Lucjan Brychczy

Lucjan Antoni Brychczy (nicknamed Kici; 13 June 1934 – 2 December 2024) was a Polish footballer who played as a striker. Born in New Bytom, Upper Silesia, where after starting at local lower league clubs, he played for nearby the then third division Piast Gliwice.

He then transferred to Legia Warsaw, where the rest of career was linked with and one that earned him notoriety. He won four national titles with them, in 1955, 1956, 1969 and 1970 as well as four domestic cups, in 1955, 1956, 1964 and 1966. He scored 182 goals during his stint which lasted 19 seasons, both of which remain club records to this day. His Legia career also included a foray into the semi-finals of the European Cup. He was also part of Poland's squad at the 1960 Summer Olympics. After retiring from playing, he became one of Legia's coaching staff, which included short periods of being the first team manager.

He was born on 13 June 1934, in Nowy Bytom. His father was Stanisław Brychczy, a Silesian Uprising participant and a lieutenant in the Polish army, and his mother, Maria Brychczy, was a homemaker. He had three siblings: Mieczysław, Helena, and Tadeusz, and he was the youngest in the family. His father was conscripted into the army in September 1939 and returned to the family only after the war.

He began his adventure with sports in the boxing section of the local club Pogoń Nowy Bytom. After being forbidden by his father, he switched to the football section. In 1949, his father was employed at the Military Mechanical Works in Łabędy (district of Gliwice), where he moved with his entire family. There, Lucjan Brychczy joined the ŁTS Łabędy club, where he was quickly promoted to the senior team, coached by former Polish national team player Karol Dziwisz. He combined playing football with working at the military factory.

Karol Dziwisz was also the coach of the voivodeship team, and at the time, he called up the 18-year-old Brychczy to join the squad. In 1953, the regional team played against the Polish national B team, ending in a 3:3 draw, with Brychczy scoring a hat-trick. Following this match, he was called up for a national B team game against Tirana in Warsaw. The match was held at Legia Warsaw's stadium, marking Brychczy's first visit to the city and the venue.

After the game, Brychczy, along with his brother Tadeusz, moved to nearby Piast Gliwice, a third-division team aiming for promotion to a higher league in the 1954 season. After six months of playing for Piast, Brychczy was conscripted into the army and assigned to play for Legia Warsaw, the central military club. Legia was coached by Hungarian János Steiner [pl], who aimed to build a strong team modeled after Honvéd Budapest.

Even before making his debut for Legia, Brychczy was called up to the Polish national team for a match against Bulgaria, held at Legia's stadium. Brychczy made his debut on 8 August 1954 in the second half of the game, which ended in a 2:2 draw.

During one of the training sessions, coach Steiner gave Brychczy the nickname "Kici," which stuck with him throughout his career. "Kici" is a Polonized version of the Hungarian word kicsi, meaning "small." Legia's situation was difficult, as the team had earned only 6 points after 10 matches in the first round and was on the brink of relegation. There was even consideration of disbanding the football section. Brychczy made his debut on 12 September 1954, in a match against Ruch Chorzów, which ended in a 0:1 defeat. However, a subsequent series of victories allowed Legia to avoid relegation.