Dariusz Adamczuk (1999 to 2002)
Dariusz was the first Polish footballer to play for Rangers, signing under freedom of contract from Dundee in 1999 amidst interest from Old Firm rivals, Celtic. To date, Mateusz Zukowski is the only other player from Poland to have represented the Club.
The midfielder had enjoyed two spells on Tayside during the 1990’s, initially signing from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of £250,000. Although his first spell was brief, his performances earned him a move to Italy with Udinese doubling that initial outlay. Within a matter of months, Dariusz had become Dundee’s record purchase and sale.
On his return to Scotland, he helped Dundee clinch promotion back to the top flight and became the club’s Player of the Year in their first season back in the Premier League. His impact at Dens Park was not forgotten and in 2021 the player was inducted into the Dundee Hall of Fame.
With the Polish internationalist becoming a free agent at the end of season 1998/99, it was not surprising that there was genuine interest from several teams including both sides of the Old Firm. Although Adamczuk’s best position was in midfield, he could also fill in at right full-back and so offered versatility as Rangers aimed to compete on multiple fronts including qualification to the European Champions League
It did appear that manager Dick Advocaat viewed him more as a wing-back but the Warsaw born player was happy to join and was handed the number 17 jersey. An industrious ball winner, Dariusz also possessed a good range of passing ability and had the vision to pick out a forward runner.
It was in a Champions League qualifier where Adamczuk made his Rangers debut, the 29 year-old starting at full-back as Rangers comfortably defeated FC Haka 4-1 in Finland. With a midfield containing Barry Ferguson, Claudio Reyna and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, it was apparent that Dariusz had a real challenge on his hands when it came to opportunities to play in his preferred position. With fans favourite Jorge Albertz resigned to a 10-minute cameo role in tFinland, there was no doubt that Rangers were exceptionally well covered in the midfield areas.
The season started positively for Rangers and Dariusz was involved in the majority of matches despite often appearing as a substitute. A truly memorable 2-0 win over Parma at Ibrox (in which he did not feature) had put Gers in a strong position to make the group stages as Dick Advocaat’s side headed to Northern Italy for the return leg. The hard working and defensive attributes of Dariusz were preferred in the starting XI as Adamczuk appeared in his favoured midfield role. Rangers dug deep, narrowly losing to the star-studded Serie A side by a single goal thus securing qualification.
Despite being drawn in what seemed the toughest group available (our opponents being Bayern Munich, Valencia and PSV Eindhoven), Rangers were genuinely unfortunate not to progress through to the knock-out rounds. Adamczuk would frustratingly find himself watching those group matches from the sidelines. However, with Advocaat utilising the full squad, Dariusz would continue to appear domestically on a regular basis.
With Rangers having to console themselves with dropping into the UEFA Cup, the draw could once again scarcely have been more difficult. Dariusz was in the starting line up as Borussia Dortmund were defeated 2-0 at Ibrox. However, the Germans would mirror that score line in Dortmund with Rangers crashing out after extra time and penalties. It would prove to be Adamczuk’s last appearance of his debut season. He had made 16 in total with 5 of those coming from the substitutes bench. Rangers would clinch the League and Scottish Cup double but by the time the silverware was being presented Dariusz was fading out of the picture.
The player struggled somewhat with injuries and the lack of a consistent run in the team. Nowhere near as technically gifted as some of his midfield peers at Ibrox, playing regularly to maintain his confidence and fitness was going to be key to his success at Rangers and, sadly for the player, that never materialised despite a relatively assured start.
With the signing of Fernando Ricksen in the summer of 2000, opportunities at full-back were now also likely to reduce. Although the Dutchman would have an extremely difficult start to his own Rangers career, it was not to the benefit of Adamczuk who would be restricted to just three appearances which arrived during the autumn of 2000. With the first two of those three appearances ending in defeat, it was far from ideal. However, a substitute appearance at Pittodrie during a 2-1 win over Aberdeen would see his Rangers career end with a victory.
A brief loan spell to English side Wigan Athletic followed in season 2001/02, by which time it had become clear that he was no longer part of the plans at Ibrox.
His relationship with the under pressure Advocaat, like many others, became strained. The Dutchman was notoriously distant from his players but even more so with those who were not part of the picture. Gradually, Dariusz began to feel like the forgotten man within Ibrox and was eventually diagnosed with depression and therefore unavailable for selection. Perhaps naturally, the Rangers support viewed this development with suspicion. At the age of just 31, the player chose to retire at the end of his Scottish adventure and returned to his homeland.
Dariusz would later join Pogon Szczecin where he would become sporting director and witness their own rise from the fourth tier of Polish football to the Ekstraklasa (top division).
by Rick Plews
