Marco Silva targets Jakub Kaminski, winger who nearly quit football for acrobatic gymnastics | OneFootball

Marco Silva is targeting Jakub Kaminski for Benfica, with the winger appearing close to becoming the club’s next signing. His route to the top is unusual, shaped by a childhood steeped in acrobatic gymnastics.

"I almost gave up. I would probably have returned to gymnastics for good, but there was a game where I came on, played very well and I think I scored and made an assist," he told Weszlo in 2020.

"I remember they even wrote on the club’s website, ‘Kaminski is impressing with his quality’. I became the revelation of the season and was later called up for regional sides."

Long before he stood out on the pitch, Kaminski trained in acrobatic gymnastics, a family tradition with his parents running an academy in Ruda Śląska. He won medals and split time between both sports after his mother asked if he wanted to join a football club, with the family insisting he kept up gymnastics. The toughest spell came in youth football, when chances to play were scarce.

From there his progress was steady, leading to the professional ranks, a Poland debut and a key role at Cologne. Kaminski is now viewed as one of Benfica’s priority options to bolster the left side of Marco Silva’s attack.

Source: Glorioso 1904