Paulo Sousa has resigned his job as Poland manager to take over at Brazilian club Flamengo in a move which is said to have disappointed striker Robert Lewandowski ahead of the World Cup qualifiers in March.
Sousa will remain in charge of the national side for those qualifiers after Poland made it difficult for him to leave but it does not appear that the former Swans boss will stay on beyond that whatever the outcome.
Sousa – who spent a season in charge in 2009-10 before joining Leicester City – was appointed as Poland manager in January of this year and the nation have won 6 and drawn 5 of his 15 matches in charge.
It was a disappointing campaign at the European Championships for Sousa with his side crashing out in the group stages after defeats to Slovakia and Sweden sandwiched around a draw with Spain but 5 wins and a draw in their last 6 qualifying games for the World Cup earned them the semi final with Russia as they push towards a place in Qatar.
Portugoal.net reported on Monday “The story of Sousa’s impending departure broke on Sunday afternoon, with various Portuguese outlets informed that Flamengo’s extensive search for a Luso coach had finally been fulfilled. The Rio de Janeiro club have spent the last week speaking with various candidates, including the heavily favoured Jorge Jesus – a club hero at Maracanã owing to a glittering spell in 2019.
“The likes of Carlos Carvalhal, Paulo Fonseca, André Villas-Boas and Rui Vitória were all thought to be on Mengão’s shortlist. However, the much-travelled Sousa was the man chosen to take the job ahead of the 2022 season, much to the surprise and displeasure of the Polish FA and widespread online reaction.”
Cezary Kulesza, president of the Polish football federation, declared: “Today I was informed by Paulo Sousa that he wanted to terminate the contract with Poland by mutual agreement because of an offer from another club. This is extremely irresponsible behaviour, inconsistent with the manager’s earlier declarations. Therefore, I firmly refused.”