Lato's career coincided almost exactly with the golden era of Polish soccer, which began with Olympic gold in Munich in 1972 and ended a decade later with third place at the World Cup in Spain, a repeat of the Poles' impressive finish in 1974.
The 1974 finals in West Germany were the highlight of Lato's career. A right winger with an eye for goal, he scored two in a 3-2 win over Argentina that helped Poland advance as winners from a group that also included Italy.
In the second round his goals sealed wins over Yugoslavia and Sweden, although a 1-0 defeat by the host nation cost the Poles a place in the final.
Lato secured the consolation of finishing as top scorer with a brilliant goal -- his seventh of the competition -- to beat Brazil in the third place playoff.
In 1978 Lato added two more goals to his World Cup tally as Poland again won its first round group but then lost out in the second round to Argentina and Brazil.
By 1982 Zbigniew Boniek was Poland's new hero but Lato was still a permanent presence, contributing one goal, as the Poles rolled to another bronze medal, losing out to eventual winner Italy in the semifinals.
