Waldemar Fornalik

Waldemar Fornalik
Fornalik in 2012
Personal information
Full name Waldemar Fornalik
Date of birth (1963-04-11) 11 April 1963 (age 60)
Place of birth Myślenice, Poland
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Zagłębie Lubin (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1994 Ruch Chorzów 233 (4)
Managerial career
1996 Polonia Bytom
2001 Górnik Zabrze
2002–2004 Górnik Zabrze
2005–2006 Odra Wodzisław
2006–2007 Polonia Warsaw
2008 GKS Bełchatów II
2008–2009 Widzew Łódź
2009–2012 Ruch Chorzów
2012–2013 Poland
2014–2017 Ruch Chorzów
2017–2022 Piast Gliwice
2022– Zagłębie Lubin
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Waldemar Fornalik (born 11 April 1963 in Myślenice) is a Polish professional football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Ekstraklasa club Zagłębie Lubin. He spent his entire playing career with Ruch Chorzów.[1] From July 2012 to October 2013, he managed the Poland national team.

Playing career

Fornalik won the 1988–89 Ekstraklasa with Ruch Chorzów.

Managerial career

Following the end of his playing career, Fornalik began a managing career.[2] He was manager in Górnik Zabrze and Odra Wodzisław. He won the bronze medal (3rd place) with Ruch Chorzów in the 2009–10 Ekstraklasa season. In the 2011–12 season he led Ruch Chorzow to second place, the highest placement since winning the title in 1989.

In July 2012, Fornalik became the coach of the Poland national football team after the dismissal of Franciszek Smuda.[3][4][5] On 16 October 2013, after a 0–1 loss to Ukraine in Kharkiv, which confirmed that Poland would not be going to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, and a 0–2 loss to England at Wembley Stadium the previous night, PZPN sacked Fornalik due to not fulfilling his contract objectives.[6]

On 19 September 2017, he became the manager of Piast Gliwice.[7] Under Fornalik's rule, Piast turned into overachievers, consistently competing for spots in the upper half of the table, which resulted in winning the championship at the end of the 2018–19 season, finishing third two years later and two short-lived European campaigns. On 25 October 2022, following a poor start to the 2022–23 campaign, Fornalik left Piast and was replaced by Aleksandar Vuković two days later.[8]

On 29 November 2022, Fornalik was announced as the new head coach of Zagłębie Lubin, agreeing to a contract until the end of the 2023–24 season.[9]

Managerial statistics

As of 17 October 2013.
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Górnik Zabrze 2001 2004 84 29 29 26 034.52
Odra Wodzisław 2005 2006 41 14 13 14 034.15
Polonia Warszawa 2006 2007 39 24 7 8 061.54
Widzew Łódź 2008 2009 20 11 5 4 055.00
Ruch Chorzów 2009 2012 118 55 27 36 046.61
Poland 2012 2013 18 8 4 6 044.44
Career totals 320 141 85 94 044.06

Honours

Player

Ruch Chorzów

Manager

Piast Gliwice

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Waldemar Fornalik". 90 Minut. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  2. ^ "Waldemar Fornalik".
  3. ^ Kozminski, Piotr (10 July 2012). "Fornalik succeeds Smuda at Poland helm". UEFA.com.
  4. ^ "Fornalik Appointed new Poland coach". Goal.com. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Fornalik succeeds Smuda at Poland helm". FIFA.com. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  6. ^ "Poland FA sacks coach Fornalik". BBC Sport.
  7. ^ "Waldemar Fornalik trenerem Piasta" (in Polish). 90minut. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Trenerze, dziękujemy za wszystko!" (in Polish). Piast Gliwice. 27 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Waldemar Fornalik nowym trenerem KGHM Zagłębia Lubin!" (in Polish). Zagłębie Lubin. 29 November 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Waldek King. Waldemar Fornalik po 30 latach ponownie został mistrzem". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). 19 May 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  11. ^ "TRENER LIPCA 2023: WALDEMAR FORNALIK (KGHM ZAGŁĘBIE LUBIN)" (in Polish). Ekstraklasa. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.