Hubert Kostka

Hubert Jerzy Kostka (born 27 May 1940) is a Polish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Kostka participated in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where Poland won the men's football tournament. Kostka is not only a successful player, he also was a manager, and graduated as a mining engineer from the Silesian Polytechnic in Gliwice.

Hubert Kostka
Personal information
Full nameHubert Jerzy Kostka
Date of birth (1940-05-27) 27 May 1940 (age 84)
Place of birthRacibórz, Poland
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)Goalkeeper
Youth career
1950–1957LZS Markowice
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1958–1960Unia Racibórz
1960–1973Górnik Zabrze219(0)
International career
1962–1972Poland32(0)
Managerial career
1974Poland (assistant)
1974–1976Górnik Zabrze (youth)
1974–1976Walka Makoszowy
1975Poland (assistant)
1976–1977Górnik Zabrze
1978–1983Szombierki Bytom
1978Poland (assistant)
1982Poland (assistant)
1983Zagłębie Sosnowiec
1983–1986Górnik Zabrze
1988FC Aarau
1989Olimpia Poznań
1989–1993FC Grenchen
1994Górnik Zabrze
1995Petrochemia Płock
1995–1996Lechia/Olimpia Gdańsk
1997Raków Częstochowa
2000Włókniarz Kietrz
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Poland
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1972 Munich Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

His career began at small club LZS Markowice, but soon he was purchased by Unia Racibórz, and in the fall of 1960 he moved to Górnik Zabrze, a powerhouse of Polish football. He spent 14 years at the club, playing 301 games in all competitions. With Kostka in goal, Górnik won eight Ekstraklasa titles, and finished as runners-up in the 1970 Cup Winners' Cup final to Manchester City.

International career

Kostka also was a starting goalkeeper for the Poland national team. In the 1972 Summer Olympics, Kostka won the gold medal in the men's football tournament, but soon afterwards the aging goalkeeper was replaced by another star, Jan Tomaszewski. Between 1962 and 1972, he played in 32 international matches,[1] captaining the team on 4 occasions.

International statistics

Appearances, conceded goals and clean sheets by national team
National teamYearAppsConceded

Goals

Clean

Sheets

Poland1962211
1967361
19687103
1969681
1970462
19721075
Total323813

Post-playing career

After retiring from playing, he started managing. He was the Poland national team assistant in 1974. His first job as the main manager was with Górnik Zabrze Youth. In 1976 he took over as manager of Górnik's first team. Later, he worked with Szombierki Bytom, winning the 1979–80 Ekstraklasa title. In the mid-1980s Kostka returned to Zabrze, winning the Ekstraklasa twice, in 1984–85 and 1985–86. He also helped Kazimierz Górski, Jacek Gmoch and Antoni Piechniczek with preparations for the 1970 FIFA World Cup. He graduated as a mining engineer from the Silesian Polytechnic University in Gliwice.

He continued managing until 2000, when he retired from Włókniarz Kietrz.

Honours

Player

Górnik Zabrze[2]

Poland

Manager

Szombierki Bytom

Górnik Zabrze

Individual

References