Krzysztof Nowak

Krzysztof Nowak (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkʂɨʂtɔf ˈnɔvak]; 27 September 1975 – 26 May 2005) was a Polish football player,[1] best known for his stint with the VfL Wolfsburg team.

Krzysztof Nowak

Personal information
Full name	Krzysztof Damian Nowak
Date of birth	(1975-09-27)27 September 1975
Place of birth	Warsaw, Poland
Date of death	26 May 2005(2005-05-26) (aged 29)
Place of death	Wolfsburg, Germany
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Opal Lubosz
0000–1993	RKS Ursus Warszawa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–1995	Sokół Pniewy	54	(1)
1995	GKS Tychy	15	(0)
1995–1996	Panachaiki Patras	13	(1)
1996	Legia Warsaw	1	(0)
1996–1998	Atlético Paranaense	25	(3)
1998–2002	VfL Wolfsburg	83	(10)
International career
1997–1999	Poland	10	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nowak began playing football in 1985. He slowly rose in prominence and in 1996 moved to Brazil with fellow countryman Mariusz Piekarski to play for Atlético Paranaense. He always wanted to play in Europe, so he moved to Germany in 1998 to play for Wolfsburg. Nowak, dubbed "ten of hearts" by his fans, was popular as well as skilled, but was forced to retire from the sport in early 2002 after he learned he had motor neurone disease (MND). Nowak continued to watch the games until shortly before his death.

Nowak was also an important player for the Poland national team, for whom he played 10 games and scored one goal.

In 2002, Nowak began a foundation[2] to help find a cure for MND (he died from this illness). Nowak left behind a wife, Beata, and two young children – a son, Maksymillian, and a daughter, Maria. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge brought the foundation in Germany much attention, since many Germans who participated in it, donated the money to the foundation.