Horst Panic

Horst Panic (12 July 1938 – 7 November 2025) was a Polish football player and manager. After spending his professional playing career with Górnik Wałbrzych, he started his managerial career with the same club, leading them to a historic promotion to the Ekstraklasa in 1983, earning a "best coach" award in a Słowo Polskie plebiscite. He later went on to manage various other clubs, primarily in Lower Silesia.

Early life Horst Panic was born on 12 July 1938 in Bobrek, a present-day suburb of Bytom, southern Poland. From 1965 to 1970, he played for Górnik Wałbrzych, with whom he competed in the Polish Second Division From 1975 to 1978, he assisted Stanisław Świerk and secured promotion to the Second Division in 1976. After the autumn round (half-way point of the season), his team even led the league, These successes earned Panic the title of Best Coach of 1983 in the "Słowo Polskie" plebiscite. With Zagłębie, he finished 5th in the First Division in the 1984–85 season and left after the autumn round of the 1985–86 season after relegation to the third tier.

In the spring of 1987, he managed the other team in Wałbrzych and Górnik's fierce rivals, the Third Division Zagłębie Wałbrzych; from the 1990–91 season a Second Division team after winning promotion. and from 1995, the Second Division Amica Wronki for less than half a season, but was dismissed before the season's end, which nonetheless ended with the team's promotion to the First Division.

In May 1995, he became the manager of Lechia Dzierżoniów, but failed to keep the team in the Second Division. In the 1995–96 season, he managed the Third Division Polonia Świdnica. He also had a short stint at Varta Namysłów in 1998.

He ended his career as a coach at amateur clubs LKS Bestwina and Drzewiarz Jasienica.