Artur Boruc

At 44 years old, Artur Boruc has this physical status:

Artur Boruc (Polish pronunciation: [artur bruth]; born 20 February 1980) is a retired Polish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

He began his career in the Polish third division with hometown club Pogo Siedlce. He joined Legia Warsaw in 1999 and, although not quite a reserve, he had a loan with Dolcan Zbki in 2000. Boruc joined the Legia first team in 2002 and by 2003, he was the club's first choice goalkeeper. In the summer of 2005, he joined Celtic, Scotland's Premier League team. Boruc made 221 appearances for the club in his five years in Glasgow, winning the Scottish Cup three times and twice in the Scottish League Cup. Boruc was dubbed "The Holy Goalie" by Celtic followers for his rejection of Catholicism. He came from Italy in 2010 to join Fiorentina, spending two years at the Serie A club before returning to the United Kingdom in 2012 to sign for Premier League side Southampton, before moving to Bournemouth in 2015. Boruc resigned from professional football in June 2022.

In April 2004, Boruc made his international debut against the Republic of Ireland and became a regular in the Polish international squad, earning 65 caps. He represented the country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, and UEFA Euro 2016. Boruc resigned from international football in November 2017.

Personal life

When he was attacked in Glasgow on April 21, 2007, he helped a 27-year-old pregnant Polish woman, her sister, and brother-in-law.

Boruc's father died in April 2010 and his mother, Jadwiga, died when he was only 20 years old. He has a brother and three sisters. Katarzyna, Boruc's second-wife, gave birth to Aleksander ("Aleks") in Warsaw on June 11, 2008. In 2008, Boruc and his wife separated amid rumors of his ties with former Polish Idol contestant Sara Mannei. Mannei gave birth to daughter Amelia on September 9, 2010 in Poland, and the pair married in 2014.

The Scottish Sun published an apology in September 2009 for revealing that Boruc had an affair with a young woman depicted in a photograph that was actually his sister. The News of the World admitted to releasing a mistaken report on Boruc in June 2011 and paid him £70,000, which is believed to be a record for Scottish libel cases, as well as legal fees.

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Club career

Born in Siedlce, Boruc began his career in 1998 at Pogo Siedlce, where he was born in Siedlce.

Boruc played for Legia Warsaw before starting on the reserve team and being loaned out in 2000 for half a season to Dolcan Zbki.

Boruc was playing his first league match for Legia on March 8, 2002, when he came on as a replacement during a 2–2 draw against Pogo Szczecin. Radostin Stanev, Bulgarian goalkeeper, sustained an injury during the game, triggering his debut. During Boruc's next four league matches and kept clean sheets against Wisa Kraków and Odra Wodzisaw, but Stanev regained his position in the team after returning from injury for the remaining league and cup fixtures. For the first time in seven years, Legia triumphed the Ekstraklasa title.

Boruc was the club's first choice goalkeeper in the second half of the following season, playing in 11 of the club's last 15 league games. Legia lost only 1 of these 11 games, while Boruc kept 5 clean sheets, though Legia only finished fourth.

Boruc was still a first-pick for Legia in the 2003–04 season and appeared in all 26 of their league games. Boruc scored his only goal for the club in June 2004, converting a penalty kick against Widzew (final score: 6–0) and then celebrating by waving the corner flag. Legia finished second in the league and qualified for the UEFA Cup next season. In April 2004, Boruc scoredless against the Republic of Ireland in his first appearance for Poland.

Boruc remained Legia's most important player and a fan favorite, playing in all of the club's league games from 2004 to 2005. Boruc's tenure with Legia saw the club extend his deal until 2012. Boruc was made captain of the team in March 2005. However, Legia's second season in a row, finishing third behind Wisa Kraków, who finished third in a row. Legia's UEFA Cup participation was also brief, losing 7–0 on aggregate in a quick qualifying tie before losing 1–4 on aggregate in the first round proper to Austria Wien. Despite the lack of silverware, Boruc's appearance attracted foreign attention by the summer of 2005.

Boruc joined Celtic club Celtic on July 20, 2005. The loan was initially a year's loan, with the option to make it permanent. The switch was later made permanent, with Boruc completing a three-and-a-year deal from October 17 to 2009. Boruc had signed a new deal with Celtic in January 2008, extending his stay at the club until 2011.

On August 2, 2005, Boruc made his Celtic debut when he substituted David Marshall for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifier against Slovakian side Artmedia Bratislava. Celtic beat the first leg 5–0, but overall, we lost on aggregate. Boruc quickly established himself as Celtic's first-choice keeper, displaying a combination of outstanding shot-stopping, intense self-confidence, and, in some instances, outright arrogance. In fact, Boruc's gestures at Rangers fans at Ibrox Stadium on February 12, 2006, resulted in the player being cautioned by the police. In his first season, he made 40 appearances and kept 17 clean sheets. Celtic defeated Dunfermline Athletic 3–0, adding to his winner's medals collection.

Boruc maintained his fine form for Celtic the following season. Boruc helped Celtic through to the knockout stage of the tournament on November 21, 2006, when saving Louis Saha's 89th-minute penalty. In other words, Boruc did a good job in all three of Celtic's home Champions League group stages games (Copenhagen 1–0, Benfica 3–0, and Manchester United 1–0). In December 2006, he was named Player of the Month in the Scottish Premier League, a very unusual occurrence for a goalkeeper. His work was also recognized with a nomination for the Scottish PFA Player of the Year award for 2007. Celtic won the Scottish Cup for the second time this season, defeating Dunfermline 1–0 on May 26, 2007.

Celtic was drawn against Spartak Moscow in the third qualifying round of the Champions League at the start of the 2007-08 season. The match came as a result of a penalty shootout, with Boruc saving twice to ensure Celtic's passage to the group stages. Celtic completed a hat-trick of consecutive Scottish Premier League titles this season.

Following a pre-season friendly against Feyenoord, Boruc was fined £50,000 by Celtic in August 2008 for breaching the club's drinking policy.

Boruc suffered a lack of form in the first half of season 2008-09, in particular against Rangers' 2–4 loss at Easter Road on August 31, 2008, where John Rankin threwted him from 45 yards out. In a 4–0 victory over Hamilton Academical on October 4, 2008, he saved a James McArthur penalty. Despite his run of weak showings, Boruc was one of 55 (including five goalkeepers) shortlisted for the FIFPro World XI Player Awards on October 20, 2008. Discipline, on the other hand, became a point of contention again, with Boruc fined £500 by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) for gestures he made against Rangers fans during the Old Firm game in August.

Boruc converted a penalty for Celtic during the penalty shootout in the semi-final match of the League Cup against Dundee United on January 28, 2009, leading Celtic to an 11–10 victory on penalties. Several months later, Boruc picked up his last silverware at Celtic, beating Rangers 2–0 after extra time in the Scottish League Cup Final.

Boruc made his 200th appearance for Celtic against Motherwell on December 12, 2009, a 3–2 win for Celtic. He received the Scottish Premier League save of the season award in April 2010 for a reflex save against Hibernian at Easter Road.

Boruc won by 2–1 over Old Firm Rangers on May 4, 2010, but he had to be recalled in the second half as he was unable to continue playing due to a hand injury sustained in the pre-match warm up. This turned out to be a broken finger and had him suspended from the season's final league fixture.

Celtic decided to transfer Boruc to Fiorentina as a result of a medical, subject to an undisclosed fee on July 12, 2010. The transfer was confirmed three days later.

In the Coppa Italia against Empoli, he made his Fiorentina debut on October 26, 2010. Sébastien Frey, the first-choice goalkeeper, made his Serie A debut in a 1–0 victory over Chievo on November 7, 2010. Before Frey returned to the team for the remaining two league games of the season, Boruc went on to participate in the next 25 Serie A games.

Following Frey's move to Genoa, Boruc officially claimed Fiorentina's number one jersey on August 18th. Boruc appeared in all but two of Fiorentina's Serie A fixtures this year, but despite this he was chastised for some of his appearances and apparent lack of fitness. Boruc was released by Fiorentina in July 2012 after two seasons in Italy.

Boruc joined Southampton in the Premier League on a one-year extension on September 22, 2012. In a 4–1 loss at West Ham United at Upton Park on October 20, he made his debut on October 20th in a 4–1 loss.

He was suspected of being complicit in an incident involving Tottenham Hotspur's second goal on October 28, 2012, when he greeted the home fans by sarcastically applauding them before sputtering a water bottle in their direction. Boruc was removed from the side due to the incident.

Despite the early controversies surrounding his Southampton career, Boruc revived his place in the first team and appeared in all of the club's league matches from January 2013 to the end of the season. Boruc saved a penalty in the 90th minute from Grant Holt in a league match against Norwich City on March 9, 2013. Southampton gained a point in their attempts to prevent relegation from happening, but the game ended 0–0. Boruc's form since being back to the Southampton first team culminated in manager Mauricio Pochettino's comment that Boruc should be signed to a longer-term contract at Southampton. Boruc completed a new 2-year deal for the club on April 18, 2013. Southampton secured their Premier League spot for the following season after a 1–1 draw with Sunderland on May 12, 2013, and they eventually finished in 14th place at the end of season.

Boruc, Southampton's first-choice goalkeeper, got off to a promising start to the 2013–14 season. The team won by 2–0 over Fulham on October 26, 2013 and the club's best-ever start to a top-flight season.

After a 1–1 draw at Stoke City on October 2, 2013, Boruc conceded a goal to goalkeeper Asmir Begovic after only 13 seconds. "Instead of simply claiming one Cruyff turn and another before tying himself into so many knots attempting a third that Giroud was able to nick the ball off him" and score the first of Arsenal's two goals, three weeks later, under pressure from Arsenal's Olivier Giroud. In a 3–1 loss to Chelsea that kept him out for six weeks, he suffered a broken hand trying to keep a Demba Ba goal out of a goal. In Southampton's 1–0 win over West Bromwich Albion, Boruc recovered from injury and kept a clean sheet, with Shane Long's last-minute saves giving the club a unified goal. Boruc stayed in his position, and though he was at fault for one of Sunderland's goals in a 2–2 draw on January 18, he redeemed himself with better results in 1–0 and 3–0 league victories over Fulham and Hull City respectively during February 2014. His form remained stable, though his timing was occasional poor, and Southampton managed to finish eighth in the league at the end of the season.

Fraser Forster came from Celtic in a £10 million transfer contract, with the Englishman taking over Boruc's place in goal at the start of the 2014-15 season. Boruc signed AFC Bournemouth on an emergency loan contract until January 2015. In a 1–1 draw against Watford on the following day, he made his debut. Bournemouth beat Birmingham City 0–8 away at St. Andrew's on October 25th. It was the first time the Cherries had scored eight goals in a league match (barring a 10–0 victory over Northampton Town in September 1939, which was erased from the records after World War II broke out the next day), and they had the largest winning margin in a league fixture. Boruc contributed to this statistic by saving a penalty by Paul Caddis in the 53rd minute, putting the score at 0–3. Bournemouth's loan spell was successful, and by the end of December 2014, Boruc had kept clean sheets in nine of his 18 appearances, helping the club win the Championship table. As a result, the loan was extended to the end of the season, with Boruc saying, "I'm here because I'm here and that I'm part of a fantastic team, and that's why I'm here and that I'm here," meaning I'm here and that I'm on a fantastic team. "And here's why I'm here and that I'm here," says the loan.

Boruc was a member of the Bournemouth team that won the Championship title and a first-ever promotion to the Premier League on May 2nd. He was one of six players released by Southampton and joined Bournemouth on a free transfer later that day.

Bournemouth's first choice goalkeeper started the club's first ever top division match against Aston Villa on August 8, 2015. In a 2–0 victory over Sunderland at Dean Court on 19 September, he and the club's first clean sheet were revealed.

Boruc was suspended in the Bournemouth goal by Adam Federici for all four of the Cherries' November fixtures after a poor showing in a 1–5 home loss by Tottenham Hotspur on October 25th. Boruc returned to the team for an away match against Premier League champions Chelsea on December 5th, with the Polish goalkeeper keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory over Bournemouth due to Federici's injury. Boruc was a member of Bournemouth's 2–1 victory over Manchester United at Dean Court a week later.

He renewed his deal with Bournemouth on May 17th, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2019. In June 2019, he began a new one.

Boruc signed for Legia Warsaw on a one-year contract on August 1, 2020. Boruc, a 42-year-old soldier, announced his retirement on June 17th and Celtic will face Legia Warsaw and Celtic in a testimonial match.

International career

On April 28, 2004, Boruc's debut for Poland came as a second-half substitute for Jerzy Dudek, who was unable to return to action in a goalless draw. With his third cap, Boruc made his first appearance for Poland in a friendly against the United States on July 12, 2004 in Chicago. In the 11th minute from American striker Brian McBride's death, Boruc saved a penalty.

In the final match Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament 2005, he received a red card, but his team did not lose, and he captured the first trophy with the national team on August 17, 2005.

Boruc grew up to a regular in the Polish squad and was selected to the 23-man national team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals in Germany. He had been fighting with Tomasz Kuszczak and also Ukasz Fabiaski for the starting slot, but he was first-choice goalkeeper during the World Cup and appeared in all three of their games. In the game against Germany, Boruc was particularly good, but his country was unable to prevent his country from losing 1–0.

Boruc was Poland's first choice goalkeeper and was named in Poland's UEFA Euro 2008 squad. He played his first game against Germany and remained in contention until his second game against co-hosts Austria, in which the Poles forfeited a penalty in the 92nd minute to level the score. He saved all three shots by the Austrians in the same match, resulting in a final score of 1–1. During the tournament, the Austrian and German press referred him to as "Spaceman." Zbigniew Boniek, a well-known Polish striker from the 1970s and 1980s, sluggishly criticized Poland's Euro 2008 results, but praised Boruc for praise, describing him as "world class."

In August 2008, Boruc and two colleagues went on a night out after a friendly against Ukraine in defiance of their manager's instructions. Boruc, Dariusz Dudka, and Radosaw Majewski were all banned from Beenhakker for the next two internationals as a result. Boruc, on the other hand, recovered his place in the team and continued to be the regular choice until Beenhakker's replacement as Poland's boss, Franciszek Smuda, lost his place in the team in October 2010.

Boruc was recalled to the Polish squad in January 2013 and played in their 0–2 loss against the Republic of Ireland a week later on February 6, 2013. On March 22, and San Marino respectively, Boruc maintained his position in the international team for their next two competitive games.

Boruc made 64 appearances for his country, his last appearance against Slovenia was in a friendly on November 14, 2016, against Slovenia, who were playing the first half for the first time in a 1-1 draw. He made his debut in that game and became Poland's most captained goalkeeper, beating Jan Tomaszewski's record of 63 caps.

Boruc announced his retirement from international football through his Instagram page, blaming his youth, "peace of mind" over the position of a Polish goalkeeper, and focusing on his Bournemouth career. He earned his final 65th cap at his farewell match against Uruguay on November 10, 2017 in Warsaw, but he was forced to leave shortly before halftime by former Legia Warszawa teammate ukasz Fabiaski.

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