Jan Urban Takes the Helm of the Polish National Team
The Polish Football Association (PZPN) announced this Wednesday the appointment of Jan Urban as the new national team coach. The 63-year-old coach takes over from Michal Probierz. Probierz submitted his resignation in June, following a controversy related to his decision to relieve Robert Lewandowski as team captain. Urban becomes the fifth coach of Poland since 2021. Probierz was the one who stayed in the position the longest, leading the team in 21 matches. His departure came as a result of the controversy over the captaincy, which led Lewandowski to refuse to play while Probierz was in charge. Lewandowski, the player with the most matches (158) and goals (85) in the history of the Polish national team, declared he felt betrayed by Probierz. Probierz’s last match was a 2-1 defeat to Finland, leaving Poland in third place in their World Cup qualifying group. Urban will face a complicated start, with an away match against the Netherlands on September 4th.Urban, who represented Poland 57 times as a player, began his coaching career in Spain, at Osasuna, where he played most of his career as a footballer. There he worked as a coach for youth teams and the reserve team. His first head coaching position was at Legia Warsaw in 2007. During that time, he was also assistant coach of Poland at the Euro 2008. Urban won the Polish league title in 2013 in his second spell with Legia. Urban’s last job was at Gornik Zabrze, where he was fired in April.We believe that this choice will allow the national team to develop its full potential. Our goal is to qualify for the final phase of the 2026 World Cup.
Cezary Kulesza, president of the PZPN
