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Poland-Bulgaria 2:0. Lewy To Kuba, Kuba To Lewy.
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It was quite a nice evening yesterday as the Bialo Czerwoni defeated Bulgaria 2:0 at Polonia’s stadium in Warsaw. It wasn’t a perfect game by Poland, but at least the fans were able to see Franz Smuda’s idea of the national team and its style. Most importantly, we saw really spectacular goals from Kuba Blaszczykowski and Robert Lewandowski.
Poland-Bulgaria 2:0 (Blaszczykowski 42′, Lewandowski 62′)
Poland: Kuszczak – Kowalczyk, Zewlakow, Glik, Dudka – Peszko (59. Jodlowiec), Murawski (84. Sadlok), Majewski (46. Rybus) – Blaszczykowski (78. Malecki), Lewandowski (74. Nowak), Obraniak (46. Iwanski)
Summary: What’s Franz Smuda’s philosophy of play? To have the best possible technically skilled lineup on the pitch and quickly exchange passes on the opponent’s half in order to create goalscoring opportunities. That’s why it was our first game in a long time without a typical defensive midfielder (at least in the first half). Rafal Murawski, Radoslaw Majewski and Slawomir Peszko operated in the middle, all of them players with offensive inclinations. Ludo Obraniak and Kuba Blaszczykowski started the game on the wings, but exchanged positions with the midfielders as often as possible. Only Robert Lewandowski was more attached to his prescribed position on the field. At times our play really looked attractive; players exchanged one two passes in the middle and created space for the wingers or full backs on the wings. At times we gave away the possession due to lack of accuracy or simply lack of proper skills to employ this particular style of play. In defense, Smuda’s idea is to recover the ball the closest to the opponents goal as possible. Attackers and wingers are first to close down on the opposition; if they fail the midfield ought to push up as well. This strategy has both its pros and cons. When we win the ball up in the field it’s much easier to create a goalscoring chance. On the other hand, well skilled teams may often escape our pressing and find a lot of free space near our penalty box. This tactics requires great understanding, maximum concentration and defenders who read the game well and are able to win one on one challenges with offensive players. It’s all a matter of practice and finding the right players (both fast and skilled).
As far as the game itself is concerned, we had more from it. Apart from two goals, Slawek Peszko had a great opportunity, Kuba could have scored the second and Dariusz Dudka had a nice shot saved by the Bulgarian keeper. Ironically, our two goals were not a result of Smuda’s tactics, but of direct, long passes he despises so much. First, Tomasz Kuszczak kicked the ball upfield for Lewy to head it to Kuba, who shot at goal between the Bulgarian defender’s legs. Second time around Michal Zewlakow cleared the ball upfield so well that Lewy was able to exchange passes with Kuba and send a bomb of a shot on the Bulgarian goal. Bulgarians had their chances as well, mainly due to our mistakes. Their best came after a well taken set piece when they had a clear header on goal. Kuszczak saved one good shot from Bojinov as well. Nevertheless, our guests must accept the fact that it was a fair result.
The game against Bulgaria created a feeling that a lot of things (choice of players and tactics) are going in a good direction. It will give Smuda an opportunity to work without much media pressure and critique. As long as the progress is visible Franz will have all the fans backing him up. Much tougher tests come later when we play Serbia and Spain.
Player ratings (1-10):
Tomasz Kuszczak 6: one small mistake (problems with catching a cross), other than that quite confident in our goal. Had problems with accurate passing, but he can always blame it on the pitch.
Marcin Kowalczyk 5: eager to come forward and well prepared physically. Unfortunately, he also makes a lot of stupid mistakes and sometimes loses his head when has to play fast.
Kamil Glik 6: a good performance by the Piast Gliwice player. Often outran the attackers for the ball and distributed it well. Gives his all on the pitch.
Michal Zewlakow 6: good anticipation and communication with Glik. Remains good enough for our starting lineup.
Dariusz Dudka 5: it’s not his best position (then, what really is?) and it was visible. Sometimes lacked the skills to exchange passes in high tempo. No serious mistakes at the back.
Slawomir Peszko 5: I have an impression that at times he doesn’t think fast enough. Was often the one who ruined a good build up. Lacked space to use his pace. Should have scored.
Rafal Murawski 6: maybe he wasn’t a leader that Smuda expects him to be, but he fulfilled his role quite good. Active both in offense and defense, he was a linking player between the formations. Hit the post after Kuba’s pass.
Radoslaw Majewski 6: proved that he cam be useful in Smuda’s tactics. Good vision and skills on the ball. Has to work on winning the ball back.
Jakub Blaszczykowski 8: Kuba’s best game since the one against the Czech Republic. A sensational goal and a great assist. Threatening in offense, but was the first one to close down Bulgarians as well.
Ludovic Obraniak 6: confident on the ball, as always. He plays a crucial role in Smuda’s tactics, is a bridge between and a striker. Played on every position in midfield. Well taken set pieces.
Robert Lewandowski 7: rather absent in the first half an hour, but then provided a goal for Kuba and scored a sensational one himself. Gained confidence after scoring and showed some really great moves afterwards.
Maciej Iwanski 6: he won’t recover you possession, but he proved very dangerous on the ball yesterday. Has an eye for opening passes.
Maciej Rybus 5: a player who feels great in Smuda’s tactics where he often has the ball at his feet. Very useful in the build up play. Had one good shot on goal.
Tomasz Jodlowiec 5: played as a defensive midfielder, but didn’t see much of the ball.
Dawid Nowak 5: didn’t pose much threat. Was in great position to score once, but didn’t receive a pass from Kuba.
Patryk Malecki 5: not afraid to ask for the ball, but didn’t create anything worth a mention this time around.
Maciej Sadlok: didn’t play long enough to be rated.
Conclusions:
- Smuda has his philosophy of play and he’ll practice it till the players realize his ideas 100%.
- Kuba Blaszczykowski may finally become the real leader of the national team. Michal Zewlakow, Ludovic Obraniak, Rafal Murawski and Robert Lewandowski also seem to have a strong position.
- Kamil Glik looks better with each single game. He can learn a lot alongside Zewlak.
- Marcin Kowalczyk: not bad enough to write him off, but not good enough to win a steady place on the right back. The same applies to Dariusz Dudka.
- Slawomir Peszko needs badly to improve his decision making.
- Maciej Iwanski has won himself another chance in the national team.
- Maciej Rybus and Radoslaw Majewski are players that Smuda looks for: good on the ball and giving their all to recover it.
- I can’t wait till we start playing on proper football stadiums, the Polonia’s one looked like taken from the 90s. Fortunately, the stadium in Poznan opens this year (we may play Holland at the inauguration).
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Thats true. Now I have two questions to ask everyone, Smuda’s choice to not call up Dawid Janczyk for Bulgaria could’ve been his decision to not let him waste on the bench and wanted to try out other people on his position and will let call him up next time, do you think thats the case with Janczyk?
Second question, is Janota injured? He wasn’t called up for the U21 and I didn’t see his name in the lineup for his team today.
I have the impression that neither Smuda, nor Beenhakker before him, are fans of Janczyk but I could be wrong. Perhaps they don’t see the Belgian league as good enough.
As for Janota, I read that the Polish U-21 coach isn’t impressed by the Dutch second league and basically said Janota will only be called up if he returns to Poland. I kind of disagree with this, I think if Janota were playing regularly for Excelsior he deserves to be called up. The problem is that, after a good start at Excelsior, he’s now been relegated to only sporadic appearances..
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/spieler/45564/michal-janota/default/leistungsdaten.html
This is only the Dutch second league so I would have expected Janota to be starting regularly and playing full or nearly full matches every week. Not sure why he’s struggling but like the Tomaszes he should consider returning to Poland next season.
zaraza: “Did anyone watch Matuszczyk against Bayern? Was he any good?”
He certainly improved on his promising debut against Leverkusen. Showed more presence, was calm, good ball control and played clean passes. He also seemed to connect well with Maniche. Did well to win the free kick that lead to Podolski’s goal.
With Petit picking up his fifth yellow, he should get another chance next week against Mainz. Might need to become a bit more robust both defensively and physically. Should have a good chance to compete with Pezzoni for a spot in Cologne’s midfield.
Posted from 
Germany
I am not sure why Janczyk does not get called up but if he continues to score on a regular basis he eventually will get called up. I think he would be a good sub for Lewandowski or Yelen.
When Wasilewski moved from the EK to the Belgian league it was viewed as a step up and he was a regular on the NT (yes Wasyl plays on a better team than Janczyk).
The Begian league I think is in the second tier of quality leagues (the first tier is the top five of England,Spain,Germany,Italy,France).
The EK is in the fourth tier with the likes of the Slovak & Croatian leagues.
So far Smuda has the NT team heading in the right direction. The win against Bulgaria is a good building block. Not to long ago we lost to average teams like Romania,N. Ireland & Slovakia (they are going to get killed at the WC). Lets not forget Smuda is building a team, the final 11 for 2012 is probably only 60% set.
Lets not panic if we lose a game – and enjoy the wins we get – this will take time.
I think both Leo and Smuda preached possession. Difference is that Smuda applies it more tactically while Leo tried to apply it through his choice of squad. A team that plays a true possession game like Poznan did the last couple of years will rarely lose to a worse team.
^ at the Jelen goal link (which didn’t work for me yesterday) http://polandsoccer.wordpress.com/ The latest news post is ” Kuszczak: If I Dont Play, Im Leaving!” ….One thing is certain, however.I am not happy sitting on the bench.” Sounds good, hope he is serious.
Great to see Jelen has his speed coming back from injury.
Posted from 
United States
We looked very good
Posted from United States
I can’t believer these people don’t like Jancyak what is there not to like speed, strength and a great smell for the goal
Posted from United States
The best Polish team:
1-4-3-3
Artur Boruc or Tomek Kuszczak;
Marcin Wasilewski, Michał Żewłakow, Kamil Glik, Darek Dudka ;
Ludovic Obraniak, Rafał Murawski, Sławek Peszko, Kuba Błaszczykowski ;
Robert Lewandowski, Irek Jeleń.
(S.Boenisch? – meybe…M.Kowalczyk, S.Gancarczyk,M.Rybus, R.Majewski, B.Augustyn)
Laskotka I have to disagree with you man, Peszko and Dudka have no place in the starting 11. Although I would love to see Boruc come back, I see our future with Szczesny, and Kuszczak or Boruc backing him up. The only spot I have no idea for is left back; My 11 would be
——- Szczesny——–
—-Augustyn/Kowalczyk—-Zewlakow—-Glik—Wawrizniak/Sadlok?
——————— Murawski ———————–
Kuba ——————————– Majewski
– Obraniak -
Lewy/Janczyk —– Jelen
that didn’t work, here you go:
——— –————– Szczesny ——–——————–
——Augustyn/Kowalczyk—–Zewlakow——Glik— Wawrizniak/Sadlok?
——————————— Murawski ———————– ————
————–Kuba ——————————– Majewski ————
———————-– Obraniak ————————
—————- Lewy/Janczyk —– Jelen ——————–
with Ebi, Rybus, and either Janczyk/Lewy coming on as subs
Aleks, no Blaszczykowski?
Posted from 
Canada
ahah our reprezentacja without Kuba Blaszczykowski is the stuff of my nightmares, look again he’s on the right wing.
Do any of you guys have the U20 World Cup game from Canada with Polska vs Brazil? If you do, anyway you can upload it so I can download it? Every link I’ve tried has expired.
Good to see Kuszczak is looking for first team action, you can tell Smuda has asked him to play alot so he can be ready for Euro2012.
I think Szczesny will surpass him by 2012..
Aleks, Augustyn has never played as a RB. His natural position is CB, and on a couple occasions he’s also been used as a DM or LB.
Jan, thanks for telling us more about Matuszczyk. Hopefully he’s shown enough to convince the coach to give him more chances. What is his best position? Perhaps he could replace Murawski who’s most likely going to rot away in Russia…
Laurent Koscielny, a central defender, scored his third goal for Lorient. He’s getting great marks from L’Equipe and a top club is very likely to buy him this summer.
A Polish commentator is urging Smuda to call him up
http://sport.onet.pl/pilka-nozna/polacy-za-granica/bialas-trzeba-powolac-koscielnego,1,3188457,wiadomosc.html
I wish the Polish media would investigate where he’s at with regards to his citizenship application and whether the PZPN is doing anything to help him.
Boruc
Augustyn/Wasilewski Koscielny Glik Wawrzyniak/Coniek
Blaszczykowski Obraniak Polanski Piszczek
Jelen Janczyk/Lewy
Murawski isn’t going to rot, the Russian league is a higher level than EK hands down. Also he’s guarenteed Champs League playing time since Rubin won the title again. This means more playing against Inter/Barca like this year. He’s no longer a bench warmer, by the end of the season he was intergrated into the midfield. Also since Dominguez left to Valencia, the dude who he uesd to compete with for a spot, the captain and Russian international Semak, has been moved up into Dominguez’s old spot. Pawel Brozek the “Wisla legend” is the one who is gonna rot but he’s garbage anyway.
Why is everyone putting Augustyn in at RB?
SD, was he really integrated into their regular starting lineup? According to transfermarkt, he started three matches, got subbed out early in the third, warmed the bench for the next couple games, then returned for the final match when their title had already been guaranteed… So I’m not sure we can draw any conclusion for next season.
http://transfermarkt.co.uk/en/spieler/32301/murawski-rafal/default/2009/leistungsdaten.html
my bad Aleks, I missed Kuba as I was looking for Blaszczykowski, LOL.
And Focus, were you at the game in Montreal? I was, one of the best moments of my life! I too wish I could find a video of the game somewhere!
Posted from Canada
@ Focus & Radek
I have the full game on a VHS tape, along with the games against the USA and Argentina, although the commentary is in Spanish. I have to get the proper equipment so I can transfer the VHS to a DVD and then I would be able to upload it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it anytime soon but maybe in the summer months.
Posted from United States
Hieronim if you can do that, that would be great! I’d like to see the Brazil and Argentina games.
Posted from Canada
Hello dear friends!
Visit my new blog about Ukraine as a host country of Euro 2012, it has interesting content!
Thank you for yuor attention!
And waiting for you to share your thoughts and ideas about Euro 2012!
Hello dear friends!
Visit my new blog about Ukraine as a host country of Euro 2012, it has interesting content!
Thank you for yuor attention!
And waiting for you to share your thoughts and ideas about Euro 2012!
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Focus, personally I wouldn’t call them up unless there was some sign that Wigan was planning to give them some playing time. Which is not the case so I definitely think they should try to find another club. It’s clear to me that Wigan is not interested in their development. I’m not sure but I think both their contracts end in June anyway.
Did anyone watch Matuszczyk against Bayern? Was he any good?