Polish Football Emmigrants. Part Two And Who’s Going To Be The Polish Big Thing?

Today let’s have a look at Poles who play in minor European leages. Well, even though I called them minor they’re certainly better than the Polish league (well, maybe apart from Cyprus). That stated, if a player performs well in those leagues he certainly should have been given a call up to the national team. Let’s have a look at who may be present in Leo’s notebook.

The list of Poles abroad, part two:

AUSTRIA

Jacek Bak (Austria Vienna): he’s still a starting centre back for Austria. It’s probably his last foreign club, maybe he’ll return to Poland next year. He can still teach young Poles a lot. A model professional.
NT? After making 96 caps he resigned from international football. However, he’s open for a call up if a an urgent need arises.

Tomasz Wisio (LASK Linz): he was at Arminia Bielefeld some time ago, but it proved to high a level for him. An average Austrian league player, should have a fair share of games this season.
NT? Definitely not.

Pawel Strak (SV Ried): after Wisla Krakow’s UEFA Cup run in 2002/03 seson he was considered one of the most talented Polish players. I thought he was the defensive midfielder we were looking for. Never been close to his 02/03 form ever since.
NT? Would have to earn a transfer to a good Bundesliga club.

BELGIUM

Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht Brussels): was to start for Anderlecht this season, but now he can’t be sure after receiving a red card and giving away a penalty againt BATE Borisov. Some players never learn. The Anderlecht coach is also irritated by his resistance to learn French.
NT? If he doesn’t play regularly he may lose a starting right back spot to Pawel Golanski.

GREECE

Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus): a consistent performer, both for the club and national team. Can cover every position in defense which ought to result in a regular play for the Greek champions this season. Hope we’ll see acrobatics like this.
NT? After Bak’s departure he’s our most experienced defender. A new captain?

Maciej Zurawski (Larissa): I read that at Larissa he’s still treated as one of their biggest stars, regardless of poor Euro performance. Should therefore play regularly and score regularly at the same time. I believe that he’s capable of becoming the club’s best scorer.
NT? Leo claims that he’s still an important member of the nt. We’re yet to learn if he remains team’s captain.

Arkadiurz Malarz (Panathinaikos FC): was the Greek league’s best keeper in 2006/07 season but failed to make an impact at Panathinaikos. Now he’s relegated to 3rd choice by Henk Ten Cate and looking for a new club.
NT? No chance, especially that we’ve got a lot of better keepers.

Miroslaw Sznaucner (PAOK FC): a player more renowned in Greece than in Poland. Never played for top Polish clubs. A consistent performer in Greece.
NT? Played some games under Janas, but never even mentioned by Leo. From what I remember, he didn’t look good enough for international competition.

Piotr Wlodarczyk (Aris Thessaloniki): a big surprise that one of the most laughed at players in Poland (nicknamed Misery) earned a transfer abroad. Bound to stay on the bench if his form from last season continues.
NT? Not in a million years.

Radoslaw Janukiewicz (Skoda Xanthi): once regarded as one of the most talented keepers in Poland. Stayed too long in Slask Wroclaw and never really realised his potential. Now he wants to repeat Malarz’s career pattern and become one of Greek league’s top keepers.
NT? We’ve got many better keepers.

Rafal Grzelak (Skoda Xanthi): our U 18 European champion from 2001 made a good start to his career in Greece last season. He scored some goals and earned positive reviews. If only he can keep it up and become a league’s star.
NT? Given a chance twice by Leo, last time in the beginning of 2007. Not present in the nt ever since, he’d have to really impress in Greece to get a call up.

HOLLAND

Michal Janota (Feyenoord): a.k.a. the biggest talent in Polish football. I’m unable to confirm that as I’ve never seen him in a full, senior game. Was part of Feyenoord’s first team throughout pre-season, but judging from the last weekend’s friendly tournament in Rotterdam (he played only for 4 minutes) he’ll have to wait for his chance.
NT? He’s in Leo’s notebook and may even get a chance in a less serious friendly.

Radoslaw Matusiak (SC Heerenveen): returned to Holland after an usuccessful loan spell at Wisla Krakow. Scored a lot of goals in pre-season friendlies, but mainly against amateur teams. Still, the fact that he isn’t transfer listed means that he’ll get his minutes throughout the season.
NT? Once (and if) he starts playing well he’ll surely get a call up.

Przemyslaw Tyton (Roda Kerkrade): a backup keeper for the Dutch team. He played quite regularly for out youth teams, but I don’t rate him as highly as Bialkowski.
NT? No keeper stands much chance in the era of Boruc and Fabianski.

PORTUGAL

Pawel Kieszek (Sporting Braga): another young Polish keeper trying his luck abroad. Showed some promise last season, but is most likely to sit on the bench this time around.
NT? Same as Tyton.

Lukasz Madej (Academica Coimbra): one of the biggest (wasted) talents of our U 18 Euro Champs from 2001 finally gets his chance to shine abroad. With little luck he may repeat Grzelak’s career path. I don’t see much chance of him going further.
NT? Never mentioned by Leo.

RUSSIA

Dawid Janczyk (CSKA Moscow): struggles to figure in the match squad, even though CSKA sold Jo to Man City. If the situation doesn’t improve he should seek a loan move in 2009. I still believe in him, but the clock is slowly ticking.
NT? Already called up by Leo but played for U 21 instead. Will get a call up once he starts to play (and score) regularly.

Damian Gorawski (FC Shinnik Yaroslavl): once a moderate right winger in Janas’ team he disappeared completely after moving to Russia. Had his fair share of injury problems. Supposedly found his place after leaving FC Moscow.
NT? Never heard Leo expressing interest in him.

Marcin Kowalczyk (Dynamo Moscow): former Belchatow full back surprised everybody by winning a place in the first eleven immediately after moving to Russia. He also receives very positive reviews from Dynamo management. Can play everywhere in the defense.
NT? Should be one of the new players called up by Leo after Euros.

Mariusz Jop (FC Moscow): after problems last season, this term he’s an indispensible player for FC Moscow. We are soon to learn about his club’s real quality when they meet Legia Warsaw in UEFA Cup.
NT? After his Austria game disaster not a lot of fans want to see him again. Leo’s decision is still unknown.

SCOTLAND

Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow): his Euro performance raised his value so much that he’s unable to change a club. At the same time, he’s not very willing to as he loves the Bhoys and their fans. We may see a Celtic legend in the making.
NT? Our first choice keeper.

Lukasz Zaluska (Dundee United): a talented keeper who always struggled to play regularly in Poland. Found his place in Scotland and is rated as one of the better keepers there. Has the potential to play for a bigger club.
NT? 10th on the keeper list?

UKRAINE

Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk): has problems with regular play after returning from Euro. All the rumours about a possible transfer didn’t help either. It seems that he’ll play in Donetsk till the rest of his career. Personally, I think it’s a mistake.
NT? Our best defensive midfielder at the moment.

Seweryn Gancarczyk (Metalist Kharkiv): one of the best left backs in Ukraine. Very often a contender for the team of the season, capable of spectacular free kicks. He’s still to convince me that he’s a quality player.
NT? Called up for a friendly vs Russia a year ago but landed in the stands. A strange case, maybe showed a distinctive lack of quality during training sessions.

Maciej Nalepa (FC Kharkiv), Pawel Hajduczek (Tavriya Symferopol): not really worth elaborating on, average players.

SWITZERLAND

Kamil Grosicki (FC Sion): showed some promise last season and expected to become the league’s star this time around. Sadly, he’s yet to feature in Sion’s match squad this season. Maybe it’s because he’s only loaned out from Legia. Hopefully, he didn’t return to gambling habits. Has the skills, but has he got the mentality?
NT? May be a part of the team if he realises his potential.

TURKEY

Piotr Dziewicki (Antalyaspor): was a good, league defender in Poland and serves the same role in Turkey. Haven’t heard about any bigger Turkish teams being interested in him.
NT? Off the radar.

Jaroslaw Bieniuk (Antalyaspor): his situation is similar to Dziewicki’s. Best known in Poland for having a beautiful wife-actress Anna Przybylska (no, it’s not a link to a nude photo. But they’re available if you’re interested).

CYPRUS

Marcin Zewlakow, Kamil Kosowski (APOEL Nicosia): both former Polish internationals who chose a nice retirement in the sunny Cyprus. Still have the skills to become league’s top players. Shame about how Kosa’s career turned out.
NT? Had their go at it.

Lukasz Sosin (Anorthosis Famagusta): a legend in Cyprus. He’s up there with league’s top scorers every season. He’s also a Cypriot version of Luis Figo, the traitor.
NT? Played three games under Janas, but in reality he was never considered an international level material.

ROMANIA

Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucharest): after a poor start he became the best right back in the Romanian league. Now he’ll help Steaua to advance to the CL or agree to an offer from Napoli or FC Porto that he claims to have.
NT? After Wasilewski’s poor performance and an injury in CL qualifiers Golanski may become our starting right back.

SERBIA

Grzegorz Bronowicki (Red Star Belgrade): should play regularly as long as he omits injuries. Always leaves his heart on the field, but sometimes lack of genuine quality doesn’t permit him to impress the fans.
NT? We are starving for left backs so Brono will surely get a call up.

SWEDEN

Marcin Burkhardt (IFK Norrkoping): once the biggest talent in Polish football, Burkhardt now tries to revive his career in Sweden. Injuries and lack of professional approach were always his biggest flaws. There was a time when I believed in him, but now I don’t think he can earn a transfer upwards. I hope I’m wrong.
NT? Not in Leo’s notebook.

That’s all folks. When (an if) the Polish league starts I’ll return with my Squad Watch where you’ll be able to learn about how some of those players perform week in week out. To wrap it all up, I’ve got a little question for you.

Which Polish Emmigrant Will Impress Most In The 08/09 Season?
( polls)