They played for Celtic – Dariusz Dziekanowski

Polish Striker Darius Dziekanowski signed for Celtic for a fee of £600,000 from Legia Warsaw in the summer of 1989…

The move happened as Celtic manager Billy McNeill looked to add some quality to his forward line, after missing out on an agreed move for a certain Maurice Johnston.

Frank McAvennie had left a few months previously, and with only Tommy Coyne and Andy Walker as recognised centre forwards, Big Billy beefed up his attack, by swooping for the Polish international.

Big Billy beefed up the Celtic attack

Dziekanowski was highly regarded in Poland, and was seen as something of a maverick, something we soon found out for ourselves.

The Polish striker who was dubbed ‘Jacki’ by the Celtic faithful had a positive arrogance about him, and possessed a great swagger which made him a favourite among the supporters. Scoring on his Old Firm debut against Rangers at Celtic Park endeared him to the fans even further, as you will appreciate.

Jacki certainly knew the way to goal and proved himself even further as he starred in one of the most memorable games in the club’s history, a game if you had attended, then you will certainly never forget!

The match in question was a Cup Winners Cup clash at Celtic Park on the September 1989. Celtic would beat Partizan Belgrade 5-4 in a pulsating match, with Jacki scoring four, but amazingly still ended the night on the losing side as the Serbian side prevailed due to the away goals rule after Celtic foolishly conceded in the closing moments of an enthralling encounter.

Unfortunately for Jacki, he never got close to hitting those heights again, and was more known for his off field antics, as it was no secret that he loved the nightlife of Glasgow and he was always very popular with the ladies during his time in Scotland.

That was a shame, as he had unbelievable talent, and could have been so much better than he was. One of the other reasons for that was that he sometimes appeared to lack of commitment on the park, you can be the best player in the world, but if you don’t have that desire to give 100%, then you won’t  make it to the very top.

Jacki’s casual approach led to him spurning big opportunities in big games, and one occasion that highlighted his lack of desire was in the Scottish Cup final penalty shootout defeat to Aberdeen in 1990, when The Polish striker had to be literally dragged by his teammate Paul McStay to take a crucial penalty.

Jacki would leave Celtic after making 66 appearances and scoring 22 goals to join Bristol City in 1992, and although he was something of a character during his time at the club, he was ultimately a let down considering the natural talent he possessed.

This was at a time when Celtic needed battlers and Jacki was never seemed to be fully up for the fight.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

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