He played for Bundesliga club Wolfsburg and Poland’s youth teams. Now Oskar Zawada takes his talents to Wellington Phoenix as the striker enters his football peak.
Imposing frontman Zawada – standing at 1.92m – is Wellington’s sixth and final off-season signing, with the 26-year-old arriving in the A-League Men on a two-year deal.
Zawada last played for Stal Mielec in Poland, where he scored three goals in 10 Ekstraklasa appearances in 2022 and he believes his best football is ahead of him in New Zealand.
“As a striker I think your best age is between 26 and 32/33 because you mature and your body is stronger,” Zawada said.
“Every year I feel stronger on the pitch, but also more confident and mature in my positioning and movement.
“I think the best years are in front of me. If I stay healthy, and I will do everything to stay healthy, I think I have a good future in front of me because I’m professional, I work hard and want to develop as a player.”
Zawada played youth-team football for Wolfsburg from 2012-14, featuring alongside Germany star and current Borussia Dortmund midfielder Julian Brandt.
He made the step up to the reserve team in 2014 before being included in Wolfsburg’s 2015-16 Bundesliga season.
In the second half of that season, Zawada was loaned to Dutch Eredivisie outfit FC Twente, playing alongside Moroccan star Hakim Ziyech – who went on to represent Ajax and Chelsea.
Zawada also spent time with Karlsruher, Wisla Plock, Arka Gdynia and Rakow Czestochowa.
He also has experience in Asian, having enjoyed a brief stint with South Korea club Jeju United.
“I had a good long conversation with Ufuk Talay,” Zawada said. “Our meeting on zoom was very good.
“He showed me how he works with the players, what he expects from me and how he sees me with the team.
“He made me feel important and if I feel important then I know I will play well and will have the confidence to score goals.
“After this conversation I got a good feeling that it makes sense for me to move to Wellington to develop under his coaching.”
Zawada is the latest new attacking face in Wellington, after Kosta Barbarouses, Bozhidar Kraev and Yan Sasse.
“I wanted to sign with a club for more than one year. A two-year contract means I can fully focus on the Phoenix and not have to think about my future,” he said.
“I have a feeling that this is going to be a place that I will be proud of and identify with.
“I have heard that life is beautiful in New Zealand and I am very happy about that, but I will not treat this transfer as a personal trip.
“I come here to this club mainly to develop as a footballer and score as many goals as possible for the Phoenix.”
The new-look Phoenix, who reached the finals last season, have signed Zawada, Barbarouses, Kraev, Sasse and Lucas Maurgais (loan) for the 2022-23 campaign.
“He’s a taller player that will give us extra height and presence in the box,” head coach Talay said. “He’s big and strong. He can bring players into the game, and he scores goals.
“We were always looking for a player with those physical attributes, with a bit more presence within the box as we like to attack with our fullbacks and deliver balls into the box.
“He gives us an aerial threat and when we’re under pressure he’ll be able to hold the ball up and bring players into the game and we’ll be able to at times be a little bit more direct.”
Talay added: “He’s quite mobile. He makes forward runs, he gets in behind defences and he’s aggressive with and without the ball as well.
“The way that we play and press I think he’ll be pretty influential.”
