(Reuters) – Poland will appoint former Portugal manager Fernando Santos as their new coach, Polish media reported on Monday.
The 68-year-old Santos, whose Portugal contract was terminated in December after their World Cup quarter-final exit to Morocco, was photographed at Warsaw airport on Monday.
Polish FA (PZPN) president Cezary Kulesza said on Sunday that the new national team manager will be presented on Tuesday.
There has been no official announcement but Polish Minister of Sport and Tourism Kamil Bortniczuk has congratulated Kulesza and the FA on the appointment.
“Santos is a coach with a very good CV (Greece and Portugal since 2010, and previously top Portuguese and Greek clubs), successes (European Championship), experience in working with great stars, led by @Cristiano,” he tweeted on Monday.
Santos led Portugal to success at Euro 2016 and the 2018-19 Nations League with Cristiano Ronaldo as captain. At club level he has managed Porto, AEK Athens, Panathinaikos, Sporting, Benfica, PAOK and he also had a four-year spell as Greece coach.
Former Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz left at the end of December after the FA decided not to renew his contract after he had guided the team to their first World Cup knockout stage appearance in 36 years at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Washington D.C.; Editing by Ken Ferris)
