Jakub Błaszczykowski (born December 14, 1985 in
Częstochowa), is a Polish football midfielder who
plays for Borussia Dortmund and the Polish national
team.
In February 2007 he signed a four-year contract with
Borussia Dortmund. He joined the Bundesliga side in
the following July. He usually plays on the wing
where his dribbling and pace come in handy. He is
also adept in defence, giving him the ability to
play at right-wingback.
Błaszczykowski scored his first goal for Borussia on
July 12, 2007 in a friendly match against
Anderlecht. He followed that up with a goal against
AS Roma and Vitesse Arnhem, including a number of
assists.
On April 19, 2008, he participated in the DFB Pokal
(German Cup) for Dortmund against FC Bayern Munich.
He came under scrutiny for a series of plays in
which he seemed to be simulating fouls, and was
booked for one instance before later, when the game
was in extra time, lunging into a tackle to earn a
second yellow card and be sent off with Bayern
winning 2-1, which all but sealed Dortmund's loss.
Błaszczykowski debuted for the Poland national
football team on March 28, 2006 in a friendly
against Saudi Arabia. Although he did not receive a
call up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he has been an
important part of Poland's 2008 Euro qualifying
campaign. He scored his first goal for Poland on
August 22, 2007 in a friendly against Russia.
He wears 'Kuba' on the back of his Dortmund shirt.
Kuba is a diminutive form of Jakub.
Błaszczykowski is the nephew of Jerzy Brzęczek, a
former captain of the Polish national football team.
He scored his first league goal for Borussia on
April 25, 2008 in a 1-1 draw against Eintracht
Frankfurt.
