More than 25 years after his professional debut for Feyenoord, Euzebiusz 'Ebi' Smolarek, 45, is a much-loved figure in many places. But even after a fruitful 13-year career, few places can be called 'home' for the former forward.
Rotterdam, Dortmund, and Poland are those places, each for a different reason and with a different story that tells the chronicle of Ebi's life.
In an open-hearted conversation with Flashscore's Adrian Wantowski, Smolarek reflects on his time at Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund, life under the late Leo Beenhakker, and paving the way for Polish stars who'd later become club legends for the Yellow and Black.
'When I walked past that stadium...'
Though he's a Polish football legend, Euzebiusz Smolarek grew up in the Netherlands, where his father, the late Wlodzimierz 'Wlodi' Smolarek, played and later worked for Feyenoord, the club Ebi joined at 12 years old.
"I was in the Feyenoord academy from the time I was twelve, and Feyenoord is a club that always wants to win," Smolarek said.
"When I walked past that stadium (De Kuip), my goal was always to play at least one match there. I managed that. And then what? As a young player, sometimes I played, sometimes I didn't."
His father played for Feyenoord for two years, between 1988 and 1990, and joined the club as a youth coach in 2000, staying for ten years. The 'Smolarek' name was an established one in Rotterdam: "It was nice, but it wasn't easy. By then, the Smolarek name already meant something, a player from the academy, and my dad was working with the youth teams."
Ebi enjoyed a bright start to his professional career, which began in 2000, when manager Bert van Marwijk handed the 19-year-old attacker his professional debut. In his five years with the club he said he was proud to represent, Smolarek scored 13 goals in 80 appearances and won the UEFA Cup, the last European trophy a Dutch club has won to this day.
"Then some problems arose," Smolarek said.
"A new coach (Ruud Gullit) came in, and Bert van Marwijk left Feyenoord for Dortmund. And after a while, I followed him there".
Smolarek played just three games under Gullit in the latter's first six months at the club and joined Borussia Dortmund on loan in the winter of 2005 before signing permanently for €750,000 in the summer. Life at the North Rhine-Westphalia club started well under Van Marwijk, and even though De Kuip was the stadium of his dreams, the Westfalenstadion impressed the Pole mightily.
"Feyenoord, wow! Big stadium. But then I went to Dortmund and saw their stadium and thought: 'Oh wow, this is quite a step up'," Smolarek admitted.
"I wasn't afraid. I started well, played against Wolfsburg, and scored a goal, even though Borussia was going through a difficult time. I was a kid coming from the bench at Feyenoord, but the coach wanted me and believed in me. I scored my first goal, then my second, third, fourth... Then I thought: 'Okay, things are going better and better."
Smolarek said he was the type of player the Dortmund fans loved to see: "I came in the winter on loan; I was doing well, and that meant something to the fans. I worked hard, I scored, we started winning games, and they remember me well there.
"To this day, I have a good relationship with BVB; they invite me to matches. It’s nice because it feels like family there. The backroom staff remembers me, too; it’s a great connection."
Dortmund career and Polish legacy
In total, Smolarek played 87 games and scored 26 goals for the club that meant so much to him at the peak of his career.
"Some players go to Dortmund and can’t handle the pressure, but I dealt with it. Those fans, the 'Yellow Wall' - I knew I had to give them joy. Sometimes it doesn't work out, but I’d give everything for those fans - sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, but always together. I think they saw in me that I’d always fight, and that’s why they liked me so much."
At the start of the 2007 season, Smolarek left Dortmund for Racing Santander in a move he'd handle differently if he could turn back time.
"If I could do it again, I wouldn't have left at that time. It was August, the end of the transfer window. Dortmund came to me saying I had a huge chance to play in Spain. The thing was, I didn't know how it worked with agents. I didn't have an agent because I didn't need one - my dad always handled it.
"When I went to BVB, the coach wanted me. When I was leaving Dortmund, they told me it was a great offer, but it turned out some manager from the Netherlands had set it up and definitely spoken to the club. If I had known that back then, I would have done things differently. I would have waited and talked to the coach to see whether he wanted me or if it was just the club owner.
"I regret that I agreed to leave Dortmund so quickly. They put me to the wall. I didn't know what was going on at all. They gave me that contract so quickly; I was young, what did I have? If there had been an association like this back then that could have analysed the contract and explained it to me, then I would never have signed that contract in Spain".
Euzebiusz Smolarek’s successful spell encouraged the German club to look more closely at Polish players. When Smolarek left, Jakub Blaszczykowski moved to Dortmund, followed by Lukasz Piszczek and Robert Lewandowski. The three became key players for BVB under Jurgen Klopp and were regulars when the team won German league titles and reached the Champions League final in 2013.
Ebi explained that he played a significant role in bringing the Poles to the team.
"There were a few unofficial conversations. Michael Zorc, who was BVB’s sporting director at the time, spoke to me. He asked about Polish players, what Poland was like and what the league was like. I said: 'The league? I’m not sure, but we definitely have some talented players.’ Dortmund weren’t like Bayern at that time. They had to search for players.
"The period when I was there wasn’t easy for the club, so they were looking for players who might not cost too much but had talent. Later, they had three such players from Poland. Even when Kuba was about to join, Michael Zorc asked me what he was like and what I thought of him. But it was always unofficial, over breakfast or dinner. I told him what I thought, and everything worked out," Smolarek said with a laugh.
Struggles under Leo Beenhakker
By the time Euro 2008 rolled around, Smolarek was a seasoned veteran for the Polish national team. After an excellent qualifying campaign, the players were seen as idols in their country. The whole nation hoped for a great result at the tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
The media hyped the team and expected a strong performance under famous Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker, who died in April 2025. As Smolarek recalls, the pressure might have been too high, but he saw the problem elsewhere.
"Working with Leo Beenhakker was generally good, but not at the start or the end. In the middle, during the qualifiers, it looked great, and it's a pity that things went the way they did at the Euros.
"I have an opinion on that, and it's not that I can't say it now that Leo is gone. I talked to him over coffee a few years ago, and he confirmed my opinion. The media pressure was heavy because it was our first time at the Euros, and it weighed on us a bit, but it wasn't the main reason. In my opinion, the main problem was unfortunately poor preparation," Smolarek said, bringing up a long season with Racing Santander.
"I had played 34 matches in Spain. I played practically every game all season, and I was exhausted, but I still had to train in that pre-tournament period like players who had played much less. We trained very intensely. I said several times that I felt tired. We were doing those two training sessions every day...
"I suggested that the guys who needed it could train harder or be monitored, but for me? The coach didn't quite grasp that those players who had played the entire season needed some rest or tactical training, not just fitness or endurance work. And the call-ups - I won't name names - but he changed the team personally and tactically."
Beenhakker brought about changes to the Polish team, but they didn't have the desired effect.
"We weren't playing the style we used to play. The coach changed the system, and later he admitted it might have been a mistake. It certainly was a mistake, but he wanted to try. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose..."
Poland did not achieve great success at Euro 2008. It began with a 2-0 loss to Germany, followed by a controversial 1-1 draw with Austria, and ended with a 1-0 defeat to Croatia. Poland crashed out of the tournament with just one point in the group stages.
The coach himself, however, was a major authority figure for the players, as Smolarek emphasises. Unfortunately, after the Euros, Poland performed very poorly in the World Cup qualifiers, ultimately failing to qualify, and the coach was dismissed in a rather unpleasant atmosphere.
Describing the coach, Smolarek has nothing but admiration for the late Beenhakker.
"He was a great figure. He coached massive clubs in the Netherlands, and he coached Real Madrid, after all. He had such an aura that he’d say such simple things, and we would listen. Well, maybe I didn't always (laughs), but generally, yes.
"He emphasised passing the ball. It seems simple, right? But he insisted we pass to our teammate's dominant foot to keep the game moving. Tactically, we were very well positioned. He put a lot of emphasis on tactics so that they would translate to the pitch."
His relationship with Beenhakker had its ups and downs, but Smolarek insisted it came from both sides.
"His briefings were often funny, but he knew his stuff, and everyone looked up to him and listened. I didn't always listen, but I had my own issues with the coach.
"After the World Cup qualifier against San Marino, I scored a goal and pretended to be injured because he had benched me earlier (against Slovenia). It was a little 'flick to the nose' for him; I had to apologise in the dressing room later, but it wasn't a big deal".
'That still gives me joy in life'
At the end of the interview, Euzebiusz Smolarek was asked what he would tell his sons in a few years about the best part of a footballer's life. He answered without hesitation that it was meeting people and representing Poland, which he is extremely proud of, just as he is of his appearances for BVB or Feyenoord.
"The way I talked to people in Poland, the joy I gave them. When I’m in Warsaw, Lodz, Gdansk, or Poznan, people come up to me. I saw the joy they had back when I played for the national team, and that still gives me joy in life, knowing I showed something," Smolarek said.
"Maybe I retired too early, but I was really proud of the matches I played. That I played for the national team and could wear the Poland shirt". In life, you sometimes have to make decisions like that.
"I played in many places; no one can take that away from me. I can always tell my kids I played there. Sometimes a career ends. For me, maybe too early, but that’s how my life went. Sometimes I had luck, and sometimes I didn't; I didn't end up at a club that suited me or hit it off with a coach who believed in me. That’s how it is."
