Tomasz Radzinski facts for kids
Radzinski with Canada in 2004
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 14 December 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Poznań, Poland | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker, winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Cuiavia Inowrocław | |||
| 1987–1990 | VfL Osnabrück | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990–1993 | North York Rockets | 32 | (7) |
| 1994 | St. Catharines Wolves | – | (–) |
| 1994–1998 | Germinal Ekeren | 104 | (42) |
| 1998–2001 | Anderlecht | 77 | (52) |
| 2001–2004 | Everton | 91 | (25) |
| 2004–2007 | Fulham | 103 | (11) |
| 2007–2008 | Skoda Xanthi | 25 | (14) |
| 2008–2012 | Lierse | 86 | (39) |
| 2012 | Waasland-Beveren | 14 | (7) |
| Total | 500 | (190) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994 | Canada U23 | 3 | (0) |
| 1995–2009 | Canada | 46 | (10) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2013–2015 | Lierse (sporting director) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Tomasz Radzinski (born 14 December 1973) is a former professional soccer player. He was known for playing as a striker (a forward who scores goals) and a winger (a player who plays on the sides of the field).
He played for many different clubs in several countries. These included North York Rockets in Canada, and clubs like Germinal Ekeren, Anderlecht, Lierse, and Waasland-Beveren in Belgium. He also played for Everton and Fulham in England, and Skoda Xanthi in Greece.
Tomasz was born in Poland, but he moved to Canada when he was a teenager. He later represented Canada in international matches. He played 46 games for Canada between 1995 and 2009.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Tomasz Radzinski started his soccer journey as a young player in Poland with Cuiavia Inowrocław. He then moved to Germany and played for VfL Osnabrück in their youth teams.
Early Career in Canada
In 1990, Tomasz joined the North York Rockets in Canada. He stayed with them until 1993. After that, in the summer of 1994, he played for the St. Catharines Wolves.
Success in Belgium
Radzinski then returned to Europe in 1994, joining Germinal Ekeren in Belgium. He played very well there. Later, he signed with one of Belgium's biggest clubs, Anderlecht. He scored an amazing 57 goals in 90 games for Anderlecht. This included five goals in the UEFA Champions League, which is a very important European club competition. While at Anderlecht, he helped the team win the national championship twice!
Playing in England
After his success in Belgium, Tomasz moved to England to play for Everton in 2001. His transfer fee was about £4.5 million, which was the highest amount ever paid for a Canadian player at that time. He scored 25 goals in 91 games for Everton in the Premier League.
Later, he moved to Fulham F.C. in 2004. He scored 17 goals in 117 games for Fulham. Even though he didn't score as many goals as he did at Anderlecht, he scored many important goals that helped the team. He left Fulham at the end of the 2006–07 season.
Later Career
In August 2007, Tomasz signed with the Greek team Skoda Xanthi. He played there for one year.
In 2008, he returned to Belgium and joined Lierse. He played for Lierse until 2012. He later mentioned that he believed some people at Skoda Xanthi were involved in unfair play, which made him want to leave.
In January 2012, he signed a short-term deal with another Belgian team, Waasland-Beveren, before ending his playing career.
Playing for Canada
Tomasz Radzinski played for the Canada national team. He made his first appearance in June 1995 in a friendly game against Turkey.
He played a total of 46 games for Canada and scored 10 goals. This makes him one of Canada's top goal scorers of all time.
There was a time in 1999 when he was called to play for Canada but didn't show up, which caused some discussion. However, he later returned to play for his country. He played in 19 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, trying to help Canada qualify for the World Cup in 1998, 2006, and 2010.
Tomasz also has a Belgian passport because he married a Belgian citizen.
Life After Playing Soccer
After he stopped playing professional soccer, Tomasz Radzinski continued to be involved in the sport. From 2013 to 2015, he worked as the technical director for the Belgian soccer club Lierse S.K.. In this role, he helped manage the club's soccer operations.
Achievements and Awards
Tomasz Radzinski won several awards and championships during his career:
- Germinal Ekeren
- Belgian Cup: 1996–97
- Anderlecht
- Belgian First Division: 1999–2000, 2000–01
- Belgian Super Cup: 2000
- Lierse
- Belgian Second Division: 2009–10
- Individual Awards
- Canada Soccer Player of the Year: 1998
- Belgian First Division Top Scorer: 2000–01
- Canada Soccer Hall of Fame: 2018
See also
In Spanish: Tomasz Radzinski para niños
