Posted on 05/23/2006 2:34:22 PM PDT by lizol
Top Polish soccer coach dies
23.05.2006
Polands most successful football coach ever, Kazimierz Gorski, has died at the age of 85. He led the national team to an Olympic gold and World Cup bronze in the 1970s.
Report by Michal Zajac
The whole life of Kazimierz Gorski has been closely related to sport, namely football. Having been a player himself, he then became a coach to later continue as a sport activist, all the time remaining a great sport lover. It was under his command of the national team from 1970 to 1976 that Polands most successful achievements took place.
In the opinion of sports commentator and senator, Andrzej Person, the Polish national team had never been stronger before the era of coach Kazimierz Gorski nor ever afterwards.
I am very sad because Kazimierz Gorski was a key person in my professional career. I was very lucky to be in Munich in 1972 when we played Hungary in the final and won the gold medal. I remember the sensational win over England which promoted us to the World Cup in 1974. And Gorski was, I think, absolutely the number one coach in the history of Polish sport..
Led by Kazimierz Gorski, Poland claimed gold at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, third place at the World Cup in Germany two years later and silver at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Jan Tomaszewski the star goalkeeper of Gorskis wonder team said there were many great players before and after their times, but they never had the fortune of working with Kazimierz Gorski.
One of those lucky ones has been Radio Polonias Slawek Szefs, who had a personal encounter with the super-coach and his methods back in the mid-1960s.
There was a soccer tournament for teens, I went to schools with Gorskis son Darek so our choice of coach was in a way natural. He used to watch us calmly on the field, giving us brief comments, teaching us to think, simply analyse the game.
Kazimierz Gorski has been a unique personality. He enjoyed respect of everyone here, both his peers as well as all the following generations.
Henryk Wieczorek was a member of one of Kazimierz Gorskis famous teams.
He is a legend of Polish football, a person who initiated the stream of success of football in Poland beginning with the Olympic Games in 1972 through World Cup in 1974 and another Olympics two years later. Its a pity he died so shortly before the World Cup in Germany. I Am sure the Polish team will play to the best of its form to thus honour the memory of Kazimierz Gorski.
All football games in Poland this week will begin with a minute of silence in tribute to the merited coach.
I was at the '72 Games in Munich. Hard to believe that was almost 35 years ago.
He and Kaz Deyna are probably talking about Poland's chances up there as we speak. I had a chance to see Kaz play in the NASL here in the US, before his tragic accident.
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