Józef Kałuża

Józef Ignacy Kałuża (11 February 1896 – 11 October 1944) was a Polish footballer and later coach, regarded as one the best Polish footballers of the 1920s.

Józef Kałuża

Personal information
Full name	Józef Ignacy Kałuża
Date of birth	(1896-02-11)11 February 1896
Place of birth	Przemyśl, Austria-Hungary
Date of death	11 October 1944(1944-10-11) (aged 48)
Place of death	Kraków, Poland
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1909–1911	Robotniczy KS Kraków
1911–1931	Cracovia
International career
1913	Galicia	1	(0)
1921–1928	Poland	16	(7)
Managerial career
1927–1928	Cracovia
1930	Legia Warsaw
1932–1939	Poland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Kałuża was one of the most experienced forward players of 1920s Poland. His whole career was connected with Cracovia - he won his first Polish championship in with the team. By 1921, Kałuża had scored 297 goals in 200 games. Altogether, he played 408 games in Cracovia’s jersey, scoring 465 goals. From 1921 to 1928, Kałuża represented Poland in various international games, scoring 7 goals.

Career statistics

Club	Season	Ekstraklasa		Galician Championship		Kraków A-Class		Friendlies		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cracovia	1912	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	22	27	22
	1913	0	0	4	2	0	0	26	29	31	31
	1914	0	0	3	2	0	0	14	15	17	17
	1915	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1916	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	5	3	5
	1917	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	33	16	33
	1918	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	36	27	36
	1919	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	59	22	59
	1920	0	0	0	0	4	10	17	27	21	39
	1921	8	9	0	0	6	15	24	31	38	55
	1922	0	0	0	0	5	5	9	13	14	18
	1923	0	0	0	0	6	4	16	9	20	13
	1924	0	0	0	0	8	6	21	8	29	14
	1925	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	20	23	20
	1926	4	4	0	0	9	10	11	13	24	27
	1927	0	0	0	0	3	2	26	23	29	25
	1928	20	9	0	0	0	0	4	7	24	16
	1929	23	10	0	0	0	0	7	7	30	17
	1930	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	2
	1931	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	Total	47	23	7	4	41	52	295	361	397	412

Later life

In 1932, after retirement from playing, he became the head coach of the Poland national team. Directed by him, Poland slowly began to achieve successes on an international scale. In 1936, during Berlin's Olympic Games, the white-red placed fourth. Two years later, during the 1938 FIFA World Cup, Poland, after a fierce battle, lost 5–6 against Brazil. This legendary game is to this day not only regarded as one of the best in the history of Polish football, but also as one of the best in all of World Cup history.

Kałuża's last game as coach took place on Sunday 27 August 1939 in Warsaw. Poland, after a very good game, beat the then vice-champions of the world, Hungary 4–2. It was the last game of interwar Poland - on 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and World War II started.

During the war, Kałuża, as one of the few officials of the Polish Football Federation (PZPN), remained in his homeland, where he died in 1944. In 1946, to commemorate him, PZPN begun organizing Józef Kałuża's Cup, but after a few years this idea was given up. Józef Piłsudski's Cracovia Stadium is located on Kałuża's street.

Honours

Cracovia

• Polish Football Championship: 1921

Individual

• Polish Football Championship top scorer: 1921

See also

• The last game: 27 August 1939. Poland - Hungary 4–2