Szymkowiak made his international debut back in 1997 against Hungary, but has failed to establish himself as a regular in the Poland starting line-up. However, he played a major part in the successful qualifying campaign for Germany, despite suffering a broken ankle while on duty for his club side Trabzonspor. The 29-year-old has made a successful transition from a wide midfield player into a more central playmaker and seems to have become a favourite of Poland coach Pawel Janas in recent times. He moved to Turkey in January 2005 after spells with Olimpia Poznan, Widzew Lodz and Wisla Krakow.