Piotr Zieliński

Early career

Zieliński started his career at his local club, Orzeł Ząbkowice Śląskie, where he was coached by his father. At the age of 14, he joined Zagłębie Lubin, even though he was wanted by Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool and also had trials at Feyenoord and Heerenveen. He spent four years at the academy playing in the Młoda Ekstraklasa League and was regularly called up to the Poland national under-17 football team. He rose through the ranks and started training with the first team at the age of 15, under Franciszek Smuda. At 17, he moved abroad to join Udinese after they scouted him on international youth tournament.

Udinese

In the 2011–12 season, he played in the Campionato Nazionale Primavera scoring two goals in twelve matches. Zieliński made his debut in Serie A on 2 November 2012 when he replaced Antonio Di Natale in 91st minute of a match against Cagliari. On 14 April 2013, he made his first appearance in the club's starting lineup and registered an assist in Udinese's convincing 3–0 victory over Parma.

Empoli (loan)

In 2014, Zieliński joined Empoli on loan. On 13 August 2014, he made his official debut for Empoli replacing Daniele Croce in the 80th minute of the match against AS Roma, which ended in a 0–1 loss for his club. On 3 December 2014, he made his debut appearance in Coppa Italia in a 2–0 victory over Genoa. On 26 April 2015, he provided an assist in a 2–2 draw against Atalanta. Zieliński ended his season-long loan to Empoli…

On 4 June 2013, Zieliński made his senior international debut for the Poland national team in a friendly match against Liechtenstein. On 31 July 2013, he was called up for a friendly match against Denmark scoring his first goal for the national team in the second half and securing a 3–2 win for Poland. On 27 March 2018, he scored a goal in a friendly match against South Korea, which concluded in Poland's 3–2 win. In May 2018, he was named in Poland's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. On 7 September 2018, he scored a goal after an assist from Robert Lewandowski against Italy in a UEFA Nations League match that ended in a 1–1 draw. On 10 June 2019, he registered an assist to Kamil Grosicki's goal in a UEFA European Championship elimination match against Israel contributing to a 4–0 victory for Poland. On 5 March 2021, he provided an assist to Kamil Jóźwiak's goal in a FIFA World Cup elimination match against Hungary at the Puskás Aréna, which concluded in a 3–3 draw. On 8 June 2021, he netted a goal in a friendly match against Iceland. On 23 June 2021, he provided an assist to Robert Lewandowski's goal to make it 1–2 in a UEFA Euro 2020 group stage match against Sweden, which ended in Poland's 2–3 loss. On 26 November 2022, he scored the first goal in Poland's 2–0 victory over Saudi Arabia in a group stage match at the 2022 World Cup. On 7 June 2024, he scored a goal in a friendly match against Ukraine at the National Stadium contributing to Poland's…

Zieliński usually plays the left-sided midfielder role as a part of the midfield three or two, and has occasionally played on the right side to implement specific in-game tactics. Exceptional ball control, precision passing and the ability of maneuvering through tight spaces are seen as his distinctive strengths. One of Zieliński's other notable skills on the pitch is the ability to shoot with either foot equally well. His ambidexterity had been perfected with much work and practice since early childhood. His consistency, the ability to read the game and crucial passes made him one of the pillars of the team during his spell at Napoli contributing to his club winning the Coppa Italia in 2020 and the Serie A title in 2023. Zieliński cites Zinedine Zidane and Marek Hamšík as his footballing inspirations. He also admired Tomáš Rosický in his youth.

His older brothers Tomasz and Paweł are also footballers. On 15 June 2019, Zieliński married Laura Słowiak with whom he has a son, Maksymilian (born 2021). In 2021, he passed an Italian language exam at the B2 level at the University of Naples. On 9 January 2023, he was awarded the Father Albert Medal for establishing and funding two children's homes in Lower Silesia. On 6 October 2023, Zieliński also formally received the Italian citizenship. On 27 December 2023, he became an honorary citizen of Giugliano in Campania.