Birthday boy of the month I: Andrzej Buncol turns 65

After the World Cup, Andrzej was sent to the military club Legia Warsaw, which was not unusual in the eastern block countries at the time. He played the next four years for the club from the capital who were unpopular back home in Silesia. During the 1986 World Cup he signed a contract with the Bundesliga club FC Homburg as he definitely wanted to move to the West. After a very good year in Saarland where he played a big part in helping Homburg avoid relegation, the master of the dead ball moved under the Bayer Cross.

He gained German nationality in Leverkusen while keeping his Polish nationality too but he never played for Poland again. His international career for Poland ended after 51 appearances included him scoring six goals.

Andrzej made 146 appearances and scored 19 goals for Bayer 04 Leverkusen. He stayed under the Bayer Cross for five years and in his first year with the Werkself he won the UEFA Cup in 1988 that included the free kick assist for Bum-kun Cha to head home the third goal.

At the age of 33 he moved onto Fortuna Düsseldorf. In his first season there with Fortuna he was relegated from Bundesliga 2 to the Oberliga North Rhine but over the next two years he helped his team to return from the lower leagues to the Bundesliga, first Bundesliga 2 in 1994 and then the Bundesliga in 1995. In his last season at the age of 37, where he made another six appearances, Fortuna Düsseldorf were relegated again and he ended his playing career.

Since then he has trained youth players and for many years been the technical coach for the Bayer 04 U13 and U14 teams and he leads individual training for the most talented up-and-coming players at the Werkself.

Dear Andrzej, Many happy returns on your 65th. Stay fit and healthy for a long future at our club.