Spirydion Albański

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Spirydion Albanski (October 4, 1907 – March 28, 1992), nicknamed "Spirytus" and "Romek", was a Polish football goalkeeper, one of the best in the country in the 1930s. He played for Pogoń Lwów and the Polish National Team.

Albański was born in Lwów (Lviv). High school graduate, after the Second World War, when forced to move from Lwów to Upper Silesia, worked in coal-mining industry, later a civil servant, also a soccer coach.

Soccer career: Pogoń Lwów (1928-1939), after the Soviets captured Lwów in late September 1939 (see: Polish September Campaign#Phase 2: Soviet aggression), represented newly created teams of Dinamo Lwów and Spartak Lwów. In 1944, as borders of Poland moved westwards (see: Oder-Neisse line), Albański, together with thousands of Lwów's inhabitants, was forced to leave the city. Firstly, he stayed in Rzeszów, where he played for Resovia Rzeszów. Then, in 1945-46, he played a few games for Pogon Katowice.

His best seasons however were those spent in Pogoń. In the years 1928-1939 Albański played in 234 games of Polish Soccer League, which is an absolute record among Pogoń's players. Also, in 18 games (another record for all interwar goalies) represented Poland, including matches of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

In the 1930s Albański, a tall and handsome man, was among the most popular athletes in Poland. He was very skilled as a goalkeeper, but some claimed he was too skinny (at the beginning of career weighted only 50 kilograms, with a height of 176 centimeters although later he gained up to some 62 kilograms). He enjoyed great respect from his colleagues in Pogoń, and was the captain of the team since 1936. In the period of 1930-1939 played in all games of Pogoń, never missing even a minute of play (with 174 consecutive matches altogether).

Albański died in Katowice.

Spirydion Albański

See also