Cracovia appoints Aleksandar Vuković as coach after sacking Bartosz Grzelak

Grzelak's dismissal

Cracovia lost 1:2 to Wisła in the Kraków derby on Friday, 6 November. On Sunday, 8 November, the club's board ended its cooperation with Bartosz Grzelak, a 48-year-old who had coached the team in 20 matches. He won three of those games, drew eight and lost nine. Cracovia also went out of the Polish Cup to second-division Znicz Pruszków under his management. The team had 12 points, level with Raków Częstochowa, which sits in the relegation zone, although sources place Cracovia 14th in one report and 15th in another. The board's statement read in part:

“We wish coach Bartosz Grzelak luck and success in the rest of his professional career.”

Wins3

Draws8

Losses9

Wins

3 matches

Draws

8 matches

Losses

9 matches

Data from the article text

Choosing a successor

Piotr Koźmiński, a TVP Sport journalist, reported in the GOL magazine on Monday, 9 November, that Aleksandar Vuković would take over. Koźmiński said about ten candidates had been considered, among them coaches from England, Poland and Sweden. He also said Grzelak had not convinced him, and that the squad, while not the strongest, was not weak enough to explain the results. Earlier, Tomasz Włodarczyk of Meczyki had reported that the club had held talks with Vuković and Jens Gustafsson. The club confirmed the appointment on Wednesday, 11 November, and Koźmiński explained his view of the choice:

“I think what tipped the balance was that Vuković is the person who knows this league best.”

Vuković's career

Vuković is 47 and played 242 Ekstraklasa matches for Legia Warsaw and Korona Kielce, winning two Polish championships and one Polish Cup with Legia. He began coaching in the technical staffs of Korona and Legia, and in April 2019 became Legia's first head coach, leading the club to the title the following season. After a year away he returned to Legia to keep the team in the top flight. From October 2022 he spent almost three years at Piast Gliwice, finishing fifth and then twice 10th. He took charge of Widzew Łódź on 5 March this year and kept the club up, but was dismissed on 10 September after a disappointing start to the season. Mateusz Stolarski replaced him at Widzew.

What comes next

Vuković's contract runs until 30 June 2028 with an option to extend by one more season, according to RMF24. He takes charge during the international break and will be Cracovia's third coach this year, after Grzelak and Luka Elsner. The immediate task is keeping Cracovia in the Ekstraklasa. His first match in charge is against Jagiellonia Białystok on Saturday, 21 November at 14:45. The timeline below traces the sequence from the derby to that fixture.