Former star of the Polish national team, Michal Winiarski will be at the helm of the German men’s national team for the next three years, according to the contract he signed with the German federation. He takes over the position vacated by Italian specialist Andrea Giani who switched to head coaching Olympic champions France.
VNL 2022
Michal Winiarski takes over Germany
The former Polish national team star signed on a three-year contract
Published 01:29, 07 Apr 2022
“I am very happy about the opportunity to work with the German national team. It's a big challenge for me and I thank the federation and its sports director Christian Dunnes for their trust,” 38-year-old Winiarski told volleyball-verband.de. “Germany has a great team with a strong international presence. My goal will be to do my best every day. I expect the same from the players, because I believe that the daily work in training will make the biggest difference on the way to success.”
It will be the first time the former outside hitter of Poland, the Best Receiver of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, takes over a national team. He took on coaching shortly after ending his playing career in 2017. As an assistant coach at PGE Skra Belchatow, he won a CEV Champions League bronze, a Polish national championship title and twice the country’s super cup. In his first head coaching job, Winiarski has been at the helm of Trefl Gdansk since 2019.
In his athletic career, the 200m-tall outside celebrated as a 2014 world champion and a 2006 FIVB Volleyball World Championship silver medallist with Poland. In addition, his national team showcase includes gold medals at the 2012 FIVB Volleyball World League and the 2003 FIVB Volleyball Junior World Championship, as well as a 2011 FIVB Volleyball World Cup silver. As a club player, Winiarski won three FIVB Volleyball Club World Championship medals (two silvers and a bronze), three Champions League podiums (one of each colour) and the national titles of Poland and Italy.
In his first season as head coach of Germany, the Polish specialist will steer the team through their appearances at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Nations League and the 2022 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship.
“First of all, I would like to get to know all the players personally. Communication and team spirit are very important to me,” Winiarski added. “There will be time for that during the VNL. I am sure that we will manage to form a team that can take on all opponents successfully. The goal will be to improve our game system and prepare as best as we can for the World Championship. It is also important to improve all players individually.”
