Shock in Polish football! A great legend is dead

At the highest level of competition in Poland, Jan Furtok recorded 209 matches and scored 85 goals for GKS Katowice. In the 1985/86 season, he won the Polish Cup with the Katowice club. Additionally, he won the runner-up title and bronze at the national elite level, in the colors of GKS. Additionally, Furtok played for Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt.

For the Polish national team, Furtok played 36 matches and scored ten goals. He appeared, among others: at the 1986 world championships.

Jan Furtok is dead. A huge blow to Polish football

The tragic news appeared on Tuesday, early afternoon (i.e. November 26). Jan Furtok’s beloved club, GKS Katowice, announced his death.

– His legendary status is unquestionable, but our “Jasiu” has never demanded special treatment. He had GieKSa in his heart and for many years represented both the Club and the entire Katowice. – I don’t think about myself in such terms. I’m a normal person. All this is decided and judged by people. I was just doing my job, he emphasized. The death of Jan Furtok is a huge loss for the GKS community, the city of Katowice and the entire Polish football. We express our sincere condolences to Mr. Jan’s family and loved ones. We unite in pain with the family of the deceased. The coming days will be marked by mourning in Katowice – we read on the official website of GKS.

Furtok was definitely the biggest star in the history of the club from Katowice. In the 2024/25 season, after many years of wandering, GKS returned to the highest level, to the PKO BP Ekstraklasa. The Katowice team will also soon be moving to a new, newly built stadium in the capital of the voivodeship, which they have been waiting for – so far they have been playing at the legendary facility at Bukowa Street.

After finishing his football career, Furtok worked at GKS, among others. as a coach of youth groups. He was also sports director, senior coach and president, all the time strongly supporting his beloved club. The number 9, with which Furtok played during his career, was reserved by the football team GKS Katowice.

In 2019, Furtok was selected among the hundred most outstanding Polish representatives on the occasion of the centenary of the Polish Football Association.

Jan Furtok died at the age of 62.