Ryszard Andrzej Niemczyk
 Andrzej
Niemczyk, a former player for Spolem Lodz, Stal
Mielec and Anilana Lodz, started his coaching
career working with ChKS Komunalni Lodz.
Surprisingly, he quickly guided this small local
team into the first division, which made him quite
famous in Poland.
In 1975 he was selected to be the head coach of
the Polish women’s national team for the first
time but he left in 1977, after the European
Championships in Finland as he was not able to
keep the promise of a medal position, although
Poland was very close, finishing fourth. Until
this year that was Poland’s best achievement in
the Women’s European Championship.
Between 1980 and 1989 Niemczyk was in charge of
the West German national women’s side and in 1984
his team participated in the Los Angeles Olympic
Games, finishing 6th. In Germany, he was also the
coach of club teams: SV Lohhof and SC Berlin.
Following his time on the international stage
Niemczyk spent most of the 90s in Turkey, reaching
success with club teams: Eczacibasi Istanbul and
Vakifbank Ankara.
After accepting
his second term in charge of Poland following the
sudden resignation of Zbigniew Krzyzanowski in
April 2003, 60-year-old Niemczyk has brought not only
a new quality but also a
new life into the national side, as he gathered
all the best Polish players. His first success was
achieved in the European World Grand Prix
qualifying tournament held on home soil in Pila.
The home team finished second, to secure a spot in
the 2004 World Grand Prix.
But the best was still to come. In September,
Poland surprisingly won gold at the European
Championship in Turkey. That was the first ever
continental title for any Polish senior team.
Among the golden players was his daughter
Malgorzata Niemczyk-Wolska.
After a solid eighth place finish at the 2003
World Cup all eyes will now be on Niemczyk’s
team to see how they perform in the World Grand
Prix. Particularly after missing out on
qualifying for the Olympic Games earlier in the
year. |
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Percentage
of Wins
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Poland |
Total
Matches |
Matches
Won |
Matches
Lost |
Wins
% |
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Poland
28 July-01 Aug.