01.07.2026
Ekstraklasa
Legia was the only team in May to collect 12 points. Between matchdays 31 and 34, the Warsaw side won all four matches, scored 8 goals and conceded just one. They began the month with a 1:0 victory over Widzew Łódź at Łazienkowska. The decisive goal by Rafał Adamski came in the final action of the match, and the game had an additional dimension as it was Marek Papszun's 200th appearance as a coach in Ekstraklasa.
A week later Legia won 1:0 again — this time away at Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza. Adamski scored once more, and the capital club kept a clean sheet for the second time in a row. In matchday 33, Papszun's side defeated Lechia in Gdańsk 2:1 thanks to goals from Jean-Pierre Nsame and Antonio Colak, and closed the season with the most impressive performance of the month: a 4:0 victory over Motor Lublin. In the final match, the scorers were Nsame, Kacper Chodyna and Juergen Elitim.
May's Legia combined effectiveness with organisational discipline. Across four matches they kept three clean sheets, allowed the opposition to score just once, and ended the campaign with a run of four consecutive victories. Importantly, the wins varied in character: from matches decided by a single goal, through a victory sealed by a late goal in Gdańsk, to a commanding 4:0 at the end of the season.
Over the entire season, Legia finished the campaign in 6th place with 49 points and a goal difference of 42:37. The Warsaw side conceded the fewest goals in the league, and in advanced statistics also stood out for the lowest xG conceded. According to official data, Legia's opponents generated a combined total of 34.94 expected goals — the lowest of any team in PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa. This accurately reflects the profile of the team managed by Papszun: defensively disciplined, difficult to break down, and highly effective in terms of points in the closing stages of the season.
For Marek Papszun, this is the 11th Coach of the Month award of his career. He was already the all-time leader in the standings, and has now further consolidated his position at the top. His previous award came in November 2025 as coach of Raków Częstochowa — that was his 10th statuette of this kind. The May award is therefore simultaneously the first he has won as coach of Legia Warszawa.
It is also Papszun's second award in the 2025/2026 season. He is the only coach in this campaign to have been recognised at two different clubs: first at Raków Częstochowa, and then at Legia Warszawa. For the capital club, it is the first such distinction in the current competition.
Looking at the season as a whole, the coaching awards had a distinctly Polish flavour. Seven of the nine statuettes went to Polish coaches: Mariusz Misiura, Adrian Siemieniec, Jacek Zieliński, Marek Papszun, Leszek Ojrzyński and Mateusz Stolarski. The remaining two were won by a foreign coach — Michal Gasparik of Górnik Zabrze, recognised in October and April.
The Coach of the Month is chosen by the coaches of the eighteen PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa clubs. Each of them has one vote. In May, performances from matchdays 31 to 34 were taken into consideration.
PKO BANK POLSKI EKSTRAKLASA COACH OF THE MONTH 2025/2026
MAY 2026: Marek Papszun (Legia Warszawa)
APRIL 2026: Michal Gasparik (Górnik Zabrze)
MARCH 2026: Mateusz Stolarski (Motor Lublin)
FEBRUARY 2026: Leszek Ojrzyński (KGHM Zagłębie Lubin)
NOVEMBER 2025: Marek Papszun (Raków Częstochowa)
OCTOBER 2025: Michal Gasparik (Górnik Zabrze)
SEPTEMBER 2025: Jacek Zieliński (Korona Kielce)
AUGUST 2025: Adrian Siemieniec (Jagiellonia Białystok)
JULY 2025: Mariusz Misiura (Wisła Płock)
