Wojciech Kowalczyk (born 14 April 1972) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently working as a football pundit.
He played a bulk of his professional career with Legia Warsaw and in Spain. Early into his international career, he helped the Poland national team win the silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. In 1992, he won the Polish Footballer of the Year plebiscite organized by the ' football weekly.
Born in Warsaw, Kowalczyk played his youth football with local Olimpia and Polonez, joining country giants Legia Warsaw in 1990 at the age of 18. Almost from the very beginning, he was an automatic first-choice; in his weakest season, his first, he only appeared in 11 Ekstraklasa games, but was crucial in helping oust U.C. Sampdoria in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup by scoring twice in Genoa for the 2âÂÂ2 draw and qualification for the semifinals 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
After having started the 1994âÂÂ95 campaign with Legia (five matches, three goals, another league title), Kowalczyk moved abroad and signed with La Liga side Real Betis, but was never able to reproduce his previous form. He finished his five-year spell in Spain with UD Las Palmas in the second division, where he also appeared sparingly.
After almost one year out of football, Kowalczyk returned to his country and his main club, Legia. In late 2001 he changed countries again, joining Cyprus' Anorthosis Famagusta FC and netting a career-best 24 goals; after a nearly non-existent second season he finished his professional career in the same country, with APOEL FC, retiring at 32 â afterwards, he would play in amateur football until 2019, with AZS Absolwent UW Warsaw and Weszà Âo Warsaw.
Kowalczyk gained 39 caps for Poland, scoring 11 goals. His debut came at the age of 19 on 21 August 1991, against Sweden.
His biggest international highlight was helping the Olympic squad win silver at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He did not score at all in the group stage, but eventually ranked third in the charts at four, three behind compatriot Andrzej Juskowiak.
After retiring, Kowalczyk established himself as a football pundit, initially working with Polsat Sport TV. Since 2018, he has contributed columns to the Weszà Âo website and appeared on Weszà Âo TVâÂÂs Liga Minus, a program analyzing Ekstraklasa matches. He was affiliated with Kanaà  Sportowy until 2024. Since 2024, he has been associated with the YouTube channel Kanaà  Zero.
In collaboration with sports journalist Krzysztof Stanowski, he co-authored the book Kowal. Prawdziwa historia (Kowal: The True Story), which was reissued in 2021.
His brother, Artur Kowalczyk, was also the player until he finished his career with Grom Lipowo in the 2013âÂÂ14 season.
Legia Warsaw
Anorthosis
APOEL
Weszà Âo Warsaw
Poland Olympic
Individual