The B Team. Call Ups For The Serbia Friendly.

The future regular Polish team members together with probable one cap wonders are all on the list of Leo Beenhakker’s call ups for the December’s friendly against Serbia. The fact is, this should be called a B team, but since we don’t have one we have to play an official international game to give young, talented players a go in white and red. How many will survive this casting? Usually 4-5 players from those games receive a call up for the ‘serious’ matches. Who’ll Leo introduce this time?

Here’s the list. Don’t feel ashamed if you haven’t heard about some of the players.

Goalkeepers: Radoslaw Cierzniak (Korona Kielce), Sebastian Przyrowski (Polonia Warsaw), Adam Stachowiak (Odra Wodzislaw).

Defenders: Piotr Polczak (Cracovia), Michal Pazdan (Gornik Zabrze), Adam Danch (Gornik Zabrze), Mariusz Magiera (Gornik Zabrze), Jakub Rzezniczak (Legia Warsaw), Marcin Komorowski (Polonia Bytom), Tomasz Jodlowiec (Polonia Warsaw), Mariusz Pawelec (Slask Wroclaw), Piotr Celeban (Slask Wroclaw), Antoni Lukasiewicz (Slask Wroclaw).

Midfielders: Lukasz Tralka (Lechia Gdansk), Maciej Malkowski (Odra Wodzislaw), Radoslaw Majewski (Polonia Warsaw), Janusz Gancarczyk (Slask Wroclaw), Szymon Pawlowski (Zaglebie Lubin), Grzegorz Krychowiak (FC Girondins de Bordeaux), Sebastian Tyrala (BV Borussia 1909).

Attackers: Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow), Tomasz Zahorski (Gornik Zabrze), Rafal Boguski (Wisla Krakow), Dawid Janczyk (CSKA Moscow).

Backups:

Marek Wasiluk (Cracovia), Maciej Rybus (Legia Warsaw), Kamil Glik (Piast Gliwice), Michal Zielinski (Polonia Bytom), Patryk Malecki (Wisla Krakow), Piotr Kuklis (GKS Belchatow), Michał Gliwa (Polonia Warsaw)

There are both players who have already been called up for serious games as well as those for whom it’s going to be the first time in the national team. Let me introduce the players to you.

Goalkeepers:

Przyrowski: one of the best goalkeepers in the Polish league, regarded a huge talent 3-4 years ago. Hasn’t developed as well as expected; now he can fight for the nr five spot in our goalie hierarchy.
Stachowiak: young keeper who always has a chance to shine playing for Odra Wodzislaw.
Cierzniak: former Polish youth teams member, now plays in the second division for Korona Kielce.

I don’t think any of those keepers will be first team regulars in the future. Maybe Przyrowski has a chance to be called up as the third choice keeper, but then Leo would have to resign from Zaluska and Kowalewski.

Defenders:

Jodlowiec: one of the top Ekstraklasa defenders, started his career as a defensive midfielder. Could’ve gone to Napoli at the beginning of the season, but was resistant to take the risk. Already two caps to his name, didn’t have the best of games against Ireland.
Polczak: played together with Adam Kokoszka in the central defence of our U-21 team. Praised as the leader of Cracovia’s defence in the beginning of 2008, performed rather poorly in the second part of the year (harmed by injuries). Very strong physically. Played against Ukraine in August.
Pazdan: our Euro squad member still hasn’t lived up to the hopes the fans had for him this year. He’s developing slower than Leo expected. Plays regularly for Gornik, but doesn’t save the team from a horrible season.
Danch: one of our best players from the 2007 Youth World Cup in Canada is experiencing a downfall this season. A player who everybody expected to feature regularly in the national team by now (at least I did) is not even a regular at Gornik. Called up because of good reputation.
Rzezniczak: former captain of our U-21 team will have another chance to impress Leo, who’s looking for a backup for Marcin Wasilewski. It’s high time for Rzezniczak to start realizing his potential.
Magiera and Komorowski: they’re not even regulars at average Polish teams. Why call ups then? They’re left footed left backs; type of players Leo is desperately looking for. He found Jakub Wawrzyniak in the same way.
Pawelec: already tested by Leo in two or three meaningless friendlies. Failed to rise above an average league level.
Lukasiewicz: a tall defender/defensive midfielder who was once a captain of our U-21 team and later failed to make his name at Elche (Spain) and Leiria (Portugal). This summer he failed trials at Wisla. Found his place at Slask.
Celeban: a right back who can play as a central defender as well. Considered one of the most talented Polish defenders while at Pogon Szczecin, had a horrible last season at Korona Kielce. Now he’s one of the leaders of the sensational Slask team.

Jodlowiec is quite close to the first team and must prove that he’s better than other centre backs who were picked this time. Polczak has a similar potential in my opinion. Pazdan is one of Leo’s favourites and must show to him that he’s made some progress since last year. Rzezniczak is already an experienced player and should shine in those games. Danch is currently out of form, but I hope we’ll be able to spot the potential he showed just a year ago. The remaining defenders I don’t think we’ll ever see in a serious national team game, they just lack the skills.

Marcin Komorowski scores a goal of his life

Midfielders:

Majewski: after a great first half of the year he failed to impress regularly after moving to Warsaw. Maybe it’s the big city factor; Majewski states openly that he’s not a workaholic, doesn’t learn languages, doesn’t like to get up early or listen to the coach. He also parties from time to time, as we’ve seen in Lviv. This time, it’s Majewski that will have to be the leader of the team, take the responsibility, he’s one of the most experienced players there. I expect he’ll rise above the rest, otherwise I’ll be disappointed.
Pawlowski: one of Ekstraklasa’s best wingers last season plays in Second Division this term due to Zaglebie Lubin being relegated. He does great of course, but I can’t help feeling that it’s going to be a lost season for him. What can he learn playing at this level? I’m eager to see if he’s made any progress.
Krychowiak: an author of the famous free kick against Brazil in a Youth World Cup game; central defensive midfielder who plays for Bordeaux’s reserves. I heard one interesting thing in today’s Café Futbol (Mateusz Borek’s programme) regarding Krychowiak. It turns out that that he’d probably already be a first team member at Bordeaux if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s constantly being called up to numerous Polish youth teams. As a result, he’s overworked and is injured throughout large parts of the season. It’s time for a serious conversation between the club and the country. I haven’t seen Krychowiak for more than a year now so I’m very curious about his current abilities.
Tyrala: a dynamic winger who chose to represent Poland ahead of Germany. Would he do the same if he played regularly for Dortmund’s first team? We’ll never know as he plays in the 4th division reserves (he may move on a loan deal to Arka at the beginning of the year). I’ve never seen him live so I can’t wait for him to be tested by Leo and made Poland bound.
Gancarczyk: one of the best newcomers in the Polish league this season, considered the fastest winger in Poland. He looks fine to me, but keep in mind that sometimes the first season is the easiest one as the defenders are still to learn your tricks.
Tralka: a central midfielder, one of the most regular performers for Lechia Gdansk. Already released by clubs like Pogon Szczecin or Widzew Lodz. Leo must see something special in him.
Malkowski: a left winger who does an ok job for Odra Wodzislaw. Reason for a call up? It must be that sought after left foot.

I expect a lot from Majewski, he should be a wizard-like leader in this friendly. Pawlowski lost the last half a year and landed behind Slawomir Peszko in the national team pecking order. Tyrala is an enigma; Krychowiak is the one for the future (keep Euro 2012 in mind). Gancarczyk may as well be a future A team regular or a one-season wonder. I don’t have high hopes for Tralka and Malkowski.

Grzegorz Krychowiak and his free kick against Brazil

Attackers:

Zahorski: what the hell happened to Tomasz Zahorski? Great first half of the year in the league, participation in Euros, scoring a hat trick in an unofficial game against an Israeli club; he looked like a star in the making. This season’s form is just as shocking as Gornik’s performances; only one goal so far. Is there still hope for Zahorski? Leo is giving him a helping hand.
Boguski: he may not be a leader at Wisla, but he’s an important first team member. Leo may like his versatility; he can play on three different positions. After a poor start, he showed some promise against Ireland; now it’s time to confirm it against Serbia.
Janczyk: a.k.a. the most talented Polish player for the last two years and counting. Janczyk spent last year on the bench so it’s hard to say whether he developed as a player or not. That’s why I will be more than glad to see him during this friendly. It may also help him obtaining a loan move out of Moscow.
Nowak: if it wasn’t for constant health problems he would’ve already played for a top Polish club. Maciej Skorza says that he’s the only accessible Polish striker that would strengthen Wisla’s attack. Can play as a striker and a winger; very fast and agile. I hope he won’t injure himself before the game.

I hope I managed introduce the newest Bialo Czerwoni to you. Were there any absences? I wanted to see Piotr Brozek in this game, especially that he’s a much better player than Magiera or Komorowski. A cap for Michal Janota also wouldn’t hurt, especially when Leo decided to pick Grzegorz Krychowiak. Do you have high hopes for any of those players?