Squad Watch: Week 2. Lewandowski Strikes Back.

March 8th, 2011 | by: tomasz | Comments(11)

Robert Lewandowski finally scored his first 2011 goal at the weekend and is starting to feel much better in the link up player position. Lewy only confirmed his status as the best Polish striker at the moment as Ireneusz Jeleń still hasn’t found the spectacular form he presented last season. Seems like the national team will be based on the Dortmund trio (Lewy, Kuba and Piszczek) rather than Auxerre duo (Jeleń and Dudka). In the Ekstraklasa, Jagiellonia stumbled at the first hurdle and is starting to experience what it feels like to fight for the championship. Legia played their best game this season and defeated Polonia in the Warsaw derby.

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Fiorentina): 90 minutes against Catania
Łukasz Fabiański (Arsenal London): not in the squad against Sunderland, injury
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd): on the bench against Liverpool
Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Bialystok): 90 minutes against GKS B., note 6
Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal London): 90 minutes against Sunderland
Przemyslaw Tytoń (Roda Kerkrade): 90 minutes against Utrecht
Łukasz Załuska (Celtic Glasgow): on the bench against Hamilton

Defenders:

Blażej Augustyn (Catania): not in the squad against Fiorentina
Piotr Brożek (Trabzonspor): 90 minutes against Besiktas
Sebastian Boenisch (Werder Bremen): not in the squad against Freiburg, injury
Piotr Celeban (Śląsk Wrocław): 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 5
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre): 90 minutes against PSG
Kamil Glik (Bari): 90 minutes against Udinese
Arkadiusz Głowacki (Trabzonspor): 90 minutes against Besiktas
Tomasz Jodłowiec (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Legia, note 5
Marcin Kikut (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Arka, note 4
Łukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund): 90 minutes against FC Koeln
Jakub Rzeźniczak (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Polonia, note 7
Maciej Sadlok (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes and an own goal against Legia, note 5
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht): 45 minutes against Genk
Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznań): not in the squad against Arka, injury
Hubert Wołąkiewicz (Lech Poznań): 45 minutes against Arka, note 6
Michał Żewłakow (Ankaragucu): on the bench against Konyaspor

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan): not in the squad against Arka, injury
Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund): 17 minutes against FC Koeln
Ariel Borysiuk (Legia Warsaw): not in the squad against Polonia
Mateusz Cetnarski (GKS Belchatow): 61 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 4
Tomasz Cywka (Derby County): 84 minutes against Barnsley
Janusz Gol (Legia Warsaw): 37 minutes against Polonia, note 5
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens): 83 minutes and two assists against PAOK
Maciej Iwański (Manisaspor): 90 minutes and a goal against Kayserispor
Jacek Kiełb (Lech Poznań): not in the squad against Arka
Tomasz Kupisz (Jagiellonia Bialystok): 90 minutes against GKS B., note 7
Grzegorz Krychowiak (Stade Reims): 90 minutes against Metz
Radosław Majewski (Nottingham Forest): 90 minutes against Hull
Patryk Małecki (Wisla Krakow): 90 minutes and an assist against Ruch, note 7
Adam Matuszczyk (FC Koeln): not in the squad against Dortmund, injury
Adrian Mierzejewski (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Legia, note 5
Rafał Murawski (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes and an assist against Arka, note 7
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille): on the bench against Marseille
Sławomir Peszko (FC Koeln): not in the squad against Dortmund, injury
Maciej Rybus (Legia Warsaw): not in the squad against Polonia, injury
Bartosz Salamon (Foggia): no match
Cezary Wilk (Wisła Kraków): 13 minutes against Ruch

Attackers:

Paweł Brożek (Trabzonspor): on the bench against Besiktas
Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor): 76 minutes against Gaziantespor
Michał Janota (Go Ahead Eagles): 79 minutes against Eindhoven
Ireneusz Jeleń (AJ Auxerre): 90 minutes against PSG
Michał Kucharczyk (Legia Warsaw): 88 minutes against Polonia, note 6
Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund): 90 minutes and a goal against FC Koeln
Andrzej Niedzielan (Korona Kielce): 85 minutes against Widzew, note 5
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow): 90 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 7
Szymon Pawłowski (Zagłębie Lubin): 90 minutes and a goal against Górnik, note 6
Dawid Plizga (Zagłębie Lubin): 90 minutes against Górnik, note 6
Marcin Robak (Konyaspor): 90 minutes against Ankaragucu
Ebi Smolarek (Polonia Warsaw): on the bench against Legia
Artur Sobiech (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Legia, note 4

Summary: Robert Lewandowski really needed a game like that; a one in which he’d decide about the result. As I wrote a week ago, this game came sooner than later since Lewy didn’t have problems to find himself in goalscoring positions, he just had problems to convert the opportunities. Now he added his share to the Dortmund’s inevitable success. I read an interesting post game interview with Borussia coach Jurgen Klopp. He states that all his Polish players still have room for improvement and that he guarantees that they will be in the form of their lifetime when Euro 2012 comes. Here’s what he has to say about the Polish trio:

Lewandowski already plays great, but my players don’t always notice him. He’s a player with great control of the ball and that’s why we have to pass it to him more often (…) There’s a lot of defensive work on the position that he currently plays on. He’s getting better and better at it. Everything that he does for us will help him in the future. You’ll see that he’ll develop as a player and a human being. He’d have to be an idiot to complain about his playing more at the back. He’s a striker and he plays as a one in Dortmund (…) Piszczek is sensational, the way he’s played is fantastic (…) He’s very often too fast, which can’t be an accusation, and we have problems to keep up with him and take up a position in the box. It’s incredible how he’s developed this season. If he comes to me and says that he wants to play once again as a striker I’ll tell him he lost his mind (…) There are only few players in the Bundesliga with such pace and endurance. Kuba is on such a high level that only details decide whether he’s still developing or not. He’s one of the fastest wingers in the Bundesliga. He not only runs but also passes the opponent. He’s got problems with injuries though (…) He’s a very important player for us (…) With his style of play he’s very often fouled. It costs him a lot of health, but we still work on his physique.

I couldn’t have put it better. I won’t be wrong if I say now, more than a year before the Euros, that the Dormund trio will be the absolute leaders of our team. We really have to support Borussia and Klopp to keep their run of form next season as well. I have a feeling that Klopp’s player handling will be much more important for the Biało Czerwoni than the combined skills of all the Ekstraklasa coaches.

I wrote that Lewandowski is the top Polish striker at the moment because I had a chance to watch Irek Jeleń at the weekend in Auxerre’s game against PSG. As it was reported, Jelonek is very far from his best form. It’s not that he doesn’t try, you definitely can’t question his attitude and dedication. It’s just that Jeleń’s style is very much based on his physical preparation. When he’s not his fastest self he loses many of his attributes. Jeleń was quite active in the game against PSG, but I had a feeling that he was always a split of second too late or that he postponed his decisions too much. His reactions are not automatic at the moment, he needs more time which a league such as the French Ligue 1 won’t give him. I think it’s crucial that Jeleń won’t get injured before the start of the next season. He should build his physical form in the summer, tank up the fuel that he’ll use in 2012. This season has to be written off unfortunately. As for Dudka, he was his usual unimpressive self. Auxerre uses him as a player that can cover every position in defense and defensive midfielder. Thanks to his flexibility, he’s getting much more playing time than anyone expected. For me, he should serve the same role in the national team.

Jagiellonia lost points in their first spring game. Neither Seratlic, nor Essomba, could give the team the same flair that Kamil Grosicki gave them. If Jaga continues to stumble away from home they will have no chance to retain the leader’s position. Especially that Wisła started the round in good fashion, winning both of their games. Patryk Małecki proved that his good display against Arka was no coincidence and once again was the leader of the Biała Gwiazda team. If only he passed the ball more often…Franz Smuda was already asked about Małecki and said that he doesn’t need defiant players with their own opinions on every subject. I don’t like this explanation, I think there is always a need for strong characters in the team. I’m not saying Małecki in particular, but generally we need players who won’t be scared to represent the whole nation in 2012. If Mały continues to impress Smuda will simply have to give him a chance. If he doesn’t, it will only serve as a proof of his managerial weakness and inability to cooperate with all kinds of players. Apart from Małecki, Melikson looks like a real deal for Wisła. Finally, Legia left their best performance for the derby game against Polonia. I don’t rememember seeing Wojskowi as determined and aggresive. The transfer of Michal Hubnik looks like Legia’s best transaction in years. Instead of lazy and selfish Chinyama or a very static Mezenga they’ve got a player who’s constantly on the move and is the first to attack the opponent and implement the pressing. He also knows how to find himself in a goalscoring situation. Hubnik aside, Jakub Rzeźniczak and Michał Kucharczyk had another very good games for Legia. Rzeźnik was the best right full back in the Ekstraklasa in the first two rounds. We have to wait to see whether that’s a constant change. Polonia lost the derby in their heads; it’s very worrying considering the fact that Maciej Sadlok and Tomasz Jodłowiec are to play an important role in Smuda’s team and shouldn’t stumble under pressure when faced with more than twenty thousand fanatic fans. Adrian Mierzejewski did his best, earned his team a lot of free kicks, but didn’t have anyone to play with. Finally, Ebi Smolarek quickly lost all the trust he had from his coach Theo Bos and didn’t even leave the bench during the derby game. There goes the return to form.

Highlights: Lewy’s strikes for Dortmund

Bo – Kö HIGHLIGHTS www.rojadirecta.es
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Szczęsny’s saves against Sunderland

Arsenal v Sunderland
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A beautiful free kick goal from the Donut Iwański

Patryk Małecki starts two Wisła goal moves

Szymon Pawłowski scores for Zagłębie, but it’s Górnik that scores spectacular goals

Rafał Murawski assists to Artjoms Rudnevs