Jerzy Podbrożny is a former Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 football

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...

, one of the top scorers in Polish football

Football in Poland

Football is the most popular sport in Poland. Over 400,000 Poles play football regularly, with millions more playing occasionally. The first professional clubs were founded in the early 1900s, and the Polish national football team played its first international match in 1921.There are hundreds of...

 history.

Podbrożny led the Polish league

Polish Championship in Football

Polish Championship in FootballYear, 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place* 1913: Cracovia, Pogoń Lwów, Czarni Lwów * 1920: abandoned * 1921: Cracovia, Polonia Warszawa, Warta Poznań...

 in scoring: in 1992 with 20 goals and in 1993 with 25 goals, both times for Lech Poznań

Lech Poznan

Lech Poznań is a Polish football club based in Poznań, Poland. The club is named after Lech, the legendary founder of Polish nation.The club was established in 1922 as Lutnia Dębiec, later changing its name several times. From 1933 until 1994, the club was closely linked to Polish State Railways...

. After winning the championship both those years, he transferred to Legia Warsaw, and promptly won the next two titles. In 1996, Podbrożny moved to Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, first with CP Mérida

CP Mérida

Club Polideportivo Mérida was a Spanish football team based in Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura.Having played twice in La Liga , the club disappeared in 2000, due to serious economic debts...

 and then with CD Toledo

CD Toledo

Club Deportivo Toledo, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Toledo, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. Founded in 1928, it plays in Segunda División B – Group 1, holding home games at Estadio Salto del Caballo, with a seating capacity of 5,300.Home uniforms consist of green...

. He then signed with the Chicago Fire, coming to Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

 in the club's inaugural season in 1998, joining fellow Polish internationals Peter Nowak

Piotr Nowak

Piotr Nowak is a Polish former professional soccer player. He is currently the head coach of the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer.Nowak enjoyed a successful playing career in Europe, playing for Polish clubs such as Zawisza Bydgoszcz and Widzew Łódź, before going on to play in Turkey,...

 and Roman Kosecki

Roman Kosecki

Roman Kosecki is a former Polish soccer striker.In his club career, Kosecki played for RKS URSUS, Gwardia Warsaw, Legia Warsaw, Galatasaray, CA Osasuna, Atlético Madrid, Nantes, Montpellier, and the Chicago Fire...

. Podbrożny went on to help the club to the MLS Cup

MLS Cup

The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...

 and U.S. Open Cup double. He played two seasons in MLS, scoring 10 goals and 22 assists in league play. Fans loved him in Chicago for his candour.

Podbrożny was capped six times for the Polish national team

Poland 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...

.