 16 years and 188 days. For his national team, Lubański amassed 75 caps between 1963 and 1980, scoring 48 goals.
Life and career
Born in Gliwice in 1947, he started his football career at the age of ten in Sośnica Gliwice's junior team. Between 1958 and 1962, he was part of the GKS Gliwice's junior squad and in 1963 he started playing football professionally in Górnik Zabrze. He won the Polish Championship seven times with Górnik Zabrze in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1971 and 1972. Lubański is the youngest scorer in the history of the European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League), scoring against Czech side Dukla Prague in the leg of their tie in the first round of the competition on 13 November 1963, aged 16 years and 258 days.
Between 1975 and 1982, he played for Belgian side Lokeren before moving to French outfit Valenciennes FC in 1982, where he remained for a year.
He won the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in the men's football team competition with Poland.
In 1972, he was awarded the title of Merited Master of Sport of the USSR.
He participated at the 1978 FIFA World Cup, finishing fifth with his national team.
Lubański was vice-chairman of Polonia Warsaw for three months.
In 1997, he received the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta for his "outstanding contributions to the development of sport in Poland".
In 2015, he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
Personal life
In 1968, he married Grażyna (née Loreto) with whom he has two children: a son Michał and a daughter Małgorzata.
Lubański is the subject of a number of books including Ja, Lubański by Krzysztof Wyrzykowski (1990), Włodek Lubański. Legenda polskiego futbolu by Włodzimierz Lubański and Przemysław Słowiński (2008) and Życie jak dobry mecz by Włodzimierz Lubański and Michał Olszański (2016).
Career statistics
Club
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|National cup
!colspan="2"|Continental
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="14"|Górnik Zabrze
|1962–63
|Ekstraklasa
|8||4||1||0||colspan="2"|—||9||4
|-
|1963–64
|Ekstraklasa
|23||12||1||0||4||1||28||13
|-
|1964–65
|Ekstraklasa
|13||9||2||3||3||1||18||13
|-
|1965–66
|Ekstraklasa
|18||23||5||7||2||3||25||33
|-
|1966–67
|Ekstraklasa
|25||18||1||1||5||3||31||22
|-
|1967–68
|Ekstraklasa
|24||24||4||6||6||4||34||34
|-
|1968–69
|Ekstraklasa
|23||22||7||7||colspan="2"|—||30||29
|-
|1969–70
|Ekstraklasa
|23||12||5||4||10||7||38||23
|-
|1970–71
|Ekstraklasa
|21||10||4||6||7||8||32||24
|-
|1971–72
|Ekstraklasa
|25||14||5||6||2||1||32||21
|-
|1972–73
|Ekstraklasa
|18||2||colspan="2"|—||4||5||22||7
|-
|1973–74
|Ekstraklasa
|1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||1||0
|-
|1974–75
|Ekstraklasa
|12||5||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||12||5
|-
!colspan=2| Total
!234||155||35||40||43||34||312||225
|-
|rowspan="8"|Lokeren
|1975–76
|Belgian First Division
|34||17||2||1||colspan="2"|—||36||18
|-
|1976–77
|Belgian First Division
|29||11||3||2||3||1||32||14
|-
|1977–78
|Belgian First Division
|31||15||5||4||colspan="2"|—||36||19
|-
|1978–79
|Belgian First Division
|32||12||4||4||colspan="2"|—||36||16
|-
|1979–80
|Belgian First Division
|28||15||3||1||colspan="2"|—||31||16
|-
|1980–81
|Belgian First Division
|24||8||2||2||5||0||31||10
|-
|1981–82
|Belgian First Division
|18||4||1||0||1||0||20||4
|-
!colspan=2|Total
!196||82||20||14||9||1||225||97
|-
|Valenciennes
|1982–83
|Division 2
|31||28||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||31||28
|-
|rowspan="3"|Quimper
|1983–84
|Division 2
|33||7||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||33||7
|-
|1984–85
|Division 2
|25||7||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||25||7
|-
!colspan=2|Total
!58||14||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||58||14
|-
|Mechelen
|1985–86
|Belgian Second Division
|1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||1||0
|-
!colspan=3|Career total
!520||279||55||54||52||34||627||367
|}
International
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="16"|Poland
|-
|1963
||3||1
|-
|1964
||4||2
|-
|1965
||2||5
|-
|1966
||6||1
|-
|1967
||7||3
|-
|1968
||6||6
|-
|1969
||8||10
|-
|1970
||7||2
|-
|1971
||5||4
|-
|1972
||9||3
|-
|1973
||5||7
|-
|1976
||1||0
|-
|1977
||3||2
|-
|1978
||8||1
|-
|1980
||1||1
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!75!!48
|}
:Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lubański goal.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Włodzimierz Lubański
! No. !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
|align=center | 1 || 4 September 1963 || Florian Krygier Stadium, Szczecin, Poland || ||align="center"| 3–0 ||align="center"| 9–0 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 2 || 27 September 1964 || Mithatpaşa Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey || ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center"| 3–2 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 3 || 25 October 1964 || Dalymount Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland || ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center"| 2–3 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 4 || rowspan=4|24 October 1965 || rowspan=4|Florian Krygier Stadium, Szczecin, Poland || rowspan="4" | ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center" rowspan=4| 7–0 || rowspan=4|1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|align=center | 5 || align="center"| 2–0
|-
|align=center | 6 || align="center"| 3–0
|-
|align=center | 7 || align="center"| 6–0
|-
|align=center | 8 || 1 November 1965 || Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy || ||align="center"| 1–5 ||align="center"| 1–6 || 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|align=center | 9 || 3 May 1966 || Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland || ||align="center"| 1–1 ||align="center"| 1–1 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 10 || rowspan=2|21 May 1967 || rowspan=2|Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland || rowspan=2| ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center" rowspan=2| 3–1 || rowspan=2|UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying
|-
|align=center | 11 || align="center"| 2–0
|-
|align=center | 12 || 4 August 1967 || Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union || ||align="center"| 1–2 ||align="center"| 1–2 || 1968 Summer Olympics qualification
|-
|align=center | 13 || rowspan=3|24 April 1968 || rowspan=3|Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland || rowspan=3| ||align="center"| 2–0 ||align="center" rowspan=3| 8–0 || rowspan=3|Friendly
|-
|align=center | 14 || align="center"| 3–0
|-
|align=center | 15 || align="center"| 7–0
|-
|align=center | 16 || 15 May 1968 || Dalymount Park, Dublin, Republic of Ireland || ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center"| 2–2 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 17 || 9 June 1968 || Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway || ||align="center"| 6–1 ||align="center"| 6–1 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 18 || 30 October 1968 || Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland || ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center"| 1–0 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 19 || rowspan=5|20 April 1969 || rowspan=5|Municipal Stadium, Kraków, Poland || rowspan="5" | ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center" rowspan=5| 8–1 || rowspan=5|1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|align=center | 20 || align="center"| 2–0
|-
|align=center | 21 || align="center"| 3–0
|-
|align=center | 22 || align="center"| 7–1
|-
|align=center | 23 || align="center"| 8–1
|-
|align=center | 24 || 30 April 1969 || 19 Mayıs Stadium, Ankara, Turkey || ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center"| 3–1 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 25 || rowspan=2|27 August 1969 || rowspan=2|ŁKS Stadium, Łódź, Poland || rowspan="2" | ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center" rowspan=2| 6–1 || rowspan=2|Friendly
|-
|align=center | 26 || align="center"| 5–0
|-
|align=center | 27 || 7 September 1969 || Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland || ||align="center"| 2–1 ||align="center"| 2–1 || 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|align=center | 28 || 12 October 1969 || Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg || ||align="center"| 4–1 ||align="center"| 5–1 || 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|align=center | 29 || 2 September 1970 || 10th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland || ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center"| 5–0 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 30 || 14 October 1970 || Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland || ||align="center"| 2–0 ||align="center"| 3–0 || UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying
|-
|align=center | 31 || 5 May 1971 || Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland || ||align="center"| 4–1 ||align="center"| 4–2 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 32 || rowspan=3|22 September 1971 || rowspan=3|Municipal Stadium, Kraków, Poland || rowspan="3" | ||align="center"| 2–0 ||align="center" rowspan=3| 5–1 || rowspan=3|UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying
|-
|align=center | 33 || align="center"| 4–0
|-
|align=center | 34 || align="center"| 5–1
|-
|align=center | 35 || 16 April 1972 || Lokomotic Stadium, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria || ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center"| 1–3 || 1972 Summer Olympics qualification
|-
|align=center | 36 || 30 August 1972 || Jahnstadion, Regensburg, West Germany || ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center"| 4–0 || 1972 Summer Olympics
|-
|align=center | 37 || 8 September 1972 || Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, West Germany || ||align="center"| 2–0 ||align="center"| 5–0 || 1972 Summer Olympics
|-
|align=center | 38 || rowspan=3|20 March 1973 || rowspan=3|ŁKS Stadium, Łódź, Poland || rowspan="3" | ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center" rowspan=3| 4–0 || rowspan=3|Friendly
|-
|align=center | 39 || align="center"| 2–0
|-
|align=center | 40 || align="center"| 4–0
|-
|align=center | 41 || 13 May 1973 || 10th-Anniversary Stadium, Warsaw, Poland || ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center"| 2–2 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 42 || rowspan=2|16 May 1973 || rowspan=2|Olympic Stadium, Wrocław, Poland || rowspan=2| ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center" rowspan=2| 2–0 || rowspan=2|Friendly
|-
|align=center | 43 || align="center"| 2–0
|-
|align=center | 44 || 6 June 1973 || Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland || ||align="center"| 2–0 ||align="center"| 2–0 || 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|align=center | 45 || rowspan=2|1 May 1977 || rowspan=2|Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark || rowspan=2| ||align="center"| 1–0 ||align="center" rowspan=2| 2–1 || rowspan=2|1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|align=center | 46 || align="center"| 2–1
|-
|align=center | 47 || 22 March 1978 || Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg || ||align="center"| 3–1 ||align="center"| 3–1 || Friendly
|-
|align=center | 48 || 24 September 1980 || Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland || ||align="center"| 1–1 ||align="center"| 1–1 || Friendly
|}
Honours
Górnik Zabrze
- Ekstraklasa: 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1970–71, 1971–72
- Polish Cup: 1964–65, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72
Poland
- Summer Olympics: 1972
Individual
- Ekstraklasa top scorer: 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69
- European Cup Winners' Cup Top Scorer: 1969–70, 1970–71
- World XI: 1968, 1969, 1972, 1973
- Merited Master of Sport of the USSR: 1972
- Order of Polonia Restituta: 1997
- UEFA Poland's Golden Player: 2004
- Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland: 2015
- Polish Football Association National Team of the Century: 1919–2019
See also
- Sport in Poland
- List of Polish footballers