Lechosław Olsza

Lechosław "Ola" Olsza (born 28 February 1949) is a Polish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.[1] He is primarily associated with two Upper Silesian football clubs; GKS Katowice and GKS Tychy.

Lechosław Olsza
Personal information
Date of birth (1949-02-28) 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 U-23 1 (0)
1976 Poland 2 (0)
Managerial career
1984-1991 GKS Katowice (assistant manager)
1996-2003 GKS Katowice (coach, director, misc.)
2003 GKS Katowice (caretaker)
2004 GKS Katowice
2005 GKS Katowice
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Olsza 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

Olsza 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

In 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

Olsza 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
  1. "Lechosław Olsza". EU Football. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  2. Zbigniew Cieńciała (12 November 2012), Pan piłkarz już się nie bawi (in Polish), Przegląd Sportowy
  3. Piotr Zawadzki (2014), GKS wicemistrzem jest. Opowieść o tyskiej drużynie wszech czasów (in Polish), Tychy{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. "Lechosław Olsza". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  5. Antoni Bugajski (25 February 2021), Pan piłkarz się bawił (in Polish), Przegląd Sportowy
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