Artur Wichniarek

Artur Wichniarek

Personal information
Date of birth	(1977-02-28) 28 February 1977
Place of birth	Poznań, Poland
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1988–1992	SKS 13 Poznań
	Lech Poznań
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1997	Lech Poznań	65	(4)
1996	→ Górnik Konin (loan)
1997–1999	Widzew Łódź	57	(28)
1999–2003	Arminia Bielefeld	101	(50)
2003–2006	Hertha BSC	44	(4)
2006–2009	Arminia Bielefeld	111	(33)
2009–2010	Hertha BSC	19	(0)
2010	Lech Poznań	7	(0)
Total		404	(119)
International career‡
1999–2008	Poland	17	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 July 2011 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 September 2009

Artur Wichniarek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈartur vixˈɲarɛk], born 28 February 1977) is a Polish footballer.

Career

Early career in Poland

Wichniarek started his professional career at Lech Poznań in 1992–93 season. The following season he made his Ekstraklasa debut, however, he was not able to secure a place in the starting eleven. In the spring of 1996 was loaned to Polish Second League club Aluminium Konin. Upon his return to his home club he managed to win the manager's confidence and in the following 1996–97 season he played 30 times, albeit scoring only four goals. In 1998, Wichniarek joined Widzew Łódź, where he played until 1999, appearing 57 times and scoring 28 goals altogether, most of them in the 1998–99 season.

Arminia Bielefeld

His talent drew the attention of Arminia Bielefeld directors, who brought him to Bielefeld, where he impressed the fans, becoming the club's leading player and best striker. In 2001–02 season he won the title of 2. Bundesliga top scorer, which earned him the nickname King Arthur.

Hertha BSC

Hertha BSC took notice and in 2003 he moved to Olympiastadion, however, he usually appeared only as a sub. After two seasons in Berlin, in the beginning of 2006, with 44 appearances and four goals on his sheet, he moved back to Arminia Bielefeld.

Return to Bielefeld

He became one of Arminia's dominant players, scoring 33 goals in three seasons. Wichniarek was named the Bundesliga's Footballer of the Month in August 2008.

Second stint at Hertha

On 3 July 2009, Wichniarek left the newly relegated Arminia Bielefeld and turned back to sign a two year contract with his former club Hertha BSC. After the relegation of Hertha BSC, Wichniarek was released from his contract on 15 June 2010.

Return to Lech Poznań

He signed a one-year contract with first club Lech Poznań on 30 June 2010. His contract was terminated by Lech Poznań on 3 November 2010.

International career

Wichniarek made his first appearance for the Polish national team on 3 March 1999. The fixture was against Armenia where the Poles won 1–0. Wichniarek was not among the manager's favorites and his occasional appearances were usually limited to friendlies. His first international goal was at the expense of the Czech Republic national team on 28 April 1999. Altogether, he appeared in 17 international matches and four of his shots found their way into the opponents' net. His last significant cap was against Estonia in Tallinn, where he scored one of the two goals for the winners.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	28 April 1999	Polish Army Stadium, Warsaw, Poland	Czech Republic	2–0	2–1	International Friendly
2.	9 June 1999	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	0–2	2–3	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
3.	6 June 2003	Municipal Stadium, Poznań, Poland	Kazakhstan	1–0	3–0	International Friendly
4.	20 August 2003	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	0–2	1–2	International Friendly

External links

• Artur Wichniarek profile at Fussballdaten
• Artur Wichniarek at weltfussball.de (German)
• Artur Wichniarek at National-Football-Teams.com