I’M NO WILD BHOY LIKE JACKI
Klimala insists the Glasgow nightlife is not for him after settling down with fiancee and a pet dog called Lambo!
ALMOST 30 years after taking his leave of Celtic Park, the legend of Dariusz Dziekanowski continues to grow arms and legs in Glasgow.
A highly-talented striker who famously netted four goals against Partizan Belgrade only to see his side turfed out of Europe, Jacki — as he memorably became known — had an unfortunate aversion to getting his sleeves rolled up when the going got tough.
Come the wee small hours of the morning, though, the Pole always managed to come alive. The joke at the time went that if he moved as smoothly through Premier Division defences as he did through the city’s various good-time emporiums, he’d be at the Bernabeu.
Born six years after Dziekanowski’s last tango in Victoria’s nightclub, Patryk Klimala is unsurprisingly unfamiliar with the circumstances which undoubtedly hampered the on-field displays of his compatriot in the early 1990s.
He is, though, no stranger to such a cautionary tale. Signed by Legia Warsaw as a teenager, he returned to his village from the capital little over a year later with a flea in his ear and his contract ripped up.
Although Klimala claimed he’d been wrongly accused of drinking alcohol, he owned up to being in a nightclub when he shouldn’t have been. He’s since been commendably candid about how wrong he was to treat Legia’s famed academy like a holiday camp.
Sat in the same seat Dziekanowski occupied 31 years before, Klimala has seen the error of his ways. There will be no tripping the light fantastic in Glasgow. He is here for business not pleasure.
‘The young life is behind me,’ he insisted. ‘For the last five years, I have been with my fiancee (Milena). We have a dog called Lambo and we are planning a family. There will be no discotheques. I’m not planning any drinking sessions.’
For all Dziekanowski’s fondness of all things nocturnal, he was, and still is, idolised by Celtic fans because he could play. The same, indeed, could be said of the majority of the seven Poles to have played for the club prior to Klimala. Dariusz Wdowczyk, Maciej Zurawski and Artur Boruc each made indelible marks at the club, all finding Celtic Park the perfect environment in which to thrive.
Asked if he felt Poles had generally acquitted themselves well at the club in the past, Klimala replied: ‘I agree with that. I don’t really remember Boruc and Zurawski but I can watch them on the internet and I know they were good players.
‘I’m planning to try and get in touch with them, if I can, to help me acclimatise, learn more about Celtic and Scotland.
‘Since I arrived, everybody has been so nice to me and I can feel that support. Hopefully, in another two or three months when I do interviews, I will be able to answer the questions on my own without an interpreter. ‘I only started learning English maybe two or three months ago. I understand maybe 80-90 per cent of what is being said but, in terms of communication, hopefully I will overcome it soon.’ Speaking after completing his £3.5million transfer from Jagiellonia Bialystok, it was impossible for any of Klimala’s emotions or motivations to become lost in translation. Explaining why he dismissed strong interest from clubs including Genoa, the 21-year-old has evidently been struck by the ambition and history of the Glasgow institution. ‘I feel it is a big achievement for me to come to Scotland and sign for Celtic,’ he added.
‘I have always dreamed of playing for a big club. Celtic is a huge club with a lot of history.
‘I had a few offers from other clubs, but I never even thought of moving elsewhere as soon as I learned Celtic were interested. I made my mind up straight away to come here. I’m very happy about it.’
Although he was recently quoted in Poland as saying that he wouldn’t move anywhere to be a second-choice striker, Klimala isn’t blinded to the situation for which he’s signed up.
Odsonne Edouard is very much the man in possession of the jersey and, for as long as Leigh Griffiths and Vakoun Issouf Bayo are on the payroll, they will also harbour hopes of playing significant roles.
‘I’m prepared for a fight to get into the team, but I don’t see Edouard in any shape or form as my enemy,’ he stated.
‘If I’m going to play alongside him, I’ll support him. If I’m going to be on the bench, I’ll still do my best for the team when I get the chance to play. Whatever is best for the team, I will adjust.’
His sources of inspiration are more varied than the iconic figure adorning every economy billboard in Poland.
‘Robert Lewandowski is a great player,’ Klimala said. ‘I have looked at his achievements, but I see the other great players and there is a lot to take from all of them.’
Having trained with his new team-mates in the past two days, there is no real impediment to why he couldn’t play some role against Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup on Saturday.
‘I’m not sure how long it’s going to take,’ he said. ‘I feel I’m ready, but I’m also prepared for gradual progress to the main team. I’m ready to fight for a spot.’
With each passing day, the names and faces become more recognisable. Prior to finalising the deal, Klimala freely admits that his knowledge of the squad was limited.
‘When I told my (Jagiellonia) team-mates I was coming to Celtic, there was a lot of talk in the changing room about it,’ he said. ‘Some of the players showed me some clips of Scott Brown and how aggressive his tackles were.
‘They warned me and asked if I was sure what I was doing. Thankfully, I was in his team in training, so he hasn’t tackled me yet.’
Brown, it can safely be assumed, will already have schooled him on the importance of what lies ahead.
A home defeat to Rangers on December 29 has made for a long winter break and has ensured that fingernails will be bitten to the quick as Celtic’s ambitions of winning a ninth straight title go on the line.
‘Before I came here, I knew all about the run to this point in the club’s history,’ Klimala said.
‘There are obviously going to be a lot of challenges.
‘But after training for two days, without being over-confident, I can see there is a chance to achieve this. But it’s going to take a lot of hard work.’