Antoni Gałecki
Personal information
Full name Antoni Gałecki
Date of birth (1906-06-04)4 June 1906
Place of birth Łódź, Congress Poland
Date of death 14 December 1958(1958-12-14) (aged 52)
Place of death Łódź, Poland
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1922–1939 ŁKS Łódź 204 (0)
International career
1928–1938 Poland 18 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Antoni Gałecki (4 June 1906 – 14 December 1958) was a Polish football player and defender who represented ŁKS Łódź. He also played on the Poland national team during the 1936 Berlin Olympics and Poland's 1938 FIFA World Cup lone match against Brazil.[1]

Born in Łódź, Galecki joined the LKS Łódź team in 1922, becoming its key defender four years later. Gałecki represented this team until 1939, participating in more than 400 games. In many of them, he was the team captain.

He wore the Poland national team jersey for 22 games. His debut took place on 27 October 1928 in Prague, against Czechoslovakia.

During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Gałecki was a key defender on the Polish team, participating in all games (3-0 vs Hungary, 5-4 vs Great Britain, 1-3 vs Austria and 2-3 vs Norway). Poland finished in 4th place.

In 1937-38 Gałecki played in qualifying matches for the 1938 World Cup football match. In Warsaw, Poland beat Yugoslavia 4–0. In the second leg, in Belgrade, the Poles lost 0–1, but Poland qualified due to the goals advantage. Gałecki represented Poland in a legendary World Cup game against Brazil on 5 June 1938 in Strasbourg, France. The Poles lost 5–6, but the match is to this day regarded as one of the best performances of the Polan national team.

Called to active military duty in August 1939, Gałecki fought in the September 1939 Campaign. He was held prisoner in a POW camp in Eger, Hungary, but managed to escape through Yugoslavia and Greece and reached Palestine, where he became a soldier of the Polish 2nd Corps. Gałecki fought at Tobruk and Monte Cassino. After the war, Gałecki returned to his hometown in 1947.

He died in Łódź.

See also

References

  1. "Antoni Gałecki". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
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