Jan Urban (; born 14 May 1962) is a Polish professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

who played as a striker. He was most recently in charge of

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

club

Górnik Zabrze Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Górnik Zabrze S.A. or simply Górnik Zabrze (), is a Polish association football, football club from Zabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning ...

. His professional career was closely associated to

and

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...

, and he also coached and worked with the latter club in various capacities. Urban represented

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

at the

1986 World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...

Playing career

Club

Urban was born in

Jaworzno Jaworzno is a City with powiat rights, city county in southern Poland in the Silesian Voivodeship, near Katowice. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Przemsza river (a tributary of the Vistula River, Vistula). Jaworzno belongs to Lesser Pol ...

, being one of six children in an underprivileged mining family. In his country he played for

Zagłębie Sosnowiec Zagłębie Sosnowiec () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Sosnowiec. They compete in II liga in the 2025–26 II liga, 2025–26 season, following relegation from the 2023–24 I liga. The club was establishe ...

and

, winning three

championships in a row with the latter to which he contributed with a combined 38 goals, including a career-best 17 in 1987–88. In the summer of 1989, Urban moved to Spain and joined

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. The team's ...

, going on to be one of the

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

team's most important players of the following decade. He scored 13 goals in 34 games in his second season to help the club finish in a best-ever fourth position in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, thus

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

to the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

; this included a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

on 30 December 1990, in a 4–0 away win. Urban started the 1994–95 campaign with Osasuna in the second division, but returned to the top flight with

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

in the winter

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

. He closed out his career at 36 after one-season stints with

CD Toledo Club Deportivo Toledo, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Toledo, Spain, Toledo, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. Founded in 1928 it plays in , holding home games at ''Estadio Salto del Cab ...

(also Spain, second level),

VfB Oldenburg VfB Oldenburg is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. In the 2022–23 season, they played in the 3. Liga, the third level of football in Germany. History Founded by a gro ...

(Germany) and former side Górnik.

International

Urban earned 57

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

over six years, netting seven goals in the process. He was selected to the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

squad, appearing in all four matches (three starts) as the national team reached the round-of-16 in Mexico.

International goals

Coaching career

In Spain

Urban settled in

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

after retiring, and begun his coaching career in the city, being in charge of Osasuna's youth academy and Poli Ejido. He then worked with the reserves os Osasuna in

division three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...

, moving to the offices after two seasons and leaving the club in June 2007.

Legia Warsaw and assistant coach Poland

In the summer of 2007, Urban took over as head coach of

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

, being responsible for signing three Osasuna players to the team, including Iñaki Astiz. During the

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

tournament, he served as an assistant for the Poland national team.

Polonia Bytom, Zagłębie Lubin and return to Legia

On 17 March 2010, Urban was fired by Legia and took charge of

Polonia Bytom Polonia Bytom () is a Polish football club based in Bytom. Founded in 1920, the team won two List of Polish football champions, championships, in 1954 Ekstraklasa, 1954 and 1962 Ekstraklasa, 1962. As of the 2025–26 I liga, 2025–26 season, th ...

on 29 October 2010. He then signed with fellow league club

Zagłębie Lubin Zagłębie Lubin S.A. () is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as ''OMTUR Lubin'', the club competes in the Ekstraklasa. History The football team was founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin by lo ...

on 10 March 2011. On 30 May 2012 he returned for a second spell with Legia, which lasted until 19 December of the following year.

Return to Osasuna

Urban returned to Osasuna after seven years, being appointed first-team manager on 3 July 2014 after their top-flight relegation. He was dismissed the following 28 February, with the side 16th after four consecutive losses.

Lech Poznań

In October 2015, Urban returned to Poland's top tier, taking over at

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...

. He was cup runner-up and

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

winner in 2016, but was sacked on 29 August that year.

Śląsk Wrocław

Urban was hired by

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław (), is a Polish professional Association football, football club based in Wrocław that plays in , the second level of the Polish football leagu ...

on an 18-month deal on 5 January 2017. On 18 February 2018 he was shown the door after losing eight of the last 13 games, and was replaced by

Tadeusz Pawłowski Tadeusz Pawłowski (born 14 October 1953) is a Polish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who last managed Śląsk Wrocław. Pawłowski has spent the majority of his career playing and ...

Górnik Zabrze

On 27 May 2021, it was announced that Urban would take over as manager of

club

immediately, replacing

Marcin Brosz Marcin Brosz (born 11 April 1973) is a Polish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently in charge of Ekstraklasa club Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza. As a player, he spent his career playing for ...

for the 2021–22 season. On 14 June 2022, it was announced he would be leaving the club the following day. Despite a tumultuous and unceremonious exit from Górnik, he was reinstated as manager on 18 March 2023. In spite of a limited budget and frequent sales of well-performing players, he guided the club to sixth and fifth-place finishes in the league, leading Urban to be linked with a return to Legia Warsaw and taking over the Poland national team. On 15 April 2025, after three consecutive losses and the club sitting in 7th, Urban was sacked by Górnik.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Górnik Zabrze *

: 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88 *

Polish Super Cup The Polish Super Cup (, ) is an annually held match between the champions of the Ekstraklasa and the Polish Cup winners or, if the Ekstraklasa champions also win the Polish Cup, the Cup's runners-up. As of 2024, the Polish Super Cup has been ...

: 1988 Individual * Ekstraklasa Hall of Fame: 2025

Manager

Legia Warsaw * Ekstraklasa: 2012–13, 2013–14 *

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

: 2007–08, 2012–13 * Polish Super Cup:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Lech Poznań * Polish Super Cup:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Individual * Polish Coach of the Year: 2013 *

Coach of the Season: 2012–13 * Ekstraklasa Coach of the Month: November 2012, May 2023, March 2024, April 2024

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Urban, Jan 1962 births Living people Sportspeople from Jaworzno Footballers from Silesian Voivodeship Polish men's footballers Men's association football forwards Victoria Jaworzno players Zagłębie Sosnowiec players Ekstraklasa players Górnik Zabrze players La Liga players Segunda División players CA Osasuna players Real Valladolid players CD Toledo players 2. Bundesliga players VfB Oldenburg players Poland men's youth international footballers Poland men's international footballers 1986 FIFA World Cup players Polish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Polish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Polish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Polish football managers Legia Warsaw managers Zagłębie Lubin managers Polonia Bytom managers Lech Poznań managers Śląsk Wrocław managers CA Osasuna managers Górnik Zabrze managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Ekstraklasa managers Polish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Spain 20th-century Polish sportsmen