Poland-Albania 1:0. Positive Symptoms. Lobodzinski Injured.

May 28th, 2008 | by: tomasz |

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Even though we’re still not in form for Euros this was definitely a better game than the last one against Macedonia. Unfortunately, this won’t be a happy review as one of the players, Wojciech Lobodzinski, suffered what seems to be a serious injury. Lobo was carried off the field in the 80th minute. He was immediately transported to hospital, first reports said about a broken fibular bone. Fortunately, the injury isn’t that horrible but it still haven’t been confirmed if the winger will be healthy for Euros.

Poland-Albania 1:0 (Zurawski 3′)
Poland: Lukasz Fabianski – Marcin Wasilewski, Jacek Bak, Michal Zewlakow (9. Adam Kokoszka), Jakub Wawrzyniak – Wojciech Lobodzinski (81. Marek Saganowski), Dariusz Dudka (81. Michal Pazdan), Mariusz Lewandowski, Jacek Krzynowek (81. Rafal Murawski) – Roger Guerreiro (46. Ebi Smolarek) – Maciej Zurawski (61. Tomasz Zahorski)

Magic’s goal:

We are left without right wingers. Kuba Blaszczykowski is fighting to recover from injury and Wojciech Lobodzinski just got injured. It’s still too early to write Lobo off but it’s probable that he won’t take part in the Euros. Journalists reported about tears in his eyes, a heartbreaking moment for all the Bialo Czerwoni fans.

The game was much better that the encounter with Macedonia. Mainly because it was almost our strongest squad. We looked quite organized, were able to control the game throughout long periods of time and the players knew what to expect from each other. Of course, these were only small symptoms of what we expect in the tournament next month. Our play was still too slow and we weren’t able to change the tempo of the game, to speed it up when necessary. It’s good to hear that players after the game also weren’t satisfied, they know that they’re capable of much more.

The only goal was scored by Maciek Zurawski in the 3rd minute after a nice control of the ball in the penalty area and a powerful shot. We had also other chances, Roger and Smolarek should’ve scored one goal each as they had empty net in front of them but couldn’t hit the ball properly. Moreover, there were good long range shots by Krzynowek and Lewandowski and one wrongly disallowed goal by Roger. The Albanians were a team capable of distributing the ball in the middle of the park but were unable to do anything with it near our penalty area. Our offside traps worked quite well, surely it’s been practiced during the camp.

Biggest positive of the game? Our key players look fresh. Especially Magic Zurawski was as dynamic as in his best years for Wisla. He moved to the centre of the field very often and wanted to take part in every offensive play. He made decisions very fast and tried to speed up the game with one touch passes. It was the best Zuraw that I’ve seen for a long time. Our other leaders, Jacek Krzynowek and Ebi Smolarek also were very lively. Krzyniu was very confident on the ball, tried dangerous shots and interesting passes. He didn’t lie when he said that he feels better than before the last World Cup. Ebi was very dynamic and confident of his technical skills. I don’t think that we’ll have to worry about his form. Mariusz Lewandowski also had a decent game in the midfield, although his tackles could’ve been more accurate. Dariusz Dudka played better than in the last two friendlies as well. Jakub Wawrzyniak will probably go to the Euros; there wasn’t anything spectacular from him but concerning our problems at left back he’ll do as a backup.

It was also a debut for Roger Guerreiro. He was rather quiet throughout the game and showed only small signs of what we’ll hopefully see in the future. It was easy to spot that he was new to the team. Moreover, I don’t know if playing him together with Zuraw is a good idea. Rogerski could’t find his place on the pitch when Magic was dropping back for the ball. It’ll all get better with every single training. For today, it is Zurawski that deserves a place in the first eleven.

Michal Zewlakow suffered a minor injury, hopefully nothing serious. Today Leo is going to announce names of three players who’ll have to leave the training camp. Lobo’s injury makes things more complicated as we’re left with one unfit right winger: Kuba Blaszczykowski. I don’t know if it’s possible to call up a player outside of initial squad list (Piszczek? Jelen? Grosicki? Who knows?). For now the biggest candidates for a return trip are Kokoszka, Pazdan, Majewski, Matusiak, Saganowski and Zahorski. We’ll see how it all turns out.