Dariusz Żuraw (born 14 November 1972) is a Polish football manager and former player, most recently in charge of

I liga I liga ( pl, Pierwsza liga, ), currently named Fortuna I liga due to its sponsorship by Fortuna, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga ...

club

Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała TS Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała () is a football club based in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. They currently compete in the I liga, the second tier of Polish football. History The club was essentially founded on 11 July 1997, although it can trace ...

. Besides Poland, he has played in Germany.

Club career

Born in

Wieluń Wieluń ( la, Velun) is a town in south-central Poland with 21,624 inhabitants (2021). Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), it was previously in Sieradz Voivodeship (1975–1998). Wieluń has a long and rich history. In the past, ...

, Żuraw began his career in his native Poland, playing for a succession of lower league teams: LZS Ostrówek, LZS Rychłocice, WKS Wieluń,

Okocimski KS Brzesko Okocimski KS Brzesko is a Polish football club based in Brzesko, Poland. The club is currently playing in the Polish II Liga, the third level division in Polish football. In the 1994/95 season the club achieved its best league performance by f ...

Zagłębie Lubin Zagłębie Lubin S.A. () is a Polish professional football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as ''OMTUR Lubin'', the club competes in the Ekstraklasa. History The football team was founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin by local members of the ''Y ...

. He was spotted by

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betw ...

, then of

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

, and moved there on 24 October 2001, making his debut a month later on 28 November 2001 in a

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

tie against VfL Wolfsburg II. He immediately enjoyed success, as the club won promotion, comfortably finishing as champions. Żuraw's first game at the top level was also a memorable occasion as he scored after just 6 minutes against

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of thr ...

. He was a regular fixture in defence during his seven seasons with Hannover 96; in 2004–05, he was just one game away from being an ever-present (as suspension ruled him out). In 2008, he transferred to the Polish

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 ...

club

Arka Gdynia Morski Związkowy Klub Sportowy Arka Gdynia () is a Polish professional football club, based in Gdynia, Poland, that plays in the Polish I liga. The club was founded as Klub Sportowy Gdynia in 1929. History The history of Arka dates back to ...

, on a free transfer from Hannover 96.

International career

Żuraw made one appearance for the Poland national team, in a 3–1 friendly defeat to

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

on 9 February 2005.

Managerial career

Ahead of the 2017–18 season, Żuraw took over as manager at

Znicz Pruszków Miejski Klub Sportowy Znicz Pruszków () is a football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that i ...

, newly relegated to the third-tier

II liga II liga (Druga Liga, ), currently named eWinner II liga due to sponsorship reasons by eWinner, is a Polish football league that sits at the third tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season ''II Liga'' refer ...

. From 31 March 2019 to 6 April 2021, he served as manager of

club

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. T ...

. On 6 September 2022, he was appointed manager of second-tier side

, signing a deal until June 2024. On 3 June 2023, during a press conference following a 4–3 comeback win against

Resovia CWKS Resovia, Resovia, and Resovia Rzeszów can refer to: * Resovia (multisport club) * Resovia (basketball) *Resovia (football) *Resovia (volleyball) Resovia, officially known for sponsorship reasons as Asseco Resovia, is a professional men's v ...

, which saw Podbeskidzie finish the season in 7th, one spot short of promotion play-offs, Żuraw announced he would be leaving the team with immediate effect.

Honours

Manager

Individual *

Coach of the Month: June 2020, July 2020

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuraw, Dariusz Living people 1972 births People from Wieluń Footballers from Łódź Voivodeship Men's association football defenders Polish men's footballers Poland men's international footballers Ekstraklasa players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Zagłębie Lubin players Hannover 96 players Arka Gdynia players Polish expatriate men's footballers Polish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Polish football managers Odra Opole managers Lech Poznań managers Zagłębie Lubin managers Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała managers Ekstraklasa managers I liga managers II liga managers