Thiago Cionek


Thiago Rangel Cionek is a Brazilian-born Polish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club SPAL and the Polish national team.

Club career

Born in Curitiba, Paraná, Cionek began his career with local Cuiabá Esporte Clube. He moved to Europe for a brief spell at Portugal's GD Bragança before returning to Brazil with Clube de Regatas Brasil.
In 2008, Cionek went back to Europe, playing four seasons with Jagiellonia Białystok in his ancestral Poland. The team won the 2009–10 Polish Cup and the 2010 Polish SuperCup.
He then had a year in the Italian Serie B with Padova Calcio, before signing for another club from the same division, Modena FC on 2 September 2013. On 11 January 2016, he joined his third Italian club, US Città di Palermo of Serie A. Two years later, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season, he was sold to S.P.A.L. of the same league on a 2-year contract.

International career

While having been born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil, Cionek's family is of Polish descent and he therefore applied for Polish citizenship, which he received in October 2011. Cionek made his international debut for Poland on 13 May 2014, starting in a goalless friendly draw against Germany in Hamburg. Cionek then was called up by Poland's national team to play in the 2016 European Championship in France.
In May 2018 he was named in Poland's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 19 June in Poland's initial World Cup match against Senegal, Cionek scored an own goal that opened a 2–1 loss.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Jagiellonia Białystok