Orest Lenczyk

Orest Lenczyk (Polish pronunciation: [ˈɔrɛst ˈlɛnt͡ʂɨk]; 28 December 1942 – 11 June 2024) was a Polish professional football player and manager.

Orest Lenczyk

Lenczyk with Śląsk Wrocław in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth	(1942-12-28)28 December 1942
Place of birth	Sanok, General Government
Date of death	11 June 2024(2024-06-11) (aged 81)
Place of death	Kraków, Poland
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Sanoczanka Sanok
	Stomil Poznań [pl]
	Ślęza Wrocław
	Moto Jelcz Oława [pl]
Managerial career
1970–1971	Karpaty Krosno
1972	Stal Rzeszów (assistant)
1972–1974	Siarka Tarnobrzeg
1974–1975	Stal Mielec (assistant)
1975–1976	Wisła Kraków (assistant)
1976–1979	Wisła Kraków
1979–1981	Śląsk Wrocław
1982–1984	Ruch Chorzów
1984–1985	Wisła Kraków
1985–1986	Igloopol Dębica
1987–1988	Widzew Łódź
1990–1991	GKS Katowice
1994	Wisła Kraków
1995	Pogoń Szczecin
1995–1996	GKS Katowice
1996–1999	Ruch Chorzów
1999	GKS Bełchatów
1999–2000	Widzew Łódź
2000–2001	Wisła Kraków
2002	Ruch Chorzów
2005–2008	GKS Bełchatów
2009	Zagłębie Lubin
2009–2010	Cracovia
2010–2012	Śląsk Wrocław
2013–2014	Zagłębie Lubin
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Lenczyk was born in Sanok.^[1] A midfielder,^[2] he played for lower divisions teams such as Sanoczanka Sanok, Stomil Poznań, Ślęza Wrocław, and Moto-Jelcz Oława. At the age of 28, Lenczyk ended his career as a footballer, and began working as a coach.^{[citation needed]}

Managerial career

At first, Lenczyk coached in several teams of southeastern Poland, before finding a job at Wisła Kraków in 1975, where he was an assistant. Next year, he became the manager of Wisła's first team, winning the league title in the 1977–78 season.^[3] Furthermore, Lenczyk's Wisła got to the quarter-finals of the 1978–79 European Cup, beating Club Brugge, and Zbrojovka Brno, only to lose to the runner-up, Malmö. Lenczyk worked for Wisła on several occasions (1984–1985, 1994, 2000–2001), and during his last season in Kraków, he won promotion to the second round of the UEFA Cup, after eliminating Real Zaragoza.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2005, he got a job at GKS Bełchatów. After a first, difficult season, GKS finished the 2006–07 season as runners-up, with such players, as Radosław Matusiak, Paweł Strąk, Łukasz Garguła and Piotr Lech. He was fired in March 2008, after five defeats in a row. On 16 April 2009, he was named head coach of Zagłębie Lubin,^[4] winning promotion to the Ekstraklasa. In August 2009, Lenczyk became the coach of Cracovia, replacing Artur Płatek [pl]. After problems with Cracovia's management, he came to terms with the higher-ups to dissolve his contract.^{[citation needed]}

On 27 September 2010, he was named the successor to Ryszard Tarasiewicz at Śląsk Wrocław.^[5] The team finished runners-up in the 2010–11 season. In the following campaign, Śląsk won the league title.^{[citation needed]}

Death

Lenczyk died on 11 June 2024, at the age of 81.^[6] He was buried on 15 June at the Bielany Cemetery in Kraków.^[7]

Honours

Wisła Kraków

• Ekstraklasa: 1977–78^[8]

GKS Katowice

• Polish Super Cup: 1995

Śląsk Wrocław^[8]

• Ekstraklasa: 2011–12
• Polish Super Cup: 2012
• Ekstraklasa Coach of the Month: March 2011,^[9] September 2011^[10]

Individual

• Polish Coach of the Year: 1990, 2006^[8]
• Ekstraklasa Coach of the Season: 2010–11^[11]