Jacek Gmoch

Jacek Gmoch

Gmoch in 2007
Personal information
Full nameJacek Wojciech Gmoch
Date of birth13 January 1939
Place of birthPruszków, Poland
Playing positionDefender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
Znicz Pruszków
1960–1968Legia Warsaw190(11)
National team
1962–1968Poland29(0)
Teams managed
1976–1978Poland
1979Skeid Fotball
1979–1981PAS Giannina
1981–1982Apollon Athens
1982–1983Larisa
1983–1985Panathinaikos
1985–1986AEK
1986–1988Larisa
1988–1989Olympiacos
1990–1991Aris
1991PAS Giannina
1991–1993Apoel
1993Larisa
1994-1995Athinaikos
1995-1996Ethnikos
1996–1997Apoel
1997–1998Ionikos
1998–1999Kalamata
1999-2000Panionios
2002–2003Ionikos
2010Panathinaikos (caretaker)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Jacek Gmoch (born 13 January 1939 in Pruszków) is a former Polish footballer, who later became a trainer and selector of the Polish National Team.

While having a successful football career he graduated in communication from the Warsaw University of Technology. Gmoch begun playing for Znicz Pruszków, to move on for a successful career in Legia Warsaw. With Legia, he won the Polish Cup twice (in 1964 and 1966) and contributed to the beginning of the successful 1968–69 season. He also became a player for the national Team of Poland (29 caps).[1]

Following a major injury in a friendly match, Gmoch began a coaching career, starting in Legia Warsaw in 1969–71. Having been offered the assistant's job at Kazimierz Górski, he lasted from 1971–74. Moved to U.S. to follow his scientific career (1975–6). He returned to qualify the National Team to 1978 Mundial in Argentina (fifth place). He later moved to Norway in 1979 and Greece until 2003 where he became one of the most successful and recognised coaches.

In Norway, he became Skeid Fotball manager and then he went to Greece and worked first as a manager of PAS Giannina,[2][3] Apollon Athens, Larisa,[4] In 1983, he did his big step as a manager and became trainer of Panathinaikos. In his first season as Panathinaikos manager, his team won the Double and the following season, his team for second time in their history, reached the Semi finals of European Champions Cup, where they were eliminated by Liverpool. For the season 1985–86, he became coach of another great Greek club, AEK and the following season he became again trainer of Larisa and in 1988, his team won for first and only time the Greek Championship. After Larisa, he worked as a manager for Olympiacos and Aris Thesaloniki in 1991 he went to Cyprus to become APOEL trainer, where his team won the championship and he remained there until the middle of the season 1992–93. Later, he worked for Athinaikos (1994–95), Ethnikos Piraeus (1995–96), Ionikos (1997–98), Kalamata (1998–99), Panionios (1999), and again for Ionikos in 2002–03.

He acted as a member of the Polish Olympic representation team in Athens 2004 Summer Olympics and later became a minor shareholder and President of Legia Warsaw, as well as following up a career in television commentating for several networks.He is currently commentating Champions League matches for the Greek Television.

On 15 November 2010, Gmoch took over as the caretaker manager of Panathinaikos, following Nikos Nioplias, who resigned after a string of mediocre results in the first part of the 2010–11 season. As caretaker manager he succeeded to win Iraklis in the only match before being succeeded by the new manager of the team. The score was 4–2 and everybody in the stadium goodbyed him again as a winner.

References

External links

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