Kozubal’s childhood dream came true

The recent match between Lech and Piast Gliwice will be remembered for the two goalkeepers’ outstanding performance. Mickey van der Hart and František Plach did everything in their power to stop their opponents from scoring and they succeeded. However, there is another highlight worth mentioning – in the 84^th minute, Antoni Kozubal replaced Dani Ramirez on the pitch, making his official debut for the club from Poznań. In this particular situation, the saying “third time’s a charm” was perfectly true as the youngster had been named a part of the match 18 three times – in the clash with Górnik Zabrze, Polish Cup match against Radomiak, and the recent game with Piast – before finally being given a chance to appear on the pitch. The debut was such an exciting moment for the 16-year-old that after the match, he… didn’t remember much.

“I don’t remember a lot from the match, maybe just the warm-up, since it was a really emotional evening for me,” said the thrilled debutant shortly after the final whistle. “I have been ready for my debut, even in the previous match against Zabrze and the one in Sosnowiec. I was told that I might be given an opportunity to debut tonight but I didn’t get overly excited and instead tried to remain fully concentrated,” explained the midfielder who joined Lech Poznań Academy in summer 2017 from Benjaminek Krosno.

During the couple of minutes that Kozubal spent on the pitch, he made 4 passes – all of which were accurate – had one successful dribbling, one good interception, and won one direct clash with the opponent. In the closing minutes of the game with Piast, Kozubal formed the midfield with Nika Kvekveskiri and Pedro Tiba. The youngster resembles in the style of play the two, more experienced midfielders, especially the Portuguese player whom Kozubal perceives as an example and observes during training sessions. However, since the closing minutes of the game with Piast were heated, there wasn’t much time for Tiba to give instructions to the Academy player. “We didn’t have time to talk, we were both focused on our job and were driven by the ambition to change the score; the last few minutes were intense. In addition, Pedro came close to scoring shortly before the final whistle; it’s a pity that he didn’t manage to place the ball in the net,” commented the 16-year-old.

The Sunday debut was a dream come true for Kozubal. Back when he was a primary school student, the midfielder wrote in one of his essays: “My biggest dream is to become a footballer. I dream of an amazing career at a good club. The end of my rainbow is playing for Lech Poznań.” “I have worked hard throughout all these years and despite an unsatisfactory result, I am very happy about the debut,” emphasised Kozubal.

The midfielder born in Krośno became the youngest player to debut for Lech Poznań in the 21^st century, and the second youngest in the club’s history. There is one more record that he can break – if he manages to score his first goal for Lech this season, he will also become the youngest goal scorer. Currently, Filip Marchwiński is the youngest footballer to place the ball in the net whilst wearing Lech’s shirt – he scored his first goal for the team from Poznań at the age of 16 years and 343 days back in 2018, in the clash with Zagłębie Sosnowiec.

The youngest debutants in Lech Poznań history:

Andrzej Woźniak - 16 years and 67 days
Antoni Kozubal - 16 years and 208 days
Dawid Kownacki - 16 years and 267 days

The youngsest goal scorers in Lech Poznań history:

Filip Marchwiński - 16 years and 340 days
Dawid Kownacki - 16 years and 344 days
Kazimierz Wróbel - 17 years and 78 days