Jan Urban has been appointed as the coach of Poland, the country’s football association (PZPN) said on Wednesday, with the 63-year-old replacing Michal Probierz.
Probierz resigned in June following a row over his decision to replace Robert Lewandowski as captain.
Urban becomes Poland’s fifth coach since 2021, with Probierz lasting the longest having taken charge of 21 games before the fall-out from his captaincy choice which led to Lewandowski refusing to play for his country while Probierz was in charge.
Lewandowski, who has won more caps (158) and scored more goals (85) than anyone else in the history of the Polish national team, said he felt his trust had been betrayed by Probierz.
Probierz’s last game was a 2-1 defeat to Finland, which leaves Poland third in their World Cup qualifying group, and Urban faces a tough start to his spell in charge with an away game against the Netherlands on Sept. 4.
“We believe that this choice will allow the national team to develop its full potential. Our goal is to qualify for the World Cup finals in 2026,” PZPN president Cezary Kulesza said in a statement.
Urban, who represented Poland 57 times as a player, began his coaching career in Spain at Osasuna, where he spent the majority of his playing career, as a youth team manager and reserve team coach.
His first senior managerial role came at Legia Warsaw in 2007, and during that time he also served as assistant manager with Poland at Euro 2008. Urban won the Polish league title in 2013 in his second spell with Legia.
Urban’s last role was at Gornik Zabrze, where he was sacked in April.
Information from Reuters was used in this story.
