Grzegorz Lato

Grzegorz Lato

Grzegorz Lato in 1973
Personal information
Full name	Grzegorz Bolesław Lato
Date of birth	April 8, 1950 (1950-04-08) (age 60)
Place of birth	Malbork, Poland
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1966–1980	Stal Mielec	295	(117)
1980–1982	Lokeren	64	(12)
1982–1984	Atlante	45	(15)
Total		404	(144)
National team
1971–1984	Poland	100	(45)
Honours Olympic medal record Competitor for  Poland Men's football Gold 1972 Munich Team Competition Silver 1976 Montreal Team Competition

Grzegorz Bolesław Lato (born 8 April 1950 in Malbork, Poland) is a former Polish football striker, the all-time cap leader for the Polish national team, and the leading scorer at the 1974 World Cup. Lato's playing career coincided with the golden era of Polish football, which began with Olympic gold in Munich in 1972 and ended a decade later with third place at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, a repeat of the Poles' impressive finish in 1974 in Germany. He is the only Polish player ever to win the Golden boot at a World Cup.

He is best known for his pace.

From 2001 to 2005 Lato, as a member of Democratic Left Alliance, was a senator in Poland. On October 30, 2008 he was elected President of Polish FA.

Biography

1974 World Cup

For Poland, Lato has been capped a record 104 times between 1971 and 1984; he scored 45 goals, which is second-best in national history behind Włodzimierz Lubański. Other than the 1974 World Cup, where he scored seven goals, he also participated in the 1978 and 1982 tournaments. In the 1974 World Cup, he won the Golden Shoe after scoring 7 goals throughout the tournament. In a difficult Group 4, the Poles made an early impression, defeating Argentina by a score of 3-2, with two goals from Lato, the first being scored after just seven minutes of play. Buoyed by that success, Poland then posted the tournament's second largest win with a 7-0 defeat of Haiti (the largest being Yugoslavia's 9-0 demolition of Zaire), with Lato weighing in with another two strikes. In the second round, the Stal Mielec-based striker was even more instrumental, scoring winning goals against Group B rivals Sweden (1-0) and Yugoslavia (2-1). And while even Lato was powerless to prevent an agonising 1-0 defeat by Germany in Frankfurt the in-form marksman was able to propel his team to third place courtesy of the only goal in the play-off victory over Brazil. He was then known as Poland's favorite player. While playing for Poland, he helped them win several titles.

Conclusion of international career

After a second-round finish at the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, where Lato scored goals against Tunisia and Brazil, the striker earned another bronze medal in Spain in 1982, where he would record his last strike for his country against Peru. Lato officially retired from international football in April 1984 after collecting his 104th cap against Belgium. He ended his career with the Polish national team with 45 goals - a record that stands to this day - and a total achieved accompanied by an impressive ratio of 0.43 goals per game.[1] Lato had also won the gold medal for Poland at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal in 1976.

Club career

Lato spent most of his club career with Stal Mielec and led them to Polish Premier League championships in 1973 and 1976, as well as an appearance in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in the 1975-76 season. He earned the distinction as the league's top goalscorer in 1973 (13 goals) and in 1975 (19 goals). Lato spent most of his career with the club, where he made 272 appearances and scored 111 goals in the Polish Premier League. The Polish league prohibited player transfers abroad until a player reached the age of 30, which hindered Lato's opportunities to display his talent on a regular basis for a larger audience across the continent. Lato had turned down a personal invitation from Pelé to play for the New York Cosmos, and in 1980, he began playing for the Belgian club K.S.C. Lokeren. He had also played in Mexico during the 1982-83 season for Atlante F.C., where he amassed 15 goals. He also spent some time in Canada, playing for Polonia Hamilton in the mid-80's in an amateur league in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Life after football

Lato's official portrait as a senator

From 2001 to 2005 Lato, as a member of Democratic Left Alliance, was a senator in Poland. In October 2008 he was elected the 24. President of Polish FA. There he clashed with Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker. Lato was allegedly in an intoxicated state when he fired Beenhakker on national television after another Polish loss.

Playing style and recognition

Blessed with remarkable acceleration, the talented right-winger consistently lived up to the high expectations placed before him whenever he was given the opportunity to compete at the international level. Lato was not renowned as crowd pleaser, but rather as a consistent and complete team player. His uncanny awareness on the playing field was ostensibly what allowed him to achieve great success at the international and club levels. Despite his accomplishments at the three World Cup tournaments at which he participated, Lato was not selected by UEFA as one of the European 50 best players, as compiled for its 50th anniversary in 2004. It exemplified the common assertion that Lato is one of the most underrated players in European football history.[2]

Club statistics

^[1]

National team statistics

^[2]

Honors

Club level

Stal Mielec

• Polish Premier League - 1st place: 1973, 1976
• Polish Premier League - 2nd place: 1975
• Polish Premier League - 3rd place: 1974, 1979, 1982
• Polish Cup - 2nd place: 1976
• UEFA Cup - quarter-finalist: 1975/76

Atlante F.C.

• CONCACAF Champions Cup - Winner: 1983

Individual distinctions

• Polish Premier League Top Goalscorer: 1973, 1975
• Piłka Nożna Player of the Year: 1977
• Sport Player of the Year: 1974, 1977

International level

Team accomplishments with Poland

• Olympic gold medal: 1972
• Olympic silver medeal: 1976
• FIFA World Cup - 3rd place: 1974, 1982

Individual distinctions

• FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe: 1974

References

External links

• International appearances and goals
• Profile and image of Lato

Poland squad – 1974 FIFA World Cup Third Place 1 Fischer • 2 Tomaszewski • 3 Kalinowski • 4 Szymanowski • 5 Gut • 6 Gorgoń • 7 Wieczorek • 8 Bulzacki • 9 Żmuda • 10 Musiał • 11 Ćmikiewicz • 12 Deyna • 13 Kasperczak • 14 Maszczyk • 15 Jakóbczak • 16 Lato • 17 Szarmach • 18 Gadocha • 19 Domarski • 20 Kapka • 21 Kmiecik • 22 Kusto • Coach: Górski

Poland squad – 1978 FIFA World Cup 1 Tomaszewski • 2 Mazur • 3 Maculewicz • 4 Szymanowski • 5 Nawałka • 6 Gorgoń • 7 Iwan • 8 Kasperczak • 9 Żmuda • 10 Rudy • 11 Masztaler • 12 Deyna • 13 Kupcewicz • 14 Justek • 15 Kusto • 16 Lato • 17 Szarmach • 18 Boniek • 19 Lubański • 20 Wójcicki • 21 Kukla • 22 Kostrzewa • Coach: Gmoch

Poland squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup Third Place 1 Młynarczyk • 2 Dziuba • 3 Kupcewicz • 4 Dolny • 5 Janas • 6 Skrobowski • 7 Jałocha • 8 Matysik • 9 Żmuda • 10 Majewski • 11 Smolarek • 12 Wójcicki • 13 Buncol • 14 Pałasz • 15 Ciołek • 16 Lato • 17 Szarmach • 18 Kusto • 19 Iwan • 20 Boniek • 21 Kazimierski • 22 Mowlik • Coach: Piechniczek