Janusz Kowalik
Encyclopedia
Janusz "John" Kowalik was a Polish football (soccer)
striker
who scored prolifically in both the European leagues and the North American Soccer League
. He was the 1968 NASL MVP.
of the North American Soccer League
(NASL) signed Kowalik. That season, he led the league in scoring with thirty goals in twenty-eight games. This led to his selection as the league MVP and a first team All Star. At the end of the season, he moved to the California Clippers. However, the NASL lost most of its teams with all west coast teams, but the Clippers, folding. The Clippers decided to leave the NASL, join a local league and exist on playing exhibition games against foreign teams. In January 1969, the team ownership decided to cease operations and Kowalik returned to Europe where he signed with Sparta Rotterdam
of the Dutch Eredivisie
. In 1974, he moved to NEC for one season before returning to the NASL with the Chicago Sting
in 1975. Kowalik played fourteen games, scoring nine goals in 1976. He then returned to the Netherlands to play with MVV Maastricht
. In 1977, he returned to the Sting where he scored only one goal in an unknown number of games before finishing his career in the Netherlands with MVV in the 1978–1979 season.
.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
who scored prolifically in both the European leagues and the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
. He was the 1968 NASL MVP.
Professional
In 1968, the owners of the Chicago MustangsChicago Mustangs
The Chicago Mustangs were an American professional soccer team based out of Chicago, Illinois that was a charter member of the United Soccer Association in 1967. The league was made up of teams imported whole from foreign leagues. The Chicago club was actually Cagliari Calcio from Italy...
of the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
(NASL) signed Kowalik. That season, he led the league in scoring with thirty goals in twenty-eight games. This led to his selection as the league MVP and a first team All Star. At the end of the season, he moved to the California Clippers. However, the NASL lost most of its teams with all west coast teams, but the Clippers, folding. The Clippers decided to leave the NASL, join a local league and exist on playing exhibition games against foreign teams. In January 1969, the team ownership decided to cease operations and Kowalik returned to Europe where he signed with Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....
of the Dutch Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
. In 1974, he moved to NEC for one season before returning to the NASL with the Chicago Sting
Chicago Sting
The Chicago Sting was an American professional soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from in the 1982-83 season and again from 1984 to 1988...
in 1975. Kowalik played fourteen games, scoring nine goals in 1976. He then returned to the Netherlands to play with MVV Maastricht
MVV Maastricht
MVV Maastricht is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Maastricht, founded on April 2, 1902...
. In 1977, he returned to the Sting where he scored only one goal in an unknown number of games before finishing his career in the Netherlands with MVV in the 1978–1979 season.
National team
He was capped 6 times for the Polish national teamPoland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
.