The sacrifices Kiwior's dad made to aid his career
From standing on the sidelines to selling the family business, Jakub Kiwior reveals what his dad has done to help him reach north London
Throughout his career, Jakub Kiwior has had to grow up quickly. Our Polish defender played above his age group from his very first steps into the sport, but far from being overawed by the expectations placed on him from a young age, he thrived under the pressure, and says what he learnt about himself back then paved the way for what was to come later in his career.
It all prepared him to leave Poland and play in Belgium when he was just 16, and then move again to play in Slovakia, then Italy by the age of 21. All those learning experiences ultimately led to him joining us in 2023, as a 22-year-old who had already gone through plenty in his early playing days.
It all started back in his home town of Tychy in Poland, before he’d even started school.
“I started playing football for a team when I was four years old,” Jakub begins, “when my dad would take me to the local school to play. The other boys were all about six or seven though, so when you are only four that’s a big difference! It’s a different level. But it was good for me, it helped me and I did well. I played there for three or four years before I moved to a different school.”
"I needed my dad to be in my vision, on the side of the pitch, and if I couldn’t see him - I’d stop playing!"
Jakub says his dad also played a big part in his football at that time, just by being there. In fact he played a crucial part – Jakub couldn’t play if his dad wasn’t there!
“The important thing for me at that time was that I needed to be able to see my dad on the sidelines when I was playing,” Jakub recalls. “I needed him to be in my vision, on the side of the pitch, and if I couldn’t see him - I’d stop playing!
“I was only young, and I needed him to be there. He wasn’t saying anything to me or coaching me or anything like that, it was just for me to be able to see him. I would look round thinking: ‘where is my dad?’ and he knew that too so he would always try to make sure I could see him.
“That was when I started, he was always there for me, at the early stages until I was about six or seven.
“At that age we are not really coached anyway, you are just having fun, the kids on the pitch all following the ball, so my dad wasn’t coaching me, it was about him being there to support me.”
A bit later though his dad – who was an amateur footballer himself – did go into coaching, and coached both Jakub and his brother when they were starting out. Our defender credits his dad as his main source of inspiration growing up, and says he could even envisage following in his footsteps when it comes to a potential future career in coaching.
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t want to be the head coach or the manager,” he smiles. “But maybe as part of the coaching team, I would be interested in that. Maybe something specialised like a defensive coach or a set piece coach, but really I wouldn’t want to run a team because that would be too much!
"I haven’t done any coaching qualifications yet, I’m not really interested in that at the moment while I’m still playing, but it’s something I could do later in my career. I’m concentrating on playing now, but I know some players do it early – Jorginho is doing his qualifications. I’ve spoken to him about it, because he is enjoying it. He really lives football.”
So if he does choose to pursue that career, what style of coach would he be?
“Of course I would love to play the game how we play it at Arsenal, our style of football,” Jakub says. “But I imagine if I start out coaching in Poland, then I would not have the same quality we have here. You cannot play that style if you don’t have the right players. But of course I would like to try playing good football, but that all depends on the players you have.”
Still only 23, those decisions could be a long way off yet, but if his playing career is any indication, it could be something else he tries young. After all, he was not yet professional when he earned his first move away to an established European side. Looking back, Jakub says it was the pivotal moment in his career to date.
“Yes. I was 16, or maybe 15,” he explains. “I was playing for the under-17s and we were against the under-19s. At that game there was a scout watching, from Anderlecht. I played really well in that game, and then I started training with the under-19s, and two weeks later that scout from Anderlecht called me for a trial.
"I spent two weeks there on trial, and so I think that was a big moment for me, because when I came back from the trial, I started training with the first team. That was the moment for me, and maybe if I hadn’t played well in that game that the scout was watching, I wouldn’t have made that big jump in such a short period. It was a big year in my life.
“I moved to Anderlecht when I was 16, and just before that was when I grew a lot as well, I got taller and stronger when I was around 15, so I took a lot of confidence from that. But to be honest, when I was young I was full of confidence in every game I played!
I was used to playing against the bigger boys, so I felt like I should be confident about that. I started with the national team at under-16 level, and then I played every age group since then. I was never scared or nervous playing around older players, it made me better and I enjoyed it.
“My mind was always on how to improve, and it was like that when I first moved to Italy, and then of course when I came here too.”
"I was never scared or nervous playing around older players, it made me better and I enjoyed it"
So where does this single-mindedness and laser-focused ambition come from, in Jakub’s opinion?
“I think it’s because I left Poland very early, I left at under-16s to play in Belgium, and I knew that there was only one direction to go – to improve and get better – so I put everything into making that happen.
“I spoke about it with my father, we said we have to do whatever it takes to keep moving forward, not take a step back and end up where we started. I was fully determined to do that, and it made me do everything to the best of my ability. If you leave your country early, you have to make it work, otherwise you will go back to where you started.
“We had a plan to move into Europe, then keep stepping up, that was the goal.” His father has sacrificed a lot in helping him on that journey, even closing down his business when he moved with Jakub to Belgium in 2016. But ever since moving to Slovakia two years later – where he turned pro – Jakub has stood on his own two feet.
He’s had support from plenty of people at every club he’s been at, and in every country he’s played, but he’s come a long way from needing to see his dad on the touchline at every game.
“Every single coach I have worked with has helped me and added something to me,” Jakub says, “they have all helped me of course. But I would say my biggest influences have been my parents. They have been there for me the whole time and helped me make big decisions.
“They are still there for me, and come to watch the games. The difference now is that I don’t need to keep looking to see if my father is in the crowd when I am playing! I know where he will be, so sometimes after the game I will go to them, but during the game no, I’m focused on the pitch!”
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