A dream of Warszawianka - part 2 (2024/25). Consolidation.

Important! This is an English language version of my career, intended for users of the Mój Football Manager portal outside Poland. The only minor exception is the screenshots, as the text remained in Polish. At this point, I would like to thank Anna Mróz, who is a research manager at one of the best (top three!) universities in the world. I am of course referring to the famous Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London. Ania has a PhD, and about 30 scientific publications. To summarise - she is an extremely competent person, whose presence on our portal and the support she provides is a real honour. Thank you! I have lived in Great Britain for over 15 years, and I think my knowledge of English is really good, but I do not feel 100% confident in all grammatical nuances. That is why I am very grateful to Ania, who helped me with translating the text. During the consultation, we changed some things, because - as you all know - "football" English is not always the same as the everyday language. Any possible mistakes are therefore my fault. Mahdi Z-ca Redaktora Naczelnego, Sponsor MFM - rok 2025, Wicemistrz Polski FM 15, Mistrz Polski FM 17, FM 19, FM 20, FM 21 i FM 22, 3. miejsce w Polsce FM 18, Typer Sezonu 2020/21 - 2.m, Typer Sezonu 2021/22 - 3.m, Menedżer Miesiąca Komentarzy: 11082 Grupa: Root Admin Ranga: Ojciec Założyciel Ranga sponsorska: Sponsor Strategiczny Dołączył: 2015-03-20 Poziom ostrzeżeń: 0

Translation: dr Anna Mróz.

Anna is a Research Manager at The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, United Kingdom.

I would like to thank Anna for her selfless help. And everything else.

Łukasz "Mahdi" Czyżycki

Only Polish footballers and Polish staff‭ ‬-‭ ‬the first flag 

This list excludes players from outside the first team and extended loan deals.‭ ‬If a player initially joined on loan and later signed permanently,‭ ‬that will be noted separately.
 

Transfers in:

01.07.2024: Michał Koj (Puszcza Niepołomice, Bosman ruling)

03.07.2024: Jordan Majchrzak (Legia Warszawa, loan)

03.07.2024: Cyprian Popielec (Zagłębie Lubin, loan)

05.07.2024: Marcel Krajewski (Legia Warszawa, loan)

06.07.2024: Michał Surzyn (free transfer)

08.07.2024: Oskar Krzyżak (Raków Częstochowa, loan)

11.07.2024: Alex Bugaj (Wisła Kraków, loan)

 

14.07.2024: Jakub Adkonis (Legia Warszawa, loan)

15.07.2024: Przemysław Mizera (Legia Warszawa, loan)

13.08.2024: Jakub Bartosz (free transfer)

 

Transfers out:

15.06.2024: Adrian Mierzejewski (retired)

30.06.2024: Franciszek Saganowski (end of loan)

01.07.2024: Konrad Plewa (Lechia Gdańsk, 39 000 euros)

01.07.2024: Paweł Sasin (Kotwica Kołobrzeg, Bosman ruling)

01.07.2024: Łukasz Piątek (Znicz Pruszków, Bosman ruling)

04.07.2024: Bartłomiej Maliszewski (Pro Vercelli, 3 900 [6 750] euros)

08.07.2024: Filip Piszczek (Radomiak Radom, 195 000 [220 000] euros)

10.07.2024: Daniel Smuga (Wieczysta Kraków, 5 250 euros)

15.07.2024: Oskar Nowak (Wieczysta Kraków, 18 000 [37 500] euros)

23.07.2024: Konrad Budek (Kotwica Kołobrzeg, 3 200 [4 000] euros)

03.08.2024: Gracjan Szyszka (Legnago Salus, 8 500 [11 000] euros)

 

During the summer transfer window,‭ ‬the team underwent significant rejuvenation.‭ ‬We now had only three players over the age of‭ ‬30‭ (‬Koj,‭ ‬Nowak and Furman‭)‬.‭ ‬Among the new arrivals,‭ ‬the highest hopes were pinned on Krajewski,‭ ‬Adkonis,‭ ‬and Krzyżak.‭ ‬Majchrzak and Popielec also looked like promising,‭ ‬development-oriented players.‭ ‬The problem is,‭ ‬all five are only on loan.‭ ‬In theory,‭ ‬that shouldn't worry me,‭ ‬but too many loan deals can be a real issue.‭ ‬I learned that the hard way this season‭!

Two other players,‭ ‬Bugaj and Mizera,‭ ‬were recalled by their parent clubs as early as autumn.‭ ‬Mizera delivered an excellent performance in the Polish Cup,‭ ‬but unfortunately,‭ ‬we lost‭ ‬3‭–‬2‭ ‬to Podbeskidzie and were knocked out in the first round.‭ ‬With Niezgoda as the first-choice striker,‭ ‬Mizera naturally didn’t get much playing time.‭ ‬Bugaj,‭ ‬on the other hand,‭ ‬had more opportunities‭ — ‬he served as Klimczak’s backup at left-back.‭ ‬Sadly,‭ ‬both players were recalled before they could make a lasting impact.

We kicked off our league campaign on a promising note.‭ ‬In the opener,‭ ‬we defeated Stal Mielec,‭ ‬with the goals coming from two newcomers:‭ ‬Krzyżak and Majchrzak.

Overall,‭ ‬we went unbeaten in our first five matches and climbed into the top half of the table.‭ ‬Unfortunately,‭ ‬things took a turn for the worse‭ — ‬a painful nine-game winless streak in the league,‭ ‬stretching from September‭ ‬21st to December‭ ‬1st,‭ ‬brought us back down to earth.‭ ‬It wasn’t until the final two matches of the round that spirits were lifted again:‭ ‬a commanding‭ ‬5‭–‬2‭ ‬win over Górnik Zabrze and a hard-fought,‭ ‬somewhat lucky‭ ‬3‭–‬2‭ ‬victory against Stal in Mielec.

We were in‭ ‬12th place,‭ ‬with a seven-point cushion over the relegation zone.

The fact that Jarosław Niezgoda was unwilling to even consider extending his contract,‭ ‬which was set to expire in a few months,‭ ‬forced me to search for a new striker.‭ ‬I had two conditions:‭ ‬he had to be quick and strong in the air.‭ ‬This was tied to a rather basic tactical approach,‭ ‬relying on crosses into the penalty box.‭ ‬But,‭ ‬well,‭ ‬we don’t really have any football artists in our squad.

Before I could find the right candidate for the striker position,‭ ‬we managed to scrape together a club-record‭ ‬€500,000‭ ‬to sign Kacper Duda,‭ ‬a midfielder from Wisła Kraków.‭ ‬This player has a real‭ "‬spark,‭" ‬as evidenced by his flair,‭ ‬one of his standout attributes.

The‭ "‬quick and good in the air‭" ‬striker was found at Arka Gdynia.‭ ‬20-year-old Marcel Szymański will get his big,‭ ‬life-changing opportunity.‭ ‬I paid‭ ‬€225,000‭ ‬for him.

It's also important to mention the departures.‭ ‬Krystian Nowak made a brief appearance at the start of the spring season,‭ ‬but on February‭ ‬12,‭ ‬2025,‭ ‬he left for Irish club Dundalk‭ (‬€58,000‭ [‬€72,000‭] ‬transfer fee‭)‬.‭ ‬He stated that at the age of‭ ‬30,‭ ‬he no longer had the desire to watch Krzyżak and Koj every week.

As for Majchrzak,‭ ‬whom I had high hopes for,‭ ‬he was recalled from his loan after just a few spring matches because...‭ ‬he didn’t play in the right position.‭ ‬It's absolute madness‭!

As for the results,‭ ‬in the first five matches,‭ ‬we managed to secure only one victory.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬our new signing,‭ ‬Kacper Duda,‭ ‬played an excellent match against Zagłębie Sosnowiec.‭ ‬Two goals and an assist‭ — ‬yes,‭ ‬this is exactly what we expected from a player we paid half a million euros for‭!

The turning point came in the match against Lech in Poznań.‭ ‬Although we lost‭ ‬1‭–‬0‭ ‬due to a goal from Jesper Karlström in the‭ ‬88th minute,‭ ‬we played with a different system for the first time that day‭! ‬Previously,‭ ‬I had been using a setup with two defensive midfielders and one central midfielder,‭ ‬but in Poznań ‬we switched to a more traditional formation.

The effect was rapid‭! ‬From March‭ ‬17th until the end of the season,‭ ‬we remained unbeaten in ten matches.‭ ‬The most valuable result was definitely the‭ ‬1‭–‬0‭ ‬away win against Raków Częstochowa,‭ ‬who were confidently marching toward their second Polish championship title.

It’s worth noting that the team captain,‭ ‬Dominik Furman,‭ ‬often started matches on the bench.‭ ‬The central midfield was made up of Kocaba as the defensive midfielder,‭ ‬with Adkonis and Duda playing as the central attacking midfielders.‭ Furman would come on when the game needed to be calmed down.

I also preferred to field Marcel Szymański in the centre of attack over Niezgoda,‭ ‬who is on his way out.‭ ‬The former Arka striker made a strong start to the top division,‭ ‬scoring‭ ‬5‭ ‬goals in‭ ‬12‭ ‬matches‭! ‬This clearly showed that it was worth investing in young,‭ ‬talented Polish players.‭ ‬Looking at the number of minutes we have given our youth players,‭ ‬I’ll keep it short‭ — ‬I’m proud‭!

Warszawianka finished in a solid‭ ‬9th place and...‭ ‬next season we are hungry for even more‭!

League:

Players / Position / Appearances / Goals / Assists / Average Rating:

plus players who left during the season:

Polish Cup:

Players / Position / Appearances / Goals / Assists / Average Rating:

Players / Position / Appearances / Goals / Assists / Average Rating:

Footballers who played in all official competitions.
Players / Position / Appearances / Goals / Assists / Average Rating:

plus players who left during the season:

Team captains:

D. Furman‭ – ‬25 (‬25 ‬‬from the beginning of the match
M. Koj – ‬9‭ (‬9‭)
J. Bursztyn– ‬1‭ (‬1‭)

Hat-tricks:

-

Missed penalties:

-

Saved penalties:

L:‭ ‬09.11.2024‭ – ‬D.‭ ‬Ciężkowski‭ (‬vs Legia Warszawa‭)‬,‭ ‬scorer: J.‭ ‬Elitim

Penalties scored:

L:‭ ‬17.05.2025‭ – ‬J.‭ ‬Niezgoda‭ (‬vs ŁKS‭)

Free kicks:

L:‭ ‬10.05.2025‭ – ‬D.‭ ‬Furman‭ (‬vs Legia Warszawa‭)

Appearances for the senior Poland national team:

-

WARSZAWIANKA - season after season
(season, league, Polish Cup, Polish Super Cup, Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Warszawianka top scorer - all competitions)

(season, finances + / -, debt, average attendance  ↑ ↓ )

WINNERS OF THE MAIN TROPHIES IN POLAND
(the number of triumphs in the competition is listed in brackets; only achievements from my game world are counted,‭ ‬not real-life history)

(season, league, top scorer, Polish Cup, Polish Super Cup)

POLISH FOOTBALL CLUBS IN EUROPEAN CUPS

WINNERS OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CLUB TROPHIES
(the number of triumphs in the competition is listed in brackets; only achievements from my game world are counted,‭ ‬not real-life history)

(season, Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Super Cup)