Piotr Nowak

Not to be confused with Piotr Nowak (politician).

Piotr Nowak
Nowak in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1964-07-05) 5 July 1964 (age 60)
Place of birth Pabianice, Poland
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1983 Włókniarz Pabianice
1983–1984 GKS Bełchatów
1984–1985 Zawisza Bydgoszcz 39 (8)
1985–1986 Widzew Łódź 10 (2)
1987–1990 Zawisza Bydgoszcz 83 (18)
1990–1992 Bakırköyspor 54 (16)
1992–1993 Young Boys 42 (4)
1993–1994 Dynamo Dresden 23 (2)
1994 1. FC Kaiserslautern 0 (0)
1994–1998 1860 Munich 93 (15)
1998–2002 Chicago Fire 114 (26)
International career
1990–1998 Poland 24 (3)
Managerial career
2004–2006 D.C. United
2007–2009 United States U23
2007–2009 United States (assistant)
2010–2012 Philadelphia Union
2014–2015 Antigua and Barbuda
2016–2017 Lechia Gdańsk
2017–2018 Lechia Gdańsk (sporting director)
2021–2022 Jagiellonia Białystok
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Piotr "Peter" Nowak (Polish pronunciation: [ˈpjɔtr ˈnɔvak]; born 5 July 1964) is a Polish professional football manager and former player. He was most recently in charge of Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia Białystok.

Nowak played in Europe for Polish clubs such as Zawisza Bydgoszcz and Widzew Łódź, before going on to play in Turkey, Switzerland and Germany. He was voted one of the best players in the Bundesliga for the 1995–96 season while playing with 1860 Munich.[citation needed] He moved to the United States in 1998 and played four years with Chicago Fire. Nowak played for the Poland national football team throughout the 1990s, earning 24 caps, serving as national captain for several years, and being voted Polish Player of the Year in 1996.

As a coach, he is a former assistant coach of the United States men's national soccer team under Bob Bradley, former head coach of United States U-23 men's national soccer team, and former head coach of D.C. United and Philadelphia Union of MLS. However, his reputation in the USA took a big hit after he was accused of seriously mistreating and physically abusing players whilst being coach of the latter; an arbitration and a federal case that followed supported the charges in the accusations.[1][2][3][4][5]

He had a brief stint whilst still a player in the United States as chairman of Górnik Konin, but was hugely unpopular and widely blamed for the club's demise.[6][7][8] Over a decade later, he became technical and personal advisor to the president of Caribbean Football Union and technical director and head coach to the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association.

  1. ^ "Piotr Nowak. Miał bić i obrażać piłkarzy. Teraz obejmie Lechię". 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Spanking, dehydration and ignorance of concussions: New details about Peter Nowak's Union tenure". 6 January 2016. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Ekstraklasa w Sport.pl. Nowak znęcał się nad piłkarzami w USA i teraz przejmie Lechię?". 7 January 2016. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Biegi bez wody i kubły z lodem. Jak Piotr Nowak krzewił polską myśl szkoleniową - weszlo.com". 7 January 2016. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Amerykanie oskarżają polskiego trenera. "Znęcał się nad piłkarzami, ignorował ich kontuzje..."". Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Od początku do dzisiaj » Nieoficjalny serwis kibiców KS Górnik Konin". gornik.konin.pl. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Mała Wielka Piłka: Górnik Konin". 25 November 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Amerykański sen brutalnie przerwany. Nowak bierze Lechię - Futbolfejs.pl". 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2016.