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Squad Watch: Week 12. Wisla Krakow Are The New/Old Polish Champions.

June 1st, 2009 | By: tomasz | 26 Comments »

The Polish Ekstraklasa season has come to an end. Wisla Krakow didn’t blow their chances, won the last game and retained the champions’ crown. Legia Warsaw finished second, whereas Lech Poznan ended in a disappointing third place. Two legendary clubs were relegated: Cracovia and Gornik Zabrze.

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow)- end of season
Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal London)- end of season
Wojciech Kowalewski (Iraklis Thessaloniki)- end of season
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd)- end of season
Sebastian Przyrowski (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Gornik, note 6
Lukasz Zaluska (Dundee United)- end of season

Defenders:

Barosz Bosacki (Lech Poznan)- on the bench against Cracovia
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre)- 90 minutes against Nantes
Seweryn Gancarczyk (Metalist Kharkiv)- end of season
Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucharest)- 44 minutes against Universitatea
Tomasz Jodlowiec (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Gornik, note 6
Adam Kokoszka (Empoli F.C.)- not in the squad against Avellino
Marcin Komorowski (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Ruch, note 6
Marcin Kowalczyk (Dinamo Moscow)- not in the squad against Tomsk, injury
Michal Pazdan (Gornik Zabrze)- 90 minutes against Polonia, note 5
Piotr Polczak (Cracovia Krakow)- 90 minutes against Lech, note 5
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht)- end of season
Jakub Wawrzyniak (Panathinaikos)- doping ban
Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznan)- not in the squad against Cracovia, injury
Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus)- end of season

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan)- 45 minutes against Cracovia, note 5
Rafal Boguski (Wisla Krakow)- not in the squad against Slask, injury
Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)- end of season
Roger Guerreiro (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes and a goal against Ruch, note 7
Jacek Krzynowek (Hannover 96)- end of season
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk)- 15 minutes against Vorskla in Ukrainian Cup final
Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Krakow)- 65 minutes against Slask, note 5
Radoslaw Majewski (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Gornik, note 6
Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 6
Szymon Pawlowski (Zaglebie Lubin)- Zaglebie didn’t play At the weekend
Sławomir Peszko (Lech Poznan)-45 minutes and an assist against Cracovia, note 6
Bartosz Salamon (Brescia)- on the bench against Pisa
Lukasz Tralka (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Gornik, note 6
Jakub Wilk (Lech Poznan)- 23 minutes against Cracovia, note 5

Attackers:

Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow)- 88 minutes against Slask, note 5
Dawid Janczyk (Lokeren)- end of season
Michal Janota (Feyenoord Rotterdam)- end of season
Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre)- not in the squad against Nantes
Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 6
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow)- 20 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 3
Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha Berlin)- end of season
Grzegorz Rasiak (Watford)- end of season
Marek Saganowski (Southampton)- end of season
Ebi Smolarek (Bolton Wanderers)- end of season
Lukasz Sosin (Anorthosis Famagusta)- end of season
Artur Wichniarek (Arminia Bielefeld)- end of season
Maciej Zurawski (Larissa)- on the bench against PAOK

Summary: Wisla Krakow is going to represent Poland in the Champions League qualifications. This year the road to the financial paradise will be easier for the Polish clubs as we won’t have to face the opponents from the Europe’s top leagues. The toughest rival our team can meet in the last qualifying round is Olympiakos Pireus. Is Wisla ready for the challenge? It all depends on what happens in the summer. Three things are certain however: Marek Zienczuk and Marcin Baszczynski are leaving for Skoda Xanthi and Atromitos, whereas Lukasz Gargula is joining Biala Gwiazda on a free transfer from GKS Belchatow. We’re yet to see if Gargamel is ready to come back from injury for Wisla’s qualifying games. Maciej Skorza admits that he needs at least three quality players to strengthen the squad: a right back, a left winger and a striker. So far Wisla failed to sign anyone for these positions. Names like Sebastian Przyrowski, Dawid Nowak, Kamil Glik or Grzegorz Kasprzik (Piast’s goalie) are mentioned in the press, but they’re all expensive players and Wisla favours free transfers lately. Luckily, there’s no sign of the biggest stars leaving the club. Pawel Brozek is valued at 3M and I can’t imagine any club offering this money for him in the times of international financial crisis. I also haven’t heard about any serious offers for Rafal Boguski, who was called lately by Leo Beenhakker the best Polish player of the younger generation. Wisla wants to retain the services of Brazilian Marcelo who turned out to be one of the top Ekstraklasa defenders. Patryk Malecki, on the other hand, claims that it’s too early for him to leave Poland. The team should remain as strong as this season, but I wouldn’t count on any spectacular transactions. As usual, the transfer window may end in acquiring anonymous foreign players. Some of them may be the new Marcelo, but some will surely be the new Beto (Brazilian striker who just wasn’t good enough for the Polish champions). It’s like playing Russian roulette, you never know what you’ll get. Unfortunately, in the times when GKS Belchatow expects 1M for the ever injured Dawid Nowak it’s difficult to only deal between Polish clubs. Other top clubs (Legia, Lech, even Polonia) won’t sell their players to Biala Gwiazda, whereas the minor ones value their players far too high. To be honest, I don’t know what do they expect; somehow I don’t see a queue of foreign clubs fighting for the signature of Przyrowski or Nowak. Wisla’s options are limited, they have to spend their money wisely for the Champions League challenge to be serious. Do you expect the Biala Gwiazda to deliver some positive thrills in the summer?

The national team’s trip to South Africa is slowly resembling a joke. Not a funny one for all the fans of the Bialo Czerwoni. First it was Kuba Blaszczykowski and Artur Boruc who were given a leave of absence. Quite understandably since Kuba’s health is too precious to risk any post season damage, whereas after last performances for the national team Artie deserves to be given a break by Leo. Then Ireneusz Jelen decided that it’s a perfect time to undergo a long delayed surgery and also excluded himself from the team. Ebi Smolarek somehow injured himself while sitting on Bolton’s bench and had to resign from the trip to Africa. In case of Rafal Boguski what was supposed to be a minor injury turned out to be a more serious one and his name also had to be erased from the call up list. Marcin Wasilewski was next to report an injury, a one that prohibits him from playing for the exact amount of time that the African trip will take. Mariusz Lewandowski’s absence is the most mysterious one. First, Shakhtar Donetsk asked Leo to give Lewy a rest, but they weren’t wise enough to come up with any logical excuse (injury). Leo rejected Shakhtar’s plea only to find the player himself reporting “family problems” a day later. You guessed it, Lewy also won’t play for us next week. The final list of “casualties” was sent to Leo after the Ekstraklasa’s last round. Dawid Nowak managed to endure only twenty minutes on the field without an injury and will miss the Bialo Czerwoni training camp due to fitness reasons for the fourth time in a row. Pawel Brozek and Tomasz Jodlowiec, on the other hand, both played for the whole ninety minutes for their clubs. It was only after the games that their health suddenly deteriorated. Fair enough, they were both playing with not entirely healed injuries. Nevertheless, I’m sure that if it was a qualifying game all the players (except maybe Nowak, who had no business in missing international football once again) would be to Leo disposal. Can we blame them for wanting to spend the holidays with their wives rather than teammates?

The final squad for the South African friendlies looks as follows:

Goalkeepers: L. Fabianski (Arsenal), L. Zaluska (Dundee), S. Przyrowski (Polonia W.)

Defenders: D. Dudka (Auxerre), M. Zewlakow (Olympiakos), B. Bosacki (Lech), J. Wawrzyniak (Panathinaikos), J. Rzezniczak, M. Komorowski (both Legia), P. Polczak (Cracovia Krakow)

Midfielders: J. Krzynowek (Hannover), L. Tralka (Polonia W.), Roger (Legia), W. Lobodzinski (Wisla), T. Bandrowski, S. Peszko, J. Wilk, R. Murawski (all Lech)

Strikers: R. Lewandowski (Lech), M. Saganowski (Southampton), D. Janczyk (Lokeren)

Highlights:

Wisla celebrates the title

Roger scores against Ruch Chorzow

Tags: Beenhakker, Blaszczykowski, Boguski, boruc, Brozek, Gargula, Group A, Jelen, Jodlowiec, Lewandowski, Malecki, Marcelo, Nowak, Poland, Roger, Smolarek, Squad Watch, Wasilewski, Wisla

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Comments

Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 26 comments.

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By msudzi | June 1st, 2009 at 5:25 pm

I watched the games this weekend and do really believe the Polish league has gotten a little better. I would put the orange in the league with MLS of Ameirca, the Dannish and Sweed league. Getting closer to the Greek and Dutch and French leagues, but long way to go. Poland is a beatuiful country has alot to offer Latin American and some quality guys for our league in Europe. But to pass my measuring stick Wisla must at least get to the group stage of the euro championship. The only excuse would be playing a team like Barcelona or Real Madrid like they did in the past. THere is no way our champ to reproduce what our champs have did over the past ten years. Players look for creadability and if we loose to FC whatever the Lithuanain team that beat us 3-0 a couple of years ago, that cant and must not happen again. The future of Poland depends on the league getting more talent and moving forward.

Posted from United States

By zaraza | June 1st, 2009 at 6:13 pm

Overall, I don’t blame the regular NT members for dropping out, they need some rest and this is only a friendly after all. Jodlowiec, however, still has to prove his usefulness to the NT, so it was pretty stupid of him not to make the trip. Perhaps he’s really injured though.

The situation is probably embarrassing for Beenhakker but what was the point of calling up basically our entire main squad? We know what they’re capable of (not much), we should use these friendlies to give a chance to possible alternatives, that’s what the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland are doing.

Considering how injury-prone our squad usually is, it is especially important for Poland to blood back-up options. Do we want to risk having to throw in players with little experience if there’s an injury crisis in September? So I think Beenhakker made a mistake agreeing to Zamilski’s request regarding Malecki, Grosicki and Glik. Preparing players for the senior NT is much more important than some U-21 qualifier.

Komorowski, Lobodzinski, and Wilk are just bizarre choices by Leo. I’m starting to think he decides who to call up by randomly drawing names out of a hat… Come on, they’re not regular starters in the Ekstraklasa but we’re supposed to believe they’re good enough for the NT??! They’re unlikely to even be back-ups for the September qualifiers. This experience should have gone to players like Malecki, Grosicki and Glik.

Posted from Canada

By zaraza | June 1st, 2009 at 6:29 pm

I’m a little surprised that Kasprzik is rated so highly, I saw one of his performances on Ekstraklasa.tv and I thought he was very poor, he was unable to make the simplest catches and he often parries the ball right back to the strikers.

Posted from Canada

By zaraza | June 1st, 2009 at 6:34 pm

Beenhakker says that Obraniak will definitely get a call-up for the friendly against Greece:
http://www.sport.pl/sport/1,65025,6671415,Beenhakker__Powolam_Obraniaka_na_Grecje.html
Sorry for triple-posting.

Posted from Canada

By msudzi | June 2nd, 2009 at 2:21 am

Hey guys dont make the mistake of thinking Leo has tons of options. Outside of the average Polish league who is making a splash oversees. Yes at certain positions we are good but not really any depth, at other postions we are flat out bad ie defense. Leo has always done good with what he had ie trindid and tobaggo. Would u perfer a Polish coach so we can loose to Latvia again. Keep going Leo when life gives u lemons u make lemonade.

Posted from United States

By zaraza | June 2nd, 2009 at 3:11 am

“Would u perfer a Polish coach so we can loose to Latvia again.”

It’s not like Leo has gotten better results… Have you forgotten that we lost to Armenia, Finland, Northern Ireland, and Slovakia? These countries aren’t much bigger than Latvia population-wise.

It’s true we don’t have much depth but that’s something we could work on during friendlies, testing out new defenders like Glik as well as other players. Leo should have turned down Zamilski’s request to let Malecki, Grosicki and Glik go to that U-21 qualifier, personally I don’t think U-21 results are that important, and besides the qualifier is against Lichtenstein, a pseudo-country of 35,000 people.. we really shouldn’t need all our best youth to win that one…

Posted from Canada

By Tomek | June 2nd, 2009 at 5:17 am

Leo Beenhakker wants to take Roger Guerreiro to Feyenoord. However, Mario Been, Feyenoord’s new coach (lol at those 2 names, “Been” means leg, “Beenhakker” means legchopper) thinks he needs to strengthen other positions first.

It’s a Dutch article from a trusted site so it’s most likely true:
http://www.nusport.nl/20090602/transferperikelen/been-kan-gaan-winkelen

Posted from Netherlands

By Tomek | June 2nd, 2009 at 5:26 am

Oh, and the Polish league is much, much better than the MLS.

In fact, almost every European league is better than them.

Posted from Netherlands

By kacinski | June 2nd, 2009 at 2:35 pm

Thanks for all the hard work you put it Tomasz in keeping us updated this entire season! It is extremely appreaciated

By zaraza | June 3rd, 2009 at 12:15 am

Auxerre, as well as a number of other Ligue 1 clubs, are said to be interested in a talented defender by the name of Laurent KOSCIELNY. He’s French-born but given his surname, it might be possible to grant him Polish citizenship. He’s 23 years old, 186 cm, and doesn’t appear to have played for French youth teams:
http://transfermarkt.co.uk/en/spieler/76277/koscielny-laurent/profil.html

Auxerre fans say that he’s a very good defender who would certainly be a regular starter for them. The PZPN should inquire whether he’d be interested in playing for Poland, we could certainly use some new defenders.

Posted from Canada

By Alek | June 3rd, 2009 at 1:20 am

Knowing how the PZPN always works they wont do anything. Its a shame.

By Alek | June 3rd, 2009 at 6:42 pm

I got bored and noticed that it looks like there are three Polish players in U-21 Euro which are: Eugen Polanski, Sebastian Boenisch, Robert Acquafresca. And I think that with FIFA’s new rule change they are all still eligible to play for our nt. I sure wish the PZPN would get more aggressive in trying to convince youth players to play for Poland.

By chester | June 3rd, 2009 at 7:29 pm

Robert Acquafresca might crack one day once he realizes he has no chance to play for Italy. Especially with the way Giuseppe Rossi and Mario Balotelli are playing and they are younger then him especially mario is a star at inter and his only like 17. But even if he doesnt it really isnt a big loss right now we dont need any more strikers. Having Lewy, Brozek, Jelen, and Janczyk is sufficient. The Boenisch hurts the most because we could use him.

By rydzynski | June 3rd, 2009 at 8:01 pm

I think Eugen Polanski turned down a chance to play for Poland a while back. Disappointing squad list, it would be nice to see more of the u-21 guys on the list. But it is understandable for some of the regulars to not want participate: we need Jelen 100% for the qualifiers, and Lewandowski probably needs a rest after the Uefa cup and Ukraine cup finals. When does Obraniak get that passport?!

By Alek | June 3rd, 2009 at 9:04 pm

Eugen Polanski was offered by Pawel Janas to play for Poland during the 2006 world cup. But I always felt the Janas did a really half ass job of asking players to join the team. If I’m not mistaken didnt he try to get Poldi to join the team?

By zaraza | June 3rd, 2009 at 9:36 pm

Obraniak’s citizenship may be confirmed by the end of the week, according to the Polish media (but we all know how reliable they are…)
http://www.sports.pl/reprezentacja/artykul.asp?Artykul=50565

Boenisch and Polanski have stated that they feel German so I wouldn’t want them on our team no matter how good they may be. And honestly I’m not sure Boenisch would be a huge improvement, he seemed like a bombscare the one time I saw him play. Never seen Polanski, does he even play in the Bundesliga?

I hope the PZPN makes contact with Koscielny.

Posted from Canada

By rydzynski | June 3rd, 2009 at 11:36 pm

Polanski played for Mönchengladbach until 08, then moved to Getafe in Spain.

By a | June 4th, 2009 at 10:37 am

I am a little surprised that so many players have decided to drop out of national team duties. Players that have no business coming up with reasons not to play since they have not established themselves on the national team does not make sense. All this tells me is that they are not fully committed to Poland. This could also mean that they have quit on Beenhakker, which is a real shame. After the golden years of Polish football, I believe that this has been the main problem. How are you supposed to win when the players are not committed to the team. They have no heart and lack the desire and determination to win. I am really disappointed and feel like there is no point of supporting a bunch of guys who do not even care. Look at Portugal, did any of their regulars skip their upcoming friendlies to heal their boo boo’s and spend time with their families? What business does Smolarek have in taking time off. Did he really put a strain on his body by warming the bench at Bolton. And what’s this garbage that Bandrowski and Komorowski were only called up because they were the closest to the airport in Warsaw? What does it also say when your team captain does not want to be bothered either. Now Beenhakker said he might not call him up again. I like that, he has balls and will not be pushed around. What now has become commonplace in Polish football in that the prisoners want to keep running the asylum. Bravo Mr. Beenhakker for not tolerating this crap.

With Steve Bruce moving from Wigan to Sunderland, I wonder what that will mean for Cywka and Kupisz.

Lech Poznan continues to take the right steps. I like hearing Arrigo Sacchi and Lech Poznan in the same sentence. By the way, they moved up in team club rankings to the 70th spot.

By janusz | June 4th, 2009 at 10:54 am

Does anyone know if the two friendlies in South Africa
Will be televised or broadcast live on any websites?
I haven’t been able to find anything..
Best of luck to our team! Hope they can get the
revised line-up chemistry flowing by Saturday..

Posted from Canada

By zaraza | June 4th, 2009 at 3:14 pm

a, during summer friendlies a lot of countries leave a bunch of their regulars at home and give a chance to younger players, look at the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland. I think the Polish media went overboard accusing them of lack of commitment, a lot of these players have had recurring injury worries during the season, they should be allowed some time off. There are only a few dubious excuses but think of it this way, they’re actually doing us a favor; lately Leo seems averse to experimentation, this forces him to give a chance to some new players.

janusz, you should check the match thread on http://www.polishsoccer.com/ they usually have a link where you can watch the game, although the level of discussion is not the best (mostly 13 year olds it seems).

Wawrzyniak has been banned for three months but he won’t miss much, only the first two matches of the season, and the ban does not apply to the NT.

Posted from Canada

By zaraza | June 4th, 2009 at 3:19 pm

The match against South Africa in Johanesburg will be at high altitude apparently.. this may be a problem for a lot of our players, conditioning has never been one of our strengths.

Posted from Canada

By Paradowski | June 4th, 2009 at 9:50 pm

^ zaraza – great news regarding Wawrzyniak; I didn’t think he should be punished too harshly, but was mostly thinking of the worse. That is a rare positive comment from you lately , in your reply to “a” – made me crack a smile for sure. I know you’ve wanted to see some new blood for the Bialo Czerwoni. I’m surprised at all the absentees, but not concerned. I wish the best for those playing in South Africa and hope they can make the decisions difficult for Leo in later friendlies and qualifiers.

Posted from United States

By zaraza | June 5th, 2009 at 12:51 am

Actually I might be wrong.. this article suggests that Wawrzyniak’s suspension also bars him from playing for the NT…
http://www.rp.pl/artykul/2,315584.html
However, if the suspension officially began on June 4, then he might be allowed to play against Northern Ireland. I hope someone is able to clarify this issue.

Posted from Canada

By robski | June 5th, 2009 at 9:24 am

http://mundial.wp.pl/kat,1728,title,Ludovic-Obraniak-obywatelem-Polski,wid,11195181,wiadomosc.html

We got him!!!

By zaraza | June 6th, 2009 at 4:18 am

Excellent! The French media seem to believe that Obraniak is still considering playing for France, citing an interview to a Polish newspaper a couple months ago in which he stated that he hadn’t completely ruled it out. But I think he was simply frustrated by the lazy idiots at the PZPN and was sending them a warning. In the same interview he stressed how attached he was to Polish culture. I’m fairly certain we’ll see him in red and white in August against Greece but there’s still a chance he could change his mind so I hope Beenhakker contacts him soon.

Posted from Canada

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