Alan Uryga: This is my home
Damian Urbaniec
Alan Uryga will remain a Wisła Kraków player until June 30, 2028, with the option to extend his contract for another year. To mark the occasion, the White Star captain spoke with Damian Urbaniec about the beginnings of his football journey, his first experiences in the senior team’s dressing room, and the most important moments of his career. He also talked about the lessons he learned from his injuries and the dream he still hopes to fulfill at Reymonta.
Alan, you’ve extended your contract with Wisła Kraków until June 30, 2028, with the option to extend it for another year. You’ve been with Wisła since you were very young. What does signing this deal mean to you? Does it still stir up emotions, or are they a little less intense now?
Absolutely, it does. I think it’s actually the opposite - even more so. Once you’ve become an experienced player, and I’ve spent many years at Wisła Kraków, every new extension feels like an even bigger deal to me, if I can put it that way. There’s no denying that I’m happy for every additional year with Wisła because, as I’ve said many times, this is my home, and I’m very, very, very proud to keep representing Wisła Kraków.
I mentioned those early years, when you first became involved with Wisła, and I’d like to go back to a match where your age group, born in 1994, played against the 1995 age group on the main pitch at the stadium on R22. How do you remember that match? When you ran onto the pitch as a young boy, did you imagine that one day you’d play there in a White Star shirt as a senior player?
Yes, I remember a meeting like that. As for the circumstances, I believe it was the match before the final league round, which wasn’t even going to seal the title, since by then it was probably just a formality as far as Wisła Kraków winning the Polish championship was concerned. The celebrations were due to take place afterwards. So our coach at the time, Marek Konieczny, organized the meeting. He had, so to speak, the connections and the influence to put together such a great event.
It was a huge occasion for all of us back then. Before that, in my case, we could only watch Wisła and cheer them on from the stands. This was our first time on the pitch, experiencing the whole stadium atmosphere, although it’s worth noting that it was the old stadium, so the circumstances were completely different from today. But it was a big, big, big occasion. Was I thinking about it then? I was probably dreaming. I was probably dreaming more than planning anything.
You came through every level of the Academy. When did you first really think that football could be more than just a childhood passion? Was there a moment, or perhaps a person, who made you realize that this really was the right path for you?
I mean, there probably wasn't one typical moment, some kind of turning point. It was more of a process, the result of many, many events and many stages in my life.
I think if I had to point to something, it would probably be getting called up to the youth national team. Not just for training camps, but for matches, first friendlies and then qualifying tournaments. That's when, probably at 15 or 16, most of the boys who went there realized that starting some kind of adventure or career was within reach. So I think that was a sign that something could come of it.
You currently have 191 appearances and 10 goals for Wisła Kraków. I think it's hard to find people like you who are connected not only with Wisła Kraków, but with any club in Poland at all. Do these numbers mean anything to you? And as for setting yourself further milestones, is there a number you'd like to reach in terms of appearances wearing the White Star?
There isn't a number. It's hard to make assumptions about things like this. It's a bit like fortune-telling. Do they matter? They do in the sense that I'd like the numbers to be as high as possible, that's for sure.
As for appearances, goals, and all the numbers, they're a nice memento. The number of appearances and having made your mark on history in some way, both in terms of goals and matches. So I hope I'm still a long way from reaching the ceiling.
W your career, you're a very experienced player, having played not only for Wisła Kraków but also for other clubs. Tell me, you've trained under many coaches who had different approaches to football, the dressing room, and the players themselves. Was there a coach who made a particular impression on you? Or perhaps there's a saying that stuck in your memory, something you still remember today or will remember for a long time?
I don't think there was one in particular. I feel that everything I've experienced and carry with me now is the result and combination of all those coaches' qualities. You can definitely take something good from every coach and from working with each one, whether that's positives or even some shortcomings that can serve as a lesson and help you draw conclusions.
So I wouldn't want to single out any of the coaches, because that would mean creating some kind of ranking that could offend someone. And I absolutely wouldn't want that, because there were so many, starting with the youth teams, back at Wisła Kraków's football academy. I've met a lot of great people along the way, later through the junior teams and then in senior football. We'd have to mention a lot of names here and risk me forgetting someone, which would be an awkward situation.
You've experienced so many moments with Wisła Kraków. I'm talking about moments of triumph, but is there an event you always return to in your memory, and would like to go back to, even for just a few minutes, so you could stand in that place again at that particular time? Is there one event that stands out in your memory? I know it's a difficult question, because you have to pick just one when there are so many.
Yes. If I had to pick one, I don't think I'll surprise anyone by choosing that Polish Cup victory. It was Wisła Kraków's biggest success in many years, and the biggest one for me personally and for most of the guys in the dressing room, so it's no surprise that it's the first thing that comes to mind.
But let me add one more thing. Those first steps with the first team, probably. As far back as I can remember, they were filled with incredible excitement, such wonderful positive feelings and pride. I'm not even talking about my debut match itself, when I made my debut, but about those early days in general: being able to walk into that dressing room, the first training sessions, the first training camp. All in all, I remember it as a lot of fun and a very, very positive emotional experience.
It's great that you brought up those early days, because my next question is about them too, about your first steps in the first-team dressing room. Did you have a mentor in the dressing room back then? You're a leader now, a dressing-room leader and captain. But did someone help you settle into the team back then? Was there one particular person, or maybe a few?
I don't think I had a typical mentor, if I had to name someone. Above all, we stuck together with the younger players back then, as often happens when a few young players join the team: you tend to spend time with your own group. It makes you feel safe.
Of course, there were leaders in the dressing room, experienced players you could always count on. You definitely have to mention Radosław Sobolewski, Łukasz Garguła and Rafał Boguski, for example. They were the people you could turn to for support.
I settled in quite quickly too, I think, so to speak, and they took me under their wing and welcomed me into their group. Even though the age gap between us was huge, we later got along really, really well, and to this day I'm friends or even close friends with many of them, as is the case with Paweł Brożek, so I don't think that's too strong a word. So that's how it was from my perspective.
You forged your character in the kinds of dressing rooms you mentioned, but also on the pitch, and in those difficult moments brought on by the injuries that kept coming your way. What lesson did you take away, what did you learn in those most difficult moments for a footballer?
A lot of things. I think the biggest improvement has been in my mental resilience - becoming a bit thicker-skinned, not worrying about certain things, and focusing instead on what I can control.
Those are things that, I feel, speaking somewhat paradoxically, I managed to develop thanks to these injuries, because before, it was a bit hit and miss. Now, after these long months of hard work and rehabilitation, I think that’s where my mentality has changed the most.
Besides that, there are also the sporting aspects above all, and a new work ethic, getting to know a slightly different side of a footballer’s job than just what happens on that green rectangle. Lots of behind-the-scenes stuff, lots of new experiences in every area, whether physiotherapy, gym work, or physical conditioning. So it might sound funny, but in the end, there are a lot of positives to all of this too.
Let’s talk about your new contract now. You have more years ahead of you at Reymonta. Looking to the future, is there a dream of yours connected to Wisła Kraków that remains unfulfilled for now? And how would you like the fans to remember you? They already have a certain image of Alan Uryga, of course, but eventually the time will come to end your career. So what’s a dream of yours that still remains unfulfilled?
A few things. And, referring to those appearance numbers, above all I’d like to play as many matches as possible for Wisła Kraków, and to make sure I play well too - not just be on the pitch, but actually perform well and earn even more respect from the fans, building my standing in the minds of all the White Star supporters above all.
And my big dream is to cap it all off with the Polish championship title. We’ve managed to win the Polish Cup, and we’ve also achieved the promotion we’d been longing for and returned to the Ekstraklasa, so the next step - or rather, not a little step, that sounds wrong - the next step is the Polish championship. That would be… I don’t want to say “cap it all off,” because that would make it sound like I was about to leave, but it would be an incredible achievement. It’s something I’ll strive for, something I dream of.
And further ahead, much further into the future - hopefully many, many, many years from now - it’ll probably be the end of my career at Wisła Kraków. And I’ll say it again: that’s still a good few years away. I’m not going anywhere.
Alan Uryga: This is my home