The Leo Effect. Poland-Estonia 2-0.

February 28th, 2008 | by: tomasz | Comments(5)

It was by no means a beautiful game. But it was a confident performance by players who sense that the manager has full faith in them. Polish national team composed of local lads defeated Estonia 2-0.
One of the most popular Leo Beenhakker’s saying is that Poles are just as talented as any other nation in the world. That’s why he is scouting the Polish league for any sign of potential. He calls-up virtually unknown players and tries to lift them to the international level. They try to repay him by playing better than anyone has ever expected them to. The whole formula worked perfectly once again on wednesday evening. Here’s how the lineup looked like:

Przyrowski- Pawelec (63 Kuklis), Kokoszka, Wawrzyniak, Lisowski- Grosicki (63 Golos), Pazdan, Golinski, Zienczuk (63 Zahorski)- Gargula (63 Majewski)- Matusiak

The squad against Estonia was a mixture of players who are fighting for their Euro ticket and those who have the potential to play the leading roles in the future. The first half was rather average, we couldn’t organize our play in the midfield and gave away the ball far too cheaply. Centre midfieders (Golinski, Pazdan) were absent and Gargula had to come back for the ball and organize the game himself (not always successfully, but he was the only one trying to push forward). I also expected more of Zienczuk, one of the most experienced players. There were a couple of unnecessary mistakes at the back by Kokoszka and Wawrzyniak, resulting from clumsy control of the ball and lack of communication. In the 38th minute Matusiak scored the first one after a precise free kick by his best pal Gargula. For me, it was the first 20 minutes of the second half that revealed the full potential of the players. We controlled the play and had number of chances (Zienczuk, Matusiak). The pace of the game was also a lot higher; we were exchanging passes with ease. In the 63rd minute Leo made four changes, giving all the substitutes a chance to show off. It was best used by Tomasz Zahorski, who scored his debut goal in the 73rd after Estonians failed to clear the ball from their penalty area. In the 80th minute Matusiak had to come off because of injury and we defended the result till the final whistle. Here is my individual rating for each of the players (1-10):

Sebastian Przyrowski (GK) 5- didn’t have much to do, only easy shots to save. Once spit out the ball creating the best chance for Estonia in the game
Mariusz Pawelec (DR) 5- ambitious but a bit raw. Couldn’t form a partnership with Grosicki in the first half
Jakub Wawrzyniak (DC) 5- some unnecessary mistakes in the first half, more confident in the second
Adam Kokoszka (DC) 4,5- lost the ball a couple of times in his own half, Germans would’ve scored after that
Tomasz Lisowski (DL) 6- knows when to go forward, can cross the ball, one to keep an eye on
Kamil Grosicki (MR) 6,5- very dynamic with natural dribbling talent, created two great opportunities for Matusiak
Michal Pazdan (MC) 5,5- absent in the first half, resurected in the second. Elegant on the ball, but has to learn to play under pressure
Michal Golinski (MC) 4,5- I’m dissapointed. As an experienced player he should have been a leader. Couldn’t organize the game in the midfield, needed the help of Gargula
Marek Zienczuk (ML) 5- another older player who didn’t leave his mark on the game.
Lukasz Gargula (AMC) 6,5- good to see Gargula back in shape. Great assist from the free kick, good partnership with Matusiak, could hold the ball when the team needed it. What’s best, there is still room for improvement.
Radoslaw Matusiak (FC) 7- scored, looks very lively on the field, doesn’t wait for the ball, made a lot of runs yesterday. Still not fully fit, and, therefore, not as fast as he used to be.
Substitutes:

Piotr Kuklis (MC) 5- good skills on the ball. One to watch.
Radoslaw Majewski (MC) 5,5- technically skilled, if nothing goes wrong a future leader of Polish national team
Konrad Golos (MR) 4,5- didn’t look confident, has just returned from an injury
Tomasz Zahorski (ML/FC) 6- important goal for the new, better (hopefully) Rasiak. Looks determined to book the tickets for Austria.

Uff. And here is my opinion on which players are, at this point, likely to feature in the Euro squad:
Welcome Swissaustria: Gargula, Matusiak
Don’t book summer holidays yet: Lisowski, Kokoszka, Wawrzyniak, Grosicki, Zahorski, Majewski
Euro in front of the TV: Przyrowski, Golinski, Zienczuk, Golos
Ones for the future: Pawelec, Pazdan, Kuklis
And here are the highlights from the game.