Cracovia Unveils Sensational New Coach — Direct from Ligue 1

Cracovia is gearing up for a major surprise. According to the Weszło portal, the new head coach of “Pasy” is expected to be a manager who led a French Ligue 1 club last season.

A few weeks ago, Cracovia confirmed they would be appointing a new head coach ahead of the 2024/25 season. Former manager Dawid Kroczek departed, and the club began searching for a foreign replacement. Initially, the frontrunner was Bosnian coach Dušan Kerkez, who had previously managed Bulgarian side Botev Plovdiv. Later reports suggested that Cracovia also made a last-minute attempt to lure Michal Gašparík away from Spartak Trnava, despite interest from Górnik Zabrze.

Cracovia’s New Coach a Sensation – Straight from Ligue 1

Cracovia has pulled off a major coup. According to the Weszło portal, “Pasy” have managed to secure a high-profile name for their coaching position. Luka Elsner, who led French Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims last season, is set to become the new head coach in Kraków.

Elsner is the brother of former Śląsk Wrocław midfielder Rok Elsner, who won the Polish championship with the club in 2012. Despite being just 42, Luka Elsner brings a wealth of coaching experience. He began his managerial career in Slovenia with NK Domžale (2013–2016) and Olimpija Ljubljana (2016–2017), then took charge of Pafos FC in Cyprus (2017–2018), followed by a successful spell in Belgium with Union Saint-Gilloise (2018–2019).

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Since then, Luka Elsner has alternated between coaching roles in the Belgian and French leagues, with stints at Amiens (2019–2020), Kortrijk (2021), Standard Liège (2021–2022), and Le Havre (2022–2024). At Le Havre, he achieved a significant milestone by winning Ligue 2 and securing promotion to France’s top flight. He successfully kept the team in Ligue 1 for a season, which earned him a move to Stade Reims ahead of the 2024/25 campaign. However, his time there was short-lived—he was dismissed in February 2025 following five consecutive home defeats. Reims were 13th in the table at the time of his departure and ultimately failed to retain their Ligue 1 status, losing to Metz in the relegation play-offs.

Meanwhile, Cracovia wrapped up the 2024/25 Ekstraklasa season in sixth place, earning 51 points from 34 matches. Only Lech Poznań, Raków Częstochowa, Jagiellonia Białystok, Pogoń Szczecin, and Legia Warsaw finished ahead of “Pasy.