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In the last two seasons he fulfilled his dreams – he was promoted to the Bundesliga, scored a goal as a goalkeeper and got called to the Polish national team. Union fans loved him for his extraordinary behavior, amazing interventions and willingness to help the club. Not every player would be able to voluntarily give up part of his salary or stop hooligans from mindless encroachment on the pitch.
An unusual goal and promotion
After moving from Freiburg for 150 thousand euro Rafał Gikiewicz did not expect that he would achieve such success with the new club. After two seasons sitting on the bench, it was time to actively join the competition for promotion. In Union colors in the 2nd Bundesliga he played in 34 matches, and in 14 of them he kept a clean sheet. He contributed to the victory of the right to participate in the play-offs not only by capital interventions and concentration on the goal line. On October 7, 2018, a student from Warmia Olsztyn hit his head to the opponent’s net, thus scoring the first goal in his career. The added value from Heidenheim gave Union a valuable point. Earlier in the match Duisburg (2: 2) he also made an assist.
As a reward for his great form, Gikiewicz stood between the posts in the Bundesliga play-offs. A 2: 2 draw away from VFB Stuttgart and no goals in the rematch in Berlin meant the Union’s first ever promotion to the highest league in Germany. After the final whistle, fans ran on the pitch celebrating a dream promotion with the team. The Polish goalkeeper enthusiastically celebrated with 22,000 fans of his club. Another magical moment was the appointment to the Polish national team the day after his promotion. Later, Union fans will choose him the best player of 2019.
The fearless Bundesliga and hooligans
The Bundesliga performances meant a lot to supporters, and the culmination points were the Berlin derby. In these November at his stadium Gikiewicz became a hero for an unexpected reason. The whole football world was described by a Polish goalkeeper who stopped hooligans wanting to break into the pitch. A dozen masked people after the final whistle were going to facilitate their way towards the rival’s mill from behind. They completely did not expect, however, that they would be stopped by … their team’s goalkeeper. The 32-year-old went to them and firmly opposed such behavior. Thanks to the Pole, other players started to “negotiate” and stopped the hooligans together. On the pitch, Union won a historic derby with Hertha 1: 0.
Before the season, the goalkeeper from Olsztyn repeated that maintaining in the German league would be like a championship. Union eventually took 11th place in the table, and Gikiewicz kept eight blank accounts in 33 appearances. Before he managed to stay in the Bundesliga, the coronavirus pandemic unexpectedly appeared. While the games were suspended, the Pole again scored for local supporters.
Golkiper decided not to sit back and began to support medical staff. Help from him and the owner of the restaurant, and privately a friend of Amera Tankovic received hospitals in Berlin. The footballer with the restaurateur decided to deliver pizza to doctors, as well as pasta, desserts and fruit. What’s more, Gikiewicz was the first to renounce part of his salary due to the club’s difficult financial situation. – The coronavirus that prevailed in the world affects us all. We are forced to act. It is a time of trial for us all, a time of trial for the whole world and a time of action to minimize the losses caused by this pandemic. Due to recent discussions that I think are needed, I decided to give up some of my earnings to help my club survive this hard time. We can survive it together. And you protect the elderly and the weak – he wrote on his Twitter account, which was immediately recognized by fans as an extraordinary kindness towards the club.
A moving goodbye
Already during the season, Gikiewicz officially announced that he had not agreed with Union about the new contract. – From the first day at the club I got great confidence from coaches and players. Many people were wondering, “Who is Gikiewicz? Does he fit in with Union?” In every match I had a clear goal in front of my eyes, to advance with the Union to the Bundesliga. We have achieved this with great willingness and determination! I have always fought on the pitch and despite various problems I have always given my best and left 100 percent of myself on the pitch for the club and the fans – he started an emotional tweet. – After two wonderful years and many wonderful moments, it is time to say: “Hello” … It’s hard, but that’s the life of a professional athlete – confessed the 32-year-old honestly.
On Saturday, winning 1: 0 with Fortuna Duesseldorf, the goalkeeper said goodbye to Union. Interview with Sky Sport television showed how emotionally he is associated with the club. There were tears in the player’s eyes. Although the meeting was held at empty stands, support and thanks from the fans heard right after leaving the stadium. Then the tears ran down the cheeks for the second time.
In total, Rafał Gikiewicz played 6780 minutes in Union colors, during which he never lost the support of local fans. The most beautiful moment showing the fans’ attachment to the Polish goalkeeper was the behavior of the 80-year-old fan after information about the inevitable departure of the player. The Benjamin senior sympathizer waited a few hours to thank him with tears in his eyes for representing Union colors.
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