Who is Adam Dźwigała – A player's profile

After inviting him to the training the week before last, the FC St. Pauli just announced the signing of Adam Dźwigała. The 25-year-old central defender received a contract until 2022 and will thus be of benefit to the FCSP immediately.
(Cover picture by Peter Boehmer)

Adam Dźwigała learned to play football at Jagiellonia Bialystok and jump-started in the Polish Ekstraklasa in the season of 2013/2014. By the way, back then, he mostly played as a central midfielder. He then transferred to Lechia Gdansk, where he had rather few minutes on the pitch only. The following loan to Górnik Zabrze did not add any considerable playing time either. Only towards the end of the 16/17 season, when Dźwigała played as a central defender continuously for the first time, then on loan by Gornik Leczna, he could establish himself as a regular player again.

That’s what he was doing for two years at Wisla Plock. Since his father Dariusz Dźwigała was the head coach at Plock in the season 18/19, it seemed to be a family matter at first. For the season 19/20, he dared to jump out of the Ekstraklasa into the first Portuguese league, where he joined Desportivo Aves. Dźwigała was a regular there as well. However, the club was relegated into the second division and then, due to massive financial problems, has been downgraded to the third division. Desportivo Aves withdrew their team from the regular game operation even before the start of season 20/21.

To get to know Adam Dźwigała a little better, we released a data-based scouting report by Global Soccer Network last week. It showed us that Dźwigała can definitely be a reinforcement for St. Pauli and he might not have reached his full potential yet at the age of 25.
(of course, you can take a look at his Facebook– and/or Instagram profile)

Adam Dźwigała (on the right) was active in Portugal at Desportivo Aves.
(Photo by Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP/via GettyImages/via OneFootball)

To get to know Adam Dźwigała a little better, I was allowed to ask the Polish sports journalist Michał Trela a few questions (Thanks to Silesian Pirates for establishing the contact):

Michał, Adam Dzwigała transfers to the FC St. Pauli. Is this a good fit from your point of view?

As far as I know, the FC St. Pauli started the season very badly and Dzwigała doesn’t have a club yet, so I consider this a sensible transfer for both sides. St. Pauli needs new people and Dzwigała needs a club where he could play. I think the level of the Polish league is similar to the level of the lower half of the table in the 2. Bundesliga, so it can work.

Which strengths does Adam Dzwigała have on the pitch?

His greatest strength is also his worst problem. He’s an extremely versatile player. In the Polish league, he played at a decent level in many different positions. He never was the star in the league or in the teams he played for. More like an average player from average clubs. As far as I remember, he played as a center-back, full-back on both sides, in the defensive, and in both, the offensive and the defensive central midfield. He might as well have made a few games on the outer lanes. However, he didn’t play as a striker or goalkeeper. This helped him to play regularly but prevented him from finding automatisms in a certain position. His appointment to the Polish national team two years ago came as a very big surprise. Without the national coach, who also lead him in the club, that certainly would not have been possible (Editor’s note.: Poland’s national coach Jerzy Brzęczek did train Dzwigała at Wisla Plock). You also know that from Germany. Joachim Löw doesn’t always invite the best players to the national team. The invitation to Dzwigała certainly wasn’t obvious.

And in which areas does he still have room for improvement?

As far as I know, he mostly acted as a central defender in Portugal and he would like this to be his permanent position. He’s technically OK, has no problem with the ball but in my opinion, he has a lot of room for improvement when it comes to robustness and physical strength. And that can be very important in the 2. Bundesliga. In Poland, he made too many simple mistakes. I can’t say he was always very reliable.

Dzwigała’s last club was Desportivo Aves. However, his contract was terminated after the relegation. Why didn’t he find a club for such a long time?

Since he moved from Poland I’ve lost sight of him a bit. In January I talked to him and was in touch with his agent. They told me that everything was going well back then. Dzwigała played regularly, even under different coaches. It was rumored that the Glasgow Rangers were scouting him. He even dreamed of the Euro 2020. But he played in one of the weakest teams in the Portuguese league. They had many organizational issues that didn’t make his situation any easier. The fact that he has been looking for a new club for so long, although he isn’t old, not a problematic personality and hasn’t had too many injuries, and is available for a free transfer, shows that unfortunately, he has not made a big name for himself in Portugal.

Ektralasa, Liga NOS, now 2. Bundesliga – do you think Adam Dzwigała could even play in even better leagues?

Unfortunately not. I think the 2nd Bundesliga is his absolute limit. I would even be surprised if he could play a larger role at St. Pauli. It’s a different position, but when I compare the footballing quality of Waldemar Sobota, who played at St. Pauli for many years, with that of Dzwigała I’m almost certain that it will be difficult for him. I’m afraid that he’d have problems playing for a successful first division team in Poland.

Already in FCSP clothes in the test training, now contracted: AdamDźwigała
(c) Peter Boehmer

What kind of person is Adam Dzwigala next to the pitch?

I don’t know him personally. All I can say is that he is the son of a quite good former player in the Polish league. That didn’t make things easier for him, he wasn’t seen as a regular player. He was always compared to his father Dariusz Dzwigała, was always asked what his father thought of his game. That’s why he moved to Portugal, to simply be Adam Dzwigała, not the son of Dariusz.

Thanks for your assessment, Michał!

With Adam Dźwigała St. Pauli gets a strong central defender who, based on the GSN index, is already at the level of the 2. German division and has the potential for even more. However, Michał’s assessment is a little more pessimistic. Those responsible for sports at the FC St. Pauli are pretty convinced of Adam Dźwigała according to what we could hear and read over the course of the last week, but also now after the signing. Nevertheless, the situation in the central defense remains difficult, as the contract terms of Avevor and Ziereis (until 2023 and 2022, respectively) do not offer much leeway for changes. Since both players are injury-prone, changes would be necessary.

Important: Don’t consider this signing a replacement for Christopher Avevor. Both players are too different. According to both GSN and Michał, Adam Dźwigała can’t keep up with Avevor, especially in the physical area. In return, he is technically more adept and better at build up play.
Whether Dźwigała can be an immediate reinforcement remains to be seen. After all, it must be noted that he hasn’t played a competitive game since February 2020. So let’s assume that he won’t be an important defensive support for the FCSP in this calendar year. But of course, it can happen pretty quickly. It would be desirable, a strengthening of the defense is urgently needed, especially due to Philip Ziereis’ recent injury.