Jakub Rzeźniczak

Jakub Rzeźniczak (born 26 October 1986) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. Besides Poland, he has played in Azerbaijan.^[1]

Jakub Rzeźniczak

Personal information
Full name	Jakub Rzeźniczak
Date of birth	(1986-10-26) 26 October 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Łódź, Poland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
	ŁKS Łódź
1996–2003	Widzew Łódź
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2004	Widzew Łódź	11	(0)
2004–2017	Legia Warsaw	249	(12)
2006–2007	→ Widzew Łódź (loan)	25	(0)
2017–2019	Qarabağ	25	(1)
2019–2023	Wisła Płock	90	(3)
2023–2024	Kotwica Kołobrzeg	16	(0)
2025	Stal Kraśnik	11	(0)
International career
2004–2008	Poland U21	16	(0)
2008–2014	Poland	9	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 09:18, 19 June 2025 (UTC)

Club career

During his first couple of seasons at Legia Warsaw, Rzeźniczak struggled with consistency, and was eventually loaned out to Widzew Łódź, where he spent the 2006–07 season. He returned to Legia the next season and eventually became a regular starter.

On 6 July 2017, Rzeźniczak signed a two-year contract with Azerbaijani club Qarabağ.^[2] Rzeźniczak was released by Qarabağ at the end of his contract.^[3]

Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Rzeźniczak returned to Poland and signed a one-year contract with Wisła Płock.^[4]

On 19 June 2023, Rzeźniczak joined II liga club Kotwica Kołobrzeg.^[5] In the autumn round of the 2023–24 II liga season, he made 16 appearances, recorded one assist, and also served as the team's captain.^[6] On 30 December 2023, the club issued an announcement stating that Rzeźniczak was given a free hand to look for a new team.^[7] On 9 January 2024, Kotwica unilaterally terminated the player's deal, citing his breach of the contract and the Polish Football Association's Code of Ethics.^[8] In November 2024, Rzeźniczak won a court ruling against Kotwica for unjust termination, obligating the club to pay him arrears of wages with interest.^[9]

On 4 April 2025, Rzeźniczak announced his return to professional football, joining fifth-tier club Stal Kraśnik on a three-month deal with an extension option.^[10] He made 11 appearances as Stal won the IV liga Lublin title, earning promotion to the fourth tier. He left the club at the conclusion of the season.^[11]

International career

Rzeźniczak was formerly a regular member of the Poland U21 team. He has earned nine caps for the senior national team.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 14 June 2025.^[12][13]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Widzew Łódź	2003–04	Ekstraklasa	11	0	—		—		—		11	0
Legia Warsaw	2004–05	Ekstraklasa	18	0	9	0	1[b]	0	—		28	0
	2005–06	Ekstraklasa	16	0	5	0	2[b]	0	—		23	0
	2007–08	Ekstraklasa	21	0	5	0	—		3[c]	0	29	0
	2008–09	Ekstraklasa	23	1	3	1	4[b]	0	6[d]	0	36	2
	2009–10	Ekstraklasa	23	0	3	0	3[e]	0	—		29	0
	2010–11	Ekstraklasa	22	1	6	0	—		—		28	1
	2011–12	Ekstraklasa	15	0	6	0	7[e]	0	—		28	0
	2012–13	Ekstraklasa	12	1	3	0	4[e]	0	1[f]	0	20	1
	2013–14	Ekstraklasa	29	4	2	0	11[g]	1	—		42	5
	2014–15	Ekstraklasa	31	5	6	0	13[h]	0	0	0	50	5
	2015–16	Ekstraklasa	20	0	5	0	10[e]	1	1[f]	0	36	1
	2016–17	Ekstraklasa	19	0	1	0	6[i]	0	1[f]	0	27	0
	Total		249	12	54	1	61	2	12	0	376	15
Widzew Łódź (loan)	2006–07	Ekstraklasa	25	0	1	0	—		1[c]	0	27	0
Legia Warsaw II	2014–15	III liga, group A	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2015–16	III liga, group A	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	Total		2	0	—		—		—		2	0
Qarabağ	2017–18	Azerbaijan Premier League	14	0	2	0	11[i]	0	—		27	0
	2018–19	Azerbaijan Premier League	11	1	1	0	9[j]	0	—		21	1
	Total		25	1	3	0	20	0	—		48	1
Wisła Płock	2019–20	Ekstraklasa	16	2	0	0	—		—		16	2
	2020–21	Ekstraklasa	21	1	1	0	—		—		22	1
	2021–22	Ekstraklasa	28	0	1	0	—		—		29	0
	2022–23	Ekstraklasa	25	0	0	0	—		—		25	0
	Total		90	3	2	0	—		—		92	3
Kotwica Kołobrzeg	2023–24	II liga	16	0	1	0	—		—		17	0
Stal Kraśnik	2024–25	IV liga Lublin	11	0	—		—		—		11	0
Career total			429	16	60	1	72	2	13	0	574	19

1. Includes Polish Cup, Azerbaijan Cup
2. Appearance in UEFA Cup
3. Appearance in Ekstraklasa Cup
4. Five appearances in Ekstraklasa Cup, one appearance in Polish Super Cup
5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
6. Appearance in Polish Super Cup
7. Five appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League
8. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances in UEFA Europa League
9. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
10. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[14]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Poland
	2008	1	0
	2009	5	0
	2011	1	0
	2012	1	0
	2014	1	0
Total		9	0

Honours

Legia Warsaw

• Ekstraklasa: 2005–06, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17
• Polish Cup: 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Polish Super Cup: 2008

Qarabağ

• Azerbaijan Premier League: 2017–18, 2018–19

Stal Kraśnik

• IV liga Lublin: 2024–25^[15]