Career
Nowak began playing football in 1985. He slowly rose in prominence and in 1996 moved to Brazil with fellow countryman Mariusz Piekarski to play for Atlético Paranaense. He always wanted to play in Europe, so he moved to Germany in 1998 to play for Wolfsburg.
Nowak, dubbed "ten of hearts" by his fans, was popular as well as skilled, but was forced to retire from the sport in early 2002 after he learned he had motor neurone disease (MND).
Nowak continued to watch the games until shortly before his death. Nowak was also an important player for the Polish national team, for whom he played 10 games and scored one goal.