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Should Artur Boruc Return?

September 24th, 2008 | By: tomasz | 15 Comments »

Leo Beenhakker will announce Poland’s squad for games against the Czechs and Slovaks next week. The biggest question is whether Artur Boruc returns. Should Lukasz Fabianski be benched after two very good games? Is Boruc mentally ready for the national team?

I know, it should be fairly easy. Artur Boruc was our best player at Euros and saved Polish fans from much more embarassment. He is one of the biggest stars of Polish football and he always rose up to the occassion for big games (as the ones we await). Sure, he made a mistake in Lviv, but we should all forget about it; now we need every player that is able to strengthen the team. After all, Boruc, Dudka and Majewski apologised for their behaviour and are ready to return to the team.

But is it that simple? First of all, there were rumours that two players apologised honestly, whereas one was a bit more stubborn (predictably Boruc). Then Leo went to Scotland to talk with Artie, but we were unable to learn about the result of their meeting. Now we read that Leo wants Boruc’s comeback, but only when the goalie is really convinced that he wants to play for the team. Maybe it’s just me, but I have a feeling that this meeting didn’t go entirely as planned. It’s possible that Boruc, a character that he is, wasn’t ready to admit his own mistakes. Or maybe he just felt betrayed by the coach as the drinking news reached the media. We’re still waiting for any kind of statement from Boruc regarding his future in the national team.

The question is: should Leo call up unsettled Boruc? Fabianski played very well in the first two qualifying games and won’t give up a place in the starting lineup without a fight. What if the Holy Goalie was benched? Wouldn’t it spark even more controversy? Is Boruc ready to fight for his place in the team or does he expect to be the nr 1 once called up? Is he a player that will bind the team together or a one that will worsen the decreasing self esteem of the team? What do you think?

Other news: Kuba Blaszczykowski is injured once again. Fortunately, the injury is not serious enough for him not to play in the next qualifying games. He’ll miss two Dortmund games though.

Wojciech Szczesny signed a professional contract with Arsenal. Only a further proof that he’s treated as a serious prospect there.

Tags: Beenhakker, Blaszczykowski, boruc, Group A, Poland, Szczesny

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Comments

By Tzarnee | September 24th, 2008 at 9:03 am

Kropa, After the performance of Fiabiański in the last two games Boruc should be on his knees and begging Leo to let him come back. If he’s to stubborn to admit his mistakes then he shouldn’t be called up. We’ll see how many clubs will want to buy a player like him.

Long live Topolówka

Posted from Poland

By M. Zurawski | September 24th, 2008 at 9:20 am

Absolutely, this time. Artur has been a true dedicated servant to our NT for a long time, and has not had issues such as the ones of recent, and as a reward for his good work he should automatically be given the # 1 jersey again. THIS TIME. And that should be made clear. Every situation is circumstancial, and there should be punishments and penelties for misbehaviour, but he is too good a player to be left to rot on the bench. I think Fabian is great, and i like him very much, and i think within a year or two (even perhaps now) he will become a serious contender for the #1 but as of now Artur should be our goalie. As for the meeting Beenhakker was supposed to have with him, i read that he decided against meeting with Boruc because the Polish media got wind of it and he “didn’t want it to turn into a circus”. Beenhakker was supposedly also keen on meeting with Strachen to discuss Boruc, but that also didn’t happen. (as far as we know) But yeah, i think we should stick by him, ESPECIALLY if he’s having the sort of personal problems that are reported by the Scottish media.

Posted from Canada

By MarcinO | September 24th, 2008 at 9:46 am

It is really hard to say what goes on behind the scenes. The media always produces fictitious statements to sell more newspapers and magazines. However, where there is smoke there is fire. As a fan, looking at this from the outside, I believe that we should field our best. Boruc’s past performance on the pitch speaks for itself and we should not be concerned too much about what goes on in his personal life.

Concerning Ebi, I am not a big fan, but he should be given some time to adjust to the style of play before we bury him alive. He needs time to get familiar with his teammates and get to know his opponents. He will only be as good as the team around him. Don’t forget we are talking about Bolton. I think the same could be said of Dudka and Derby County man Kaz.

I think Jelen is the next Saganowski. Maybe he’s playing out of position? I look at who scores the goals for Auxerre and can’t remember the last time I saw his name on the score sheet. Leo knows that Jelen is not answer at striker, at the present time or the future.

By dezerter | September 24th, 2008 at 11:24 am

Fabianski did very well i last 2 matches so he should be rewarded and left for now as our # 1 keeper. If he does not play up to par then Boruc will be back. It is simple as that.
I don’t consider Lwow accident as major issue. I think it was overblown by Leo and media. If he did drink before match then hell with you but it is a bit different when you do this after game. I think benching him will do well for him and make him work harder and hungry for playing time in NT.

Posted from United States

By Alek | September 24th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Its seems like Boruc needs a moral boost so yes I would call him up. From the training exercises Leo can choose who is better prepared and ill back him up for whichever he chooses.
@Marcin0
Jelen has scored twice for Auxerre this season as far as I can remember. But Auxerre usually play a 4-5-1 or somethings like a 4-3-3 where some Romanian takes the forward position each time. Jelen is then played as a right wing or a right mid in the games only really meant to feed the ball to the center forward, and to use his speed to stretch out the defense.

By Mark | September 24th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

Boruc is a damn tool, i think he drags the team down psychologically. And Fabianski has played well, he should be given the chance until he proves otherwise

Posted from United States

By tomasz | September 24th, 2008 at 5:43 pm

@Tzarnee
Czarny, your solution is very spectacular, but I don’t think it would raise the morale of the team. But I agree that it is Boruc who should make the first move here. Topolówka was shit when it came it football, fucking volleyball for pussies.
@M.Zurawski
I agree that we owe a lot to Boruc, but should he be our nr 1 only because of past performances? I don’t like the idea that he’s given the nr 1 blouse even before the first training. On the other hand, it may do wonders for his mental strength. It may also bring the team together once again. But what’s next? What if Boruc gets used to the idea that he’s the starting goalie regardless of what he does? The whole situation may prove a bit sick in the future. I also heard that Leo was pissed off at the press for writing about the meeting, but I didn’t know he called it off.
@MarcinO
I agree that we shouldn’t trust the media completely; at the same time, without them we’d only have games to discuss. Ebi: I’m far from burying him, but it’s not just his performance against Arsenal. He’s struggled to play a good game throughout whole 2008, it’s a bigger problem than just the debut for Bolton. I don’t have high hopes for Kaz; as for Dudka, let’s give him more time before writing about another Pole that wasted his career abroad. I think Jelen is a different type of player than Sagan, he’s a lot more dynamic. He scored twice for Auxerre this season.
@dezerter
The question is, will Boruc agree to be the nr 2 for those games? Will he even bother to travel to Poland then? He’s a strong character, remember about that. I think that drinking wasn’t a problem in the Lwow case, the fact that they drank even though Leo clearly told them not to was.
@Alek
Do you think Boruc would accept a place on the bench without a problem? Especially after his Euro performance? To be honest, i have no idea. The Romanian guy you mention is Niculae, I think he’s currently recovering from some personal problems. Jelen is playing more as a striker at the moment, but he should be shipped back to the right winger position once Niculae comes back.
@Mark
I don’t agree, I think Boruc is one of the most charismatic individuals in the team. The only problem is, to what effect his charisma will be used.

By M. Zurawski | September 24th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

Tomasz, when i say that he should be automatically reverted to the #1 (this ONE time) it is under the assumption that he is in REASONABLE form. And the last game in the SPL proves he is. So what i’m saying is that Boruc has built up enough debt in the NT that he deserves the shirt back. But it should be conditional, and Beenhakker should use this opportunity to put a little more pressure on him, a little more responsibility for the back four. I think Boruc should be groomed to be the next captain. I think he has the potential, and should not be overly punished for what happend in the ukraine, (which in my opinion was at best mild, and time has been served) Also, Tomasz, sorry mate i can’t find the article which i quoted in the above article about the meeting being canceled.

By MarcinO | September 24th, 2008 at 8:25 pm

Michał Janota scored two goals today for Feyenoord against Top Oss.

By M. Zurawski | September 24th, 2008 at 8:44 pm

@ MarcinO, I assume he was a sub, did you read anywhere what time he came on? I had a look but didn’t find anything. Good for him anyway.

By zaraza | September 25th, 2008 at 12:31 am

Boruc is not a prima donna. Remember, he was dropped right after the World Cup, had to warm the bench while Kowalewski played a few matches and he handled it pretty well. In interviews he said it’s an honor just to be called up and that he’ll work hard to win back the #1 jersey.

As for Boruc vs Fabianski, Fabian did well in our last two games but he’s only played one game this season for Arsenal, he doesn’t even play in reserves (Mannone usually plays for Arsenal’s reserve team). So it may be difficult for Fabian to maintain good form, he even said it himself that the most important thing for a goalkeeper is playing regularly.

So for my money, Boruc should go straight back into the starting eleven, on the condition of course that he performs well in training.

Posted from Canada

By Witold | September 25th, 2008 at 4:38 am

Boruc is a leader, and he is one of the best goalkeeper in the world, I have no doubt that he must be our #1, we can’t shoot every player that have some caracter in the team, if so we will have a very low profil team. The good news is that we have 3 (with Kuscczak) international level goalkeeper. Fabianski will be our star one day.

By MarcinO | September 25th, 2008 at 8:51 am

@M. Zurawski
I just checked livescores.com. The only thing online is in Dutch and google does a poor job translating it into english.

By Brian | September 25th, 2008 at 4:38 pm

Janota was subbed on late, i believe in the last 10 minutes… his two goals were scored in stoppage time from what i heard.

as for Boruc, he easily starts both matches AND gets his #1 back as long as he works under Leo’s terms.

personally with Dudka and Lewandowski both not getting much playing time abroad, i would like to see them benched, or at least Lewandowski. i’d like to see more of Murawski and/or Gargula

Posted from United States

By Pawel (drugi Cristiano Ronaldo i Franz Beckenbauer) i Polski Goral | October 6th, 2008 at 10:07 pm

If he can DU THA DUDEK then everything is OK. Boruc needs to save goals and play like a goalkeeper and maybe he will the first Polish player playing for Bayern Munchen.

Posted from United States

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