Zbigniew Boniek

On 26 October 2012, he became the chairman of the Polish Football Association. As the head of Polish football he is hugely popular with supporters due to his view on decriminalising football fans and in favour of legalising pyrotechnics inside stadiums, which is common ultras practice.

In 2004, Boniek was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers, as part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. On 12 October 2009, he received the Golden Foot 'Legend' career award.

Boniek has served as vice-president of the Polish Football Association, and in July 2002 he became the manager of Poland. He resigned in December 2002, after just five matches (2 wins, 1 draw, 2 defeats, including a 1–0 home loss against Latvia in a European Championship qualifier).

In the early 1990s he managed several Italian clubs, and also the Polish national team in 2002. In 2019 he was inducted in the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

Following his retirement, Boniek pursued a coaching career, but with less success; he also coached in Italy, with stints at Lecce in 1990–91, Bari in 1991–92, Sambenedettese in 1992–93, and Avellino in 1994–96.

The following season, Boniek joined Roma, where he won a second Coppa Italia in 1986, and eventually ended his professional career with the club in 1988.

He returned to the starting line-up for the victorious third-place match against France and was named to the team of the tournament for his performances throughout the competition. The 1986 World Cup was less successful, as Poland only qualified for the second round as the second best third-placed team, and were subsequently eliminated in the second round following a 4–0 defeat to Brazil.

In an 80-cap international career, he scored 24 goals and played at three consecutive World Cups, helping Poland to 3rd place in 1982 and making the Team of the Tournament. His greatest achievements in club football were at Juventus in Italy, winning the Serie A, Coppa Italia, European Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup, and European Super Cup between 1983 and 1985, being the first Polish footballer to win a confederation title and one of the first Eastern European players to do so with a non-conational club.

Boniek transferred to Italian football giants Juventus in 1982. With Juventus he won the Coppa Italia in his first season, also managing a second place finish in the league and reaching the 1983 European Cup Final in the same season. The following season, his performances proved decisive, as Juventus won both the Serie A title and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1984, with Boniek scoring the matching-winning goal in the 2–1 victory over Porto in the final of the latter tournament in Basel; he followed up these victories by claiming the European Super Cup later that year, scoring twice in the 2–0 win against Liverpool. He also won the European Cup in 1985, against Liverpool once again, winning the penalty that Michel Platini subsequently converted to win the title for Juventus, although the team's victory was largely overshadowed by the Heysel Disaster.

Boniek later starred in the Polish team that won a bronze medal at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain: he helped his team reach the semi-finals of the tournament, scoring 4 goals in the process. In the first round, he scored in a 5–1 win over Peru on 22 June, to help Poland top their group; in the second round, he scored a hat-trick in his nation's 3–0 second round victory over Belgium, in Barcelona, on 28 June, but was forced to miss the semi-final defeat to eventual champions Italy due to a suspension after being booked in the 88th minute of a 0–0 draw against the Soviet Union.

Although he initially only appeared as a substitute in Poland's two opening group matches at the 1978 World Cup, he drew attention to himself when he scored two goals in a 3–1 victory over Mexico in Poland's final match of the group stage, helping his nation top their group; in the second round, however, Poland finished third in their group and were eliminated from the tournament.

Boniek represented Poland in 80 international matches between 1976 and 1988, and scored 24 goals. He took part at the 1978, 1982, and 1986 FIFA World Cups with Poland.

Zbigniew "Zibì" Kazimierz Boniek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈzbiɡɲɛv ˈbɔɲɛk] ; born 3 March 1956) is a Polish former footballer and manager and the current head of the Polish Football Association (PZPN). A former midfielder, who was also capable of playing mostly as a right winger and second striker, he is considered one of the greatest Polish players of all time, and was selected by Pelé as one of the 100 best living footballers in 2004.