The Story of Kaz Deyna
It's up for debate whether Deyna, Tomaszewski, Lubanski or Boniek was the greatest player in Polish history, but there would be a lot of votes for Deyna. Nicknamed "the Croissant" for his bending shots, he scored two goals for Poland in the 1972 Olympic final. He was the second Eastern European player to play in the English First Division, but he then moved to the NASL and MISL in the final years of his career. Not only did he play in America, but he was one of the stars in the soccer movie classic "Victory" with Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and Pele. Deyna was a member of the great Sockers teams of the mid-1980's, but his post-soccer career was not nearly as successful. His problems ranged from his marriage to drinking to finances. On September 1, 1989, he died in a fiery car crash in San Diego when his car hit a truck. The accident caused soccer balls to fly out of the trunk as he was just coming from coaching a team of 10-year-olds.
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