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Roger Guerreiro for Poland!

March 4th, 2008 | By: tomasz | 21 Comments »

Get ready for some samba made in Poland during the Euro 2008. It all seems confirmed now, Brazilian Roger Guerreiro (Legia Warsaw) will get a Polish citizenship and become a 100% original Pole. Well, sort of……
I didn’t want to write about it earlier as I considered it to be journalists’ speculation. But yesterday I read an interview in Gazeta Wyborcza with Leo in which he confirmed that Roger is very much in his plans concerning the Euro. He had a long chat with the Legia player in which the Brazilian emerged mentally ready to wear the white and red kit. Leo has always been a huge fan of Roger’s skills, but now he is also sure that the player has the much needed winner’s attitude. Moreover, he also considers Roger to be a team player, which is not always obvious when we think about players of Brazilian origin. The general impression is that everything seems settled now, Roger has just won a ticket for Swissaustria.

To be honest, I’ve got mixed feelings about it. Don’t get me wrong, I view Roger as one of the best (certainly the most creative) players in the Polish league. He can play both as a centre attacking midfielder and left winger, he is a born playmaker. He is elegant on the ball and has this Latin ability to play a surprising ball. His dribbling skills are also above average in the Polish league’s terms. In short, as a footballer, he is good enough to play for the Eagles. On the other hand, as a supporter, I can’t identify with him 100%. I could identify with Emmanuel Olisadebe (the first foreigner to play for Poland) as he had a Polish wife and came to Warsaw as a young lad to make his name in international football. He could even speak some Polish. Moreover, when Emsi made his Polish debut back in 2000 the team was very much in need of a fresh blood and a prolific goalscorer. We know how it all ended (for those not following Poles closely, we advanced to the 2002 World Cup with Olisadebe as the group’s best goalscorer). Roger has played in Poland just for 2 years and has no other connection with the country. He can’t speak a word in Polish. He came to Poland as an already established player (with Corinthians, Flamengo and Celta Vigo in his CV). However, the most important problem is how he’s going to fit into the team. He is to play as an AMC, which means that our captain, Magic Zurawski, can be reduced to a bench warmer. And what about players like Gargula and Majewski, who have been fighting for a place in the squad for some time now? Will it all be good for the morale of the team? Will fans accept Roger as they accepted Olisadebe? I just hope that Leo knows what he’s doing. As for myself, I’ll probably fall in love with the player the first time he plays an opening ball for our strikers. That’s how true fans react, right?
And here’s Roger showing off his skills.

Tags: Beenhakker, Group A, Poland, Roger

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Comments

By Daily Dose 3.4.08 - World Cup Blog - African Cup of Nations 2008 | March 4th, 2008 at 10:39 am

[…] Another adopted Brazilian (Poland Blog) […]

Posted from United States

By Jeffreyj | March 5th, 2008 at 1:47 am

Thank you, nice post, very informative. Regards.

Posted from United States

By gregorio | March 5th, 2008 at 7:48 am

No, no, no! Just when we started believing in our football potential, defeated Portugal, finished the qualifying group ahead of Serbia thanks to goals of GKS Bełchatów or Lech Poznań’s players, suddenly, our enthusiasm takes a blow. If we really have talents as any other football nation, why do we need a Brasilian import?
Our team, 100% Polish, did well enough in the qualfiations to hope for even more after another half a year of Beenhakker’s work with it. Why not leave it the way it has been so far? Of course i’m all about the fans’ full identification with the players. Roger isn’t like Cantoro or Vukovic, or Hermes, who managed to bind with Poland as a country, without the national team issue involved.
I think we expect a decent perormance in Austria, but even the failure to qualify from the group would be understood. We’re not the favourites, and Roger’s joining the team doesn’t change that. So why not try and win as much as possible with the team we already have?
And - just as you say - what about the players who were stimulated and motivated so incredibly by their sheer perspective of becoming an important link of the team? Will they not lose some faith in their abilities?
Of course, I’ll support the red-and-whites anyway, and the boost to self-confidence which, I believe, Leo has given all of us will not be lost entirely. But I’m all against naturalizing Roger!

cheers

Posted from Poland

By jan | March 5th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Hey great blog,

i believe Poland need that extra superstar in their team. Although their are already many, they need a Roger as a game breaker. He can be used as a decoy, anything. He will only improve the team.However the down side to this is that home grown players will not play a part in uefa euro, after a year or three trying to make it on the team. They are on the verge of making the team, but will now be slipped down the order again with the inclusion of Brazilian Roger.

Poland for uefa euro champions is a sure bet mate,

Jan Leman,

Melbourne, Australia

By tomasz | March 5th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

What makes me wonder in this case is Leo’s lack of consequence. One day he says that we’ve got as much talent as any other nation in Europe, the day after he claims that Roger is indispensable for our success at the Euro. I agree with gregorio, it would be a different case with Cantoro, who’s played in Poland for 6-7 years or Hermes, who speaks Polish better than a lot of local players do. But Roger is different, only lately were we able to read interviews on how he loves Polish soups. I think that the fact that Poland is a member of the EU helped him with the decision. Jan- you stressed the biggest advantage of Roger’s inclusion, that is his ability to do something unexpected on the field. Polish team is mainly composed of hard-working palyers, who, in most cases, lack this magic spark. It seems that only after the Euro we will be able to judge Leo’s decision.

Posted from Poland

By Gordon van de Kamp | March 5th, 2008 at 5:46 pm

Well you have a Dutch coach, why aren’t you so adamant that the coach be Polish if nationality is so important? I guess it doesn’t matter if he likes Bigos or not.

I don’t see the big deal if he is legally a Polish citizen. Beenhakker is just trying to build the strongest team from the players available, and he feels Roger is good enough. No team/coach is going to go to the Euros with a squad they could have made stronger (save political/personal disagreements between players and associations/coaches).

If the players are going to lose faith in their abilities, rather than be challenged by good players around them, they probably wouldn’t have made it to the level their at, so I don’t think that will be a problem.

Posted from United States

By Busy time for Leo. - Poland | March 6th, 2008 at 9:44 am

[…] there are no further surprises in the squad. What adds some spice to the game is the fact that Roger will play for the opposing team of foreign stars. We will be able to judge first handedly if he […]

Posted from United States

By tomasz | March 7th, 2008 at 8:20 am

Gordon- You’re right to some extend. Still, I’m a bit of a football romantic and that’s why I love national teams so much. It’s because you can’t just buy any player to play for you and money don’t determine your success(otherwise Quatar would win the World Cup every 4 years). Of course, there are a lot of footballers playing for their new country, but usually there is something that links them with their new homeland. Podolski and Klose(Poles) moved to Germany as kids, Eduardo(Brazilian) moved to Croatia as a 15 year old boy and played in their youth squads, Aurelio(Brazilian) had played for 6-7 years in Turkey before being granted a Turkish citizenship. Olisadebe(Nigerian) has a Polish wife and he rejected a call up to the Nigerian national team in favour of the Polish one. As you can see, the Roger’s case is not so easy to judge for Polish fans. On the 13th of March the Brazilian will play in the team of foreign stars against Poles in the exhibition game. He is scheduled to earn his first cap at the end of the month in the friendly against the USA.

Posted from Poland

By gregorio | March 7th, 2008 at 10:18 am

“Well you have a Dutch coach, why aren’t you so adamant that the coach be Polish if nationality is so important? I guess it doesn’t matter if he likes Bigos or not.”

The coach doesn’t play on the pitch. There’s a difference between being taught to do something but doing it yourself, and having something done for you. Beenhakker only “teaches” our players (praise him for that!)

“I don’t see the big deal if he is legally a Polish citizen. Beenhakker is just trying to build the strongest team from the players available, and he feels Roger is good enough.”

Well, yes… The problem is, Roger isn’t a Polish citizen yet, he is beeing made one just for the fact that he may prove useful to the national team. He dreams of playing for Brasil but beeing not good enough, he will accept Poland too.
I have to make one reservation here. It is inconsistency that I blame Leo for, nothing else. He himself kept on saying that Polish players are as good as any others. Now he seems to think otherwise.
As for Roger’s citizenship itself, I think our authorities act irresponsilby granting it on no other basis than relatively high football skills. And our president’s nationalism taken into accout, I find the situation most surprising.

In the meantime, the rumour has it, that Leo is aiming high in June (at least semi-final) and the Roger-case has come up because the Dutch is playing all-or-nothing. He knows how controversial his decision is among the fans, but he takes the risk to shock every one in the Euro.

Cheers

Posted from Poland

By jackondi | April 7th, 2008 at 2:13 am

it is a great news! roger is very good players. when he play in brazila he was great

By Let’s Welcome The Newest Pole, Roger Guerreiro. - Poland | April 17th, 2008 at 5:47 pm

[…] already expressed my opinion about the naturalization of Roger in a previous article and then presented how the Polish experts view his iclusion in the squad. Now, I don’t think […]

Posted from United States

By Sergio | April 18th, 2008 at 2:17 pm

Well, you call always blame this brazilian if Poland fails…like in 1968 when Poland blame the jews for all the financial crisis. It is simple like this!

Pa,
Sergio

Posted from Poland

By M. Zurawski | April 19th, 2008 at 5:23 am

Listen Sergio, everyone knows that if you’re going to blame anyone for a financial crisis, it is our cousins of semitic persuasions. And if Guerreiro ends up representing us on an national level, and is disappointing, why should we not criticize him? Brazilians are not blameless friend. And we’ve worked out our problems with “the jews”

By tomasz | April 19th, 2008 at 7:10 am

Don’t forget that Beenhakker is Dutch. He’ll be the first to blame. Tough times for Dutch people in Poland await…

Posted from Poland

By M. Zurawski | April 19th, 2008 at 9:26 am

I can see it now, piles of wooden clogs ablaze and tulips ripped out of gardens in berserk like rages….sigh..

By SPencer | April 19th, 2008 at 5:14 pm

Whhat is wrong with Poles and Europeans? Does Poland not have any good white Polish players? No men left in Poland I guess you have to import them. Give me a break.

Posted from United States

By M. Zurawski | April 19th, 2008 at 9:13 pm

SPencer, all the white polish men are building missile defenses against the brown people of the world, i know, it’s sad mate. If Roger doesn’t work out i overheard Beenhakker say we’ll soon be drafting long legged nomadic women from the democratic republic of Congo. Due to their genetic tiger fleeing skills they’ve mastered maneuverability and make excellent strikers. By the way, were you born “special” or did fall a lot as a wee one?

By tomasz | April 20th, 2008 at 4:15 am

Roger is to be given a Michael Jackson treatment, he should be white enough for the Euros. Otherwise, I can’t see him play for us, it would be a disgrace for the wgole Polish nation. We will also import people from China; maybe they are not very football talented but they’re hard working.
@SPencer
Doesn’t it sound a bit absurd when a person from the USA writes about ‘importing’ people and giving new citizenship? Wasn’t the whole American nation built like that?

Posted from Poland

By SPencer | April 21st, 2008 at 11:22 pm

Hi M.Zurawski…it is an honest question no reason to get personal and asking me if I am special. But I am , so thank you. I am sure that there are many Polish players who are jsut as good why are they not given a chance or pronounced as some type of saviors…I think the fact that Poland is trying to became like the multicultural EU has something to do with it.

Hi tomasz,
Good point. I am second generation Polish and like many Americans I can agree with one thing. The biggest mistake we ever did was to allow non-European into our country in 1965. This one bill has almost destroyed us. Our constitution says that only free white men can became citizens but that is ignored and scolded upon now. Now once great cities such as Detroit where Europeans settled and created are now no-go white ares ( similar to no-go white areas in the suburbs of France). It seems to me that Poland, my ancient homeland is on the same path as US, France and England, a multi culture country where the only people who do not have rights of association and speech are white ( if you do not believe me try to go to France/ England or the US and set up a whites Journalist or White engineers or white footballers, etc.. groups and see what happens. white people are not allowed to associate with other white people but everybody else can).
I have a fear that this is already coming to Poland. Thats why I ask are there no good white Polish Players ? Do white countries always have to import non-white talents? The French team is not very French…is this what Poland wants? Or maybe more of this: (http://www.e-teatr.pl/en/artykuly/33711.html)

By tomasz | April 22nd, 2008 at 3:55 am

I’m against any type of labels like true white Americans, true white Poles or true black Afrikans. I have nothing against black people being given a Polish citizenship as long as everything is made according to our law. Sooner or later the homogenity of our society will no longer apply and I have nothing against it; after all if we take a look at our history the best times for Poland were when we were a multicultural nation. Of course, the new citizens should be given an opportunity to assimilate but I wouldn’t make anybody love Poland and become a patriot. There a lot of born and bred Poles who don’t care about the country (more than 40% don’t take part in the elections). From a perspective of a Pole I can’t reject anyone’s right to become an imigrant as we had to emigrate a number of times in our history (when we lost independence, after second world war, in the eighties or after joining the EU). Hey, even you are a descendant of an imigrant, why do you reject anyone the rights that your parents were given? It’s hard to me to comment on the situation in the US as I’ve never been there. I think it’s very complex and you can’t blame just one side of the ‘conflict’ for everything that’s wrong.
Ps: Why would I want to create a white footballers group? It’s strange. I understand if I wanted to create a Polonia team.

Posted from Poland

By M. Zurawski | April 22nd, 2008 at 10:23 am

SPencer, had your initial statement not not sounded condescending, disrespectful and coloured with racist overtones, i would not have “gotten personal”. Had you phrased your first question in the tones you composed your reply, then everything, i’m sure, would have been fine. And while i’ve driven though Detroit many a time, and large tracts of it do indeed look like post-apocalyptic Bladerunner like moonscapes, it has more to do with the withering US economy and the governments inability to honestly deal with its own population then “immigration” and “blacks”. Let’s be honest, Roger receiving Polish citizenship isn’t going to make Lodz in LA nor Nowy Sacz into New Orleans, but it may well give us a vital advantage over our opponents this summer. And as a Pole, if you think of yourself as such, you should be ashamed of being a racist, because as Tomasz mentioned, there are few countries in “white” europe that have drawn such immense strength from multiculturalism and social acceptance as us. Furthermore, should we ban Janczyk, arguably our most interesting prospect, from competing for us because Turkish blood runs though his veins? If you looked at the genealogy of the Polish team what other surprises would you find? I think it’s time you looked at the problems that surround you responsibly, other then moaning. Cheers Not a personal attack by the way, because i don’t know you, nor care to, just friendly advice.

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