Official: Poland national team manager resigns after Robert Lewandowski row | OneFootball

Michal Probierz, until now the head coach of the Poland national team, announced on Thursday his resignation from the post “for the good of the national team”.

His departure comes shortly after a public confrontation with Robert Lewandowski, whom he had stripped of the captain’s armband.

In response, the Barcelona superstar declared he would no longer play for the national team while Probierz remained in charge.

Probierz shared his resignation via the official X account of the Polish Football Association:

“I have come to the conclusion that, in the current situation, the best decision for the good of the national team would be my resignation as head coach. Holding this position was the realisation of my professional dreams and the greatest honour of my life,” he said.

Continuing, he added: “I want to thank all my colleagues and the staff of the Polish Football Association. I could always count on you. Thank you for the trust of the president and the board of the Polish Football Association.”

Concluding, Probierz remarked: “Of course, I want to thank all the footballers I had the pleasure to meet on this journey. I will keep my fingers crossed for all of you, because the national team is our shared heritage.

“I also want to thank our wonderful fans. You are with us in good times and bad. Wherever the national team played, your support was heard.”

What happened?

Following an arduous season with Barcelona, Lewandowski had opted out of Poland’s matches in the current international break, leading to Probierz stripping him of captaincy.

The Barcelona striker had hit out at the coach claiming that Probierz had broken his trust after they had spoken and agreed about his rest. As such, the 36-year-old vowed not to play again for Poland as long as Probierz was in charge.

The now-former Poland manager, though, had defended his decision to take the captain’s armband off Lewandowski and hand it to Piotr Zielinski while leaving the door open for the veteran striker to return to the national team setup.

It now seems that Lewandowski has effectively won the standoff.