2023/24 Summer Additions

After an 8th place finish in A Klasa last season, the Dragoons have been busy with their summer recruitment. After finding themselves in a new league with new opponents it should be an interesting competition this term.

The Expats have already started their season competitively, reaching the 3rd round of the Puchar Polski. After receiving a bye in the first round, the Expats defeated Juvenia Prandocin, however, lost out 1-0 to SF Fairant to exit the competition.

We are pleased to announce that we have introduced 13 new players to the side, with an additional three returning!

Firstly an introduction to our new signings:

Jan Krzyzanowski 🇵🇱

At 16 years old, Jan becomes the youngest ever player to pull on the blue jersey.

An attacking minded midfielder, he will bring plenty of energy and hard work to the side. Jan turned up to a recent trial match and despite his age, did not look at all out of place.

The Polish national, previously played at the B-Elite Soccer Academy in Colorado Springs, USA.

He is a big fan of FC Barcelona and counts Polish legends Robert Lewandowski and Kuba Błaszczykowski as his favourite players of all time.

With Jan heading back to the US for the rest of the year, he will link up with the team in the 2nd half of the season.

Isreal Olusoji 🇳🇬

Isreal becomes the first Nigerian national to join the Dragoons! 

He is a graduate of the Emperor Soccer Academy in Lagos, where he spent 6 years honing his talent.

Sewedor left Nigeria to come to Poland to study at the WSPA university, Lublin and brings a wealth of footballing experience. The Nigerian previously played for Górnik Łęczna II in the 4th division, MLKS Włodawianka Włodawa and more recently in A Klasa for Iskra Głogoczów in the Myślenice region of Malopolskie.

Isreal is a strong player, who possesses good pace and agility to get by players in 1-1 situations. He is equally adept at playing on the wing or as a striker and will provide healthy competition to the side.

An Arsenal fan, Isreal admired the talents of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry growing up. Away from the Gunners, he counts R9, CR7, Ronaldinho and Neymar as his footballing idols. 

Tarek Boufeniza 🇩🇿

North Africa has a hotbed of footballing talent and the Dragoons are glad to add Tarek to our ranks.

Tarek is from Algeria and will boost the competition for places in the middle of the pitch. In his home country, he played at amateur level for a number of clubs including USMA, Hydra FC and JS Bahja.

Whilst being talented at football, it is not the only sport he excels at. He is also a keen athlete with his speciality being in Judo. A black belt in his discipline, since moving to Poland Tarek has represented Wisła Kraków’s Judo section. For sure a good person to have on your side! 

Tarek is happy to play anywhere on the pitch (except goal) but is best in central midfield. He can either play a deeper lying role, or further up the field behind the striker. 

His favourite football team is Italian giants AC Milan and he counts Ronaldinho and Zinedine Zidane as his idols. 

Salah Missi 🇩🇿

A second Algerian in quick succession joins the Dragoons for the forthcoming season. A full-back by trade and comfortable on either side, Salah is a welcome addition to the squad. 

He played junior football in Algeria for CRB Ferdjioua club before leaving home for Poland. Whilst in Krakow, Salah played for fella A Klasa side Bratniak Krakow. 

Salah has all the attributes needed to play full-back, with pace to burn, strong in the tackle and able to get up and down the pitch with little problem. He attended a trial game and impressed the coaches. 

He recently made his Expats debut in the Puchar Polski against Juvenia Prandocin, helping his side to victory.

The Algerian counts Barcelona, Milan and Man United as teams he supports, whilst Leo Messi, Dani Alves and fellow compatriot Riyad Mahrez make up his favoured players.

Ernest Matoshi 🇳🇴

Another new addition to the side is Norwegian full-back, Ernest. Hailing from Norway’s oldest city Tønsberg, Ernest can play on both flanks and can also play in midfield.

The Norwegian has been playing football from the age of 5 starting out at Barkåker. He continued his development at Stokke from the age of 15 before signing for Eik Tønsberg.

Sadly, at 19 a recurring ankle injury forced Ernest to stop playing. He transitioned into coaching the U16’s at Eik Tønsberg before leaving to continue his studies.

After moving to Krakow, Ernest saw the club on Instagram and came for training sessions before signing. 

Ernest is a devoted Arsenal fan with Thierry Henry is favourite all time player. He also has an affinity for Abou Diaby and current defender Ben White.

Marwan Mohamed 🇪🇬

Another North African signing sees Egyptian national Marwan join the club.

Marwan is adept at playing either on the left of midfield & wing and in a central attacking midfield role behind the forwards.

A born winner, he played for 5 years in the Al Ahly Academy before moving to Poland. Once in Poland he has previously played for Sportowiec Modlniczka.

Following a recommendation to trial with the Dragoons, Marwan impressed the coaches who quickly made the move to obtain the Egyptian’s signature.

Marwan is a very tricky player with the ball at his feet, using his pace and trickery to dazzle and leave opponents behind. Being a mercurial talent, he will no doubt be a useful addition to the Expats frontline.

He counts Al Ahly, Barcelona and Liverpool as his favourite teams to watch. When it comes to his favourite player of all time, Marwan mentioned that Messi will be on the top of the list, followed by Zinedine Zidane and R9.

Sasha Arshakian 🇺🇦

Everyone is going to love Sasha! 

A Ukrainian national, a chance meeting with Vałdzis on a tram led to Sasha training with the club over the summer.

He instantly impressed the coaches with his ability to read the game and tough, no nonsense tackling. 

The hard-hitting central defender has a good footballing pedigree, coming through the ranks of Ukrainian 2nd Division side FC Podillya Khmelnytskyi. Joining as a junior, Sasha played for the team for 7 years up until Under 19 level.

He joins the club looking to bring stability to the backline and hoping to finish as high as possible in the league.

Sasha is a fan of Spanish giants Real Madrid and also likes English side Arsenal. His footballing idol will come as no surprise, the walking red card himself: Sergio Ramos!

Roman Bilovol 🇦🇷

At 18 years old, Roman will be one of the youngest players to pull on the Dragoons jersey.

Hailing from Buenos Aires, but of Ukrainian parentage, Roman becomes the first Argentine to play for the Expats.

A right back by trade, Bilovol brings plenty of energy and tough tackling to the side. In his native country, he played for Comunicaciones and Excursionistas at junior level. He later represented Deportivo Norte, a side created with friends. 

Upon arriving in Krakow in January ‘23, Roman joined Albertus Krakow in B Klasa. With 3 former Albertus players in the Dragoons ranks, the defender joined the club for pre-season training and now will be challenging for a first team spot.

Roman is a fan of San Lorenzo, the first side from Argentina to compete in the Copa Libertadores. He also has an affinity for teams like Dynamo Kyiv, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus.

Amazingly, Roman counts his favourite player of all time as Cristiano Ronaldo. He mentioned Ronaldo’s dedication and desire to improve as something he can identify with, as well as the way he goes about playing the game. 

Boris Sidareika

Boris will become the third Belarusian to pull on the Dragoons shirt!

Whilst Boris has never trained professionally, he has plenty of experience at an amateur level. During his studies, the Belarusian played Futsal for his faculty side. He later played in a DIY football league in Minsk for a couple of years, supporting human rights, diversity and equality. A small sided format (6v6) Boris represented “Vertilishki”, winning the league and cup competitions.

Boris later returned to Futsal, playing for King City in 3rd division of the Minsk district. After moving to Moscow, the Belarusian continued to play football before moving back to Minsk and eventually found himself in Krakow.

In Krakow, a meeting with former Dragoon Alexey Zelenkin on the famous Thursday night football training, lead him to training with the club.

Equally capable of playing on the right or centre of midfield, Boris brings hard work, discipline and calmness to the side.

Boris is a fan of Chelsea and his favourite players are Leo Messi, Kevin De Bruyne and Andrea Pirlo.

Corneille Malonga 🇨🇩

We are pleased to welcome our second player from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Corneille.

A true utilityman, Corneille is capable of playing anywhere in midfield as well as being comfortable at right full-back. He possesses good speed, strength, technicality and excellent communication skills and will no doubt be fighting for a starting spot.

Back in Congo, Corneille played in the 3rd division with Atosh FC and more recently for Agape Białołękam in Liga Okręgowa in Warsaw. After moving to Krakow, Corneille came to trial with the Dragoons and has now joined the club for the upcoming season.

He recently made his first appearance in a Dragoons shirt in the Puchar Polski against Fairant. Despite a losing effort, Corneille excelled in the middle of the park winning the man of the match award.

A Barcelona fan, Malonga lists Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Ivorian legend Yaya Touré as his favourite players.

Ayoub Chardal 🇲🇦

Ayoub joined the club last season, but was unable to play due to registration issues. 

He started playing football at U13 level for Diffa Hassani Jadidi in his native Morocco. Ayoub stayed with the club until under 21 level and continued his career in the Polish lower leagues. The Moroccan has represented RKS Zagłębie Dąbrowa Górnicza, KP Błękitni Sarnów and most recently KS Cyklon Rogoźnik.

He made his first Dragoons appearance coming off the bench in the Puchar Polski defeat against Fairant.

Ayoub excels with the ball at his feet, being able to glide past players with ease. With great technical ability, the Moroccan could be a vital chink in the Dragoons armoury.

Preferring a role behind the strikers, Ayoub is a fan of Barcelona and their style of play. He cites Ronaldinho as his favourite player to have watched and we hope he can bring some magic to the Dragoons!

Keanu Solomons 🇿🇦

South African midfielder Keanu is another new signing to bolster the centre of the park.

Keanu possesses a winning mentality and played in Portugal for 1º Dezembro. After returning back to South Africa, Solomons joined La Masia.

After coming across an advert, Keanu contacted the Dragoons and came to training. After making an instant impression the coaches moved quickly to secure his signature.

Keanu is a fan of Barcelona, but also admires current English champions Manchester City. Being a Barca fan, his favourite player is Lionel Messi, however, he is also a big fan of French midfield star N’golo Kante.

Taye Johnson 🇿🇦

A second South African joins the Dragoons in 20 year old Taye.

Capable of playing on either wing or behind the striker, Taye has the pace and playmaking to scare A Klasa defences.

Despite his young age, Taye boasts a wealth of footballing experience. He left South Africa for Peruaged 9 and played youth football at the Esther Grande de Bentin academy. At aged 13, he made the move to Germany where he represented CFR Pforzheim 1899. Two years later, the South African was on the move once again, this time to Argentina. His second stint daw him represent Argentinos Juniors U17 before Covid saw him return home.

Taye now finds himself in Krakow and has joined the Dragoons for the upcoming season.

He is a fan of Manchester City and counts Thierry Henry and Dutch wing wizard Memphis Depay as his favourite players.

Returning Faces

In a blast from the past, we have three players rejoining the side for the season. Firstly we welcome back:

Vałdzis Fuhaš

Vałdzis is another player that rejoined the club last season, but saw paperwork hinder his game time. 

The versatile Belarusian utilityman returns to the club after spending time abroad. Vałdzis played in the Fenix Trophy last season for Spanish outfit, CD Cuenca-Mestallistes 1925 as well as for the Dragoons. He contributed the only goal for the Spaniards in a 4-1 defeat against KSK Beveren before moving back to Poland.

A jack of all trades, Vałdzis previously joined the side in the 2020/21 season. He managed 7 appearances in his first spell, scoring twice and assisting once. 

Oleksii Bilorukavyi 🇺🇦

Also rejoining the side is Ukrainian defender Oleksii. The left back is capable of playing at centre half and original joined in the 2019/20 season. 

He originally found the Dragoons on Facebook and stayed with the club until moving to Łódź. During his time with the team, he made 17 appearances and picked up 2 assists.

A holder of the UEFA B coaching licence, Oleksii has combined playing at district level with coaching in both Krakow and Łódź.

Oleksii will without doubt bring in professionalism and hopes to bring an improvement to the quality in the team. With his coaching knowledge he will also be assisting the coaches behind the scenes.

The Ukrainian is a fan of Dynamo Kyiv and he counts his favoured players as Messi, Ibrahimovic as well as fellow compatriot Andriy Yarmolenko.

Jacek Fąfara 🇵🇱

Polish giant Jacek is back with the Dragoons after a spell away from the game. 

The towering defender made a solitary appearance for the side last time around, but is now back to challenge for a spot in the team. He recently made a comeback appearance in the recent cup defeat to Fairant.

Comfy with the ball on the deck, Jacek has previous experience at A Klasa with Gajowianka Gaj, Strażak Rączna and Libertów.

2023/24 Squad

The Dragoons squad for this season is comprised of 46 players from 26 different nationalities, with an average age of 28 years. The youngest player is our new midfield maestro Jan Krzyzanowski 🇵🇱 (16 years old). The oldest player is our legendary club captain Daniel Silva 🇵🇹 (39 years old), who is still going strong in approaching his 5th season at the club.

2023/24 Staff

The Dragoons technical team is led by head coach Hugo Cruz 🇵🇹, assisted by Scott Halcrow 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, David Nicolas 🇫🇷 (all being former Dragoons players) and Lorenzo Bartolomei 🇮🇹.