National football team suffers more problems as coach resigns

National football team coach Zbigniew Boniek unexpectedly quit yesterday less than six months after being appointed amid stinging criticism from both the media and players. Boniek's deputy, Stefan Majewski, will become caretaker coach until a replacement is found, leaving the national squad without clear leadership ahead of key European championship qualifiers early next year. "Today I handed in my resignation to the Polish FA President Michal Listkiewicz. I thanked my players and colleagues and wish all the best to my successor, but I do not want to comment on my decision," Boniek told Reuters. He was arguably Poland's best-ever player who had a successful career at Juventus in the 1980s. He received the coaching job after the team 's poor performance in this year's World Cup finals where they went home after the first round. But his decision to ditch experienced players, call up new talent, and completely revamp tactics failed to produce results, triggering a storm of criticism in a country starved of sporting success. (Reuters)