Krzysztof Nowak

Krzysztof Nowak (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkʂɨʂtɔf ˈnɔvak]; 27 September 1975 – 26 May 2005) was a Polish football player,[1] best known for his stint with the VfL Wolfsburg team.

Krzysztof Nowak
Personal information
Full name Krzysztof Damian Nowak
Date of birth (1975-09-27)27 September 1975
Place of birth Warsaw, Poland
Date of death 26 May 2005(2005-05-26) (aged 29)
Place of death Wolfsburg, Germany
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Opal Lubosz
0000–1993 RKS Ursus Warszawa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1995 Sokół Pniewy 54 (1)
1995 GKS Tychy 15 (0)
1995–1996 Panachaiki Patras 13 (1)
1996 Legia Warsaw 1 (0)
1996–1998 Atlético Paranaense 25 (3)
1998–2002 VfL Wolfsburg 83 (10)
National team
1997–1999 Poland 10 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Nowak began playing football in 1985. He slowly rose in prominence and in 1996 moved to Brazil with fellow countryman Mariusz Piekarski to play for Atlético Paranaense. He always wanted to play in Europe, so he moved to Germany in 1998 to play for Wolfsburg. Nowak, dubbed "ten of hearts" by his fans, was popular as well as skilled, but was forced to retire from the sport in early 2002 after he learned he had motor neurone disease (MND). Nowak continued to watch the games until shortly before his death.

Nowak was also an important player for the Polish national team, for whom he played 10 games and scored one goal.

In 2002, Nowak began a foundation[2] to help find a cure for MND (he died from this illness). Nowak left behind a wife, Beata, and two young children – a son, Maksymillian, and a daughter, Maria. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge brought the foundation in Germany much attention, since many Germans who participated in it, donated the money to the foundation.

References
  1. "Nowak, Krzysztof" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  2. "The Krzysztof Nowak-Foundation". VfL Wolfsburg. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2012.


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