First time against Arka

Dariusz Żuraw has 147 Bundesliga caps and over a 100 Ekstraklasa appearances on his account. Back in the days, he used to compete for Zaglebie Lubin and Arka Gdynia – the latter being the last club on his football path. Whilst wearing Arka’s shirt, Zuraw used to emphasize that we would never… become a coach. 10 years later he is managing Lech Poznan senior squad. Shortly before the recent clash with Slask Wroclaw, the coach took a walk down memory lane and referred to the words he spoke out loud a decade ago:

“Back then, I already had played over a dozen seasons in Polish football and spent seven years in Germany. The year I spent at Arka Gdynia was – without a doubt – what I wanted to be my final year in the industry. All I could think about was taking a break from football. It didn’t even cross my mind to try coaching. Hence, I really meant those words,” explained Lech’s coach.

What actually convinced Zuraw to change his mind is an interesting story in itself. “It all started with my son asking me to coach a bunch of children. It all went downhill from there – I went on to train senior players, got my licenses, and now I am managing Lech Poznan’s first team,” summarized Zuraw. The former Bundesliga player has already accomplished plenty at the club from Greater Poland. Back in 2015, whilst working alongside Maciej Skorza, he won the Polish Championship and Polish Super Cup. In addition, throughout a part of the 2018/19 campaign, he coached Lech’s reserves which are now the only B team to play in II league.

Until now, Zuraw hasn’t had the chance to compete against Arka Gdynia as a coach. On Saturday, he will face his former club from the sidelines. The match held in Gdynia is scheduled to kick off at 5:30 pm.