He was introduced to the media at a news conference at the National Stadium in Warsaw on Tuesday.
‘From today, I’m Polish’
Santos told reporters it was “an honour” to be able to continue his coaching career in Poland.
“From today, I’m Polish, I’m one of you,” he told the audience.
Cezary Kulesza, who leads Poland’s football association (PZPN), said that Santos had been appointed due to his “experience in coaching national sides” and "represented the best possible choice," Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Polish football chief added: “We looked at experience, success rate, charisma and ability to work with a group, because it’s not an easy job. We also wanted a coach who has been successful.”
“I am confident that the new coach will bring a lot of positive things not just to the national team, but also to Polish football in general,” Kulesza told reporters.
Setting sights on Euro 2024
Santos said that “Poland has very good footballers" and "the national team is one of the best in the world.”
He immediately set his sights on qualifying for the Euro 2024 championships in Germany, saying that this would be the first objective for his team.
'My ambition is to win every game'
Santos said: “I want to win everything, I didn’t come here to lose matches ... My ambition is to win every game.”..
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters on Tuesday: “I hope that our national team and all the fans will experience many wonderful moments with the new coach.”
Santos, who led Portugal to success at Euro 2016 and in the 2019 Nations League, takes over from Czesław Michniewicz.
Under Michniewicz, Poland reached the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar, where they were eliminated by eventual runners-up France. Michniewicz's contract was not renewed.
The Polish team has been drawn to play the Czech Republic, Albania, the Faroe Islands and Moldova in qualifiers for Euro 2024.
The Poles are due to start their qualifying campaign with an away game against the Czech Republic on March 24.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, TVP Sport, Przegląd Sportowy
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Piotr Miszczuk.