Squad Watch: Week 10. Wisła Become The New\Old Polish Champions.

May 18th, 2011 | by: tomasz | Comments(18)

In the season marked by surprises and uneven form from the majority of the teams, Wisła Kraków finally managed to win the Polish championship. This is not the best Wisła team in history, it’s not even as good as the Wisła champions from two years ago. The current champions just possess the ability to win close games and possess a couple of talented individuals (Melikson, Małecki, Kirm) in their squad. They deserved to win the title, but they are as far away from the Chamipons League spot as Lech was a year ago.

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Fiorentina): not in the squad against Bologna
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd): 90 minutes against Blackburn
Sebastian Małkowski (Lechia Gdańsk): on the bench against Polonia
Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Bialystok): not in the squad against Legia
Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal London): 90 minutes against Aston Villa
Przemyslaw Tytoń (Roda Kerkrade): no in the squad against Heerenveen, injury
Łukasz Załuska (Celtic Glasgow): on the bench against Motherwell

Defenders:

Blażej Augustyn (Catania): not in the squad against Roma
Piotr Brożek (Trabzonspor): not in the squad against Istanbul BB
Piotr Celeban (Śląsk Wrocław): 90 minutes against GKS Bełchatów, note 5
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre): 90 minutes against Valenciennes
Kamil Glik (Bari): not in the squad against Lecce, red card ban
Arkadiusz Głowacki (Trabzonspor): not in the squad against Istanbul BB
Tomasz Jodłowiec (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 6
Marcin Kikut (Lech Poznań): not in the squad against Ruch, injury
Łukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund): 90 minutes and an assist against Eintracht
Jakub Rzeźniczak (Legia Warsaw): not in the squad against Jagiellonia
Maciej Sadlok (Polonia Warsaw): 74 minutes against Lechia, note 4
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht): 90 minutes against Standard
Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes and an assist against Ruch, note 6
Hubert Wołąkiewicz (Lech Poznań): not in the squad against Ruch
Michał Żewłakow (free transfer): cancelled his contract with Ankaragucu

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan): not in the squad against Ruch, injury
Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund): 87 minutes against Eintracht
Ariel Borysiuk (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 4
Mateusz Cetnarski (GKS Belchatow): 71 minutes against Śląsk, note 6
Tomasz Cywka (Derby County): no match
Janusz Gol (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 5
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens): 38 minutes against PAOK
Maciej Iwański (Manisaspor): not in the squad against Bucaspor, injury
Jacek Kiełb (Lech Poznań): 62 minutes and a goal against Ruch, note 6
Tomasz Kupisz (Jagiellonia Bialystok): 90 minutes against Legia, note 6
Grzegorz Krychowiak (Stade Reims): 74 minutes against Clermont
Radosław Majewski (Nottingham Forest): no match
Patryk Małecki (Wisla Krakow): 90 minutes and an assist against Cracovia, note 6
Adam Matuszczyk (FC Koeln): on the bench against Schalke
Adrian Mierzejewski (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 6
Rafał Murawski (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Ruch, note 6
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille): 11 minutes and a goal against PSG in French Cup final
Sławomir Peszko (FC Koeln): not in the squad against Schalke, injury
Maciej Rybus (Legia Warsaw): 1 minute against Jagiellonia
Bartosz Salamon (Foggia): on the bench against Cosenza
Cezary Wilk (Wisła Kraków): 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 6

Attackers:

Paweł Brożek (Trabzonspor): 81 minutes and a goal against Istanbul BB
Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor): 75 minutes against Konyaspor
Michał Janota (Go Ahead Eagles): 83 minutes against Den Bosh
Ireneusz Jeleń (AJ Auxerre): not in the squad against Valenciennes, injury
Michał Kucharczyk (Legia Warsaw): 3 minutes against Jagiellonia
Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund): 90 minutes and two assists against Eintracht
Andrzej Niedzielan (Korona Kielce): not in the squad against Arka
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow): 90 minutes and a goal against Śląsk, note 6
Szymon Pawłowski (Zagłębie Lubin): 90 minutes and a goal against Widzew, note 6
Dawid Plizga (Zagłębie Lubin): 90 minutes and an assist against Widzew, note 6
Marcin Robak (Konyaspor): 90 minutes against Sivasspor
Ebi Smolarek (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Artur Sobiech (Polonia Warsaw): 45 minutes against Lechia, note 4

Summary: Wisła won their title in the best possible way for their fans, that is by winning the derby game against Cracovia. Once again it was the Israel’s Maor Melikson that decided about the result of the Biała Gwiazda game. This is definitely the best transfer to the Polish league made in the January transfer window. It’s also a proof of Stan Valckx’s, Wisła’s sporting director, eye for talent and wide net of contacts. Wisłą brought players from all over Europe (Netherlands, Bulgaria, Israel, Italy), but at the same time managed to create a well oiled machine from them. Kew Jaliens may have not turned out the best defender in the Ekstraklasa, but he’s quality enough to keep the Wisła defense together with Osman Chavez. Sergej Pareiko is the goalkeeper that the Wisła fans have been waiting for a long time and a one that guarantees less bloopers than Mariusz Pawełek. Lat but not least, Cwetan Genkow, though initially criticized, managed to score six goals after his adaptation process was complete. Another great decision by Valckx was to sell the Brożek twins and let Pawełek go on the free transfer. Paweł and Piotr have already spent too much time in the Ekstraklasa and didn’t guarantee the progress that was needed in Kraków. It was the last chance to earn respectable money and Valckx together with Robert Maaskant decided to cash on it. I don’t think anyone missed the twins this year. The truth is that Wisła is only in the first stage of the rebuilding process, but nevertheless was good enough to win the title. Apart from the Brożek twins and Pawełek, they also lost Marcelo and Junior Diaz before the season started, which meant that they’d have to build their defensive line from scratch. It took them less time than anyone expected. Now Wisła’s squad needs further restructuring; they ought to get rid of useless and budget draining players (Branco, Żurawski, Boukhari, Rios, Łobodziński, Garguła?) and replace them with two or three quality players. It all depends on Valckx’s instinct and the owner’s willingness to spend more money. Supposedly, the scouts have already been working for months on new transfers. Only if they are successful we can have the slightest hope of watching an Ekstraklasa team in the Champions League next season.

Does the title for Wisła mean anything for the national team? It certainly means that you can win the Polish title with only two/three native players in your starting lineup. Franz Smuda can only scout Patryk Małecki and Cezary Wilk in the CL qualifications next season (there is no word about Wisła being interested in any other Polish player). Małecki was definitely the new champion’s leader throughout the season, especially after the Brożek twins left in January. He’s fanatic about his team and became a sort of a cult figure at Reymonta street. He’s dynamic, has a nice shot and a never say die attitude. The latter also acts to his disadavantage as he’s prone to lose his composure in the more demanding moments. Smuda says that he expects Małecki to shine both on and off the field. Judging by his latest insult of Saidi Ntibazokiza from Cracovia, it won’t be easy for Mały to win Smuda over, especially that he’s to face a stern competition on his position (Kuba, Peszko). Cezary Wilk is much less eye-catching than Małecki, but he’s been progressing very nicely this season. He was able to make the step forward from a weaker club and established himself as an important squad player at Wisła. Next season, he’s going to slowly replace Radosław Sobolewski as the starting defensive midfielder in the team. In two or three years time Wilk should be a national team regular and a candidate for a transfer abroad. It’s only a shame that since Małecki got included in the team no other young Polish player has been able to break through at the Biała Gwiazda. Maybe Valckx should scout the Polish market with the same intensity that he scouts the foreign one.

Franz Smuda sent the call ups for the games against Argentina B and France. Apart from the return of Paweł Brożek, there isn’t even a slightest surprise on the list:

Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal); defenders: Łukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Kamil Glik (Bari), Arkadiusz Głowacki (Trabzonspor), Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre); midfielders: Ludovic Obraniac (Lille), Adam Matuszczyk (Köln), Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia D.); strikers: Robert Lewandowski (Borussia D.), Paweł Brożek (Trabzonspor), Kamil Grosiki (Sivasspor)

Brożek may not be deserving the return, but in all honesty who else was Smuda to pick? Irek Jeleń is injured once again and Marcin Robak is simply not good enough, at least in my opinion. This is the best that we can afford at the moment. These call ups show that the process of granting Damien Perquis Polish citizenship takes longer than expected. I don’t know if it’s wise to include him in the squad as late as seven or eight months before the Euros. Smuda’s assistant, Jacek Zieliński, also explained that they didn’t pick Radosław Majewski and Marcin Wasilewski because they haven’t been playing regularly. Fair enough, though Wasyl had to pause because of the red card, not poor form. Generally, I have a feeling that Franz stopped looking for any new candidates or solutions. He’s sticking to the guys you see on the list (plus the injured Jeleń, Fabiański, Boenish and Peszko) and he’s too lazy to use his last chance to try somebody new. He even stopped attending the games and I don’t even know if he watches the players on video. It’s good that the guys can feel his trust and support, but on the other hand they may feel overconfident and stop fighting for their place in the squad next season. Smuda has to remember that a lot can change in a year.

Other news:

- Ludo Obraniak scored the decisive goal in the French Cup final. I hope it’s his goodbye goal for Lille and that he’ll move somewhere he’d play regularly next season.
- Sławomir Peszko is a tough negotiator. He’s already met the Koeln officials three times, but wasn’t able to agree the new contract. There’s speculation about interest from Werder and HSV, but I think Peszko is just using the rumours to win higher wages.
- Radek Majewski won’t play in the Premiership next season. Nottingham Forest once again lost in the semi final of the Championship play offs. Is it the time for Maja to move (especially that he lost his place in the squad)?
- Łukasz Piszczek won’t resign from playing for the national team as a result of his involvement in the corruption process. What a surprise!
- Tomasz Kuszczak will leave ManUtd at the end of this season. His former club, West Bromwich, is seriously interested in his services. That would be a perfect choice for Tomek.

Highlights:

A backheel assist from Łukasz Piszczek and a great cross from Lewy to end Dortmund’s season

szólj hozzá: Dor 3-1 Fra

Paweł Brożek scores his second goal in the Turkish league. Nice pressing.

Ludo Obraniak scores an incredible goal in the French Cup final

Jacek Kiełb scores his first for Lech

Another good goal from Szymon Pawłowski