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Adam Nawałka

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Adam Nawałka
Nawałka as Poland manager at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Date of birth (1957-10-23) 23 October 1957 (age 67)
Place of birth Kraków, Poland
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1970–1975 Wisła Kraków
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1975–1985 Wisła Kraków 190 (9)
1985–1988 Polish-American Eagles
International career
1977–1980 Poland 34 (1)
Managerial career
1996–1998 Świt Krzeszowice
2000 Wisła Kraków
2001 Wisła Kraków
2002 Zagłębie Lubin
2003–2004 Sandecja Nowy Sącz
2004–2006 Jagiellonia Białystok
2006–2007 Wisła Kraków
2007–2008 Poland (assistant)
2008–2009 GKS Katowice
2010–2013 Górnik Zabrze
2013–2018 Poland
2018–2019 Lech Poznań
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Adam Nawałka ([ˈadam naˈvawka] ⓘ; born 23 October 1957[1]) is a Polish professional football manager and former player. From 2013 to 2018, he was the head coach of the Poland national team.

Player career

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Club

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Nawałka comes from a footballing family. His father, Adam, played for the local team Orlęta Rudawa. Nawałka began his career in 1969 with Wisła Kraków, and made his top-tier debut on 21 May 1975. He played 190 matches in the highest class of Polish association football, scoring 9 goals. He played most of his career for The White Star. He started having recurrent injuries in the fall of 1978, and despite repeated surgeries, he had to retire from professional soccer in 1984. In 1985, he emigrated to the United States where he played semi-professional soccer with Polish-American Eagles, alongside performing manual labor jobs (like trimming trees around high-voltage power lines). In 1990, he returned to Poland and started selling Trabant cars with Volkswagen engines until he received his coaching qualifications in 1995.

National team

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He played for the Poland national team (34 matches)[2] and was a participant at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. At the age of 20, he played 90 minutes of every game (except one) that the Polish team played. In the fall of 1978, Nawalka started having recurrent injuries that shortly eliminated him from the national team and shortened his playing career.

Managerial career

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Adam Nawałka
Adam Nawałka during a press conference in 2013

After receiving his coaching qualifications he coached the Polish third-tier team Świt Krzeszowice, after which he held numerous positions at his home club of Wisła Kraków, including head of scouting and sporting director, as well as being interim head coach a few times. He went on to manage GKS Katowice and later Górnik Zabrze. He was an assistant coach of the Poland national team and the understudy to Leo Beenhakker in 2007 and 2008.

On 26 October 2013, the Polish FA president Zbigniew Boniek, announced that Nawałka would replace Waldemar Fornalik as the new manager of the Poland national team.[3] At the time of the appointment, his side Górnik Zabrze was leading the league table. He remained in Zabrze until 1 November, and focused on the national team after the game against Cracovia. On 11 October 2014, he recorded an upset by defeating Germany 2–0 in their home Euro 2016 qualifier. He became the first Polish manager to successfully guide Poland into the UEFA European Championship, and also took Poland to their first Euro quarterfinals, which contributed to Poland's historic success in their football history since the fall of communist rule.

During the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, Poland performed extremely well, winning eight, drawing one and losing only one match, helping the Poles top the group and qualify automatically for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. However, much like in the 2002 and 2006 editions of the World Cup, Nawałka's Poland finished bottom of Group H after losing consecutive games against Senegal and Colombia. With their exit from the tournament sealed after the opening two games, Poland rounded off the group with a 1–0 victory over Japan, thus leaving the tournament with just one win. Shortly after the tournament, Nawałka resigned from his role.

Nawałka in 2013

Managerial statistics

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As of 31 March 2019
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
M W D L Win %
Poland 1 November 2013 30 July 2018 50 26 15 9 052.00
Lech Poznań 25 November 2018 31 March 2019 11 5 1 5 045.45
Total 61 31 16 14 050.82

Honours

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Player

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Wisła Kraków

Individual

Manager

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Wisła Kraków

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Poland – Armenia — EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS - 2016/18 SEASON" (PDF). UEFA. 9 November 2016. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  2. ^ Mamrud, Roberto; Stokkermans, Karel; Arnhold, Matthias (16 July 2009). "Poland - Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Adam Nawałka chosen to be the new head coach! / News / Association / Polish Football Association Main Page - Official Website of Polish Football Association". Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Laureaci". pilkanozna.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Poznaliśmy laureatów plebiscytu tygodnika "Piłka Nożna"" (in Polish). Polish Football Association. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Lewandowski zawodnikiem 2016 roku w plebiscycie "Piłki Nożnej"" (in Polish). 5 February 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Plebiscyt "Piłki Nożnej": Lewandowski ponownie niepokonany". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). 3 February 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  8. ^ "NAWAŁKA I SAGANOWSKI NAJLEPSI WE WRZEŚNIU" (in Polish). Ekstraklasa. 19 October 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  9. ^ "NAWAŁKA I TRAORE NAJLEPSI W PAŹDZIERNIKU!" (in Polish). Ekstraklasa. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Laureaci". pilkanozna.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 21 June 2024.
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