Marcin Lijewski will no longer be the national team coach. There was no other way
This decision was to be expected. During the World Championships held in January, the team led by Lijewski lost to Germany (28:35) and Switzerland (28:30), and tied with the Czech Republic (19:19). They took last place in the group. They were the best in the consolation tournament for the IHF "President's Cup", but the 25th place was a huge disappointment.
The previous year, Poland had finished 16th at the European Championships. In addition, there was a dispute with the team's leading handball player, Kamil Syprzak, regarding the PSG player's early departure from the World Championships. The atmosphere around the national team was getting thicker.
The decision was made by Sławomir Szmal, but not aloneThe ZPRP press release states that the final decision to fire Lijewski was made by the association's president (a former colleague from the coaching staff), Sławomir Szmal. He had previously held "consultations with the ZPRP Coaches' Council and undertaken an in-depth analysis of the coach's work."
After the championship, in an interview with "Rzeczpospolita", the head of the federation expressed deep disappointment. - I am convinced that the state of Polish handball is better. The goals were higher, because we assumed progress in relation to the previous world championships. We counted on places 9-14, it seemed realistic. However, we failed to achieve the goal. The group we were placed in was strong and we ended up in the President's Cup. I know that these are difficult matches, but our game was not the best - said Szmal.
RP
