“We have overlooked losses too often. Only the result was looked at and determined whether it was a success or not. Football is more difficult. You also have to look at how the team builds actions, how it looks on the field, whether it develops or not, Jan Urban, former coach of Legia Warsaw, Lech Poznań, Gornik Zabrze and Osasuna, tells Wprost “.
Dariusz Tuzimek, “Wprost”: Is it true that among all Polish coaches you are the main candidate for the position of coach?
Jan Urban: I don’t know, because there is no real theme yet. So far, there is no specifics, so it is difficult for me to refer to these journalistic speculations. I don’t like to advertise myself, so I’d better keep quiet. Besides, you just caught me at the airport in Spain because I’m flying to Poland. But I immediately warn you: not for negotiations with the president of the PZPN Cezary Kulesha, but for the funeral of my friend from the Polish team and Gornik Zabrze Andrzej Ivan on Thursday.
And yet, various leaks suggest that your position in this race for the head coach position is quite strong. I have read your statement to PrzeglÄd Sportowy that it is quite possible that now is the perfect moment in your coaching career for the task of leading the national team. This is a clear statement.
And what Polish coach would refuse? I don’t think any. I confess that I do not follow closely what is happening in the Polish media. My friends tell me or send me…
Of course, it’s nice that my name appears in the context of candidates for the national team, but until it moves into the phase of specific conversations, these will only be media digressions. Nice for me, but still only the media.
I, on the other hand, have no cravings for glass. I’m also not active on social media so I don’t run any campaigns for myself.
Even if you keep a low profile on this issue, you are still being talked about by fans and experts. Among the many arguments in favor of your candidacy for the post of head coach, your calmness and positive approach to life are mentioned. After everything that happened around the national team during the World Cup and immediately after it, this is a great value, because we have huge deficits in this matter. No sympathy for the staff. Even the PZPN stressed in its communiqué that the new coach must restore fans’ confidence in the national team and improve its image.
I’m just me, I work and behave naturally, like every day. I can probably say that I have no enemies in the environment, or at least I don’t know anything about it. Not among players, coaches or journalists. I am not looking for conflicts, I am open to others. Perhaps this was due to the fact that I lived so long in Spain, where the climate is favorable and the sun shines every day.
It is interesting that exactly a year ago you were also a candidate for breeders. And you even talked about it in Turkey, where you were in a preparatory camp with Gornik Zabrze, with President Cezariy Kulesha.
Yes, there was such a conversation in Turkey. Except it was a phone call. We didn’t see each other directly. And it’s true, then I did not refuse the president, although later he made a bet on Cheslav Mikhnevich.
Your supporters point out that you can work with players with strong character and personality. For example, Daniel Luboya in Legia or Lukas Podolsky in Gornik.
When I was a coach in Zabrze, I had no problems with Podolski, his behavior was exemplary. Lyuba was a strong personality in Legia, such a born leader, but somehow I managed to get him to understand that the main thing is not a person, even an outstanding one, but a team and everything should be subordinated to him.
I think that in such situations it helps me that I was a professional footballer, played in the championship of Spain and the Polish national team. Players usually respect coaches who have performed at a sufficiently high level. In any case, the experience from the football locker room is also important. Thanks to this, I know how to behave in this or that situation, how to react, whether to take action in this or that situation, or, conversely, to keep silent about something or close my eyes. This feeling is very important.
Source: Wprost
