Ben Starosta
Personal information
Full name Ben Mark Starosta[1]
Date of birth (1987-01-07) 7 January 1987[2]
Place of birth Sheffield, England
Position(s) Midfielder, Right back
Youth career
Sheffield United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2009 Sheffield United 0 (0)
2006 → Tamworth (loan) 4 (0)
2007 → Brentford (loan) 21 (0)
2008 → Bradford City (loan) 15 (0)
2008 → Aldershot Town (loan) 3 (0)
2008–2009 → Lechia Gdańsk (loan) 8 (0)
2009 Darlington 0 (0)
2009–2010 Alfreton Town 1 (0)
2010 Dandenong Thunder 10 (0)
2011 Frickley Athletic 0 (0)
2011–2012 Miedź Legnica 22 (0)
2013–2014 Global 25 (5)
2014–2015 Nuneaton Town 12 (0)
2018–2020 Parkgate FC 36 (0)
2023- AFC Dronfield 0 (0)
International career
2007 Poland U20 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:29, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

Ben Mark Starosta (born 7 January 1987) is a footballer who last played for Parkgate FC. Born in Sheffield, England he started his career at his hometown club Sheffield United, although he never broke through into the first team.[3] He was loaned to a number of clubs, both in England and Poland, while at United before eventually being released in 2009. After an aborted spell at Darlington he spent a period at Dandenong Thunder in Australia on non-contract terms before signing for Miedź Legnica in 2011. Starosta then spent a year at United Football League side Global in the Philippines. He has also played for the Polish national U-20 team, qualifying as he holds a Polish passport through his family.

Club career

Sheffield United

Starosta started his club career with Sheffield United and had a spell in early 2006 on work experience with non-league Tamworth.[4] He signed a new two-year contract with Sheffield United in May 2007,[5] before joining Brentford in a five-month loan deal in August 2007 after impressing in two pre-season friendlies.[6] Starosta played 23 games in all competitions for Brentford but was sent off during his last game for the club, a Boxing Day fixture against Wycombe Wanderers.[7] In January 2008, he signed for Bradford City on loan for the rest of the 2007–08 season.[8] Starosta made his debut for Bradford on 26 January 2008 as a half-time substitute in a 1–1 draw away at Wrexham.[9] He took Darren Williams' place at right back the following game and played in a total of 15 games for Bradford, sharing first team duties with Williams.[10]

Starosta returned to Sheffield United at the end of the season, but he moved back to League Two when he joined Aldershot Town on a one-month loan deal for the start of the 2008–09 season, with a view to a permanent transfer.[11] He made his Aldershot debut in Town's game against Accrington Stanley at the start of the season,[12] and played four games during his loan spell.[13] With a permanent deal with Aldershot not materialising, Starosta instead joined Polish side Lechia Gdańsk on a six-month loan deal in September 2008.[14] He returned to Sheffield United in February 2009 having played eleven times for Gdańsk but was released at the end of the season as the Blades cut back their squad.[15]

Darlington, Alfreton Town, Dandenong Thunder and Frickley Athletic

In the summer of 2009, Starosta was unveiled as one of ten new signings made by Colin Todd at League Two side Darlington following their spell in administration.[16][17] With the club still in financial difficulty however, he left by mutual consent before the season even started as Darlington tried to cut the wage bill.[18] Starosta then spent a spell with Conference North side Alfreton Town,[19] before, seeking a new club, he took up an offer from Australian Victorian Premier League side Dandenong Thunder, where he played on non-contract terms for a period, but soon left citing the poor quality of football on offer.[18] Starosta returned to the UK and signed a short-term deal with Frickley Athletic of the Northern Premier League in March 2011,[20] but failed to make an appearance for the club.

Miedź Legnica

In the summer of 2011 Starosta returned to Poland and signed a one-year deal for II liga side Miedź Legnica with the option of extending the deal for another two seasons.[21] After a slow start he broke into the first team in August, appearing as a second-half substitute in a game against Bytovia Bytów.[22] Establishing himself in the first team he played regularly through the season, making nineteen appearances as Miedź gained promotion to I liga.[22][23] Miedź took up the option of extending his deal for him to remain with the club for the new season,[24] however he subsequently left Legnica after the club cancelled his contract by mutual consent.[25]

Global

In January 2013 Starosta signed for UFL side Global in the Philippines,[26] making his league debut for Global at the start of February, scoring in a 2–0 victory over Pachanga Diliman.[27] Starosta was released by Global the following March, having played 26 games and scored five goals and being made captain of the club.[28]

Nuneaton Town

After leaving Global, Starosta rejoined his former Global manager Brian Reid, signing for Nuneaton Town in May 2014.[29]

Parkgate

After a very short spell at Harworth Colliery F.C., Starosta became player-coach at the South Yorkshire, England based club. He signed in 2018 before leaving in 2019 for personal reasons, however, he featured in a Northern Counties East Football League match day squad in early 2020.

Managerial career

Starosta was the player-coach between 2018 and 2020 for Northern Counties East Football League side Parkgate.[30]

International career

Starosta qualified to play for Poland through his grandfather who moved to England from Poland after the Second World War. He received his Polish passport in early 2007 and was called up to the Poland squad for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[31] He started all four games, including the 1–0 defeat of Brazil on 30 June.[31][32]

Personal life

Having been born to a Polish family but brought up in England, Starosta speaks English but has learned Polish during his time in the country.[33] As a young player his heroes were David Beckham and Kaká.[33] Starosta cites his main hobby as playing golf and also enjoys singing to the point that his Miedź teammates suggested he enter the Polish version of Must Be The Music.[24]

Honours

Miedź Legnica

Global

References

  1. ↑ "Ben Starosta". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  2. ↑ Ben Starosta at 90minut.pl (in Polish)
  3. ↑ Poland, Australia and the Philippines: The story of Ben Starosta who took on Agüero at the Under-20 World Cup englishplayersabroad.com
  4. ↑ "Tamworth boss brings in quartet". BBC Sport. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  5. ↑ "Gillespie offered new Blades deal". BBC Sport. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  6. ↑ "Butcher continues Bees rebuilding". BBC Sport. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  7. ↑ "Brentford 1–3 Wycombe". BBC Sport. 26 December 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  8. ↑ "Bradford capture Starosta on loan". BBC Sport. 21 January 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
  9. ↑ "Nix eyes golden boot". Telegraph & Argus. 27 January 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2008.
  10. ↑ "Ben Starosta". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  11. ↑ "Aldershot sign Starosta & Davies". BBC Sport. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  12. ↑ "Accrington 0–1 Aldershot". BBC Sport. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
  13. ↑ "Starosta leaves Shots after loan". BBC Sport. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  14. ↑ "Starosta in Polish switch". Sky Sports. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  15. ↑ "Blackwell begins reshaping Blades". BBC Sport. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  16. ↑ "Todd lands his targets". The Northern Echo. 3 July 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  17. ↑ "Quakers recruit Arnison and Bower". The Northern Echo. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  18. 1 2 "Ben Starosta: dziś wiem, że chciałbym wrócić do Polski" (in Polish). Slowo Sportowe. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  19. ↑ "Alfreton Town FC Appearances & Golascorers 2009/10 season". Reds Online (via Wayback Machine). 5 April 2010. Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  20. ↑ "Smith Sidelined But Starosta Signs". Frickley Athletic FC. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  21. ↑ "Ben Starosta podpisał kontrakt z Miedzią Legnica" (in Polish). Slowo Sportowe. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  22. 1 2 "Miedź Legnica – 2011/12" (in Polish). 90minut.pl. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  23. 1 2 "II liga 2011/2012, grupa: zachodnia" (in Polish). 90minut.pl. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  24. 1 2 "Ben Starosta w... Must Be The Music?" (in Polish). Legniczanin. 25 June 2012. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  25. ↑ "Ben Starosta odchodzi z Miedzianki". MKS Miedź Legnica. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  26. ↑ "UFL 2013 – A look at the contenders for promotion and relegation". GMA News Online. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  27. ↑ "Global off to flying start". Global FC. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  28. ↑ "Global FC releases Marwin Angeles, Marvin Angeles and Ben Starosta". Global F.C. 10 March 2014. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  29. ↑ "Ben Starosta: Nuneaton boss Brian Reid makes first signing". BBC Sport. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  30. ↑ "Ben Starosta at Parkgate". Parkgate F.C. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  31. 1 2 "Blades star adds Polish". Wimbledon Guardian. 17 August 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  32. ↑ "Starosta looks simply Braziliant!" (in Polish). Telegraph & Argus. 28 January 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  33. 1 2 "Ben Starosta (Lechia Gdańsk) dla portalu Futbol.pl". Youtube. 24 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
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