Raków Częstochowa triggers buyout for Tomasz Kaczmarek as Radomiak appoints Rafał Grzyb

Managerial switch between Ekstraklasa clubs

Raków Częstochowa completed the hiring of Tomasz Kaczmarek after triggering a buyout clause in his contract with league rival Radomiak Radom. The transfer fee is reported between 200,000 and 250,000 euros, or approximately one million zlotys. Kaczmarek, who had managed Radomiak since 22 June 2026, parted ways with the squad on Tuesday before travelling to Częstochowa. Radomiak immediately promoted assistant coach Rafał Grzyb to take over as their new head coach.

Raków Częstochowa's early-season struggles

The coaching change follows a difficult opening stretch for Raków Częstochowa, who sit at the bottom of the Ekstraklasa table with zero points after six consecutive defeats. The club also exited European competition in the fourth qualifying round of the Conference League, losing in extra time to Croatian side Hajduk Split. A subsequent 2:5 home defeat against Jagiellonia Białystok led to the dismissal of head coach Dawid Kroczek. Assistant coach Dawid Szulczek briefly supervised training while club president Wojciech Cygan sought a permanent successor, having evaluated candidates such as Goncalo Feio, Dawid Szwarga, and Lukas Kwasniok.

Tomasz Kaczmarek's background and coaching path

Born in Wrocław, Kaczmarek moved to Germany at age nine and began his coaching career in 2012 as an assistant to Bob Bradley with the Egypt national team. He followed Bradley to Norwegian club Stabaek before taking head coaching roles in the lower tiers of German football, reaching 3. Liga. Kaczmarek entered Polish football in 2020 as an assistant to Kosta Runjaić at Pogoń Szczecin and became head coach of Lechia Gdańsk in 2021, leading them to fourth place and European qualification. After spells in the Netherlands with FC Den Bosch and NAC Breda, he took over Radomiak, where he recorded two league wins, two draws, and three losses alongside a Polish Cup victory. His debut on the Raków bench is scheduled for Friday 11 September at 18:00 against Motor Lublin.

Rafał Grzyb takes charge in Radom

In Radom, 43-year-old Rafał Grzyb takes on his first permanent head coaching role after serving as Kaczmarek's assistant since the start of the season. Grzyb spent the majority of his playing career at Polonia Bytom and Jagiellonia Białystok, winning the Polish Cup, the Polish Super Cup, and two league runners-up finishes with Jagiellonia between 2010 and 2018. Following his retirement, he worked in Jagiellonia's coaching staff until 2025 and served several stints as caretaker manager under coaches including Bogdan Zając, Ireneusz Mamrot, Piotr Nowak, Maciej Stolarczyk, and Adrian Siemieniec. He worked at the Podlaskie regional marshal's office before Kaczmarek invited him to join Radomiak.

I was glad, because if you have done something for so many years, there is no denying that a wolf is drawn to the forest.

Grzyb is scheduled to make his head coaching debut for Radomiak on 14 September in a home fixture against Piast Gliwice.