Former Poland footballers play charity match for cancer-stricken ex-teammate
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
23.04.2018 14:50
A line-up of former Polish football professionals have come out of retirement to play a charity match for their erstwhile teammate Paweł Kryszałowicz, who is suffering from cancer.
Paweł Kryszałowicz (left) in action during his time as a member of the national squad. He played for Poland from 1999 to 2004. Photo: Twitter/@LaczyNasPilka
The match on Saturday in the northern town of Słupsk brought together a number of now-retired footballers who represented Poland during the World Cup in South Korea in 2002 under manager Jerzy Engel.
Those on the pitch included one-time heroes such as Maciej Żurawski, Jacek Krzynówek and Marcin Żewłakow, in addition to former Liverpool and Real Madrid goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.
Kryszałowicz played 33 matches for the Polish national team from 1999 to 2004, scoring 10 goals. During his career as a professional footballer, he also played for clubs including German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.
Now 43 and suffering from colon cancer, Kryszałowicz needs money for specialist treatment to battle the disease, according to reports.
He recently said in a media interview that he was determined to win “the most important match” of his life.
“I’ve already booked cancer with a yellow card, and now I’m going to send it off with a red one,” he told the Przegląd Sportowy sports daily in an interview. “I will kick it out of my body so it never rears its ugly head again.”
He said: "Thousands of people are helping me; everyone is on my team. We are fighting together."
Kryszałowicz told the newspaper's Iza Koprowiak in early April he was focused on fighting the cancer with the same kind of strength that he once displayed on the football pitch.
(gs/pk)
Source: Przegląd Sportowy, Polish Radio