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Robert Warzycha
Personal information
Full name	Robert Warzycha
Date of birth	August 20, 1963 (age 46)
Place of birth	Siemkowice, Poland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Columbus Crew (head coach)
Senior career*
National team
Teams managed
2003–2008	Columbus Crew (assistant)
2009–	Columbus Crew
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.; † Appearances (Goals).;

Robert Warzycha (Polish pronunciation: [ˈrɔbɛrt vaˈʐɨxa]) (born August 20, 1963 in Siemkowice) is an Polish former professional soccer player. He is currently the head coach of Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer.

Warzycha had a long career in Europe, playing for teams in Poland and Hungary, and in the English Premier League with Everton. He won two Polish Ekstraklasa titles and a Polish SuperCup with Górnik Zabrze.

He moved to the United States in 1996 and subsequently spent seven seasons in Major League Soccer with Columbus Crew. Warzycha was also a regular member of the Poland national football team throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, amassing 47 caps.

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Club

Warzycha came to MLS in 1996 after a long career in Poland and England, where Everton ex-player Gordon Watson rated him as: "among the most talented wide-men to have played for us in the post-war years".^[1] He came to Everton for £500,000 in March 1991 from Polish club Górnik Zabrze. He spent four years (1991-94) with Everton and also played in his native Poland and Hungary.

He was one of only 13 foreign players to play on the opening weekend of the FA Premier League along with Jan Stejskal, Peter Schmeichel, Andrei Kanchelskis, Roland Nilsson, Eric Cantona, Hans Segers, John Jensen, Anders Limpar, Gunnar Halle, Craig Forrest, Michel Vonk and Ronnie Rosenthal.

After joining Columbus Crew for the Major League Soccer's inaugural year, Warzycha became a staple in the lineup for five seasons, and then a bit player in his final two, as he battled injuries. He retired as the Crew's all-time assist leader with 61 and also scored 19 goals in MLS league play. During his playing days in Columbus, Warzycha was known as "The Polish Rifle," in part because of his accuracy from free kicks. On March 25, 2000 Warzycha scored the first-ever regular-season "Golden Goal" in Major League Soccer history to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1.^[2]

[edit] International

For Poland, Warzycha was capped 47 times, scoring seven goals between 1987 and 1993.

[edit] Coaching career

After retiring as a player, he became an assistant coach with the Crew. After Greg Andrulis was fired in July 2005, Warzycha assumed interim head coaching duty. He went back to assisting after Sigi Schmid was hired for the full-time job.

After spending several years as Schmid's assistant, Warzycha was promoted to the head coach position at Columbus Crew for the 2009 MLS season.^[3]

[edit] Honors

[edit] Columbus Crew

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1): 2002

[edit] Górnik Zabrze

Ekstraklasa (2): 1987, 1988
Polish SuperCup (1): 1988

[edit] Honvéd

Hungarian Cup (1): 1996

[edit] See also

List of current MLS coaches

[edit] References

^ "Robert Warzycha: March 1991 - May 1994". EvertonFC.com. http://www.evertonfc.com/match/where-are-they-now.html?mode=player&player=10453. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
^ Columbus Crew: About: timeline
^ mlsnet.com

Preceded by Sigi Schmid	Columbus Crew Head Coach 2009-	Succeeded by Incumbent

[wan-0] "Robert Warzycha: March 1991 - May 1994". EvertonFC.com. http://www.evertonfc.com/match/where-are-they-now.html?mode=player&player=10453. Retrieved 2009-01-09.

[1] Columbus Crew: About: timeline

[2] snet.com

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