Shakeup at Poland’s Top Football Clubs

Wisła trainer Maciej Skorża’s future at the club waits under the gallows as owner Bogusław Cupiał is expected to return to Poland Monday or Tuesday to pronounce the verdict over Wisła’s disastrous early performance in the spring round of the Polish top league, the Orange Ekstraklasa. Cupiał’s announcement now seems a mere formality, as Skorża’s side responded to an ultimatum to win matches or bid the manager goodbye by failing to score a goal in 327 minutes of play.

Wisła limped to a scoreless draw with lowly Jagiellonia Białystok over the weekend, but miraculously maintained the top slot in the league as Legia Warszawa, their closest contender, has also performed poorly since the break, their only win a shaky 1:2 affair over Cracovia Krakow on 26 February, in which they trailed for much of the match.

A shakeup similar to that expected at Wisła took place at Legia over the weekend, as manager Jan Urban got the sack over the phone while returning with the team by bus from their loss to last-place Polonia Bytom 1:0. The defeat opened the door for Lech Poznań to overtake the Warsaw club to assume second place in the league standings.

Legia’s director of sports development, Mirosław Trzeciak, was also shown the door. The official statement on Legia’s web service claimed: “While he was not a member of the training staff and did not bear direct responsibility for the recent results, he felt responsible for the current situation at the club”.

While it is unknown who will take over Wisła’s helm from Skorża when (and if) he is finally ushered out, Legia announced Saturday that Stafen Białas would be taking the reins from Urban. He told reporters after receiving the call on Saturday that he “want(s) Legia to get its lustre back, and win matches. The team needs to reorganize its system of play and regain confidence in itself.”