The Confession Of Radoslaw Matusiak.

Finally, Radoslaw Matusiak ended his silence and decided to talk to the press again. What is his view on the last two years of a catastrophe that was his career? Does he still love the spotlight or does he want to live in the shadows for a while? What has he been doing for the last half a year? And most importantly, is he still a wine collector? Check it out.

Quick recap: Two years ago Radoslaw Matusiak was one of the biggest stars of the Polish Ekstraklasa and one of the most influential players in the national team. He became a national hero after scoring a decisive goal against Belgium in November 2006. Being quite handsome and having an “outgoing” personality he quickly became journalists’ favourite. He was one of the first Polish footballers who talked freely (and quite interestingly) about his private life. After a transfer to Palermo in winter 2007 his career has begun to fall apart. He didn’t manage to play regularly in Italy and then failed to establish a strong position both at Heerenveen and Wisla Krakow. To top all that he was eliminated from the Polish Euro squad at the last cut. After that Radomatu’s father announced that his son had retired from professional football. Matusiak stopped talking to press and disappeared from sport columns in Poland. After deciding to come back he tries to revive his career at the Second Division Widzew Lodz.

Matusiak on:

Palermo: I have myself to blame. A transfer to Palermo, especially during the winter break, was a big mistake. It was foolish. Before that, they called every day, promised a lot of things. They convinced me, they were fourth in the league and looking forward to play in the Champions League (…) The decision to move abroad itself wasn’t bad, but the fact I chose Italy was. I was 25 and I wanted to taste the Western football. Maybe I left Italy too early, but back then I didn’t want to sit on the bench or in the stands. I had the ambition to become the leader of the national team.

Other offers from winter 2007: The telephones were ringing constantly. Everyday I had an offer from a different club. Two were really serious; one from Aston Villa, who offered me twice as much as Palermo, and one from Real Sociedad, who were fighting against relegation and really needed a striker. Everything was settled, but their central midfielder got injured and they didn’t have enough money to buy two players.

Serie A: It’s a tough league, especially for strikers. Everything is based on previously established patterns, everything is based on tactics. Moreover, the players that I competed against were in full season, whereas I’d just come back from vacation.

Heerenveen: It was different in Holland; it wasn’t my fault that I didn’t play. I have two of my games for them recorded; in both of them I came in in the second half and the coach was extremely satisfied with my performance, he said that he’d rarely seen a player that would improve the team so much coming off the bench. I don’t know why I wasn’t given more chances. They didn’t count on me, then I got injured and that’s how my Dutch adventure ended.

A transfer to GKS Belchatow in winter 2008: They were gradually reducing their offer (…) At one point I decided that it doesn’t make sense and wanted to play for free as long as they would officially announce it.

Why he didn’t play regularly for Wisla: Brozek had the same status in the team that I had in Belchatow before moving to Palermo. He couldn’t have been benched. We tried to play two upfront, I was to drop back, but it just wasn’t for me. Maybe if I was in top form I would manage, but otherwise…

National team: Wherever I was playing I always brought something positive to the national team (…) After the test match before Euros, against Estonia, the journalists wrote that I was the best in the team behind Gargula. We lost against the USA 0-3, but I was the only player that was singled out for praise.

What he felt when he learnt that he wouldn’t play in Euros: I wasn’t playing regularly at the club level, but I’ve never failed in the national team (…) I scored seven goals in fifteen appearances, show me another player with an efficiency like that (…) Beenhakker didn’t pick me because he knew that he would have to face the journalists; he knew that he wouldn’t be able to work in peace, that he would be constantly attacked and asked why he picked me when I don’t play regularly for my club.

Popularity: I was too open to journalists. I was given publicity without ever wanting it. Media did it and then they pulled me down. I went too far, I was too popular, somebody didn’t like it, I felt down (…) I also have myself to blame. When I was a child I dreamt about being a footballer, posing for photos and giving autographes. Nobody will tell you that it’s unpleasant. But at one point the popularity became a hassle. Now I prefer not to be recognized.

Casinos: What I do with my money is my own business. I don’t go out at night, I don’t drink, nobody should care about it. I haven’t been to Krakow’s casino more often than other Wisla players.

Widzew Lodz: I know a lot of people here, they all guarantee me that they can help me. I also can help Widzew to advance to Ekstraklasa.

Euro 2012: There are still three years to go, of course I want to play in every big tournament, but now I’m mainly interested in Widzew’s promotion. And I don’t want to talk about wine or stock exchange…

Radoslaw Matusiak asked Leo if he can still be considered a candidate for the national team if he chooses Widzew; Leo said “yes”. By most of the fans Matusiak is considered a one season wonder and few people expect him to come back to the national team in the near future. Now Radomatu has one of the last chances to prove them wrong, one of the last chances to rebuilt his career. He won’t find a better place to do that than Widzew. I always thought Radomatu had big potential, but he proved me wrong time and time again. Now it’s his last chance to prove me right.

Do you still consider Matusiak a player worth watching or is he just an another wasted talent? Should we still waste our time on him?