Wojciech Łazarek (4 October 1937 – 13 December 2023) was a Polish

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

who played as

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He was the manager of the Poland national team from 1986 to 1989, and the Sudan national team in early 2000s. At club level he was most noted for success in 80s as manager of

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. ...

, although he also managed clubs in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and a wide range of clubs in Poland at various levels.

Playing career

A native of

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, during his playing career Łazarek represented ,

ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, boxing, and in the past ice hockey, ...

, and

Lechia Gdańsk Lechia Gdańsk () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Gdańsk. As of the 2025–26 Ekstraklasa, 2025–26 season, they compete in the Ekstraklasa. The club was founded in 1945 by people Polish population transfers (1944–1946 ...

Managerial career

Łazarek started his managerial career soon after retirement as a player in 1971, starting at MRKS Gdańsk. He went on to manage

Olimpia Elbląg Olimpia Elbląg is a Polish professional football team based in Elbląg, competing in group I of the III liga. It was founded in 1945. Facilities Olimpia Stadium Olimpia has played near 8 Agrykola Street since 1945. There are projects for ...

Bałtyk Gdynia Bałtyk Gdynia is a Polish football club from Gdynia. The club is named after the Baltic Sea. They currently compete in the IV liga Pomerania, the fifth tier of Polish league competition. History The club was established in 1930 by football e ...

Zawisza Bydgoszcz Zawisza Bydgoszcz () is a sports club from Bydgoszcz, Poland, founded in 1946. Its name commemorates a legendary Polish 15th-century knight, Zawisza Czarny (Zawisza the Black). The club holds many sections: football, track and field athletics, b ...

Trelleborgs FF Trelleborgs Fotbollsförening, more commonly known as Trelleborgs FF or simply Trelleborg, is a Swedish football club located in Trelleborg. Formed 6 December 1926, the club plays in Superettan, the second tier in the Swedish football league s ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Hapoel Kfar Saba Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. (, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Kfar Saba'') is an Israeli football club based in Kfar Saba. The club competes in the Liga Leumit and plays home matches at Levita Stadium. History The club was established in 1928. In 1951– ...

El-Masry Al Masry Sporting Club () is an Egyptian sports club based in Port Said, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team that competes in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest tier of the Egyptian football league system. ...

Al-Ettifaq Al-Ettifaq Club (), commonly known as Al-Ettifaq or simply Ettifaq, is a professional football club in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which competes in the Saudi Pro League. The club was established by the merger of three Dammam-based clubs in 1945. Al- ...

, Aluminium Konin, Hapoel Tayibe,

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. They currently compete in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system, ...

Widzew Łódź RTS Widzew Łódź () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames ''Czerwona Armia'' (Red Army) and ''Czerwono-biało-czerwoni'' (Red-wh ...

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław (), is a Polish professional Association football, football club based in Wrocław that plays in , the second level of the Polish football leagu ...

Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish professional football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the 42nd Infantry Regiment Reserve Battalion in Bi ...

, the Sudan national team,

Narew Ostrołęka MZKS Narew 1962 Ostrołęka is a Polish football club, currently playing in the V liga. The club was formed in 1962 as Narew Ostrołęka, but it was dissolved due to financial and organizational problems in 2015. On 8 September 2016, it was react ...

and Iłanka Rzepin. Łazarek led Poland to win 18 out of 31 matches between 1986 and 1989. His greatest club success came with Lech Poznań; he won 2

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

s and 2

championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

Death and legacy

Łazarek died on 13 December 2023, at the age of 86. Łazarek was known for his comedic quips and ability to realistically view his job.

Honours

Manager

Zawisza Bydgoszcz * II liga, group I: 1978–79 Lech Poznań *

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

: 1982–83, 1983–84 *

: 1981–82, 1983–84 Individual * Polish Coach of the Year: 1983, 1984

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazarek, Wojciech 1937 births 2023 deaths Footballers from Łódź People from Łódź Voivodeship (1919–1939) Men's association football forwards Polish men's footballers ŁKS Łódź players Lechia Gdańsk players Ekstraklasa players II liga players Polish football managers Lechia Gdańsk managers Olimpia Elbląg managers Bałtyk Gdynia managers Zawisza Bydgoszcz managers Lech Poznań managers Trelleborgs FF managers Poland national football team managers Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. managers ŁKS Łódź managers Al Masry SC managers Al-Ettifaq FC managers Wisła Kraków managers Widzew Łódź managers Śląsk Wrocław managers Jagiellonia Białystok managers Sudan national football team managers Ekstraklasa managers I liga managers Israeli Premier League managers Egyptian Premier League managers Saudi Pro League managers Polish expatriate football managers Polish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Polish expatriate sportspeople in Israel Polish expatriate sportspeople in Egypt Polish expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Polish expatriate sportspeople in Sudan Expatriate football managers in Sweden Expatriate football managers in Israel Expatriate football managers in Egypt Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Sudan 20th-century Polish sportsmen