The management of PGE Projekt Warszawa announced on Monday morning the parting ways with coach Tommi Tiilikainen. The Finnish specialist himself has resigned and is no longer performing his duties at the capital's PlusLiga club.
The decision comes after a series of poor results that shook the Warsaw team's positions in both the Polish championship and the Champions League. In their last matches, Projekt suffered defeats from Asseco Resovia with 0:3(21:25,18:25,20:25) and from Barkom Każany Lwów with 2:3(22:25,25:23,25:20,21:25,12:15), and in Europe lost to Lube Civitanova with 0:3(19:25,20:25,22:25).
"I decided that at this moment the best decision for both sides is to terminate the cooperation. I believe that the team needs a new impulse to achieve the goals set for this season," Tiilikainen stated, quoted by the club's official website.
For his part, Vice President and Sports Director Piotr Gacek emphasized that the club respected the specialist's decision, even though they were not actively looking for a coaching change.
Until a new head coach is appointed, the duties will be taken over by Kamil Nalepka, with assistants Bartosz Kaczmarek and Blair Bann, who remains on the staff.
PlusLiga Standings
| Rank | Team | Matches | Wins | Losses | Sets | Points | Points in Sets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bogdanka Luk Lublin | 17 | 12 | 5 | 42:24 | 35 | 1551:1409 |
| 2 | PGE Projekt Warszawa | 17 | 12 | 5 | 38:22 | 35 | 1420:1339 |
| 3 | Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie | 16 | 11 | 5 | 38:20 | 33 | 1340:1235 |
The tie in points between Bogdanka and Projekt (35 each) remains, but the leader's advantage is now significantly clearer when looking in depth. The team from Lublin has 42 won sets, a full four more than the Warsaw team, as well as a solid lead in points in sets – 1551 against 1409. This indicates more convincing victories and fewer fluctuations in long matches.
Projekt Warszawa partially compensates with a better sets-per-match ratio, but the two losses in the recent rounds are clearly visible in the overall balance. This drop in effectiveness is among the key reasons for the coaching change.
In third place, Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie remains firmly in contention, with a game in hand and only two points adrift, which makes the top of PlusLiga incredibly tight and tense.
In the Champions League, the situation is also not optimal – Projekt is in third place in Group E with 4 points, one win, and two losses, which further intensifies the pressure around the team.
The upcoming weeks will show whether the new impetus will be enough for PGE Projekt Warszawa to remain a real competitor to Bogdanka in the title race.
