Piotr Zieliński Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Piotr Zieliński
Personal information
Zieliński playing for Napoli in 2019
Date of birth	(1994-05-20) 20 May 1994 (age 29)
Place of birth	Ząbkowice Śląskie, Poland
Height	1.77 m
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Napoli
Number	20
Youth career
2003–2007	Orzeł Ząbkowice Śląskie
2007–2011	Zagłębie Lubin
2011–2012	Udinese
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2012–2016	Udinese	19	(0)
2014–2016	→ Empoli (loan)	63	(5)
2016–	Napoli	265	(36)
National team^‡
2009	Poland U15	5	(1)
2009–2010	Poland U16	6	(0)
2010–2011	Poland U17	10	(1)
2012	Poland U18	5	(1)
2011–2012	Poland U19	15	(5)
2012–2013	Poland U21	3	(1)
2013–	Poland	86	(10)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:33, 12 November 2023 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 October 2023

Piotr Sebastian Zieliński (Polish pronunciation: [ˈpjɔtr ʑɛˈlij̃skʲi]; born 20 May 1994) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Napoli and the Poland national team. During his senior career he has also played for Udinese and Empoli.

Zieliński was selected to represent Poland at UEFA Euro 2016 in France, as well as the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the pan-European UEFA Euro 2020, and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He has two brothers who are also professional footballers – Paweł and Tomasz Zieliński.

Club career
International career
Personal life
Career statistics
- Club
- International
Honours
See also

Club career

Early career

Zieliński started his career at his local club, Orzeł Ząbkowice Śląskie, where he was coached by his father. At the age of 14, he joined Zagłębie Lubin, even though he was wanted by Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool and also had trials at Feyenoord and Hereenveen. He rose through the ranks and started training with the first team at the age of 15, under Franciszek Smuda.

At 17 he moved abroad to join Udinese Calcio after they scouted him on international youth tournament.

Udinese

Zieliński made his debut in Serie A on 2 November 2012 when he replaced Antonio Di Natale in 91st minute of a match against Cagliari.

Empoli (loan)

In 2014, Zieliński joined Empoli on loan.

Napoli

Piotr Zieliński (right) in a UEFA Champions League match against Red Bull Salzburg, 2019.

On 4 August 2016, after months of transfer speculation, Zieliński moved from Udinese to Napoli for a reported €16 million. He scored his first goal with Partenopei's shirt on 3 December, in a 3–0 home win against Inter Milan; he ended his first season with six goals. On 31 August 2020 he signed new contract with Napoli until June 2023. On 31 October 2021, not only did he decide the derby between U.S. Salernitana 1919 and Napoli, scoring the only goal of the game, but with 32 goals he also became the second best Polish goal-scorer in Serie A's history (behind Arkadiusz Milik), beating Zbigniew Boniek's record. On 17 February 2022, he scored a goal for Napoli in a Europa League match against Barcelona which ended in a 1–1 draw. On 7 September 2022, he scored two goals and had one assist in a Champions League match against Liverpool F.C., which concluded in a 4–1 victory for Napoli.

International career

Zieliński at the 2018 FIFA World Cup playing against Japan.

On 4 June 2013, Zieliński made his senior international debut for the Poland national team in a friendly match against Liechtenstein.

In May 2018, he was named in Poland's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Personal life

His older brothers Tomasz and Paweł are also footballers. On 15 June 2019, Zieliński married Laura Słowiak with whom he has a son, Maksymilian (born 2021). In 2021, he passed an Italian language exam at the B2 level at the University of Naples in an effort to obtain Italian citizenship. On 6 October 2023, Zieliński formally became an Italian citizen.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Coppa Italia		Europe		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Udinese	2012–13	Serie A	9	0	0	0	0	0	—		9	0
	2013–14	Serie A	10	0	0	0	1	0	—		11	0
	Total		19	0	0	0	1	0	—		20	0
Empoli (loan)	2014–15	Serie A	28	0	2	0	—		—		30	0
	2015–16	Serie A	35	5	1	0	—		—		36	5
	Total		63	5	3	0	—		—		66	5
Napoli	2016–17	Serie A	36	5	4	1	7	0	—		47	6
	2017–18	Serie A	36	4	2	0	9	3	—		47	7
	2018–19	Serie A	36	6	1	0	12	1	—		49	7
	2019–20	Serie A	37	2	5	0	7	0	—		49	2
	2020–21	Serie A	36	8	4	0	6	2	1	0	47	10
	2021–22	Serie A	35	6	0	0	7	2	—		42	8
	2022–23	Serie A	37	3	1	0	10	4	—		48	7
	2023–24	Serie A	12	2	0	0	4	1	0	0	16	3
	Total		265	36	17	1	62	13	1	0	345	50
Career total			347	41	20	1	63	13	1	0	431	55

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Poland	2013	7	3
	2014	1	0
	2015	3	0
	2016	10	0
	2017	8	0
	2018	12	3
	2019	10	0
	2020	5	0
	2021	10	1
	2022	12	3
	2023	8	0
Total		86	10

Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zieliński goal.

List of international goals scored by Piotr Zieliński
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 August 2013	Stadion Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland	Denmark	3–2	3–2	Friendly
2	10 September 2013	San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	1–0	5–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	10 September 2013	San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	4–1	5–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	27 March 2018	Stadion Śląski, Chorzów, Poland	South Korea	3–2	3–2	Friendly
5	8 June 2018	Stadion Poznań, Poznań, Poland	Chile	2–0	2–2	Friendly
6	7 September 2018	Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna, Italy	Italy	1–0	1–1	2018–19 UEFA Nations League A
7	8 June 2021	Stadion Poznań, Poznań, Poland	Iceland	1–1	2–2	Friendly
8	29 March 2022	Stadion Śląski, Chorzów, Poland	Sweden	2–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	11 June 2022	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	2–0	2–2	2022–23 UEFA Nations League A
10	26 November 2022	Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	Saudi Arabia	1–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup