Grzegorz Lato

Grzegorz Bolesław Lato ( Polish pronunciation : ; born 8 April 1950) is a Polish former professional football player and manager who played as a winger.

He arrived at Stal Mielec as a teenager in 1966.

Over the next 14 years, he led Stal from the Second Division to the top tier of Polish football and its most successful era in its history.

He was a member of Poland's golden generation of football players who rose to fame in the 1970s and early 80s.

Lato represented the Poland national team for 13 years during the 1970s and 80s earning a total of 100 caps.

Over a decade, he represented Poland at five major tournaments starting with gold at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich and ending with a third-place finish at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain.

He was the top scorer of the Ekstraklasa during the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seasons.

He won his first cap under legendary Poland coach Kazimierz Górski in a qualifying game for the 1972 European Championships against West-Germany.

The game ended as 1–3 loss.

He was able to translate his prolific domestic goal-scoring record onto the international stage, where he became renowned for his striking prowess, especially in big games.

During his time there, the club would go on to win the Ekstraklasa—the Polish First-Division—twice, in 1973 and 1976, as well as be regular participants in European competitions.

He reached the peak of his career at the 1974 World Cup, where he was the leading scorer and the only Pole to-date to have won the honour.

After retiring from his playing career, he had a brief stint as manager in several clubs in and out of Poland.

The highpoint of Lato's professional career came during the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.

Poland had a tough first round, having been seeded in Group 4, along with Argentina and Italy as well as Haiti.

Lato went on to have immediate impact.

In Poland's first game against Argentina, he scored 2 goals leading Poland to a historic 3–2 win.

Buoyed, Poland hammered Haiti in the next game 7–0, with Lato adding another 2 goals.

Finally Poland beat Italy 2–1, to end the group-stage as undefeated winners of Group 4.

In the second round, Poland were seeded into Group B with West Germany, Sweden and Yugoslavia.

Lato continued his great form as the tournament progressed.

Poland defeated Sweden 1–0 and Yugoslavia 2–1, with Lato contributing the winning goals in both games.

Poland's final game of the group of was against West Germany.

The Germans had also defeated Sweden and Yugoslavia, tying both teams on points.

Thus, the game would prove decisive in deciding who would finish Group B 1st or 2nd—the winner would go to the final, the loser would go to the third-place play-off.

This era of success culminated with their appearance at the quarter-finals of the 1975-76 UEFA Cup.

He inspired the club's good form with his prolific goal scoring, amassing 111 goals in 272 appearances.

In 1980, having turned 30, Lato was finally free to leave Poland to pursue his career abroad.

Despite his age, his international performances had garnered him interest.

Lato ended up receiving a personal invitation from Pelé to play for the New York Cosmos.

However, he ultimately decided on settling in Belgium playing for K.S.C. Lokeren, scoring 12 goals over 2 seasons.

He spent the rest of the 1980s playing amateur football in Hamilton, Ontario for Polonia Hamilton—a club founded by Polish immigrants.

By 1982, Lato decided to move on, signing for Atlante F.C. in Mexico where he amassed 15 goals.

In 1984, he played in Canada in one match in the National Soccer League.

In 1991 he decided to retire from football.

Lato, as a member of Democratic Left Alliance, was a Polish Senator for the Rzeszów region, between 2001 and 2005.

On 30 October 2008, he was elected president of the Polish Football Association (PZPN).

As president of the PZPN he oversaw the Euro 2012 tournament, which was co-hosted by Poland.

He was succeeded by Zbigniew Boniek on 26 October 2012.

Lato was born in Malbork.