Lechosław "Ola" Olsza (born 28 February 1949) is a Polish former football manager and player who played as a midfielder.[1] He is primarily associated with two Upper Silesian football clubs; GKS Katowice and GKS Tychy.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 February 1949 | ||
| Place of birth | Sosnowiec, Poland | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1966 | Zryw Chorzów | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1966–1975 | GKS Katowice | 250 | (6+) |
| 1975–1977 | GKS Tychy | 34 | (0) |
| 1978–1979 | GKS Katowice | 22 | (8) |
| 1979–1980 | Rozwój Katowice | ||
| 1980–1982 | SV St.Veit an der Glan | (1+) | |
| International career | |||
| 1971 | Poland U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 1976 | Poland | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1984–1991 | GKS Katowice (assistant) | ||
| 2000–2001 | GKS Katowice | ||
| 2003 | GKS Katowice (caretaker) | ||
| 2004 | GKS Katowice | ||
| 2005 | GKS Katowice | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editOlsza was brought to GKS Katowice from Zryw Chorzów by Jerzy Nikiel,[2] debuting in a 1–0 win against Stal Rzeszów.[2] In 1971 he was part of the squad that upset FC Barcelona at Camp Nou in 2–0 win.[2] His greatest successes came with GKS Tychy however, winning the vice-championship in 1976, in what was the golden era for the club;[3] this success earned him a call-up to the national team. In 1979 he spent a year with the then Third Division side Rozwój Katowice before emigrating to Austria for four years, playing alongside other Poles such as Józef Kwiatkowski and Józef Kurzeja.[2]
International career
editOlsza played in the 1972 UEFA European Under-23 Championship in a Group 8 match, coming on a substitute against Albania in a 2–1 win on 12 May 1971. He played in two matches for the Poland senior national team in 1976,[4] making his debut against Greece.
Managerial career
editIn between various non-footballing activities and multiple emigrations from Poland, over the years he has had various roles at GKS Katowice, ranging from first team coach, second coach, assistant manager, manager, director of football, kit man, manual labourer, and stoker.[2]
Personal life
editOlsza comes from a sporting family; his father Józef played for Ruch Chorzów,[2] his uncle Kazimierz Pietranek for Stal Sosnowiec.[2] Lechosław's daughter Aleksandra is a former Wimbledon Junior Girls title holder,[5] his wife Barbara a 29-time national tennis champion,[2] and his son a professional sports coach with a doctorate in sports science.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Lechosław Olsza". EU Football. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Zbigniew Cieńciała (12 November 2012), Pan piłkarz już się nie bawi (in Polish), Przegląd Sportowy
- ^ Piotr Zawadzki (2014), GKS wicemistrzem jest. Opowieść o tyskiej drużynie wszech czasów (in Polish), Tychy
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Lechosław Olsza". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ Antoni Bugajski (25 February 2021), Pan piłkarz się bawił (in Polish), Przegląd Sportowy
External links
edit- Lechosław Olsza at WorldFootball.net
- Lechosław Olsza at National-Football-Teams.com
- Lechosław Olsza at EU-Football.info
- Lechosław Olsza at 90minut.pl (in Polish)
