Charlotte FC continues to bolster their inaugural roster, this time in the form of winger, Kamil Jóźwiak. Despite only being 23 years old, Jóźwiak has already accumulated 210 professional and 22 international appearances.
Before making the move to Derby County, Jóźwiak started his career at Lech Poznań, one of the biggest clubs in Poland, where the likes of Robert Lewandowski and other notable Polish players also made their start. As for the Polish National Team, he has been a regular for them throughout World Cup Qualifiers, starting alongside fellow Charlotte FC striker, Karol Świderski.
Jóźwiak is a winger who is capable of playing on both the left and right side and brings a skillset to CLTFC that will add a different dynamic to the team.
Efficient Dynamism
In any league, but especially an attack-heavy one like MLS, wingers that bring extra dynamism and excel in 1v1 scenarios can single-handedly have the biggest impact on games.
First and foremost, let’s get the obvious out of the way, Jóźwiak is fast... very fast. According to the UEFA site, in EURO2020 he logged a higher top speed than France superstar, Kylian Mbappe, who is widely considered one of the fastest players in the world.
Head Coach Miguel Angel Ramirez has already expressed his love for wingers with this trait when discussing Expansion Draft selection McKinze Gaines, who has some speed of his own.
“I remember with Independiente Del Valle, we won the Sudamericana Cup with super-fast wingers. We killed opponents on the wings,” said Ramírez on the importance of fast wingers in his game model.
But how you use your speed is ultimately what separates the great wingers from the multitude of other fast wingers. Jóźwiak's great ball control, decision making, sturdiness, and drive are what make him stand out above his counterparts.
“When he gets on the ball, you feel threatened, he has that drive to go at you,” said Charlotte FC Director of Scouting, Thomas Schaling.
Jóźwak is always looking to drive at opponents and make something happen. He’s direct, assertive, and makes no wasted movement to get to where he wants to go. Every touch he takes is to accomplish something.
He finds the most efficient way to get from point A to point B and even if opponents know where he wants to go, it’s difficult to stop him because of his quickness, balance, and tight ball control.
Decision Making
This efficiency isn’t only the case for his dribbling; his passing is also indicative of it. Whether it’s picking a cross or playing a clever through-ball for a teammate, Jóźwiak is purposeful with his passes rather than forcing them.
This is all a testament to his maturity: his ability to read and understand the game is a skill that normally develops in the latter stages of a player’s career. Before he even touches the ball, he is thinking one or two steps ahead about what he is going to do once he does receive it.
Just as important as his soccer intelligence, he also has the physical and technical abilities to execute. As mentioned earlier, he has speed, strength, dribbling, crossing, shooting, and smart decision making.
Jozwiak fits the speedy, intelligent winger that Ramírez craves for his game model and comes from the English Championship, a league notoriously known for its physicality, which will help tremendously in his adaptation to MLS.
In Jóźwiak, Charlotte FC are getting a winger with a complete skillset, who has over 14,000 minutes of professional and international playing experience but is still young enough to keep improving.
