German manager Kosta Runjaic has been sacked by Udinese following a poor run of results in Serie A.
The Italian club confirmed his departure in an official statement published on their website, announcing that assistant coaches Przemyslaw Malecki and Alexander Trukan have also left.
Udinese currently sit 19th in the Italian top flight, occupying the penultimate spot in the standings after collecting just five points from their opening ten league matches of the 2026/27 campaign.
Expectations in Udine had increased considerably ahead of the season, with club leaders demanding a competitive squad capable of challenging for European qualification places. However, a dismal start to the campaign produced mounting speculation regarding the German coach's position before the board decided to terminate his contract.
Serie A record at Udinese
Runjaic arrived at Udinese in July 2024 following a successful spell in Poland. His first season in Italian football proved encouraging, as he guided the club from the northeastern city of Udine to a respectable 12th place finish in Serie A.
The team made further slight progress during his second year in charge, climbing to tenth position in the league table by the conclusion of the 2025/26 season.
Runjaic leaves behind an Udinese squad with several strong links to Polish football. The club currently features two Polish players in Jakub Piotrowski and Bartosz Mrozek. Swedish midfielder Jesper Karlstroem, who captains the side, is widely known in Poland from his time at Lech Poznan, while defender Enzo Ebosse previously played in the country for Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Ekstraklasa success and future plans
Runjaic remains warmly remembered by supporters across Poland following seven successful years in the country's top division, the Ekstraklasa. He managed Pogon Szczecin between 2017 and 2022 before taking charge of Legia Warsaw from 2022 to 2024. During his tenure with Legia, often nicknamed the Militarians, he lifted both the Polish Cup and the Polish Super Cup.
The German coach's future remains unconfirmed following his exit from Italy. However, reports in the Polish media suggest he is on the radar of Polish Football Association president Cezary Kulesza, who is reportedly interested in appointing Runjaic as the new head coach of the Poland national team.
