Jerzy Brzęczek

Jerzy Józef Brzęczek (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjɛʐɨ ˈjuzɛv ˈbʐɛnt͡ʂɛk];[upper-alpha 1] born 18 March 1971) is a Polish professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of Ekstraklasa club Wisła Kraków.

Jerzy Brzęczek
Brzęczek in 2015
Personal information
Full name Jerzy Józef Brzęczek
Date of birth (1971-03-18) 18 March 1971
Place of birth Truskolasy, Poland
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Wisła Kraków (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1988 Raków Częstochowa
1988–1992 Olimpia Poznań 108 (8)
1992–1993 Lech Poznań 29 (3)
1993–1994 Górnik Zabrze 46 (6)
1994–1995 GKS Katowice 15 (3)
1995–1998 Tirol Innsbruck 85 (11)
1998–1999 LASK 33 (2)
1999–2000 Maccabi Haifa 47 (11)
2000–2002 Tirol Innsbruck 62 (7)
2002–2003 Sturm Graz 35 (2)
2003–2004 FC Kärnten 13 (0)
2004–2007 Wacker Tirol 79 (8)
2007–2008 Górnik Zabrze 42 (5)
2008–2009 Polonia Bytom 9 (0)
Total 602 (66)
National team
1992–1999 Poland 42 (4)
Teams managed
2010–2014 Raków Częstochowa
2014–2015 Lechia Gdańsk
2015–2017 GKS Katowice
2017–2018 Wisła Płock
2018–2021 Poland
2022– Wisła Kraków
Honours
Representing  Poland
Men's Football
1992 BarcelonaTeam Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

In a professional career which spanned nearly 20 years and brought 42 caps with the Poland national team, Brzęczek played for clubs in Poland, Austria and Israel. From 2018 to 2021, he was the head coach for the Poland national team.

Club career

During his career, Brzęczek played for Raków Częstochowa, Olimpia Poznań, Lech Poznań, Górnik Zabrze (two spells), GKS Katowice, Tirol Innsbruck (later Wacker Tirol), LASK Linz, Maccabi Haifa, Sturm Graz, FC Kärnten and Polonia Bytom, retiring in 2009 at age 38. Brzęczek picked up championship medals in both Poland (with Lech Poznań in 1993) and Austria (with Tirol Innsbruck in 2001 and 2002).

International career

With 42 caps for the Poland national team to his credit, Brzęczek also represented the national team at the 1992 Summer Olympics, winning silver.

Coaching career

Clubs

On 17 November 2014, he became the coach of Lechia Gdańsk, and he was sacked on 1 September 2015. Then, from the end of September 2015, he was a manager for GKS Katowice. On 20 May 2017, after losing a game against MKS Kluczbork and losing the chances of promotion to the Ekstraklasa, he resigned.[1] On 11 July 2017, he became the coach of Wisła Płock.[2]

Poland

On 12 July 2018 he was announced as the new head coach of the Poland national team.[3]

His tenure didn't start off well, with Poland getting relegated from the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League A, following two losses and two draws. Poland's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying was more impressive, with the team managing to win four opening matches without conceding a goal. However, after a 2–0 away defeat to Slovenia and a home draw to Austria, Brzęczek faced heavy pressure from the fans calling for his dismissal. Despite this, he managed to keep the team on track with two final wins over Latvia and North Macedonia, eventually qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2020 from the top spot in their group.[4]

Brzęczek was sacked on 18 January 2021,[5] five months before Poland's first match at the UEFA Euro 2020 and succeeded by the Portugal's Paulo Sousa.[6]

Wisła Kraków

On 14 February 2022, Brzęczek was appointed head coach of Wisła Kraków, replacing Adrián Guľa.[7]

Personal life

Brzęczek's nephew is a footballer, winger Jakub Błaszczykowski, who has most notably represented Wisła Kraków, Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg. His sister, Błaszczykowski's mother, was murdered by her husband which caused family separation.

Managerial statistics
As of 4 April 2022
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Lechia Gdańsk 17 November 2014 1 September 2015 30 11 9 10 036.67
GKS Katowice 28 September 2015 20 May 2017 56 25 14 17 044.64
Wisła Płock 11 July 2017 11 July 2018 38 17 6 15 044.74
Poland 12 July 2018 18 January 2021 24 12 5 7 050.00
Wisła Kraków 14 February 2022 Present 6 0 4 2 000.00
Total 154 65 38 51 042.21

Honours

Player

Lech Poznań

Tirol Innsbruck

Poland U23

Notes
  1. In isolation, ''Józef" is pronounced [ˈjuzɛf].

References
  1. 1. liga. GKS Katowice bez trenera. Jerzy Brzęczek podał się do dymisji‚ sport.pl, 20 May 2017
  2. Jerzy Brzęczek trenerem Wisły Płock, 90minut.pl, 11 July 2017
  3. "Jerzy Brzęczek is named Poland's new national team manager - but who is he?". www.thefirstnews.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  4. "El. Euro 2020: Polska - Macedonia Północna. Kto bohaterem biało-czerwonych? [OCENY]".
  5. "Jerzy Brzęczek przestał być trenerem piłkarskiej reprezentacji Polski". www.rmf24.pl. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  6. "Portugal's Paulo Sousa named new Poland coach". France 24. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  7. "Jerzy Brzęczek nowym trenerem Białej Gwiazdy". Wisła Kraków. 14 February 202. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
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