Bartosz Bida, Jagiellonia (Photo by Krzysztof Porebski/PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images)

Bartosz Bida, Jagiellonia (Photo by Krzysztof Porebski/PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images)

International Soccer

Europes Hidden Gems – Ekstraklasa Edition: Bartosz Bida

by Brian Szlenk Straub
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Bartosz Bida

Bartosz Bida, Jagiellonia (Photo by Krzysztof Porebski/PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images)

Early life and career:

For many players these days, the allure of big city life and playing for one of the larger clubs in a domestic league takes precedent. This hasn’t been the case for Bartosz Bida at almost any point in his life. In fact, the player has always preferred the comforts of the quiet, small town life. Bida grew up in the small town of Wysokiej Głogowskiej, a small town in the mountainous region of Podkarpacie, Poland. In an interview with Weszlo, he tells the story of his experience in his hometown, and growing up there:

“Wysoka Głogowska has around three thousand residents. four stores, a church, one school and a depot. I’m very happy I come from here. The noise of the city isn’t for me, I like calm. I return to my hometown during holidays, and love to meet up with my old friends.” -Bartosz Bida, Weszlo

His love for calm in his personal life translates over onto the soccer pitch. Former Jagiellonia Białystok manager Ireneusz Mamrot has lauded Bida, stating his biggest attributes as being his positive character and his calm disposition on the pitch. Bida doesn’t calculate too much according to his manager, he just does what needs to be done with a natural finesse rarely seen in players as young as Bida.

While Bida is known for his attacking prowess these days, he started much farther back on the pitch as a central defender. In his early days playing for his first club, Stal Rzeszów, his coach at the time decided to play him in central defense mainly due to his height and strength. He spent two years in the position, and even almost signed with capital club Legia Warszawa in the position, but his mother, who he claims had an immense impact on his footballing career, decided he wasn’t ready for a move to the big city at the time. This decision would prove fruitful for Bida, as a change in management would lead to new opportunities for Bida to express himself on the football pitch.

“At Stal Rzeszów it was definitely important that no one ever barred me from playing football my way, allowing me to take other players one on one, and I was always allowed to express myself. The most important moment at Stal Rzeszów for me was when there was a change in management, when Adam Domaradski and Katarzyna Wis were hired. They came in and changed my position to striker.”

This change would truly spark Bida’s career, as his talent on the pitch truly began to shine. The club’s tolerance and encouragement for his self-expression on the pitch came full circle as his ability to take players on one on one would now serve as one of his main assets to his new attacking position.

Since his transfer from Stal Rzeszów to Jagiellonia Białystok in 2015, Bida has quickly risen through the ranks at the club. He played in their youth system until 2017, after which he had a loan spell with Wigry Suwałki during the 2018/19 season. Since his loan, Bida hasn’t looked back and has worked to become an important member for the Jagiellonia team. So far this season he has scored 4 goals and provided 2 assists in 19 games, which isn’t too shabby for a 19 year old in his first season of top flight football.

Next: Playstyle

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