It took just nine minutes. After being introduced at halftime in Poland’s third group stage game, Jakub Błaszczykowski received a reverse pass in the penalty area from Arkadiusz Milik. He deftly used his right foot to open up the space ahead of him, then dispatched a superbly driven shot with his left that arched beyond stranded Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov.
It was to be the only goal in that game, sealing his nation’s place in the last 16 and drawing praise from his coach. “Kuba is an important player for us, he is very experienced and has a great influence on how we play and proved it again. I made the substitution because I wanted to reinforce the midfield,” Adam Nawalka told the press after the game. “Once he came off the bench he increased the quality of our play. I can count on him. He will start the next match. He has many great matches to play ahead of him.”
True to his word, the Poland boss handed him a place in the starting eleven against Switzerland, and sure enough, his faith in Błaszczykowski was rewarded. His all-round contribution in the victory was immeasurable, scoring a first half goal that was eventually cancelled out by Xherdan Shaqiri’s stunning overhead equaliser and converting his shootout penalty with ease. Kuba also made the most tackles of any player for either side, winning seven of his nine attempts, according to FourFourTwo’s StatsZone.
With teammate Robert Lewandowski without a goal in the tournament so far, Błaszczykowski has stepped up when his national team needed him the most and – after a frustrating season on the bench with Fiorentina – few could have expected the 30-year-old to have put in such influential performances at Euro 2016.
But fighting against adversity is nothing new for Jakub Błaszczykowski.
Just two months before his eleventh birthday he witnessed something no child ever should: his father Zygmunt stabbed his mother Anna to death. After his father was jailed for the crime, Jakub and his brother Dawid had no choice but to go and live with their grandmother. He was said to have been so traumatised by the event that he did not leave his bed for five days afterwards, but with help from his uncle – who himself made 42 appearances for Poland’s national football team – Kuba returned to the sport, training with Raków Częstochowa just two months later.
This fiercely courageous young boy would continue to use this inner strength throughout his life. That, along with his strong Christian faith, has not only seen him forge a successful football career but – despite a childhood tainted by tragedy – to find happiness in his adult life with his wife Agata and daughters Oliwia and Lena.
Yet in January 2014, his incredible resilience would be tested once again. “We don’t yet know for sure,” Borussia Dortmund boss Jürgen Klopp told the media after Błaszczykowski was stretchered off during a 2-2 draw with Augsburg. “The cruciate ligament (damage) is only a suspicion, so I have a little hope, even if all signs suggest it is. Should it prove to be true, it is an awful message.” Dortmund would lose their star winger for the remainder of the season.
The pair had worked together at the German club since 2008, and the 2011-12 campaign had seen them win the Bundesliga and the German Cup, while 2012-13 brought a runners-up finish in the Champions League. However, the injury continued to plague Kuba and several recurrences saw him make just 13 appearances during the side’s disappointing 2014-15 season.
“Kuba is not only a good footballer but a wonderful person,” Dortmund’s Sporting Director Michael Zorc told the club’s website after he signed on loan for Fiorentina in summer 2015. “For him it is important to get plenty of match practice in the run-up to Euro 2016.”
The Italian club – with new coach Paulo Sousa in charge – did not provide Błaszczykowski with those aforementioned opportunities as expected. Despite being ranked by Gazzetta dello Sport as the summer’s best signing, he made just nine starts and six substitute appearances in purple, scoring two goals. Federico Bernardeschi took his place in the side when a muscular issue had kept Kuba out throughout November and December. He was never able to regain that place from the young Italian, playing 90 minutes on only two occasions after the winter break.
Two and a half years of frustration – along with the ever-present threat that his career could be over – was hardly ideal preparation for a summer tournament, but defying expectations has become a constant in Kuba’s life. The sheer will to succeed has not erased the memory of those tragic events forever. Looking up towards the sky when he scores a goal, Błaszczykowski shows that although he has not allowed the loss of his beloved mother Anna to rule his life forever, he will certainly never forget her.
Poland now face Portugal in the quarterfinal, with the threat of Cristiano Ronaldo looming. After scraping through Group F in third place, the Real Madrid forward’s performance in their last 16 win over highly-rated Croatia proved that he is a deadly threat irrespective of the general form of the team. There is no doubt that Poland will need to be at their best in order to reach the semifinal.
But fighting against adversity is nothing new for Jakub Błaszczykowski.
