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Fullname: Maciej Zurawski
aka: Magic Zurawski
Born: 12 September 1976
Birthplace: Poznan, Poland
Signed: 7 July 2005 (£2m from Wisla Krakow)
Left: 1 February 2008 (£300 to Larissa FC (Cyprus))
Position: Centre-Forward, Striker
Debut: […]
Internationals: Poland
International Caps: 72 caps
International Goals: 17 goals
Biog
A Gordon Strachan signing, Polish international striker and Captain of the National side Maciej Zurawski arrived at Celtic Park on July 7th 2005 in a £2 million deal from Wislaw Krakow.
Zurawski came to Parkhead at the age of 29 with a good domestic scoring record and, in a sign of the times, the Hoops support had high hopes for the man nicknamed ‘Magic’ after watching compilations of his goals on the YouTube website.
The striker’s profile had been boosted further in the UK thanks to goals against England, Wales and Northern Ireland in recent World Cup qualifying ties. He made his competitive debut in the disastrous away leg to Artmedia Bratislava.
Zurawski took a little while to settle into the Scottish game but when he did he demonstrated a good eye for goal and some excellent all round forward play. He put on a magnificent four goal display as Celtic thrashed Dunfermline 8-1 at East End Park in the league in February 2006 when his finishing was truly exceptional.
By the end of his first season Magic had recovered from a slow start and had notched 20 goals – including the only goal in a 1-0 triumph over Rangers at Ibrox – to play a notable part in the Bhoys’ triumph in the League and CIS Cup (League Cup).
The Celtic support were sure that with a season’s experience in the SPL now under his belt that the best was still to come from Magic and even a poor World Cup from the player failed to cool expectations for the season ahead.
They were expectations which were never met. Zurawski’s form at the start of the new season was poor. Too often he looked sluggish and disinterested. The sharpness and ability in front of goal which was so obvious just months before was now seen only in fleeting moments. Injuries didn’t help but claims that the player was fatigued from the World Cup sounded rather hollow. He had a very poor World Cup, mainly due to the very poor tactics that led to Poland’s poor showing, and his form thereon sunk subsequently, with Celtic to end up with the poor end result of this.
Zurawski slipped out of first team contention and gradually became a bit part player. His rare starts and substitute appearances offered little hope that the talent he showed in his debut season would return. He seemed to have lost his heart for it and never seemed to want to go in where he might get hurt, a failing that the Celtic faithful do not take kindly to. When the going got tough – and often even when it didn’t – he just didn’t fancy it to put it mildly. The least the Celtic supporters expect is that a player pulling on a Celtic strip gives 100%, which was not always the case with Zurawski.
Probably the transition to playing for a club abroad had not been an easy one for him, although he did start off well.
Despite being Poland’s skipper his international place was in serious doubt due to a lack of first team action. So, having made just a single start in the first half of season 2007/08, Zurawski was sold in January 2008 to Greek First Division outfit Larissa for an estimated fee of £500,000.
After leaving he came out saying that he was having some mental problems (saying that being on the sidelines made him mentally ill apparently) and he couldn’t settle into the side. He ended up spending a lot of time in the casinos which never helps anyone. He was later involved in an incident where his car went off the pier in Larissa, but thankfully was able to resume his playing career.
There are two sides to every story but he did not help his case when he tried unjustifiably to blame the Club as an excuse for his poor form and his failings at Celtic. Passing the buck for responsibility is a possible reason for his remarks. Some would put it harshly (with some justification) that Zurawski was simply a one season wonder. His later mixed spells elsewhere indicates that Celtic wasn’t necessarily the problem, although he didn’t necessarily do badly.
Possibly, having being so highly feted at his club back home in Poland, going elsewhere and not being the top dog at his new clubs abroad possibly impacted him and he couldn’t adjust.
He moved to Omonia and helped them to a local league title. Then after a spell back at Wisla Krakow, he retired as a player from the game in 2011.
We wished him all the best.
Playing Career
| Club | From | To | Fee | League | Scottish Cup | League cup | Other | ||||
| Larissa | 01/02/2008 | £ 300,000 | No appearance data available | ||||||||
| Celtic | 07/07/2005 | 01/02/2008 | £ 2,000,000 | 42 (13) | 22 | 1 (1) | 3 | 4 (1) | 5 | 6 (4) | 0 |
| Wisla Krakow | 01/07/2001 | 07/07/2005 | |||||||||
| Totals | |||||||||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
Honours with Celtic
Scottish Premier League
Scottish Cup
Scottish League Cup
| KDS Honours | ||
| MOTM Winners 2006-07 | ||
| 06-Jan-07 | Celtic 4 v 0 Dumbarton | Scottish Cup |
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Articles
PRESS REPORT
David Friel
POLISH striker Maciej Zurawski has today left Celtic to sign for Greek side Larissa FC.
The 31-year-old, who joined Celtic from Wisla Krakow in the summer of 2005, made a total of 73 appearances for the Hoops, scoring 30 goals.
In season 2005/06, Zurawski finished as Celtic’s joint-top scorer with John Hartson on 20 goals, helping the Hoops win the SPL championship. He also scored in the 3-0 CIS Cup final win over Dunfermline.
Last season, Zurawski was hindered by injury but still scored 10 goals as Celtic retained their SPL title and lifted the Scottish Cup.
The Pole also helped Celtic reach the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League in consecutive seasons under Gordon Strachan.
Injury and the form of Scott McDonald and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink limited Maciej to just eight appearances this season, although he did score a crucial penalty in the shoot-out win over Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Champions League qualifier.
Zurawski, who has won 53 caps for Poland, is currently captain of his country and hopes to be involved in this summer’s European Championships.
Everyone at Celtic would like to thank Maciej for his contribution to the club’s success since 2005 and wish him good luck with his new side.
Hoops drove Zurawski mental
Striker needed to escape Celtic nightmare(Sky)
Maciej Zurawski claims that life on the Celtic sidelines was so miserable that it was making him mentally ill.
The Polish striker sealed a move to Greek side Larissa during the transfer window, ending a three-year spell at Celtic Park which had seen him spiral towards depression.
His career in Scotland started had started brightly enough, bagging 15 goals during his first season and being dubbed ‘Magic Zurawski’ by Celtic fans.
However, a subsequent slump in form had seen him start just one SPL game for Gordon Strachan’s side this season and he admits that he was heading towards oblivion before being offered an escape route by Larissa.
“I found it difficult to be on the bench all of the time,” he Zurawski told the Daily Record.
“I could have stayed for four months at Celtic without setting foot on a pitch.
“The manager didn’t come to me at all. He signed two new strikers in January so I was probably not even going to make it on to the bench for the rest of the season.
“The only offer I had was from Columbus. They proposed a three-year contract but I didn’t want to stay in America for three years. I was so close to depression I was nearly taking medication.
“But then came a proposal from heaven and the chance to join Larissa. I’m very happy to be here because I was in bad psychological health in Glasgow.
“My relationship with Celtic finished months ago. But now I have a new start and a chance to get back on the trail for a place at Euro 2008.”