Born on February 23, 1962; height: 177 cm; weight: 84 kg (71 kg during his football career); position on the field: midfielder or striker; clubs: Sęp Żelechów, AZS AWF Warsaw, Korona Kielce, Spartakus Daleszyce; coaching career: Korona, Spartakus, Naprzód Jędrzejów, GKS Nowiny. NOW HE COACHES SZYDŁOWIANKA. Marek Parzyszek, a legend of Korona, and a graduate of Sęp, was a star of Kielce football. He was chosen for the 30th anniversary eleven of Korona Kielce. He is the second top scorer in the history of this club.

He started his career in Sęp Żelechów. In the early 80s, Sęp played in the third league for one season. It was the biggest success for a small club from the Garwolin county. The best scorer was young striker Marek Parzyszek. He scored 11 goals and would probably have scored more if not for an injury.

- In the third round of the second half of the season, we competed against the AZS AWF team from the capital. After my goal and Zbigniew Rodak's goal, we managed to equalize from 0-2 to 2-2. Unfortunately, I didn't finish the match. In a battle for the ball, I collided with the current coach of Górnik Łęczna, Jacek Zieliński, and broke my shoulder blade. This is a rather rare injury in football - recalls Parzyszek.

Sęp Żelechów had a very good start to the league. After drawing with Stal Stalowa Wola 0-0 and winning against AZS AWF Biała Podlaska 2-0 and AZS Warsaw 3-2, they were in the lead! Parzyszek, with three goals, was among the top scorers. Despite their ambitious play, the team from Żelechów suffered the bitterness of relegation. The good performances of Parzyszek, Janusz Białek (a well-known coach in the top league), the Rodak brothers, Jan Bezler, Witold Jaśkiewicz, as well as younger players such as Sławomir Mazurek and Henryk Lewoszewski, were not enough to prevent the team's demotion.

- I came during the best times in Sęp's history. My only coach and mentor was Bogusław Wójtowicz. We're still friends to this day. I debuted in the senior team, I remember it like it was yesterday, on October 28, 1976, in a fourth league match against Czarni Siedlce. I was only 14 years old. We won 2-0, and I scored one goal. The third league was a big event for a small town, and we were not prepared for such a high level of competition. We played our matches on a field located in the old park. There were power poles just beyond the sidelines, so we had to wrap them in mattresses to ensure the players' safety. It may have looked funny, but if we hadn't done that, we would have had to play our home games somewhere else - recalls Parzyszek.

The fame of the talented, goal-scoring footballer spread to many clubs. Our interviewee received offers to play for Stal St. Wola, as well as Hutnik and Ursus Warsaw. At the urging of Wójtowicz, he decided to study and play for the AZS AWF in the capital city.

- It was a very good decision. Without education, you can't do much in today's reality. My sons chose to focus on school, and rightly so. I don't encourage them to play football, and even discourage them. My younger son, 16-year-old Piotr, played in Korona's youth team, but he doesn't see his future in football. My 23-year-old son Marcin is studying dentistry. He will have a great profession - says the head of the family.

Parzyszek was nicknamed "Sęp" (Eng. "Vulture") in AZS. Not only because he came from a team with that name, but also because he was fierce, incredibly ambitious, and never gave up on the field.

- For four years of studies we played in the third league, even though the club was purely amateur. We mowed the grass on the field ourselves, we washed our own jerseys. Nobody did it for us, but it was good because it was very educational - says 41-year-old Parzyszek.

In 1987, he moved with his family to Kielce. He could have ended up in Bron Radom, but he chose Korona. The team from Swietokrzyskie offered him accommodation, and it was also important that two other players from his native region of Siedlce, Marek Czyżkowski and Andrzej Brzeszczyński, played there. Parzyszek quickly became a favorite of the Kielce fans. In the 1989/90 season, he became the top scorer with 24 goals, and the team was promoted to the second league. In total, he scored 51 goals for Korona in league matches, which puts him in second place on the club's all-time list, after Henryk Kiszkis (61). This summer, a match was held to celebrate Korona's 30th anniversary. Parzyszek was selected for the best eleven players of this period! The match was played on a forest pitch without stands and changing rooms. The Reds, with the Sęp Żelechów graduate, defeated the Yellows 3-2.

- Korona is a part of our life and Kielce sports. It must survive longer than us - stated Parzyszek after the final whistle.

Three years playing in the second league was undoubtedly the most successful period of Marek's playing career. He scored goals almost on demand, against well-known clubs whose goalkeepers were solid.

- A lot of matches stuck in my memory. We drew 1-1 with Widzew Łódź, I scored a goal, but after my foul on Mirosław Myśliński, Łódź equalized. In Szczecin, we lost to Pogoń 0-3, and there were as many as 15,000 spectators in the stands. An amazing impression, the hosts had such support that we couldn't figure out what was going on. The score was already set at halftime. At that time, 4-5 thousand people came to Korona's matches, and up to 8 thousand for cup matches. In the rematch, there was a 1-1 draw. I managed to beat Radosław Majdan. Another future Olympian and Polish national team player, Dariusz Adamczuk, scored a goal for the porters. We won 1-0 against Lechia in Gdańsk, with 12,000 fans in attendance, and I scored a goal at the end. The home fans ran onto the pitch, but the score was maintained. My teammate Lubieniecki had bad luck. After coming onto the pitch, he received one yellow card, then another, and as a result, a red card. Later, he was beaten by one of the pseudo-fans - says Parzyszek.

Korona performed amazingly well in the Polish Cup. In September 1991, they eliminated the Polish champion Zagłębie Lubin. In extra time, Kielce were leading 2-1, but the guests, who were already playing without Wadim Rogowskoj who was sent off with a red card, were awarded a penalty kick.

- Fortunately, Piotr Gil saved Olbiński's penalty. In the last minutes, I scored to make it 3:1 and the sensation became a fact - adds the king of the penalty area, as they called "Sęp".

After relegation to the third league, Parzyszek was a player-coach for one round in Korona. Under his leadership, young players who later played in the top league such as Maciej Pastuszka, Dariusz Kozubek, and the late Benedykt Nocoń were promoted to the team. He started coaching full-time in 1996, becoming a player-coach for Spartakus Daleszyce.

- I only played when I had to. Within two years, we advanced from the district league to the third league. The team consisted of local players and those who were unwanted in Korona and Błękitni Kielce. We managed to create a decent team from them. We were the only rural club in the third league. Daleszyce is a town of three thousand inhabitants that, thanks to the involvement of the commune authorities, private individuals and companies, and above all, the president Jan Cedro, had its "five" minutes. After the first round, we were at the top. In the autumn, we lost only one game to Lublinianka. Unfortunately, we were relegated. And I wouldn't like to talk about the behind-the-scenes of the relegation. It's always hard for newcomers - he says mysteriously.

He worked for one season at Naprzód Jędrzejów, a team in the fourth league. One of his players was Waldemar Laskowiecki, well-known from the fields of Siedlce. Since 2000, he had been coaching GKS Nowiny, which finished in fifth, third, and second place under his leadership. He resigned from coaching the team a few weeks ago.

- For the first time since I've been coaching Nowiny, we lost two games in a row, to Granat Skarżysko and Orlęta Kielce, both 0:2. I will be in the club until the end of the year, working with the youth teams. I'm actually looking forward to having a break and being able to spend more time with my family. I've never complained about having too few responsibilities - training, matches, serving as the chairman of the coaches' council in the Świętokrzyskie Football Association, as well as my job at the Economic School Complex - he admits.

He often visits his hometown. His wife, Elżbieta, comes from Garwolin. Twice he went with the Nowiny team on preseason camps to Miętne. He played friendlies with Pogoń Siedlce and Zryw Sobolew, and there was time for talks and memories with former teammates from the pitch.

Radosław Gielo

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