Novak, Peter

Novak signed his first professional contract at the age of 15 with Vlukniazh Pabianice club. Later he played in the Polish Championship for Zavisha and Vidzev.

After several seasons in Bakyrkoyuspor (Turkey) and Young Boys (Switzerland), Novak moved to Germany, becoming a player in the Bundesliga team Dynamo Dresden . It was in Germany that Novak reached the peak of his career. In 1994, he signed a contract first with Kaiserslautern (did not play a single match), and then with Munich 1860, where he played until 1998. In the 1995/96 season, Novak was recognized as the best playmaker in the Bundesliga, as well as the player of the year in Poland, and he also went to the UEFA Cup with the club.

In 1998, Novak moved to the United States and joined the newly created “Chicago Fire” before the club debut in the MLS. He quickly established himself as one of the best players in the league, he helped the club win the MLS Cup (1998) and two US Open Cups (1998, 2000). He got into the symbolic MLS team three times, three times he was the best player of Chicago Fire and the best player of the 1998 MLS Cup. Novak spent 114 games in the league for Fire, scored 26 goals and gave 48 assists. He played for the club from Chicago for five seasons and resigned in 2002. In 2003, he became the first member of the Ring of Fire, the Chicago Fire Hall of Fame.

While still a footballer, Novak became chairman of Gornik Konin in 1999. Coach Jerzy Kasalik was dismissed without explanation ^{[7] [8]} , despite winning first place in the league, Novak appointed a little-known coach Yaroslav Kotas. The team soon began to play regular matches and was able to avoid relegation only thanks to a good start ^{[7] [8]} .

The 1999/2000 season was a disaster. ^[7] The owners decided to rename the main team “Konin”, while the reserve and youth teams used the old name “Konin Aluminum”. The club finished last. Then it turned out that in the second half of the season, the management had plans to relocate the team to Bydgoszcz . In the end, the move was never made, but the team, which scored only eight points for the whole season, was disbanded. This was blamed on the leadership of the club and in particular Novak ^{[7] [8]} . The reserve team, which flew out of the third division that season, became the first team, and the season after (2000/01) was able to win a promotion in the class.

After finishing his career, Novak worked for one season at Chicago Fire as International Relations Director and Ambassador. In 2004, he began coaching, heading DC United. In his first season, he led the club to victory in the MLS Cup, United with a score of 3: 2 beat Sporting Kansas City . After this victory, Novak became the first person in MLS history to win the MLS Cup as a player and as a head coach. In addition, he became the first head coach in all major American sports over the past half century, who won the championship within two years after the end of his playing career.

In 2005, as part of the celebration of the MLS tenth anniversary, Novak was included in the symbolic national team of players in the entire history of the league. For three years with United, Novak won the MLS Supporters' Shield and was twice elected the head coach of the MLS All-Stars team (2004, 2006)

In 2007, he moved to the position of Assistant Head Coach of the US National Team Bob Bradley. Novak also became the head coach of the youth team and led the team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing .

More than 70 players passed through Novak with Bradley, they won the CONCACAF 2007 Gold Cup . During this time, the US team has risen from 31st to 12th position in the FIFA national teams ranking .

May 28, 2009 Novak relinquished his position in the United States national team. Subsequently, the Philadelphia Inquirer announced that Novak will be the first head coach of the newly created Philadelphia Union when the club starts playing in 2010. On Friday, May 29, 2009, Novak was presented in local media.

In December 2011, Novak was also appointed executive vice president of the Philadelphia Union. In his second season as head coach, Novak led Union to the playoffs. As a result, Novak was elected coach of the MLS All-Stars team for 2012.

On June 13, 2012, Peter Novak was dismissed, the cause was inconclusive results and an unsuccessful transfer policy, although all player transfers were approved by the Philadelphia Union board of directors and operational partner Nik Sakevich. In fact, the reason was the cost reduction and financial problems, the team had to sell the leading scorer Sebastian Le Tu, captain Danny Kaliff and promising Danny Mwangu. Novak tried through court to declare the breach of contract illegal with him, but in 2015 he lost the case ^[3] .

Later, Novak began to be accused of mistreating the players. Allegedly, he repeatedly insulted the players, did not pay attention to injuries, forced the players to run in the heat and forbade them to drink water, and also treated the newcomers rudely ^{[5] [6] [2] [3] [4]} .

On January 13, 2016, he became the coach of Lechia Gdańsk ^[10] . Under his leadership, “Lechia” took the fifth and fourth places respectively in the Extraclass. On September 27, 2017, he became Lechia’s sporting director, and one of his assistants, Adam Owen, became the head coach ^[11] . On January 17, 2018, he left the club ^[12] .

In February 2014, he was hired as a technical and personal advisor to the president of the Caribbean Football Union, which includes 31 countries (as part of CONCACAF ). In September 2014, he also became technical director of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association and head coach of the national team. He oversaw all national team programs, including FIFA Grass Roots and women's programs. Under his leadership, Antigua and Barbuda for the first time in history has risen to 70th place in the FIFA national teams ranking; this is the smallest country in terms of population in the FIFA national team ranking.

In 2003, Novak became the first member of the “Ring of Fire”, the hall of fame “Chicago Fire”. In 2005, Novak was in the symbolic team for the entire history of MLS. In 2012, Novak was awarded on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Fire.

In 2005, for his contribution to the promotion of the authority of Poland abroad and achievements as a coach, he received the knight’s cross of the Order of Merit in front of the Republic of Poland ^[13] .