Sad news has reached Bulls News of the death in Kraków, Poland yesterday of former Hereford United player Adam Musial, aged 71. Club Historian Ron Parrott has produced the following tribute and full pen-pic of his career. Ron takes up the story:-
“As a youngster of 23, my first introduction to Adam as a footballer was when he played for Poland in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley and I didn’t like the guy! He was a member of the much under-estimated Poland team that held England to a 1-1 draw in a World Cup qualifier and scuppered our chances of qualifying. You remember the game, where England had 95% of the play but Norman Hunter got caught in possession and Jan Domarski sprinted away to score. It was also the game where commentator Brian Clough described Poland’s keeper Jan Tomaszewski as “a clown in football gloves”. Jan went on to play a magnificent game and was voted the best goalkeeper in the World Cup Finals.
Anyway, my next “encounter” with Adam was in April 1980 when he came to Hereford to have a look at the club and the city with a view to signing for the next season. Before returning home, he actually played a game for Hereford when he turned out in the Herefordshire Senior Cup final at Edgar Street against Manchester City. However, because he wasn’t registered as a player in the UK at that time, he took to the field under the pseudonym of “Adams”. Now, as Club Historian, this caused me a lot of trouble because with the club and press sworn to secrecy, I spent hours and hours trying to research this “Adams” to find out his background, where he came from and where he disappeared to afterwards. For the life of me, I could find nothing and it wasn’t until several years later that I found out the truth!
But all was forgiven when Adam arrived at Edgar Street the following season, he’d lost none of his silky touches and simply oozed class. He had understandably lost just a little of his former pace but he more than compensated for this with a great positional sense and a wonderful ability to read a game. I loved to watch him play and off the field he was a good sort too. His English did improve over his three seasons at Edgar Street but even when it was not so good, he still liked to talk football and always enjoyed discussing his own performances. Who would ever have thought that Hereford United would field a player that had finished in third place in the World Cup Finals? Adam will be sadly missed and our thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time.”
Ron has also appended the following pen-pic that details Adam’s full playing and managerial career:-
Appearances: 55 (52+3 sub.) Goals: 0
Seasons played: 1979/80 to 1982/83
Born Wieliczka, Poland 18th December 1948, died Kraków, Poland 18th November 2020
Adam was signed at the tender age of seven by his local team Gornik Wieliczka and was groomed there until he was 19 and signed for Wisla Kraków. During ten years with them, he played 227 games and managed just one goal before being transferred to Arka Gdynia for £4,000 in 1980. A central defender, Adam chalked up 34 international games including World Cup qualifiers against England in 1973. He played in the crucial 1-1 draw at Wembley that scuppered England's chances of qualifying and in the following year’s final stages he played in the group match against Yugoslavia and the third-place play-off when Poland beat Brazil. Hereford's chairman Peter Hill and Polish director Henrick Nield went over to Poland to negotiate a deal but his club just wanted a plough for their stadium so a deal was struck and Wisla Kraków got their plough!
Adam came to Hereford at the end of the 1979/80 season to have a look at the club and the city, with a view possibly to sign for the next season. He played in the Herefordshire Senior Cup Final v Manchester City in April 1980 under the pseudonym of "Adams", because he was not registered as a player in the UK at that time. However, he liked what he saw and signed for United during the summer of 1980 and went on to make 55 first-team appearances over three seasons. A very stylish and polished defender, steady rather than spectacular defender, he was well respected by fans. Adam was released from his contract to return home in 1983 and later played in the States with the quaintly named Yonkers Polish American Eagles in Chicago.
In 1987, Adam returned to Poland to manage his former team Wisla Kraków, initially as assistant but from 1989 to 1992 as full manager. He then spent a season managing Lechia Gdanśk before ending his footballing career as manager of Stal Stalowa Wola from 1993 to 1995.