Squad Watch- Week 7. No Silverware For Boruc.

This week saw one Pole winning a championship and another virtually losing it. Przemyslaw Kazmierczak won the Portuguese championship with FC Porto whereas Artur Boruc and his Celtic were beaten by Motherwell 0-1 and are now seven points behind Rangers, which have a game in hand. Kaz’s involvement in the success wasn’t huge as he was only a backup player. Celtic’s stumble, on the other hand, may mean a change in the future plans for our keeper.

Here’s an overlook of Leo’s hopefuls’ performances:

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow)- 90 minutes against Motherwell
Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal London)- not in the squad against Liverpool
Wojciech Kowalewski (Korona Kielce)- 90 minutes against LKS Lodz, note 8
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd)- on the bench against Middlesbrough
Sebastian Przyrowski (Groclin Grodzisk)- 90 minutes against Gornik, note 7

Defenders:

Jacek Bak (Austria Vienna)- 90 minutes against SV Mattersburg
Grzegorz Bronowicki (Red Star Belgrade)- on the bench against Partizan
Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucarest)- 72 minutes against Dacia
Mariusz Jop (FC Moscow)- not in the squad against Chimki, yellow card ban
Adam Kokoszka (Wisla Cracow)- 90 minutes against Ruch, note 7
Marcin Kus (Korona Kielce)- 90 minutes against LKS Lodz, note 7
Tomasz Lisowski (Widzew Lodz)- 90 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 5
Arkadiusz Radomski (Austria Vienna)- 90 minutes against SV Mattersburg
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht)- not in the squad against KVC Westerlo, yellow card ban
Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against GKS Belchatow, note 5
Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus)- 90 minutes against Larissa

Midfielders:

Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)- not in the squad against Bayer, injury
Dariusz Dudka (Wisla Cracow)- 90 minutes against Ruch, note 7
Lukasz Gargula (GKS Belchatow)- 90 minutes and an assist against Legia, note 6
Michal Golinski (Zaglebie Lubin)- not in the squad against Polonia Bytom, injury
Kamil Grosicki (FC Sion)- 21 minutes against FC Zurich
Przemysław Kazmierczak (FC Porto)- on the bench against Estrela Amadora
Kamil Kosowski (Cadiz)- 30 minutes against Xerez CD
Jacek Krzynowek (VFL Wolfsburg)- on the bench against Hannover 96
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shachtar Donieck)- not in the squad against Chernomorets
Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Cracow)- 63 minutes against Ruch, note 5
Radoslaw Majewski (Groclin Grodzisk)- 85 minutes against Gornik, note 6
Rafal Murawski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Odra, note 6
Michal Pazdan (Gornik Zabrze)- 90 minutes against Groclin, note 6
Roger (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes and a goal against GKS Belchatow, note 6
Marek Zienczuk (Wisla Cracow)- 81 minutes against Ruch, note 6

Attackers:

Pawel Brozek (Wisla Cracow)- 90 minutes and a goal against Ruch, note 7
Dawid Janczyk (CSKA Moscow)- not in the squad against Terek, injury
Radosław Matusiak (Wisla Cracow)- 15 minutes against Ruch
Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha Berlin)- 90 minutes against Werder
Grzegorz Rasiak (Bolton)- not in the squad against Aston Villa
Marek Saganowski (Southampton)- on the bench against Bristol City
Ebi Smolarek (Racing Santander)- 45 minutes against Deportivo La Coruna
Artur Wichniarek (Arminia Bielefeld)- 74 minutes against Karlsruhe SC
Tomasz Zahorski (Gornik Zabrze)- 90 minutes against Groclin, note 6
Maciej Zurawski (Larissa)- 55 minutes and an assist against Olympiakos

Summary: This weekend’s performance was characteristic of the current Celtic team. They had a number of chances but couldn’t convert them and were left humiliated by Motherwell. The Celtic’s season seems to be over as well as Gordon Strachan’s career at the Celtic Park. What does it have to do with Boruc? I imagine that the new manager will carry through a small revolution in the squad. I know that Artur is not to blame for the results and that he’s one of fans’ favourites. However, to obtain money for the new players you have to sell first. Boruc is definitely one of Celtic’s most valuable squad members and his price may rise (let’s hope) even more after the Euro Champs. There’s already reported interest from Aston Villa or Tottenham. These are the signs that just tell you it’s the best time to leave for the ‘Holy Goalie’; it’s time for a new challenge in his career.
The whole of Greece was thrilled at the prospect of watching the Zewlakow vs. Zurawski matchup in the Olympiakos vs. Larissa game. They weren’t left disappointed as the game ended in 2-1 Olympiakos win after an entertaining match. Zurawski managed to get an assist and Zewlakow was faultless at the back. The game is very nicely covered by Gazeta Wyborcza’s Michal Szadkowski. Both players are very respected by the Greek journalists (described as mentally unstable); especially Magic is praised for what he’s achieved after the transfer. Zuraw plays in Larissa as a lone striker; he dribbles and runs with the ball with much success. He doesn’t take part in the defensive play. Just the opposite to what he does in the national team. Zewlak is respected for his stable form and versatility. Can’t argue with that, Michal has been the most consistent performer in the national team for the last 4-5 years. It’s nice to read that Poles do very well in Greece, maybe this environment will do the same for our players that it did for the Greeks four years ago? Lukasz Piszczek started a second game in a row for Hertha, this time staying on the field for the whole ninety minutes. He’s slowely winning his manager’s trust and establishing a strong position in the team from the Olympia Stadion. And now for something more pessimistic. Jacek Krzynowek landed once more on the Wolfsburg’s bench after last weeks’s heroics against Hansa Rostock. That’s a very strange reward that he received from Felix Magath. It’s no good for a player to see that no matter what you do your team status won’t change a lot. In all probability Krzyniu will be the one of the players who’ll have to be nurtured back to fitness by Leo during the training camp in Germany. I also don’t understand what’s Mariusz Lewandowski’s status in the Shachtar’s squad. One week he plays, another he’s left out of the squad. Maybe it’s just a rotation system, but maybe the rumours about a winter break transfer harmed his position in the team. The squad candidates from the Polish league all played on a good level. Pawel Brozek scored once again for Wisla; it’ll help him wipe the tears after the USA catastrophe. Roger is also coming back to form from before the winter break. From what’ve read a Polish citizenship for him is just a matter of days. That’ll be it; next week Leo is announcing a 30 man shortlist for the Euros, I can’t wait for all the controversy it’ll surely spark.

Highlights: Boruc concedes a goal, Zurawski’s assist, Roger’s strike, Brozek’s goal.