Deyna, KazimierzBorn October 23, 1947 in Stargard Gdanski, died September 1, 1989 in San Diego, California; soccer player.
Considered to be one of the best players in the history of Polish soccer. He played 79 times with the Polish National Team, in World Championships he achieved 3rd place in 1974 and 5th in 1978; in Olympic play 1st place in 1972 and 2nd place in 1976. In 1969 and 1970 he won the Polish National Championship with the second Legia Warszawa team, while with the San Diego Sockers he won the Indoor US Soccer Championship three times (1983, 1985, 1986). In addition to his playing with Legia Warszawa (1966-78) he played with the Wlokniarz Stargard Gdanski team (1960-66), Manchester City (1971-81) and the San Diego Socers (1981-87). Twice he won the Bronze Ball (3rd place) as the best player in the vote taken by the "France Football" magazine. Six times he won the vote for most popular player taken by "Przeglad Sportowy" [Sport Review]. He was killed in an automobile accident.
From: [Sources:] Wielka Encyclopedia PWN [The Great PWN Encyclopedia] vol. 7, Warsaw 2002; Mala encyklopedia sportowa A-K [Small Sports encyclopedia A K], Warsaw 1984.
[Author:] Kazimierz Dopierala
Additional information:Nicknamed "the Croissant" for his bending shots, he scored two goals for Poland in the 1972 Olympic final.
He was one of the stars in the soccer movie classic "Victory" with Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and Pele.
He was the second Eastern European player to play in the English First Division, but he then moved to the NASL and MISL in the final years of his career.
On September 1, 1989, he died in a fiery car crash in San Diego, CA when his car hit a truck. The accident caused soccer balls to fly out of the trunk as he was just coming from coaching a team of 10-year-olds.