After Michał Probierz's dismissal, there's no clear candidate on the horizon for the new coach. Several candidates have already emerged, Zbigniew Boniek has sown confusion, one of the frontrunners allegedly declined, and no one has contacted the others. Then came the election of a new president and board at the Polish Football Association headquarters, which—according to descriptions from many regulars—isn't particularly dissimilar from Dr. Doofenshmirtz's evil partnership from one of those cartoons the younger generation might have watched. When the election topic died down (because, of course, you can't reject the only possible candidate), the matter of a new coach didn't take off either. We know as much as we knew after the match in Finland.
Where does this reluctance to take over the team come from?
There are at least several reasons for the lack of interest in this position, but financial considerations are not among them. The earnings of his predecessor, Michał Probierz, were at least passable compared to others. Fernando Santos could expect a whopping 12 million euros per year in 2023, surpassing the likes of Roberto Martínez, Luis Enrique, and Zlatko Dalić. Probierz "lowered his expectations" to 2 million euros per year, a decent sum, but not top-tier. Nevertheless, if the Portuguese could secure such a contract, it means there's money in the Polish Football Association.
What candidates can we consider then?
If we look at the ranking of currently unemployed coaches, we find names like Motta, Löw, Spalletti, Southgate, and Pioli. The list of decorated foreign coaches who certainly wouldn't hurt us is quite long. Each has handled bigger stars than most of our players in their careers, achieved numerous individual and team achievements, and often became heroes of entire cities and regions. Despite this, the ghosts and demons from the past concerning the Sousa-Santos duo don't fill us fans with optimism. Is this right? Probably not. In any case, we haven't observed virtually any risk in the offices of those managing Polish football for several years now. Some actions are taken according to the illogical principle: it's better to wait until winter, or we'll melt away.
Who is the real candidate?
To be more realistic, let's take a look at the coaches available in our own backyard—Rumak, Nawałka, Magiera, Brzęczek, Urban, Fornalik, Myśliwiec—the list is truly long, and each coach presents a completely different style of team management. The main question should be how many of them are capable of taking on this burden and whether we want an experiment or a safe bet.
Does this analysis have any significance?
Absolutely not. In our football, we look at how soft or hard someone is; we don't pay attention to the coach's skills, successes, or approach, but rather to the atmosphere in the locker room. We focus on who the new coach will like, what kind of relationship he'll have with the team, and perhaps even more importantly, what his relationship with the association's leadership will be. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I'll leave the opinions to you. Everyone is entitled to a different opinion, but I think we've clearly seen a decline in our national sport in recent years. One thing is certain: if nothing changes in the fundamentals, in a year or two this article will still be relevant.
Filip Banaszkiewicz
Photo: Radosław Jóźwiak