Ekstraklasa Exports’ Team of the Season 2024/25
- Bruce Davis
- Jun 3
- 5 min read
At the end of every season, I like to put together an article on who has been amongst the best, or the most standout Polish players throughout the year. This season is no different, but instead of a standard list or a fake awards ceremony like last year, I thought I’d put together a full starting eleven.
So as to avoid too much emphasis on one position or another, I thought it’d be best if I replicated Michał Probierz’s formation he uses as Selekcjoner with the national team, giving myself a rough template. Three at the back, two wing-backs, three central midfielders and two up top.
Therefore, without further ado, here are my picks for the best Polish players over the course of the 2024/25 season:
Now it’s time to rationalise these decisions, dear reader, so please continue as I explain my picks for each and every one of these.
Goalkeeper: Łukasz Skorupski
One of the harder positions to choose here. Wojciech Szczęsny came out of retirement to help Barcelona to several trophies and a Champions League semi-final, Sławomir Abramowicz was very good as Jagiellonia Białystok reached the Conference League quarter-finals, Kamil Grabara has played well for Wolfsburg and Cezary Miszta was one of the best goalkeepers this season in Portugal’s top flight.
However, for their first Coppa Italia in 50 years and a generally good season overall, I’ve elected Łukasz Skorupski. It’s also been his first season as Poland’s No.1 goalkeeper for the national team, and whilst it’s not all been smooth sailing he has acquitted himself well in that role too.
Defenders: Jakub Kiwior, Michał Helik, Przemysław Wiśniewski
Again, there were several contenders for the three central defensive spots. Jan Bednarek had a good season in a terrible Southampton side, Sebastian Walukiewicz was part of a good Torino team in Serie A and Jan Ziółkowski had a breakout season with Legia Warszawa.
In the end, Jakub Kiwior’s wonderful end to the season with Arsenal proved that he could conceivably be more than just a back-up at the top level with a number of strong performances against notable opponents, none more so than Real Madrid. Michał Helik was a January signing for an Oxford United team which avoided relegation relatively comfortably in the English Championship, and he immediately became a key player and a real goalscoring threat. Helik yet again proved he really should get more credit than he does both domestically and internationally.
The same could well be said of Przemysław Wiśniewski, who has starred in Serie B for a Spezia side which narrowly missed out on promotion. He even notched a couple of goals in what has been a strong year coming back from a serious knee injury which meant he had a difficult period last season.
Wing-backs: Matty Cash, Kamil Grosicki
These were perhaps the hardest positions to pick, simply because there haven’t been as many strong performances from Polish players this season as in other areas of the pitch. In the end, I’ve played it safe with at least one of these choices.
Matty Cash has had a good, fairly injury-free year with Aston Villa and was welcomed back into the fold with Poland this season too after what had been a period where he was absent from international duty with increasingly tenuous reasons. Cash proved himself more than adequate at the highest level this year in both the Champions League and the Premier League, and hopefully he carries that over into a Poland shirt which is perhaps the one criticism of him which sticks (as well as his language learning issues).
Kamil Grosicki on the other hand has seen his first year retired from international duty prove fruitful indeed, even if he does get a deserved farewell this Friday night. Suggesting that a 36 year-old who plays in the Ekstraklasa has been amongst the best this season may seem a little out of step with rational thinking, but when you look at the statistics there can be little argument. 25 goal involvements in 39 games across all competitions, not to mention captaining Pogoń Szczecin to a cup final and a top four finish in the league, Grosicki has yet again had a fine year.
Others considered for his berth were Jakub Kamiński, who at least played a few more times this season for Wolfsburg than last and got a handful of assists to his name, as well as Dominik Marczuk who is continuing to play well in the MLS and a slightly left-field consideration for Mariusz Fornalczyk who has been good both in the Ekstraklasa and especially for Poland’s U-21 side.
Midfielders: Kacper Kozłowski, Maxi Oyedele, Jakub Moder
Yet again there were many names to consider for just three spots in the midfield. So many players worth mentioning, but in the end I have to admit some favouritism won out here.
Kacper Kozłowski has had a decent first year in the Turkish Süper Lig, to the point where many of the top clubs in Turkey are seriously considering a move for him this summer. Not bad considering it looked like his career was in serious chance of stalling this time last year, and he has bounced back very well and had some great run-outs for the Polish U-21 team too.
Maxi Oyedele has seen a move to the Ekstraklasa serve him very well indeed, becoming a fully-fledged senior international and a key player in Legia Warszawa’s Conference League run as well as their Puchar Polski win. I look forward to seeing his development continue next season.
Jakub Moder was another whose career was going nowhere fast, until Feyenoord signed him in January and he immediately became a key player for the Rotterdam club. Great performances domestically and in Europe mean that we are seeing Moder get the regular football that had largely deserted him since his return from horrendous injury.
I did consider others here, in particular Antoni Kozubal, but in the end I feel that the three named here are a nicely balanced and quite deserving trio.
Strikers: Robert Lewandowski, Krzysztof Piątek
What more is there to be said for Robert Lewandowski? An injury issue to end the season as well as his decision to rest instead of join up with the national team has clouded some peoples’ view of his third year with Barcelona, but it was a year where yet again the numbers don’t lie. A 42-goal season for Lewandowski, as well as three trophies mean he had by far and away the best 2024/25 of any Polish player, yet again.
Krzysztof Piątek also had a standout year of goalscoring in Turkey and in Europe, and I for one wasn’t sure if he could’ve managed a season like the one he just has. A 31-goal year, and I’m actually quite disappointed that instead of continuing in Europe he has elected to take a massive payday in the Middle East. In any case, Piątek reminded us all this past season that he is a very capable striker.
You could make an argument for many players not named or mentioned, and were I naming substitutes or honourable mentions this article would be even longer, and hopefully just as engaging a read. I will be back soon to cover Poland’s internationals, but until then I hope you have enjoyed a slightly different way of rounding up the season.
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