Taras Wiktorowycz Romanczuk (Polish pronunciation: [ˈtaras roˈmantʂuk] also spelled Romanchuk, Ukrainian: Тарас Вікторович Романчук; born 14 November 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia Białystok, which he captains. Born in Ukraine, he plays for the Poland national team.

Taras Romanczuk
Personal information
Full name Taras Wiktorowycz Romanczuk[1]
Birth name Taras Viktorovych Romanchuk
Date of birth (1991-11-14) 14 November 1991 (age 33)[2][1]
Place of birth Kovel, Ukraine[1]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Jagiellonia Białystok
Number 6
Youth career
2004–2005 MFK Kovel
2005 BRW-BIK Volodymyr-Volynskyi
2006–2008 MFK Kovel
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Apperkot Kovel (futsal) 34 (13)
2013–2014 Legionovia Legionowo 45 (3)
2014– Jagiellonia Białystok 316 (29)
International career
2018– Poland 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 November 2024

Club career

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After starting his youth career for MFK Kovel and BRW-BIK (both Volhynian youth clubs) at Ukrainian Youth Football League, Romanczuk played for Ukrainian mini-football club Apperkot Kovel, making his debut in 2010.

Legionovia Legionowo

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In February 2013, Romanczuk joined Legionovia Legionowo in the fourth division in 2013. He made He his debut on 13 April 2013 in a league match against Zawisza Rzgów, when in the 46th minute he replaced Łukasz Prusik on the pitch. He scored his first goal on 5 June 2013 in a 3–0 league win against GKP Targówek.[3] Legionovia finished that season as the winner of their group, thus ensuring the promotion to the II liga.

Jagiellonia

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On 21 July 2014, Romanczuk joined Polish Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia Białystok on a one-year contract with the option of extending for another two years.[4] He made his debut on 15 August 2014, replacing Jonatan Straus in the 46th minute of the league match against Legia Warsaw. His first goal for Jagiellonia recorded on 9 November 2014 during a 5–2 loss against Ruch Chorzów.[5]

On 2 July 2015, Romanczuk made his European debut in a 1–0 win against Kruoja Pakruojis in the UEFA Europa League.[6] In the summer of 2016, Turkish side Konyaspor had a bid rejected for the player. He became vice-captain to the captain Rafał Grzyb.[7]

During the 2016–17 Ekstraklasa season, Romanczuk aided Jagiellonia as they finished the campaign as runners-up for the first time in their history in the Ekstraklasa, two points behind the winners Legia Warsaw.[8] and at the beginning of January 2017 he was honoured with the award of the best defensive midfielder of Ekstraklasa in 2016.[9] During the 2017–18 Ekstraklasa, Jagiellonia achieved a second-place finish for the second season running, after finishing three points behind Legia yet again.[10]

On 20 April 2024, Romanczuk played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away win over Zagłębie Lubin; it was his 300th Ekstraklasa appearance for Jagiellonia, and he became the first player in the club's history to achieve such feat.[11] As the club's captain, he led them to their first-ever Ekstraklasa title in May 2024.[12]

International career

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Romanczuk received Polish citizenship on 15 March 2018, making him eligible for the Poland national team.[13] Taras was called up for friendlies against Nigeria and South Korea, subsequently making his debut against the latter, playing 61 minutes before being subbed for Arkadiusz Milik.[14]

In May 2018, he was a surprise omission from the initial 35-man preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[15]

In March 2024, he received his first call-up in almost six years for UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-off matches against Estonia and Wales to be played on 21 and 26 March.[16] He made an appearance in the latter, coming on as a substitute at the start of the second half of extra-time.[17]

On 29 May 2024, Romanczuk was named the 29-man preliminary squad for UEFA Euro 2024.[18] He then scored his first international goal in a friendly against his ancestral Ukraine on 7 June 2024, before leaving the pitch with an injury in the 60th minute.[19] Later that day, he was confirmed to have made the squad for the tournament.[20]

Personal life

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Romanczuk was born and raised in Ukraine, but has spent all of his professional career in Poland. He also has Polish roots on one side of his family: his great-grandfather was a farmer from Sobibór and his grandmother was born in Włodawa (1939).

He received Polish citizenship in March 2018.[13]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 7 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Polish Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Legionovia Legionowo 2012–13 III liga, gr. A 13 1 13 1
2013–14 II liga East 32 2 32 2
Total 45 3 45 3
Jagiellonia Białystok 2014–15 Ekstraklasa 27 4 2 0 29 4
2015–16 Ekstraklasa 33 3 2 0 4[a] 0 39 3
2016–17 Ekstraklasa 33 5 2 0 35 5
2017–18 Ekstraklasa 33 5 1 0 4[a] 1 38 6
2018–19 Ekstraklasa 33 1 5 2 4[a] 2 42 5
2019–20 Ekstraklasa 35 3 1 0 36 3
2020–21 Ekstraklasa 25 2 1 0 26 2
2021–22 Ekstraklasa 30 3 1 0 31 3
2022–23 Ekstraklasa 24 1 1 0 25 1
2023–24 Ekstraklasa 30 1 5 0 35 1
2024–25 Ekstraklasa 13 1 1 0 9[b] 0 0 0 23 1
Total 316 29 22 2 21 3 0 0 359 34
Career total 361 32 22 2 21 3 0 0 404 37
  1. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, three appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

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As of match played 15 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Poland 2018 1 0
2024 4 1
Total 5 1
Scores and results list Poland goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Romanczuk goal
List of international goals scored by Taras Romanczuk
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 June 2024 National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland 3   Ukraine 3–0 3–1 Friendly

Honours

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Legionovia Legionowo

Jagiellonia Białystok

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Poland - T. Romanczuk - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  2. ^ UEFA.com. "Taras Romanchuk | Poland | European Qualifiers". UEFA.com. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  3. ^ https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.co.uk&sl=pl&sp=nmt4&u=http://www.90minut.pl/mecz.php%3Fid_mecz%3D874667&xid=17259,15700022,15700124,15700149,15700168,15700186,15700190,15700201,15700208&usg=ALkJrhiBNHFLoJzfKNXSWBTHxNIHZTebxw [dead link]
  4. ^ Т.Романчук: "Яґеллонія — мій шанс розвиватися далі" (in Ukrainian). football.ua. 27 December 2014.
  5. ^ "T-Mobile Ekstraklasa: Ruch Chorzów - Jagiellonia Białystok 5:2". 9 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Jagiellonia zwycięża w końcówce".
  7. ^ "TARAS ROMANCZUK AND RAFAŁ GRZYB BEFORE THE MATCH AGAINST RIO AVE" (in Polish). Jagiellonia. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Feta w Białymstoku. Jagiellonia wicemistrzem Polski (Zdjęcia, wideo)". 4 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Taras Romanczuk najlepszym defensywnym pomocnikiem 2016 roku". 9 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Jagiellonia wygrała z Wisłą Płock. Jednak to nie wystarczyło, by zostać mistrzem" (in Polish). przegladsportowy.pl. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Trener lidera nie ma wątpliwości. "Jest legendą tego klubu"". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). 20 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  12. ^ a b Kowalski, Jakub (25 May 2024). "Historyczny triumf! Jagiellonia Białystok mistrzem Polski". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Taras Romanczuk został obywatelem Polski. "To wyjątkowy dzień w moim życiu"" (in Polish). przegladsportowy.pl. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  14. ^ "Brawa dla Romanczuka. Udany debiut zawodnika Jagiellonii" (in Polish). przegladsportowy.pl. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  15. ^ "Country switch by Romanczuk backfires with Polish World Cup snub". 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Powołania na marcowe mecze reprezentacji Polski" [Call-ups to the Polish national team for March matches] (in Polish). Polish Football Association. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Taras Romanczuk – zadaniowiec na baraże, czy kadrowicz Probierza na dłużej?". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). 28 March 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  18. ^ Adamiec, Andrzej (29 May 2024). "Znamy szeroką kadrę piłkarskiej reprezentacji Polski na mistrzostwa Europy". polsatsport.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  19. ^ "Udany sprawdzian". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Michał Probierz ogłosił kadrę na Euro 2024" (in Polish). Polish Football Association. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  21. ^ "III liga 2012/2013, grupa: łódzko-mazowiecka" (in Polish). Retrieved 21 January 2024.
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