Portuguese Fernando Santos became the new coach of Poland

Former Portuguese coach Fernando Santos was named coach of Poland, in an official ceremony on Tuesday in Warsaw.

“As of today, I am Polish”, declared Santos, “I am one of you, it is an honor to continue my work as a coach here”, he added.

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“The choice was difficult, but we have chosen the best one,” declared the president of the Polish Football Association (PZPN), Cezary Kulesza. “Our first goal is to qualify for the European Cup,” he added.

The new coach will succeed Czeslaw Michniewicz, sacked last month after leading the Eagles to the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar, where they were eliminated (3-1) by future finalist France. Poland had finished second in their group, behind future champions Argentina.

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Attacked by his country’s press for Poland’s defensive tactics during the tournament, Michniewicz was also criticized by the PZPN for a “lack of vision in the functioning and future of the team”.

Fernando Santos led the Portuguese team from 2014 until his departure last month, after the team’s surprise defeat (1-0) in the quarterfinals of the World Cup against Morocco. The 68-year-old veteran coach gave Portugal its first major title, winning the Euro Cup in 2016 in France, before winning the 2019 Nations League on home soil.

However, his tenure was also marred by eliminations in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup and Euro-2020. (d)