Lewandowski named Poland's finest

Borussia Dortmund forward Robert Lewandowski has been honoured as Poland's outstanding player of 2011 by the country's Piłka Nożna magazine, while Arsenal FC goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny was named discovery of the year.

Lewandowski appeared 33 times as Dortmund took the Bundesliga crown last season and has already notched ten times in 16 league games this term. The former KKS Lech Poznań man has also struck four of his 13 international goals during 2011, most recently in Poland's 2-0 defeat of Belarus on 11 October.

The striker was unable to collect his award in person after appearing for his club in Sunday's 1-1 draw with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, but he was honoured to top the poll. "I was once chosen as discovery of the year and now I am player of the year," said the 23-year-old. "I am glad to win this as it means I have made progress. Such awards are important as they prove all the hard work is worth it. I think I deserved it."

Lewandowski pipped club-mate Łukasz Piszczek and Szczęsny to the prize, though the latter picked up the discovery award. Sebastian Mila of league leaders WKS Śląsk Wroclaw was named as the best player in the Polish Ekstraklasa, while Legia Warszawa's Miroslav Radović was declared the outstanding foreign player in the top flight. The Serbian's club manager Maciej Skorża won coach of the year and, in a fine hat-trick of plaudits for Legia, they were named team of the year.