Dawid Szulczek

Dawid Szulczek (born 26 January 1990) is a Polish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed Warta Poznań.

Managerial career

After retiring as a player in 2013, Szulczek started his coaching career as an assistant at Górnik Wesoła. Before the 2014–15 season, he joined Rozwój Katowice and held the role of assistant coach until 2017. After head coach Tadeusz Krawiec's dismissal before the last matchday of the 2017–18 season, he took on the position of interim coach and led Rozwój to a 0–1 II liga win against Gryf Wejherowo on 3 June 2017.

On 13 June 2017, Szulczek was recruited by Artur Skowronek and joined his staff at Wigry Suwałki as an assistant coach. He would follow Skowronek and work in a similar role at Stal Mielec and Wisła Kraków.

Wigry Suwałki

On 21 July 2020, he was appointed manager of II liga team Wigry Suwałki. Wigry finished the 2020–21 campaign in 4th, with 18 wins, 10 draws and 8 losses in 36 games. They would subsequently crash out of I liga promotion play-offs in the first round after losing to KKS 1925 Kalisz.

He obtained the UEFA Pro license in September 2020, becoming the youngest holder of such certification in Poland at the time.

Warta Poznań

On 8 November 2021, his contract was bought out by Ekstraklasa side Warta Poznań and he signed until the end of the season, with a two-year extension option. With Szulczek in charge, Warta escaped the relegation zone and finished the season in 11th. On 1 April 2022, his contract was extended until June 2024.

Under Szulczek's tenure, which included an eighth-place finish at the end of the 2022–23 campaign, Warta has overperformed and managed to avoid relegation twice despite their limited transfer activity and having one of if not the lowest reported club budget in Ekstraklasa. He has received praise for his work, which has been cited as a catalyst for other top-level Polish clubs to hire young managers with no playing experience beyond lower divisions or youth level, such as Adrian Siemieniec, Daniel Myśliwiec, Dawid Szwarga or Gonçalo Feio.

On 18 April 2024, amid ongoing media reports linking him with Cracovia, it was announced Szulczek would leave Warta at the end of his contract. He was unable to save Warta from relegation at the end of the 2023–24 season, as they lost 0–3 to Jagiellonia Białystok and were jumped in the standings by Korona Kielce following their away win over Lech Poznań on the last matchday.

Managerial statistics

As of match played 25 May 2024

References

1. Warta Poznań
2. 2023–24 Ekstraklasa
3. Grzegorz Mokry
4. 2021–22 Ekstraklasa
5. 2022–23 Ekstraklasa
6. 2019–20 Wisła Kraków season