# Władysław Żmuda

Władysław Antoni Żmuda (Polish pronunciation:; born 6 June 1954) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a defender for Śląsk Wrocław, Widzew Łódź, Hellas Verona, New York Cosmos and US Cremonese. He earned 91 caps for the Poland national team and is a four-time FIFA World Cup participant. At the 1974 FIFA World Cup, where Poland claimed third place, he received the FIFA Young Player Award.

## Club career

Żmuda was born in Lublin. He spent six years learning his trade with his first club Motor Lublin before finally spreading his wings in 1973 and switching to Gwardia Warsaw, one of the Polish capital's clubs. The 19-year-old Żmuda was instrumental in Gwardia's UEFA Cup campaign of 1973–74 where they narrowly lost out to eventual winners Feyenoord. Żmuda pursued his career in Poland with Śląsk Wrocław and later Widzew Łódź before Italian club Hellas Verona secured permission to sign him from Poland in 1982. After two injury-plagued seasons at Verona, Żmuda spent a brief spell with New York Cosmos before returning to Italy with US Cremonese, playing two of his three seasons with the club in Serie B. Żmuda ended his playing career in 1988.

## International career

Żmuda played for the Poland national team, for which he earned 91 caps and scored 2 goals.
He was a participant at four FIFA World Cups, the first in 1974, where Poland reached third place. He received the FIFA Young Player Award at the tournament.
He played a total of 21 matches at the World Cup finals, the third-most ever, tied with Uwe Seeler and Diego Maradona and behind only Lothar Matthäus, Paolo Maldini, Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi. His four tournaments, in 1974, 1978, 1982 and 1986, place him fourth in the all-time rankings behind Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Antonio Carbajal and Matthäus and level with legends of the game, such as Pelé, Maradona and Gianni Rivera.
He was also a participant at the 1976 Summer Olympics, where Poland won the silver medal.

## Career statistics
### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Poland | 1973 | 1 | 0 |
| Poland | 1974 | 9 | 0 |
| Poland | 1975 | 10 | 0 |
| Poland | 1976 | 9 | 0 |
| Poland | 1977 | 11 | 0 |
| Poland | 1978 | 12 | 1 |
| Poland | 1979 | 4 | 0 |
| Poland | 1980 | 9 | 0 |
| Poland | 1981 | 7 | 0 |
| Poland | 1982 | 7 | 0 |
| Poland | 1983 | 0 | 0 |
| Poland | 1984 | 7 | 0 |
| Poland | 1985 | 4 | 1 |
| Poland | 1986 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 91 | 2 |
    Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Żmuda goal.
List of international goals scored by Władysław Żmuda :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 5 April 1978 | Poznań, Poland | Greece | 3–0 | 5–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 17 April 1985 | Opole, Poland | Finland | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |

## Honours

Śląsk Wrocław
* Ekstraklasa: 1976-77
* Polish Cup: 1975–76
Widzew Łódź
* Ekstraklasa: 1980–81, 1981–82
Poland
* Olympic silver medal: 1976
* FIFA World Cup third place: 1974, 1982
Poland U18
* UEFA European Under-18 Championship third place: 1972
Individual
* FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award: 1974
* Polish Newcomer of the Year: 1974
* Polish Football Association National Team of the Century: 1919–2019