Jan Urban · Biography

On 30 December 1990, Osasuna won 4-0 at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu. A Polish striker scored three of the goals and set up the other. He was Jan Urban, born on 14 May 1962 in Jaworzno, Poland, a centre-forward who had arrived in Pamplona in August 1989. He spent five seasons at Osasuna, played for Poland at the 1986 World Cup and went on to coach in Spain and Poland. In July 2025 he took charge of the Poland national team.

From Jaworzno to league titles with Górnik

He came through at Victoria Jaworzno, his hometown club, and turned professional with Zagłębie Sosnowiec in 1981. He stayed four seasons there, scoring 23 goals in 113 league games. In 1985 he joined Górnik Zabrze, the dominant side in Polish football at the time. With Górnik he won three consecutive Polish titles (1985-86, 1986-87 and 1987-88) and the 1988 Polish Super Cup. His 17 goals in 1987-88 were the best return of his career. He left Górnik in 1989 with 54 goals from 124 league appearances.

Five seasons at Osasuna

Osasuna signed him in August 1989. In his first season in La Liga he scored 8 goals in 35 games. In his second he got 13 in 34, the Bernabéu hat-trick among them. He then added 12 goals in 1991-92, 7 in 1992-93 and 5 in 1993-94. In total he scored 45 goals in 156 league matches for the club from Pamplona.

Valladolid, Toledo and a last spell in Zabrze

During the 1994-95 season he moved to Real Valladolid, where he scored 3 goals in 21 league games. In 1995-96 he played for CD Toledo and scored 6 in 33. He then had a season in Germany with VfB Oldenburg in the 2. Bundesliga in 1996-97, with 19 appearances and 3 goals. He returned to Górnik Zabrze for 1997-98, played 11 more games and retired in 1998. His club career totalled 489 league matches and 138 goals.

Poland international

He won 57 caps for Poland between 1985 and 1991 and scored 7 goals. At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico he played all four of Poland's matches, starting three, as the team reached the round of 16. His first international goal came on 18 March 1987 against Finland in Rybnik (3-1). His last came on 16 October 1991 against the Republic of Ireland in Poznań, a 3-3 draw in qualifying for Euro 1992.

First coaching jobs: Osasuna and Legia

He began coaching in the Osasuna academy in 1999, and from 2003 to 2005 he led the club's reserve team in 76 matches. In 2007 he took over Legia Warsaw and won the 2007-08 Polish Cup and the 2008 Polish Super Cup. In 2008 he was also assistant to Leo Beenhakker with Poland at the European Championship. Legia dismissed him in March 2010. He had a short spell at Polonia Bytom at the end of 2010 and was in charge of Zagłębie Lubin from March to October 2011. He went back to Legia in 2012, and in 2012-13 he won the league and cup double. That earned him the Polish Coach of the Year award in 2013.

Back in Pamplona and more jobs in Poland

Osasuna appointed him on 3 July 2014, by then in the Spanish second division, and dismissed him on 28 February 2015. He joined Lech Poznań on 12 October 2015, lost the 2016 Polish Cup final, won that year's Super Cup and was sacked on 29 August 2016. He coached Śląsk Wrocław from 5 January 2017 to February 2018. Górnik Zabrze hired him on 27 May 2021. He left in June 2022, came back on 18 March 2023 and stayed until he was dismissed on 15 April 2025. That same year he was inducted into the Ekstraklasa Hall of Fame.

Poland head coach

The Polish federation named him head coach on 16 July 2025, replacing Michał Probierz. His first game was a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands on 4 September 2025 in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Poland finished second in their group and went into the play-offs. On 26 March 2026 they came from behind to beat Albania 2-1 in Warsaw. On 31 March 2026 they lost the play-off final 3-2 to Sweden in Solna, to a Viktor Gyökeres goal in the 88th minute, and missed out on the World Cup.