Squad Watch- week 2.

March 3rd, 2008 | by: tomasz |

Tired of checking performances of each single player? Having trouble with finding info on the internet? Lacking access to the Polish press? It means you need Squad Watch, an ultimate solution to your problems.
Ok, so here is week 2 of my observation of Polish players with a view to Euro 2008 (with the notes from Przeglad Sportowy):

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow)- 90 minutes against Hibernian
Jerzy Dudek (Real Madrid)- on the bench against Recreativo Huelva
Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal London)- not in the squad against Aston Villa
Bartosz Fabiniak (Widzew Lodz)- 90 minutes against Wisla, note 6
Wojciech Kowalewski (Korona Kielce)- 90 minutes against Odra, note 6
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd)- on the bench against Fulham
Mariusz Pawelek (Wisla Cracow)- 90 minutes against Widzew, note 6
Sebastian Przyrowski (Groclin Grodzisk)- 90 minutes against GKS Belchatow, note 6

Defenders:

Jacek Bak (Austria Vienna)- match against LASK postponed
Grzegorz Bartczak (Zaglebie Lubin)- 90 minutes against Lech, note 5
Marcin Baszczyński (Wisla Cracow)- on the bench against Widzew
Grzegorz Bronowicki (Red Star Belgrade)- 90 minutes against Partizan
Piotr Brozek (Wisla Cracow)- 90 minutes against Widzew, note 6
Lukasz Broz (Widzew Lodz)- on the bench against Wisla
Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucarest)- 74 minutes agains CFR Cluj
Arkadiusz Głowacki (Wisla Cracow)- 90 minutes against Widzew, note 6
Mariusz Jop (FC Moscow)- winter break
Adam Kokoszka (Wisla Cracow)- 90 minutes against Widzew, note 6
Marcin Kus (Korona Kielce)- not in the squad against Odra, injury
Tomasz Lisowski (Widzew Lodz)- 90 minutes against Wisla, note 6
Mariusz Pawelec (Gornik Zabrze)- 90 minutes against Ruch, note 5
Arkadiusz Radomski (Austria Vienna)- match against LASK postponed
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht)- on the bench against Genk
Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia Warsaw)- on the bench against LKS Lodz
Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus)- 90 minutes against Asteras

Midfielders:

Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)- 44 minutes against Werder, injured
Rafal Boguski (Wisla Cracow)- 90 minutes and an assist against Widzew, note 6
Dariusz Dudka (Wisla Cracow)- not in the squad against Widzew, injury
Lukasz Gargula (GKS Belchatow)- 90 minutes against Groclin, note 5
Michal Golinski (Zaglebie Lubin)- 45 minutes against Lech, note 5
Konrad Golos (Gornik Zabrze)- 90 minutes against Ruch, note 6
Rafal Grzelak (Skoda Xanthi)- 90 minutes against Panionios
Maciej Iwanski (Zaglebie Lubin)- 90 minutes against Lech, note 5
Przemysław Kazmierczak (FC Porto)- 90 minutes against Boavista
Kamil Kosowski (Cadiz)- 45 minutes against Castellon
Jacek Krzynowek (VFL Wolfsburg)- 90 minutes against Karlsruhe
Piotr Kuklis (Widzew Lodz)- 83 minutes against Wisla, note 6
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shachtar Donieck)- on the bench against Zakarpatia
Wojciech Łobodziński (Wisla Cracow)- 71 minutes against Widzew, note 5
Radoslaw Majewski (Groclin Grodzisk)- 89 minutes and an assist against GKS Belchatow, note 8
Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Zaglebie, note 5
Szymon Pawlowski (Zaglebie Lubin)- 90 minutes against Lech, note 6
Michal Pazdan (Gornik Zabrze)- 90 minutes against Ruch, note 6
Marek Zienczuk (Wisla Cracow)- 90 minutes against Widzew, note 6

Attackers:

Pawel Brozek (Wisla Cracow)- 84 minutes and a goal against Widzew, note 7
Kamil Grosicki (Sion)- on the bench against Neuchatel Xamax
Radosław Matusiak (Wisla Cracow)- not in the squad against Widzew, injury
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow)- not in the squad against Groclin, injury
Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha Berlin)- 6 minutes against Duisburg
Grzegorz Rasiak (Bolton)- 48 minutes against Liverpool
Marek Saganowski (Southampton)- 67 minutes against Ipswich
Ebi Smolarek (Racing Santander)- 64 minutes against Vallaloid
Artur Wichniarek (Arminia Bielefeld)- 66 minutes against Hansa, missed a penalty
Tomasz Zahorski (Gornik Zabrze)- 90 minutes and a goal against Ruch, note 7
Maciej Zurawski (Larissa)- 90 minutes and a goal against Iraklis

Summary: On the positive note, another decisive goal by Zurawski for Larissa (1-0 against Iraklis). Magic seems to be coming back to form and fitness; this time he scored from the penalty spot in the 90th minute. I’d like to stress the words “penalty” and “90th minute”. It just looks to me that everyone in Larissa has confidence in our captain; he seems to be obtaining the position of a star player there. At last Krzynowek managed to play 90 minutes for Wolfsburg. Probably, it has something to do with the fact that Marcelinho was absent; nevertheless, it is an important sign for one of our leaders that he is considered at least a rotation player there. Surprisingly, Kazmierczak played the whole game for Porto. From what I’ve checked, they wanted to rest the star players for the Champions League encounter with Schalke. Still, it seems that Kaz is finally getting accustomed with the life at a big club. In the Polish league Pawel Brozek and Zahorski each grabbed a goal; especially important for Broziu, who has just recently returned from injury. Moreover, another commanding performance by Majewski in the centre of Groclin’s midfield. I tell you, this player has a bright future ahead of him. The biggest drawback of the weekend is Blaszczykowski’s injury. It was his first game after 2 month injury, but he managed to hang on only for 44 minutes. From what I’ve read he faces a 3-week pause and will probably miss our friendly with the USA. It doesn’t look good for Kuba; he’s a player whose game is based on dynamics and acceleration, therefore he must be 100% fit to perform. Also shame to see Lewandowski on Shachtar’s bench, I just hope that it’s caused by a rotation system in Donieck. Jakub Wawrzyniak spent the entire Legia’s game on the bench as well, but in his case it seems that he is permanently stuck there. I know that Leo counts on him, however in these circumstances it will be very hard for him to make it to the Euro squad.