Pogoń Szczecin Nears Hiring Former Maccabi Tel Aviv Coach After Rejecting Maccabi Bid

Pogoń Szczecin is close to appointing Oscar Garcia as its new coach, weeks after the Polish club’s owner rejected offers from Maccabi Tel Aviv to buy two of its players. Owner Alex Haditaghi, who is of Iranian descent, previously refused to negotiate with the Israeli club.

Maccabi Tel Aviv had targeted center back Dimitrios Kermitsis and left back Leo Borges, but Pogoń turned down the approach outright. Now the same club is set to hire a coach who previously worked in Israel in two separate spells.

Pogoń dismissed coach Thomas Thomasberg on Thursday afternoon, and Garcia is expected to replace him. The Spaniard had already been on the club’s shortlist before, alongside Igor Jovicevic and Thomasberg. In September 2025, Pogoń ultimately chose Thomasberg, but contact with Garcia was maintained.

Garcia, 53, last coached Ajax, where he did not make a strong impression. He was appointed in March after being promoted from the reserve team, replacing Fred Grim, who had served as interim coach after John Heitinga’s departure. Garcia also coached Oscar Gloukh for the second half of last season, but used the Israeli midfielder sparingly and benched him during the decisive stages of the Dutch campaign.