Wieslaw Grabowski
| Wieslaw Grabowski | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Known for | Being a football coach |
| Spouse(s) | Kristina Grabowski |
Wieslaw Grabowski is a Polish coach based in Zimbabwe. Grabowski is credited for scouting Zimbabwean footballers such as Norman Mapeza, Lloyd Chitembwe, Edelbert Dinha, Gift Muzadzi, Alois Bunjira and Stewart Murisa among many others. He is the former Zambia and Zimbabwe national team coach.
Personal Life
Wieslaw Grabowski's wife, Kristina Grabowski, is consular at the Polish Embassy in Harare and is also a gynaecologist.[1] He came to Zimbabwe on a government exchange programme in 1985.[2]
Career
He graduated from German Sport University Cologne in Cologne, Germany.[3]
He started off with Darryn Textiles which then merged with Tornadoes to form Darryn T. In 1992, Grabowski's Darryn T beat CAPS United by four goals to nil in a Castle Cup final.
Through his Darryn T project, he discovered Norman Mapeza, Lloyd Chitembwe, Edelbert Dinha, Gift Muzadzi, Alois Bunjira and Stewart Murisa.
Grabowski also facilitated European moves for Shingi Kaondera, Dickson Choto, Musareka Jenitala, Costa Nhamoinesu and Takesure Chinyama, who became the first non-European top-goal scorer in the Polish First Division (Ekstraklasa) in 2009.
Darryn T was relegated and the club is no longer competing in any division, but Wieslaw Grabowski is still in the scouting business through his DT Africa United project.[1]
National Teams
He was assistant coach of Poland's national team at the World Cup finals in 1978.[4]
Zambia
He was Zambia's coach from 1983 to 84.[5]
Zimbabwe
He was in charge of the Zimbabwean under-23 team that won the silver medal at the 1995 All-Africa Games.
In March 2002, Wieslaw Grabowski was appointed as the coach of the Zimbabwe national team. Earlier that year, he was Zimbabwe's caretaker coach for a three-nation tour of the Middle East.
During the tour, a row erupted between Grabowski and some players, who complained about the payment of their allowances.
Goalkeeper, Gift Muzadzi, was banned from the national team for statements he made to the press on the issue.[4]
In May 2002, Grabowski was fired by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) after a 0-2 defeat by Swaziland in a Cosafa Castle Cup quarter-final tie at the National Sports Stadium.[6]
Criticism
Robson Sharuko accused Wieslaw Grabowski of taking advantage of young players, making them sign long contracts, selling them abroad and reaping the rewards. Sharuko gave the example of Kelvin Bulaji a young player contracted to DT Africa United.
In the article, Sharuko claimed that Bulaji had to pay £300 000 pounds to release himself from the contract unless he found a foreign club to join. If Bulaji failed to do so, his contract would be immediately renewed even without his approval.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Langton Nyakwenda, UNCANNY EYE FOR TALENT…Grabowski still doing the business, The Sunday Mail, Published: June 28, 2020, Retrieved: May 18, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lot Chitakasha, Heroes or Villains: The cases of President Banana and Wiesław Grabowski, Nehanda Radio, Published: January 10, 2016, Retrieved: May 18, 2022
- ↑ Wiesław Grabowski visiting Poland, afryka.org, Published: September 27, 2016, Retrieved: May 18, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Steve Vickers, Grabowski returns as Zimbabwe coach, BBC, Published: March 6, 2002, Retrieved: May 18, 2022
- ↑ Zambian Football History Academy, Facebook, Published: July 1, 2014, Retrieved: May 18, 2022
- ↑ Zimbabwe: ZIFA Fires Coach Grabowski, allAfrica, Published: May 11, 2002, Retrieved: May 18, 2022
