Krzysztof Ireneusz Warzycha (, ; born 17 November 1964) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a forward for Ruch Chorzów and for Greek club Panathinaikos. During his 15 seasons with Panathinaikos, he scored 319 goals in 553 official appearances and remains the club's all-time leading goalscorer. At international level, he played for the Poland national team, scoring nine goals in 50 appearances. In 1988, he won the Polish Footballer of the Year Award presented by the Piłka Nożna football weekly.
Club career Ruch Chorzów Warzycha played for Polish team Ruch Chorzów, won the Polish Championship in 1989 and was the top scorer in the Polish premier league the same year.
Panathinaikos Warzycha joined Panathinaikos in December 1989, and won five Greek championships (1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2004), five Greek cups (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2004), two Greek super cups 1993, 1994, while he was the highest scorer of the Greek championship 3 times (1994, 1995, 1998).
He is Panathinaikos' all-time leading goalscorer and an idol for the club. Warzycha is considered by many to be one of the best foreign players who have played in Greece. He was one of two Poles in the title-winning side of 1995, with fellow countryman Józef Wandzik keeping over a dozen clean sheets (shutouts) during the season.
He is Panathinaikos' all-time leading goalscorer, with 319 goals in 553 official appearances: 244 goals in 390 league matches, 50 in 100 Greek Cup matches and 25 in 63 European matches.
The most iconic goal On 3 April 1996, Warzycha scored probably the most important goal of his career (according to a late interview), against Ajax Amsterdam in 1995–96 UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals in Amsterdam Olympic Stadium and gave Ajax their first home defeat in four years, in their last home match before the demolition of the stadium. The 1–0 victory ended Ajax's 18-match unbeaten run in European competition.
First goal scorer At the end of the 2000–01 season, Warzycha had scored an incredible 235 goals in 352 matches and had been the Greek Alpha Ethniki premier league's top scorer in three different years in the 90s (1994, 1995 and 1998 seasons). His appearances in the UEFA Champions League have been no less impressive – he scored six goals in Panathinaikos' nine games on the way to the semi-finals of the 1995–96 competition.
With eight goals scored in all UEFA Champions League games, Warzycha remained the best scorer of Polish nationality in this competition until the 2012–13 season, when Robert Lewandowski scored 10 times for Dortmund in Dortmund's surprise run to the Champions League final.
On 29 April 2001, during a match against Ionikos FC, Warzycha scored the 233rd goal of his career in Greece, climbing to second place on the list of all-time goal scorers, tied with Mimis Papaioannou. Warzycha later scored his 234th goal and become sole occupant of this spot.
He was granted Greek citizenship in 1998. He retired in 2004.
Managerial career After Panathinaikos head coach Henk Ten Cate was let go on 8 December 2009, Warzycha was appointed as assistant coach alongside Nikos Nioplias.
On 1 March 2012, Warzycha was appointed as the head coach of Delta Ethniki side Egaleo, with this being his first venture into management.
In 2012, Warzycha was the head coach of Fokikos.
In April 2017, he was appointed manager of Ruch Chorzów, replacing Waldemar Fornalik.
In June 2025, Warzycha was appointed head coach of the under-19 team of A.E. Kifisia F.C.. His tenure ended in January 2026. In May 2026, he was appointed manager of Preveza F.C. for the club's return to the Gamma Ethniki. The Hellenic Football Federation identified him as Preveza's coach in July 2026.
International career Warzycha played 50 times for Poland, scoring nine goals. He played his last game for the Poland national team in April 1997 against Italy in Napoli, in a 3–0 loss.
Later life Warzycha ran in the Greek local elections, 2014 with a New Democracy backed combination for the municipality of Athens. He was also an ANEL candidate to parliament in January 2015 legislative elections, but without success.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueGreek CupEuropeOther TotalDivision AppsGoalsAppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals Panathinaikos1989–90Alpha Ethniki21140021—23151990–91Alpha Ethniki31180040—35181991–92Alpha Ethniki21120040—25121992–93Alpha Ethniki33320044—37361993–94Alpha Ethniki312400421036261994–95Alpha Ethniki332900431038321995–96Alpha Ethniki321900116—43251996–97Alpha Ethniki34214141—42231997–98Alpha Ethniki343273——41351998–99Alpha Ethniki25125562—36191999–00Alpha Ethniki3094031—37102000–01Alpha Ethniki271383133—48192001–02Alpha Ethniki1268320—2292002–03Alpha Ethniki2137263—3482003–04Alpha Ethniki504000—90Panathinaikos Total3902444717632520502286
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsPoland1984201985001986001987401988611989133199060199130199232199331199420199510199642199730Total509
Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Warzycha goal. + List of international goals scored by Krzysztof WarzychaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 19 October 1988 Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland 1–0 1–0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification2 7 February 1989 Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica 1–0 4–2 Friendly3 3–04 12 February 1989 Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala 1–0 1–0 Friendly5 19 May 1992 Stadion Lehen, Salzburg, Austria 3–1 4–2 Friendly6 27 May 1992 City Stadium, Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland 1–0 1–0 Friendly7 19 May 1993 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino 3–0 3–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification8 27 August 1996 Stadion GKS, Bełchatów, Poland 1–0 2–2 Friendly9 10 November 1996 Stadion GKS Katowice, Katowice, Poland 2–0 2–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
Honours Ruch Chorzów Ekstraklasa: 1988–89 II liga, group I: 1987–88
Panathinaikos Alpha Ethniki: 1989–90, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2003–04 Greek Cup: 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2003–04 Greek Super Cup: 1993, 1994
Individual Piłka Nożna Polish Footballer of the Year: 1988 Ekstraklasa top scorer: 1988–89 (24 goals) Marlboro Cup top scorer: 1989 Chicago (4 goals) Super League Greece top scorer: 1993–94 (24 goals), 1994–95 (29 goals), 1997–98 (32 goals)
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