Korona Kielce announced on Tuesday, 20 October 2026 that Robert Kolendowicz is its new head coach. The 46-year-old signed a contract running until 30 June 2027, with an option to extend it by two years. He takes over from Jacek Zieliński, who was dismissed on Monday, 19 October. Interia describes the vacancy as lasting only a few dozen hours, and says the club's patience ran out after a 6:1 defeat at Lech Poznań. Kolendowicz's arrival also brings him back to the club where he started his top-flight career almost two decades ago.
Kolendowicz came through the youth ranks at MKS Chocicz and began his professional career at Lech Poznań, where he made his top-flight debut on 17 October 1998. He joined Korona in January 2005 on a two-and-a-half-year contract. That season, under Ryszard Wieczorek, Korona won its first promotion to the top flight in the club's history, and Kolendowicz made 23 appearances for the club, with five assists. He later earned one cap for Poland, in a 5:2 friendly win over the United Arab Emirates on 6 December 2006. Before his appointment he was a familiar voice on television, commentating on Ekstraklasa matches.
On the club's website he reflected on his return:
“History has come full circle a bit. I left Kielce almost 20 years ago as a player, and now I'm coming back as a coach, and it's a fantastic feeling.”
Kolendowicz's most extensive playing spell came at Pogoń Szczecin, where he made 79 appearances, scoring eight goals and providing ten assists. His Ekstraklasa career totalled 98 matches, five goals and 14 assists. He joined Pogoń's coaching staff in May 2018 as an assistant, working first under Kosta Runjaić and then under Jens Gustafsson, until August 2024, when he was appointed head coach. As head coach he managed 44 matches, winning 23, drawing seven and losing 14. In the 2024/25 season Pogoń finished fourth in the Ekstraklasa with 58 points and reached the Polish Cup final, which it lost 3:4. Pogoń dismissed him in September 2025.
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Korona sit ninth in the Ekstraklasa table after 11 rounds with 15 points, according to Polsat Sport. Interia puts the club six points behind a place that qualifies for European competition. Kolendowicz's first match in charge is a home game against GKS Katowice on Saturday, 24 October. Later in the month Korona travel to Warsaw to face Polonia, according to Interia.
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Korona Kielce has appointed Robert Kolendowicz to replace Jacek Zieliński, who was dismissed on Monday, 19 October. The 46-year-old returns to the club where he played in 2004/05 and signed a contract running to 30 June 2027.
AI text based on reports by 24kurier.pl, sport.interia.pl, www.polsatsport.pl and other publishers. Published .