It had already been rumored, and now it’s official: Fredi Bobic is joining Polish top club Legia Warsaw as Head of Football Operations.
Legia recently initiated a restructuring process in its sporting management and appointed Michal Zewlakov as its new sporting director in March. Bobic, in turn, will be responsible for all football operations within the club. However, the duo’s areas of responsibility will be strictly separated.
Bobic will be responsible for long-term sporting strategy (from the academy to the professional team), the development of scouting processes, and the use of international contacts in the area of transfers, while Zewlakov will have the final say on squad decisions, transfers, and the coaching staff.
In Warsaw, they think highly of the 53-year-old Bobic. President Dariusz Mioduski emphasized that there has “never been a person with so much experience and international prestige in Polish club football” and that he is convinced that the former German national striker can “take the club to a new level of development.” Mioduski does not expect any problems in working with Zewlakov, as the two “complement each other very well and have a similar view of football.”
“From my experience, I know how important it is to build stable foundations and processes,” Bobic is quoted as saying on the club website: “The move to Legia Warsaw is a great honor and challenge for me. The club has big ambitions and I am ready to support the team in achieving further success. I see great potential – both in the professional team and in the youth teams. My goal is to develop the club’s sports department so that Legia can achieve regular success in Poland and internationally.”
Second foreign posting for Bobic
The 1996 European champion was sporting director at Hertha BSC until his dismissal in January 2023. More than two years after his departure, a legal dispute with the capital club is still pending. Before his time in Berlin, Bobic, who was born in Maribor and grew up in Stuttgart, worked for VfB Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt in management positions. He gained his first managerial experience between 2009 and 2010 with Bulgarian first division club Chernomorets Burgas.
