Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow)- not in the squad against Dundee Utd., injury
Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal London)- not in the squad against Sunderland, injury
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd)- on the bench against Everton
Sebastian Przyrowski (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Legia, note 5
Wojciech Szczesny (Brentford)- 90 minutes against Walsall
Lukasz Zaluska (Celtic Glasgow)- 90 minutes against Dundee Utd.

Defenders:

Blazej Augustyn (Catania)- not in the squad against Palermo
Piotr Brozek (Wisla Krakow)- 73 minutes against Cracovia, note 4
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre)- on the bench against Monaco
Seweryn Gancarczyk (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Ruch, note 5
Kamil Glik (Pisat Gliwice)- 90 minutes against Arka, note 5
Arkadiusz Glowacki (Wisla Krakow)- not in the squad against Cracovia, injury
Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucharest)- 90 minutes against Unirea
Tomasz Jodlowiec (Polonia Warsaw)- not in the squad against Legia, injury
Adam Kokoszka (Empoli F.C.)- 42 minutes against Padova
Marcin Kowalczyk (Dinamo Moscow)- 90 minutes against Lokomotiw
Jakub Rzezniczak (Legia Warsaw)- not in the squad against Polonia Warsaw
Maciej Sadlok (Ruch Chorzow)- 90 minutes against Lech, note 5
Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus)- 90 minutes and a goal against Ioannina

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Ruch, note 6
Rafal Boguski (Wisla Krakow)- 17 minutes against Cracovia, note 5
Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)- 88 minutes against Mainz
Janusz Gancarczyk (Slask Wroclaw)- 61 minutes against Odra, note 5
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens)- on the bench against Kavala
Maciej Iwanski (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Polonia Warsaw, note 4
Kamil Kosowski (APOEL Nicosia)- didn’t play against Anorthosis
Jacek Krzynowek (Hannover 96)- on the bench against Schalke
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk)- didn’t play against Shakhtar
Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Krakow)- 56 minutes against Cracovia, note 4
Radoslaw Majewski (Nottingham Forest)- on the bench against Middlesbrough
Patryk Malecki (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 5
Rafal Murawski (Rubin Kazan)- on the bench against Zenit
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille)- 18 minutes against Montpellier
Sławomir Peszko (Lech Poznan)-90 minutes and an assist against Ruch, note 7
Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha Berlin)- 90 minutes against Stuttgart
Maciej Rybus (Legia Warsaw)- not in the squad against Polonia Warsaw
Bartosz Salamon (Brescia)- not in the squad against Lecce
Jakub Wilk (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes and an assist against Ruch, note 6

Attackers:

Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 4
Kamil Grosicki (Jagiellonia)- 90 minutes against Polonia Bytom, note 6
Dawid Janczyk (Lokeren)- 45 minutes against Westerlo
Michal Janota (Excelsior Rotterdam)- 75 minutes against De Graafschap
Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre)- 89 minutes against Monaco
Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes and two goals against Ruch, note 7
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow)- 27 minutes and a goal against Lechia, note 7
Grzegorz Rasiak (Reading)- 22 minutes and a goal against Blackpool
Ebi Smolarek (no club)- season not yet started
Artur Wichniarek (Hertha Berlin)- 90 minutes against Stuttgart
Maciej Zurawski (Omonia Nicosia)- 90 minutes and a goal against Aris

Summary: Maciej Skorza’s Wisla is in crisis. They’ve already managed to lose three most important games of the season: the ones against Legia and Lech and the derby encounter against Cracovia. Wisla started the season in a spectacular fashion, but now they’re only three points ahead of Legia and Ruch. What was supposed to be an easy title defense for the Biala Gwiazda now seems to be a difficult task. Pawel Brozek and Patryk Malecki both lost the flair they presented at the beginning of the season. Broziu has played the last couple of games on painkillers which proved to be a bad idea as he’s failed to pose any sort of threat in the derby game against Cracovia. Patryk Malecki is not yet ready to become a true leader of Wisla’s offensive line, he needs the support from Brozek to perform well. Without the last season’s golden boot winner the reigning champions look rather poor upfront. Rafal Boguski has just returned from an injury, but isn’t prepared to play more than a quarter a game. Lukasz Gargula was supposed to be this missing piece that would take Wisla to a higher level, but he’s still suffering from an injury he picked up at the beginning of 2009. He even played in two or three games throughout the last month, but his knee proved too week and we won’t see him earlier than in 2010. After a good start the Slovenian Andraz Kirm suddenly stopped to shine making Wisla a team without wings. It’s not even worthwhile to waste time and space on Wojciech Lobodzinski’s form, a player who is now probably as far from the national team as I am. I’m sure than now Maciej Skorza really wishes he was wiser in the summer and kept Andrzej Niedzielan in Krakow. The player who was fired by Wisla during the last transfer window is now Ruch Chorzow’s best scorer and one of the most influential players in the whole Ekstraklasa. It’s really hard to understand why he wasn’t given a single start by Skorza last season. Add injuries of Arkadiusz Glowacki and Radoslaw Sobolewski and Wisla is not the powerhouse they seemed to be only a month ago. The truth is that we don’t currently have a team in the Ekstraklasa that would rise above the average at best level of our local league. I just can’t wait for the next year’s Champions League qualifiers.

Lech Poznan started playing a bit better. A lot of this is due to Robert Lewandowski’s fine performances. He scored a brace in the game against Ruch Chorzow, the second goal especially was a one that you rarely see on Polish pitches as it was a finish typical for the Europe’s top leagues. Lewy together with Slawomir Peszko is pushing Lech forward in the table and makes the league more pleasant to watch. If Kolejorz manages to keep the 5-6 points distance behind Wisla they will surely try to strengthen the team in winter (Jodlowiec and Glik are on their wish list). Lewandowski should stay in Poland for the next half a year, but expect him to put in a transfer request after that. I think that summer is going to be a perfect time for him to move; I can see the breaking of Ekstraklasa’s transfer fee record on the cards. Apart from Lewy, another player that attracts a lot of interest is Maciej Sadlok. All the Polish top clubs are interested in him, but the player’s price tag has risen significantly after his fine performance against Canada and praise from coach Franz Smuda. As far as I’m concerned, it would be best for the player to spend a little more time at Ruch where he has a place in the starting lineup. I’m afraid that Sadlok, talented as he is, may not yet be ready to deal with the pressure at a big club. He looked a bit overmotivated in the game against Lech.

You probably already know that Wojciech Szczesny moved to Division 1’s Brentford on a month’s loan. The local manager guaranteed him seven first team starts which should be a good experience for our goalkeeping starlet. Grzegorz Krychowiak, on the other hand, moved to Division 3’s Stade Reims in France (thanks for the news Zaraza). I find it a bit surprising that he failed to find an employer in a higher division. I recently read an interview with Leo Beenhakker where our former coach states that he considers Krychowiak one of the most talented players from our U 21 team. Supposedly, he was the only player picked up for praise by the Dutch youngsters after they trashed our hopefuls in the recent U 21 game. Come on Leo, if he’s so good then bring him to Feyenoord, that would be the best thing you would have done for Polish football in the last year.

Ireneusz Jelen is at the top of French Ligue 1 with Auxerre, though he failed to impress in their last game. Still better than Dariusz Dudka, who regularly spends games on the bench if all the best Auxerre players are available. Rafal Murawski became the Russian champion with Rubin Kazan, his first ever title. Hopefully next season his achievements at Rubin will be more praise worthy and he won’t only be a champion on paper. Muras is crucial in Smuda’s tactics, we should all pray for him to do well in Russia. Artur Wichniarek is still to score in the Bundesliga whereas Ebi Smolarek still hasn’t found himself a new club. I won’t even write about the clubs that are supposedly interested in him; I’ll believe in his return when I see him signing the contract.

Highlights: Michal Zewlakow scores, unbelievable

Two goals by Robert Lewandowski in the game against Ruch

Maciej Zurawski scores only the first! goal of the season

Anyone found Grzegorz Rasiak’s goal?

Poland-Canada 1:0 (Rybus 18′)
Poland:Kuszczak (46′ Szczesny) – Rzezniczak (65′ Kowalczyk), Zewlakow, Sadlok, S.Gancarczyk – Peszko, Dudka, Obraniak (88′ Malecki), Kosowski (69′ J.Gancarczyk) – Rybus (77′ Majewski) – Lewandowski

Franz Smuda’s first win as the national team coach was watched by almost 10 000 people, half of the capacity of the stadium. It shows that the fans’ boycott of the Bialo Czerwoni stopped, but still the team has to perform better in order to attract larger crowds. And Smuda’s players really tried hard to win the fans back, though not always to good effect. We started with what I would call a 4-1-4-1 formation. Contrary to my yesterday’s predictions, we had a typical defensive midfielder on the field (Dariusz Dudka). He was the one who was supposed cover for the offensive minded players and did a much better job than on Saturday against Romania. Two other central midfielders, Obraniak and Rybus, didn’t stick to one particular area on the field. We could see Ludo both taking the ball directly from our defenders and near the Canadian penalty area looking for that decisive pass. Rybus played a little more offensively, but also dropped back quite often and made himself available for passes in the centre. It’s a shame that our wings weren’t impressive enough this time around. Both Kosowski and Peszko had only an average game, the former reminding the fans about some of the drawbacks of his style of play (mainly messy crosses). The Lech player tried hard to score from distance, but as a winger he should go past the defenders more often. There also wasn’t much aid from the full backs; when Kuba Rzezniczak ran forward he didn’t know exactly what to after receiving the ball. Seweryn Gancarczyk was nowhere to be seen on the opponents half in the first 45 minutes. He was a bit better in the second half, but, to be honest, he failed to impress in all the four national team games he played in the second part of the year. The match against Canada was an another scoreless performance from Robert Lewandowski. This time the young Lewy really should have put the ball in the net, he failed to convert two great opportunities (once he opted for diving in the box rather than shooting). Lewandowski fought really hard on the whole pitch and one can’t deny his teamwork ethics, but his goal drought in the national team (among with other strikers like Jelen or Brozek) really starts to be problematic. Finally, some words have to be devoted to our central defenders. It’s now clear for me that Michal Zewlakow will become the player with the highest number of caps to his name in the history of Polish football. Even if he’s not to play in Euro 2012 he’ll surely take part at least in the 2010 friendlies as Smuda wants to use his experience to build the defensive line of his team. Maciej Sadlok may turn out to be a player who’ll become a solid part of our backline. I was really pleasantly surprised by his performance, especially the distribution of the ball and decision making. Smuda will surely keep an eye on him.

All in all, we controlled the game throughout at least 60 minutes. Canadians also had their chances, but they weren’t clear ones so Kuszczak and Szczesny didn’t sweat much. There were moments of a really high pressing when 4-5 players took part in winning back the ball. There were also moments when the space between the defensive and offensive lines was too large. I feel that we’d be severely punished for it if we played against a quality opponent. Come the end of 2009 Franz Smuda is going to finish his work at Zaglebie Lubin and concentrate solely on the national team. He’s got enough material for analysis to keep him awake during the winter. Next in national team’s plans is the King’s Cup in Thailand where we’ll play against the hosts, North Korea and Denmark. As it’s not an official international date only Poland based players will take part in the escapade. We’ll have to wait a bit longer for another serious match.

Player notes (0-10):

Tomasz Kuszczak 5: didn’t make any major errors, but had problems with kicking the ball upfield and stuck to the goalline too much on a couple of occasions.
Jakub Rzezniczak 4: not much tested in defense, ran forward a lot in the first half, but didn’t really have an idea about what to do with the ball. His single shot crossed the sideline.
Michal Zewlakow 6: another solid performance. Zewlak is slowly making himself a crucial player of the new team.
Maciej Sadlok 6: good anticipation and distribution of the ball. Not scared to run forward with the ball when the Canadians left too much space. A material to work on.
Seweryn Gancarczyk 4: scared to leave our half in the first 45 minutes, did it to little effect after the break. He’s got the ability to cross the ball well, but sometimes doesn’t know how to make himself available for the ball in attacking position.
Slawomir Peszko 5: there is still something missing in Peszko’s game as far as the national team is concerned. Maybe he’s just too chaotic for this level. Would’ve received a lower note if it wasn’t for one great shot and an opening pass for Lewy.
Dariusz Dudka 5: much better than against Romania, took part in pressing and distributed the ball wisely. Had four good shots on goal, more than I’ve seen him perform in all his previous national team games.
Ludovic Obraniak 6: Smuda may have just found Ludo’s place on the pitch. He feels very well in the middle in the free role than our coach prescribes him. Best set pieces in the team.
Kamil Kosowski 5: quite active, but not accurate enough to pose much threat. He had an assist though.
Maciej Rybus 6: a great situational shot for the goal. He’s one of the most skillful youngsters in Polish football, confident of his skills on the ball. Tried to always be near the play and available for passes. Has both the ability to run at defenders and keep possession under pressure. Will get his chances in the future.
Robert Lewandowski 5: the closer the end of the game the more desperate he was for the goal. Worked hard for the team, but must start scoring if he wants to keep his place in the starting lineup.
Wojciech Szczesny 5: an extremely confident performance for a 19 year old youngster. Made his father Maciej smile.
Marcin Kowalczyk 5: he’s a stronger and more confident player than Rzezniczak.
Janusz Gancarczyk: failed to show anything worth remembering. Had a couple of opportunities to use his speed, but went for safer options. His presence in the team is still a big question mark for me.
Radoslaw Majewski: started quite nervously, but ended the game with an opening pass for Patryk Malecki. A useful player as he can always surprise the opponents.
Patryk Malecki: had a great one on one opportunity, did everything well, but hit the post. Unlucky.

Conclusions:

- it seems that players are slowly understanding Smuda’s philosophy, at least parts of it. Franz established a good connection with the players.
- Ludovic Obraniak is becoming the leader of the team, at least on the pitch (can’t imagine him motivating the teammates in the dressing room).
- Maciej Rybus and Maciej Sadlok seem to be the most talented youngsters of the bunch recently tested.
- Dariusz Dudka had an ok game, but I’m still waiting to see how Smuda will utilize Rafal Murawski in the team.
- Roger Guerreiro is really low in Smuda’s ranking, he spent the whole of yesterday’s game on the bench.
- it looks as if Smuda wants to make mentors for other players out of Michal Zewlakow and Kamil Kosowski. He’s quiet about Mariusz Lewandowski’s return though.
- the inclusion of Sebastian Boenisch seems like a better idea with each passing game. I don’t want to write off Piotr Brozek or Seweryn Gancarczyk, but I’d rather see them as backup options.
- we need strikers who score goals. Looking at our main trio stats in the national team (Jelen 24/4, Brozek 20/3, R.Lewandowski 16/3) it’s hard to remain optimistic. We need someone of Frankowski or Smolarek regularity in the team. By the way, has anyone seen Ebi?

Highlights: Maciej Rybus’ goal

1 from parampampam on Vimeo.

Full highlights here.

The encounter with Canada can’t exactly be called an another episode in a legendary rivalry. As a result, it’s not really drawing much attention, not only in the whole of Poland, but even in the city of Bydgoszcz where the match is going to take place. Only 5 000 tickets have been sold so far; a proof that the team has very little public support at the moment. To change that we should defeat Canada by the largest margin possible. Smuda encourages players to treat each game like the most important one in their lives. The players really need to follow this approach if they want to play in front of sold out crowds next year. Who’s going to fight for the better future of the national team today?

Tomasz Kuszczak will start in goal for the second time in a row. The ManUtd keeper is a clear number one in Smuda’s books, at least until the return of the currently injured Lukasz Fabianski. Today will be a great day for Wojciech Szczesny (pictured) who is going to replace Kuszczak after the break. It’s a really rare occasion that a 19 year old fourth choice keeper at his club gets to debut in the national team. However, the young Szczesny is considered an enormous talent by Smuda, who wants to give him his first cap as soon as possible. Szczesny is making no secret of the fact that he wants to seriously compete for the spot in the 2012 squad. Three changes will be made in the defensive line. After a very unimpressive performance on Saturday Adam Kokoszka is going to be relegated to the bench. 20 year old Maciej Sadlok will have an opportunity today to overtake the Empoli defender in Smuda’s rankings. He can’t really do much worse than Kokos, but if he does there is always 21 year old Kamil Glik waiting to make a good impression on our new coach. Both youngsters are to learn the moves from Michal Zewlakow, a player without whom it’s really hard to imagine our defensive line at the moment. Smuda will also replace both full backs for the game against Canada. Not because Piotr Brozek and Marcin Kowalczyk were so horrible, but because he wants to form his opinion on all the four wing backs that were called up. Expect Jakub Rzezniczak and Seweryn Gancarczyk to start today.

Kamil Kosowski and Ludovic Obraniak, our best players in the game against Romania, retain their places in the starting lineup. This time around, however, Ludo won’t have the help of a defensive midfielder in the middle (though Dariusz Dudka wasn’t that much of a help last time around). It’s going to be the first time since I can’t remember when that we’re going to play without a typical defensive midfielder. Radoslaw Majewski is being prepared to perform this role, something that none of the fans would even dream of half a year ago. Smuda claims that Maja has really toughen up in England and that he may be a perfect replacement for Rafal Murawski in the future (Muras is Smuda’s first choice for the DM spot). Smuda also complemented the Nottingham Forest player on his positive approach in the training sessions; apparently Majewski is eager to do just anything to be a part of Smuda’s plans. Franz refrained from criticizing Slawomir Peszko for the last game, maybe he knew that he’d have to count on the Lech midfielder in the game against Canada. Since Blaszczu is injured, Peszko has a chance to silence the critique that he received for his inability to convert the goalscoring opportunities on Saturday. Finally, in all probability it’s going to be Maciej Rybus, not Patryk Malecki, that will partner Robert Lewandowski upfront. The Legia youngster just made a better impression on Smuda against Romania. Personally, I don’t think there is much difference between the players, I hope to see them both getting 45 minutes playing time.

“2010 is for selection, 2011 for competing against strong opponents and 2012 for perfecting the strategy” said Franz Smuda in a recent interview. If that’s so, then we’re in for a phase where results won’t be the most important outcome of the games. Expect to see many new faces in the upcoming friendlies, majority of whom will probably only get Smuda’s “first and last chance”.

Poland-Romania 0:1 (Niculae 59’)
Poland: Kuszczak- Kowalczyk, Kokoszka, Zewlakow, Piotr Brozek- Blaszczykowski (80’ Peszko), Dudka, Obraniak (80’ Roger), Kosowski (75’ Rybus)- R. Lewandowski (70’ Malecki), Jelen

Smuda decided to use the classic 4-4-2 formation. Moreover, he chose an offensive variant of the latter, with only one defensive midfielder in the centre. This showed the more adventurous approach that our new coach has in comparison to his predecessors. We were a bit faster when it came to exchanging passes near the opponents’ box, but it wasn’t a huge change in comparison to our latest performances. We also tried to employ the famous Smuda pressing, but the skillful Romanians usually didn’t have problems to surpass it. Dariusz Dudka was responsible for stopping the Romanian attacks whereas Ludovic Obraniak’s task was to organize our offensive game. Unfortunately, Dudka proved to be one of the weakest links in our team. We very often had problems with delivering the ball to the strikers or wingers since the Auxerre midfielder\defender was pressurized by Romanians each time he had the ball at his feet. Dudka had a lot of his passes intercepted and showed that he has enormous problems when he has to play the ball forward under pressure. Luckily, when the ball finally landed at Obraniak’s feet our game looked a lot better. Ludo played a lot of nice balls towards Kamil Kosowki and played diagonal passes towards Irek Jelen each time he had the opportunity to do so. This was Obraniak’s first game as a central midfielder for Poland and from what I’ve seen he can make the position his for the next couple of years. Kosowski was much more effective from the two wingers, he wasn’t afraid to dribble and accurately cross the ball into the penalty area. Kuba Blaszczykowski had another unimpressive game for the Bialo Czerwoni; he didn’t run at defenders and made wrong decisions in the box (dribbled when had to shoot). Both strikers tried to be very active, made themselves available for passes throughout the whole game, but failed in the decisive moments. They didn’t have any clear chances and the shots they took didn’t cause any problems for the Romanian keeper. Slawomir Peszko managed to waste our two best opportunities as he showed a complete lack of composure when being one on one with the keeper. The defense was a bit shaky, mainly due to Adam Kokoszka’s lack of precision and poor technical skills. On the other hand, it’s really hard to judge our players’ skills or the team’s tactical gameplan as the bad condition of the pitch didn’t enable the players to show their best. The ball jumped up and down on the sand (yes sand!) which made a fast, one-two play almost impossible. I don’t know why the FA, knowing about the pitch, didn’t choose a different venue for the game (Lubin for example), but Smuda said afterwards that next time he’s going to make the decision about where to play.

We’ll have to wait a bit longer for Smuda’s miracles (“Franek Smuda czyni cuda” as the fans chant). I think we need to give some more time to the players and the coach, it’s definitely too early to write the team off. Smuda has two years to find all the missing pieces and make the team competitive again. I very much like his decision about placing Obraniak in the middle or bringing back Kosowski, who was far more effective on the left wing than Krzynowek or Obraniak were in the last couple of months. I have a feeling that, maybe apart from Mariusz Lewandowski, Smuda really chooses the best Polish players. We just have to wait to see them playing as a team.

Player notes (0-10):

Tomasz Kuszczak 5: a very good game if it wasn’t for a horrible mistake in the dying minutes (let the ball go through under his belly). At least one great save, no chance to stop the goal.
Marcin Kowalczyk 5: an average game, played too defensively in the first half. Showed signs of promise when he started to go forward after we lost the goal.
Adam Kokoszka 3: extremely shaky, didn’t show enough progress to seriously consider him a starter at the moment. One deadly mistake that almost lead to conceding a goal, problems with first touch.
Michal Zewlakow 5: much better than Kokoszka. He remains our best central defender whether we like it or not. It’s only a question of how long will Smuda want to use his experience. 92nd cap with a view to break the all time record (Grzegorz Lato’s 100 caps).
Piort Brozek 5: I very much liked his performance in the first half when he took part in almost all offensive plays on the left wing. Good cooperation with Kosowski. Went missing in the second half though.
Jakub Blaszczykowski 4: lost the ability to go past the defenders, a one that made him such a threat a year ago. As a result, he’s not as confident as he used to be and makes wrong decisions.
Dariusz Dudka 3: too slow on the ball, a lot of turnovers; Romanians knew exactly which player to pressurize the most. Needs to improve, otherwise he’ll be relegated to the bench.
Ludovic Obraniak 6: quite a good game by Ludo, especially in the first half. Proved that his place is in the middle of the pitch where he can play a more important role in our tactics. Pushed our game forward with nice opening passes. Spent too much time on the ball in the second half and had poor shots throughout the game.
Kamil Kosowski 6: a surprisingly good return to the national team from Kosiarka. Threatening each time he had the ball on the wing in the first half. Should remain in the team for the time being, but his usefulness in 2012 is still a big question mark.
Ireneusz Jelen 5: ran a lot, was available for passes, had a couple of shots, but didn’t do what was expected of him, that is score a goal. Smuda wants him to be the main scorer of the team, to do that he must start converting his chances.
Robert Lewandowski 5: just as Jelen, very active but without a goal to his name. The best Polish striker when it comes to playing with the back towards the goal.
Patryk Malecki: looked quite lively, but didn’t change the course of the game.
Maciej Rybus: two nice dribbles on the wing followed by poor crosses.
Slawomir Peszko: has great speed and poor composure in front of the goal. Should have been the hero of the game.
Roger Guerreiro: will have to play better to win back his place in the starting eleven.
Maciej Sadlok: first cap for the Ruch Chorzow young defender.

Conclusions:

- the building of a new team will be a long process. Smuda’s magic isn’t enough for the type of crisis we’re in.
- it makes absolutely no sense to play in such conditions. We have to wait for the next games to be able to judge Smuda’s strategy.
- Ludovic Obraniak’s place is in the middle.
- Dariusz Dudka’s place isn’t in the starting lineup. Mariusz Lewandowski can still be useful to this team.
- Kamil Kosowski is still a good enough player to play in the national team.
- Marcin Kowalczyk and Piotr Brozek are both promising players and deserve a close look in the next friendlies.
- Adam Kokoszka doesn’t seem to me a better player than he was before moving to Empoli.
- we still need Michal Zewlakow’s experience, the younger players are light years behind him.
- Slawomir Peszko runs faster than he thinks.

Maybe we weren’t lucky enough on Saturday, but we also weren’t good enough to make any complaints. Another group of players (Szczesny, Glik, Majewski, Rzezniczak etc.) will get their chance against Canada and should at least score a goal to have something to build on next year. We’re at the beginning of a very long process and games like the one against Romania won’t necessarily be few and far between. The task is to limit those type of performances to minimum in 2012.

Ps: Franz Smuda claims that Sebastian Boenisch gave him his word that he’ll represent Poland. If that’s so he should be available for the next year’s friendlies.

Ps 2: Kuba Blaszczykowski suffered a minor injury on Saturday and won’t be available for the game against Canada.

You’ll find the highlights here.

Smuda makes no secret of his starting lineup. The same eleven was chosen in each of the training sessions to play as the starters. Our squad tomorrow will look as follows: Kuszczak- Kowalczyk, Zewlakow, Kokoszka, Piotr Brozek- Blaszczykowski, Dudka, Obraniak, Kosowski- Jelen, R.Lewandowski or Kuszczak- Kowalczyk, Zewlakow, Kokoszka, Piotr Brozek- Kosowski, Dudka, Obraniak- Blaszczykowski, R.Lewandowski- Jelen. The names are the same but the formation is different. It still remains unknown whether Smuda chooses the classic 4-4-2 tactics or the Christmas tree 4-3-2-1 he successfully used at Lech last season. You may find it difficult to imagine Kosowski playing more in the centre or R.Lewandowski playing on the wing, but remember that in Lech’s games against Udinese the natural winger Jakub Wilk played in the middle and Lewy attacked from the left wing leaving Hernan Rengifo as the sole striker. In my opinion, Smuda may try both formations as he’s got two friendlies at his disposal. In both cases the approach looks very offensive as we’ve got only one defensive midfielder in the squad (Dudka) and most of the squad consists of creative offensive players (even the left back Piotr Brozek is said to be better in offense than defense, he started his career as a striker alongside his twin brother Pawel). Smuda’s main tactical idea is to quickly exchange short passes and gain ground in this manner. We are also supposed to employ pressing on the whole pitch and instantly fight back for the ball just after we’ve lost it. It’s no surprise as high pressing was always the key to Smuda’s success in the Ekstraklasa. The team must be effective but nice to watch at the same time. The players are to have fun on the pitch but treat each friendly game as the World Cup final. Smuda demands full commitment and he won’t be reluctant to dismiss the players who don’t share his philosophy. The fight for the place in the Euro 2012 squad starts now and players are aware of it. I haven’t read an interview where they wouldn’t say that playing in 2012 for Poland is their dream. Now they must show Smuda and the fans that they know how to make their dreams come true.

Let’s have a look at the squad in more detail:

Goalkeepers: Tomasz Kuszczak is the nr 1 for the upcoming two games, but he’ll have to fight hard against Lukasz Fabianski in the future. Smuda officially announced that the Arsenal keeper will be brought back to the squad as soon as he recovers from the injury. Wojciech Szczesny should earn his first cap this week since our new manager wants to give at least fifteen minutes playing time to each player that took part in the training camp. Szczesny grabbed the Polish sports’ headlines in the last couple of days after he claimed that he and Kuszczak are being mistreated in England. Basically, our youngster stated that he’s much better than Vito Mannone and Kuszczak is much better than Ben Foster and they both should get much more playing time. Szczesny is one of the most confident\loud-mouthed players I ever encountered, but in all honesty he doesn’t have a lot to be boastful about at the moment. After all, he’s only Arsenal’s nr 4, not a position that gives you a platform to judge other players. Our other loudmouth, Artur Boruc, won’t return to the team unless he loses some weight. Knowing Artie’s attitude and lifestyle I think we may wait some time to see the return of the King Artur.

Defenders: Our defense has gone through a complete renovation. Michal Zewlakow returns to become a tutor for the younger players and reclaim his captain armband. Adam Kokoszka will partner him in the starting lineup in the game against Romania. I’m very happy as it will be the first time I’ve seen Kokos since Euro 2008. I don’t watch Serie B and I’m dying to see if the young centre back has made any progress in the last year and a half. The Ekstraklasa’s most talented centre backs, Kamil Glik and Maciej Sadlok, will watch the game from the bench, but should be given their first caps by Smuda no later than in the mid-week game. Maciej Kowalczyk and Piotr Brozek will be our new pair of full backs. Boenisch (sorry for the bad spelling in the last post) aside, I think they’re currently our only wing backs not thoroughly tested by the former coaches. If they too fail to impress (as was with Gancarczyk and Rzezniczak) I don’t know who are we left with.

Midfielders: As I wrote earlier, we don’t know yet how exactly our midfield will look like. One major change from the previous games is that Ludovic Obraniak will play in the middle. Watching Ludo’s games on the wing I think that’s a good decision; he was sometimes a bit too slow for a winger but has got great vision and passing ability for a central midfielder. Dariusz Dudka returns to the team as our only defensive midfielder. Dudka is constantly complaining about his situation at Auxerre where he’s being thrown from one position to the other. Smuda sees him only in midfield, a decision that was greeted with a sigh of relief by the player. Dudka is a technically raw player, the most I expect of him is to win back the ball and pass it to the nearest teammate. Kamil Kosowski returns to the team as well due to impressive performances in the Champions League. I don’t know exactly what’s Smuda’s plan regarding Kosiarka (he’s not the youngest of players), but I know that the APOEL player is always fun to watch due to his balls out attitude. I’m also waiting to see Radoslaw Majewski getting some playing time since the reports coming from England were really positive about him. Legia’s Maciej Rybus and Slask’s Janusz Gancarczyk should be given their first caps in one of the two friendlies.

Strikers: Ireneusz Jelen is supposed to be the main striker of Smuda’s team. Jelonek is currently in great form for Auxerre; a kind of form that even sparked rumours about Juventus obtaining him (someone had to be really bored if you ask me). However, Jelen’s transfer in the winter or summer window is not entirely out of the question. There is supposed to be a gentlemanly agreement between him and Auxerre’s board to let him go for as little as 2M. I think that’s a bargain price for a guy who scored 14 goals in Ligue 1 last season. If it wasn’t for this agreement Jelen wouldn’t have signed a new contract with Auxerre. Provided he plays well this season, he can be sure to receive some really interesting offers. Robert Lewandowski may also be on the move next year. In a recent interview he stated that there’s nothing more to learn for him in the Ekstraklasa and that he has to move in order to develop as a player. Well put by Lewy, he can’t make the same mistakes Zurawski and Brozek made some time ago. I think Lech will have no other option but to sell their best striker in the summer. Wisla’s Patryk Malecki will be another player given a chance to debut in the national team by Franz Smuda.

I would like to hear from you, what do you think about Smuda’s choices?

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow)- not in the squad against Falkirk, injury
Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal London)- not in the squad against Tottenham, injury
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd)- on the bench against Chelsea
Sebastian Przyrowski (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 5
Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal London)- not in the squad against Wolverhampton
Lukasz Zaluska (Celtic Glasgow)- 90 minutes against Falkirk

Defenders:

Blazej Augustyn (Catania)- 49 minutes against Napoli
Piotr Brozek (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes against Legia, note 5
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre)- on the bench against Le Mans
Seweryn Gancarczyk (Lech Poznan)- not in the squad against Polonia B., yellow card ban
Kamil Glik (Pisat Gliwice)- 90 minutes against Slask, note 5
Arkadiusz Glowacki (Wisla Krakow)- not in the squad against Legia, injury
Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucharest)- match today
Tomasz Jodlowiec (Polonia Warsaw)- not in the squad against Cracovia, injury
Adam Kokoszka (Empoli F.C.)- 90 minutes against Reggina
Marcin Kowalczyk (Dinamo Moscow)- 45 minutes against Spartak Nalcik
Jakub Rzezniczak (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Wisla, note 7
Maciej Sadlok (Ruch Chorzow)- 90 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 6
Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus)- 90 minutes against Iraklis

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Polonia B., note 6
Rafal Boguski (Wisla Krakow)- not in the squad against Legia
Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)- 88 minutes against Werder
Janusz Gancarczyk (Slask Wroclaw)- 90 minutes against Piast, note 5
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens)- match today
Maciej Iwanski (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Wisla, note 6
Kamil Kosowski (APOEL Nicosia)- match today, won’t play due to minor injury
Jacek Krzynowek (Hannover 96)- on the bench against HSV
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk)- match postponed
Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Krakow)- 62 minutes against Legia, note 5
Radoslaw Majewski (Nottingham Forest)- 57 minutes against Bristol City
Patryk Malecki (Wisla Krakow)- 79 minutes against Legia, note 5
Rafal Murawski (Rubin Kazan)- not in the squad against CSKA, injury
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille)- on the bench against Bordeaux
Sławomir Peszko (Lech Poznan)-not in the squad against Polonia B., yellow card ban
Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha Berlin)- 83 minutes against FC Koeln
Bartosz Salamon (Brescia)- not in the squad against Triestina
Jakub Wilk (Lech Poznan)- 82 minutes and an assist against Polonia B., note 7

Attackers:

Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes against Legia, note 5
Kamil Grosicki (Jagiellonia)- 90 minutes and two assists against Ruch, note 6
Dawid Janczyk (Lokeren)- 11 minutes against Kortrijk
Michal Janota (Excelsior Rotterdam)- 1 minute against Cambuur
Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre)- 90 minutes against Le Mans
Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes and a goal against Polonia B., note 7
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow)- 34 minutes and a goal against Arka
Grzegorz Rasiak (Reading)- 61 minutes against Ipswich
Ebi Smolarek (no club)- season not yet started
Artur Wichniarek (Hertha Berlin)- 90 minutes against FC Koeln
Maciej Zurawski (Omonia Nicosia)- 14 minutes against Enosis

Summary: First of all, a big thumbs up for Smuda for at least trying to convince Boenish to play for us. That’s what the national team manager should do, travel around Europe and watch all the possible candidates, that is any players that can strengthen the team before Euro 2012. Smuda visited Bremen to watch Boenish and Kuba Blaszczykowski even though he had a league game in Poland on Thursday, attended the Wisla-Legia match on Friday and had to prepare for the training camp that starts today. It’s easily observable from the first day that Smuda is full of energy and enthusiasm for his new job; something that even people usually critical of him always admit. That is what Leo Beenhakker lacked in his dying months as the Polish manager, he hasn’t even once visited Ludovic Obraniak, not to mention Boenish or Robert Acquafresca. As the latter goes, there is still a small possibility that he’ll decide to play for his mother’s homeland. I read reports that Marek Kozminski (our only established Serie A player in the last ten years) is going to try to persuade the young Italian to choose the pierogis over pasta (who wouldn’t?). At last something is going on, I hope that Damien Perquis and Laurent Koscielny are next on Smuda’s list.

Even though Smuda remains extremely positive (the meeting with Boenish’s parents was very successful due to both sides’ Silesian background), I’m not surprised that the player is more reluctant. After all, he was a member of a number of German youth teams and has already rejected our advances some time ago. As far as I remember there’s even a video online where he claims that die National Manshaft is the only possible choice for him. There is no doubt that he feels more German than Polish. Times are changing though, till this day Boenish has failed to make an official appearance for Germany. Playing for Poland may be his big chance to establish himself on the international stage. On the other hand, the left back position is problematic for a lot of national teams and I’m sure that sooner or later Sebastian would be given his first cap by Joachim Loew. The question is, does he prefer to be a Polish regular or a German backup player. This is the problem that the player will have to solve himself, he promised to do that before the end of the year.

One last controversy surrounding Boenish is how he’ll be welcomed by the Polish fans. I’m sure that his previous statements about playing for Germany will quickly make the tabloid headlines if the player chooses us. He would have to state clearly that from now on there is only place for the Polish national team in his heart. The longer he’ll wait with his decision, play cat and mouse with Smuda, the colder welcome he’ll receive from the fans. Personally, I too have mixed feelings about Boenish’s inclusion. First of all, he’s not exactly the world class player of Klose or Podolski status (if he was we probably wouldn’t have any chances of obtaining him). I saw him playing a few times and he definitely wasn’t the most impressive player on the field. His earlier comments about playing for Germany also make it hard for me to like the guy. On the other hand, we haven’t exactly got a large amount of quality players to choose from as far as the left back position is concerned. I think it’s fair to say that a Bundesliga regular may easily guarantee a higher level of performance than Seweryn Gancarczyk or Piotr Brozek. The other thing is that Boenish will surely develop as a player and he may be a lot better in three years time. I think he’d just have to convince me with his performance on the pitch.

I wanted to write a more in depth analysis of the Wisla-Legia game, but honestly it was a very boring game and there isn’t much to talk about. Most commentators claim that this game was the embodiment of the low level of the Ekstraklasa as our two best teams failed to excite even the most faithful of fans. Thrills were rare, no player grabbed the headlines, the national team remains the only place where the Ekstraklasa players can learn how to play under pressure or make quick decisions. I quickly forgot the Polish classic after watching Barcelona-Mallorca, Atalanta-Juventus and the Madrid derby on Saturday.

In other news, there are strong speculations that Tomasz Jodlowiec will join Lech Poznan in the winter transfer window. The player has got an awful second part of the year; Polonia Warsaw are one of the poorest teams in the league and he himself got injured lately. That’s why Lech may not pay as much money now as they would have had last summer. Jodlowiec doesn’t want to leave the Ekstraklasa (he’s scared of being homesick) and will do anything to join Kolejorz in winter. Other two players that may move in the upcoming transfer window are Dawid Janczyk and Ludovic Obraniak. The former is about to return to CSKA Moscow after his loan spell at Lokeren comes to a end. The former Russian champions have got a new coach and he wants to have all the contracted players at his disposal. Janczyk himself claims that he’s sure about his return to Moscow and that he’ll fight hard for the place in CSKA’s lineup. I think that explains why he’s not playing much at Lokeren lately, they just know that they won’t be able to count on him in the reminder of the season. As for Obraniak, it’s become a habit for him to spend the Ligue 1 games on the bench lately (he plays in the Euro Cup though). The player still rejects to sign a new contract with Lille which brought all the problems on his shoulders. I think it’s clear that the best solution for both sides is to part company in winter.

Pawel Brozek won’t be available for the games against Romania and Canada due to a minor injury. Kamil Kosowski’s presence on the training camp was also threatened as APOEL’s coach didn’t want to let Kosiarka fly to Poland. I read today, however, that Kosowski is travelling to Poland as previously planned.

Highlights: Robert Lewandowski’s goal is the only highlight

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow)- not in the squad against Kilmarnock, injury
Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal London)- not in the squad against Tottenham, injury
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd)- on the bench against Blackburn
Sebastian Przyrowski (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 5
Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal London)- not in the squad against Tottenham
Lukasz Zaluska (Celtic Glasgow)- 90 minutes against Kilmarnock

Defenders:

Blazej Augustyn (Catania)- on the bench against Fiorentina
Piotr Brozek (Wisla Krakow)- not in the squad against Korona, injury
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre)- 90 minutes and an assist against Montpellier
Seweryn Gancarczyk (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Slask, note 5
Kamil Glik (Pisat Gliwice)- 90 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Arkadiusz Glowacki (Wisla Krakow)- not in the squad against Korona, injury
Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucharest)- on the bench against FC Timisoara
Tomasz Jodlowiec (Polonia Warsaw)- not in the squad against GKS Jagiellonia, injury
Adam Kokoszka (Empoli F.C.)- 90 minutes against Lecce
Marcin Kowalczyk (Dinamo Moscow)- on the bench against Amkar
Jakub Rzezniczak (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Ruch, note 6
Maciej Sadlok (Ruch Chorzow)- 90 minutes against Legia, note 4
Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus)- 90 minutes against Atromitos

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan)- 45 minutes against Slask, note 5
Rafal Boguski (Wisla Krakow)- 7 minutes against Korona
Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)- 90 minutes against Hertha
Janusz Gancarczyk (Slask Wroclaw)- 90 minutes against Lech, note 5
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens)- 10 minutes against Ergotelis
Maciej Iwanski (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Ruch, note 7
Kamil Kosowski (APOEL Nicosia)- not in the squad against Aris, injury
Jacek Krzynowek (Hannover 96)- 5 minutes against FC Koeln
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk)- on the bench against Czernomorets
Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Krakow)- 76 minutes against Korona, note 5
Radoslaw Majewski (Nottingham Forest)- 62 minutes against Cardiff
Patryk Malecki (Wisla Krakow)- 84 minutes and an assist against Korona, note 6
Rafal Murawski (Rubin Kazan)- 39 minutes against Krylia, got injured
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille)- on the bench against Grenoble
Sławomir Peszko (Lech Poznan)-90 minutes against Slask, note 6
Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha Berlin)- 79 minutes against Dortmund
Bartosz Salamon (Brescia)- match today
Jakub Wilk (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Slask, note 5

Attackers:

Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes and two assists against Korona, note 5
Kamil Grosicki (Jagiellonia)- 84 minutes against Polonia Warsaw, note 6
Dawid Janczyk (Lokeren)- on the bench against Anderlecht
Michal Janota (Excelsior Rotterdam)- on the bench against Fortuna Sittard
Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre)- 90 minutes and two goals against Montpellier
Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Slask, note 5
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow)- on the bench against Cracovia
Grzegorz Rasiak (Reading)- 90 minutes and two goals against Coventry
Marek Saganowski (Southampton)- not in the squad against Leyton Orient
Ebi Smolarek (no club)- season not yet started
Artur Wichniarek (Hertha Berlin)- 11 minutes against Dortmund
Maciej Zurawski (Omonia Nicosia)- 90 minutes and an assist against APOP

Summary: Here’s the list of players called up by Smuda

Goalkeepers: Tomasz Kuszczak (Manchester United), Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal)
Defenders: Marcin Kowalczyk (Dynamo Moscow), Jakub Rzezniczak (Legia Warsaw), Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus), Maciej Sadlok (Ruch Chorzow), Arkadiusz Glowacki (Wisla Krakow), Adam Kokoszka (Empoli), Piotr Brozek (Wisla Krakow), Seweryn Gancarczyk (Lech Poznan), Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre)

Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Slawomir Peszko (Lech Poznan), Rafal Murawski (Rubin Kazan), Janusz Gancarczyk (Slask Wroclaw), Kamil Kosowski (APOEL Nicosia), Ludovic Obraniak (Lille), Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens)

Strikers: Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznan), Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow), Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre), Patryk Malecki (Wisla Krakow)

This was the first time that the fans have had the opportunity to learn about who Franz Smuda considers to be the best Polish players. What kind of conclusion can we draw from Smuda’s initial choices? First of all, Artur Boruc will have to work really hard to win back his nr 1 blouse. Smuda admitted that Artie wouldn’t have been called up even if he was healthy. Tomasz Kuszczak has suddenly become Polish nr 1 as our new coach claims that he loves the ManUtd keeper’s ambition and strong character. Smuda is also a huge fan of the young Wojciech Szczesny’s talent and as a result he’s making him our nr 2. That’s a very risky choice as both keepers have earned almost no playing time this season. In my opinion Smuda made his choice based on the character of the players, not necessarily the recent form. Lukasz Fabianski is still in contention for the starting spot, but Franz couldn’t pick him due to injury. Marcin Kowalczyk, Piotr Brozek and Maciej Sadlok are the three fresh faces in our defense. After very average recent performances by Seweryn Gancarczyk the search for the new left back continues. The other Brozek twin is by many considered the best left back in the Ekstraklasa; Smuda claims that he may use him both in defense and on the wing. He also wants to have as many good left footed players as possible. I’m quite happy about Brozek’s inclusion as I’ve wanted to see him in the national team colours for a long time now. No gurantee, however, that he’s going to be the answer for all our problems. Marcin Kowalczyk plays regularly in a strong league (Russian) and deserves a second look (he was tested by Leo more than a year ago). Maciej Sadlok, on the other hand, won his place in the team due to his never say die attitude. Smuda admitted that he called up the young Ruch centre back because he likes players that don’t allow to be shoved around by strikers. Arkadiusz Glowacki won’t be able to play in this month’s friendlies as he’s injured, the word is that the young Kamil Glik will be called up in his place. This would make Michal Zewlakow and Dariusz Dudka the most experienced players in the squad as Smuda realized after the last two games that our defense looks even poorer without them. Zewlak certainly can’t be considered a 2012 prospect, but Franz said that he wants to have a closer look at all the good players. This may also explain why Kamil Kosowski was brought back to the national team. The popular Kosiarka is experiencing a surprising return to form in the Cypriot league and is Polish football’s best representative in the Champions League. Kosowski’s style of play is both spectacular and irritating, nevertheless he may be our best option at the left wing till we fing someone younger. I don’t have high hopes for Janusz Gancarczyk, I think he was called up solely because of his speed. He may be useful if there’s a lot of free space on the pitch, but in modern professional football such situations are quite rare. Even though Smuda claimed that he’s against foreigners playing for Poland he decided to pick Roger who will now rival Ludo Obraniak to become our starting playmaker. Smuda’s call ups suggest that we won’t certainly play with two defensive midfielders (Dudka is the only one); I think he may go for 4-4-2 or 4-1-4-1. Franz picked the best strikers available, though some may be surprised by the absence of Grosicki or Janczyk. I think it was just time to give Patryk Malecki a chance to earn his first cap and the aforementioned duo are definitely in Franz’s books. How do you like Smuda’s choices?

Rumours are resurfacing about Smuda’s coaching staff. Former Bialo Czerwony Tomasz Waldoch is tipped to be the assistant manager whereas another former player Marek Kozminski is to be the technical director. Legia’s Krzysztof Dowhan (trained Boruc, Fabianski and Jan Mucha) is the hot favourite to become the goalkeeping coach.

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow)- not in the squad against Hamilton, injury
Jerzy Dudek (Real Madrid)- on the bench against Sporting Gijon
Wojciech Kowalewski (Iraklis Thessaloniki)- 90 minutes against Levadiakos
Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal London)- not in the squad against West Ham
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd)- not in the squad against against Liverpool
Sebastian Przyrowski (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against GKS Belchatow, note 4
Lukasz Zaluska (Celtic Glasgow)- 90 minutes against Hamilton

Defenders:

Blazej Augustyn (Catania)- on the bench against Inter
Jaroslaw Bieniuk (Widzew Lodz)- 90 minutes against Znicz, note 6
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre)- 72 minutes against Lille
Seweryn Gancarczyk (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Kamil Glik (Pisat Gliwice)- 90 minutes against Wisla, note 5
Arkadiusz Glowacki (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes against Piast, note 6
Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucharest)- 57 minutes against Rapid
Tomasz Jodlowiec (Polonia Warsaw)- not in the squad against GKS Belchatow, injury
Adam Kokoszka (Empoli F.C.)- 90 minutes against Triestina
Marcin Kowalczyk (Dinamo Moscow)- 90 minutes against Tuban
Mariusz Pawelec (Slask Wroclaw)- 90 minutes against Zaglebie, note 5
Piotr Polczak (Cracovia Krakow)- 90 minutes against Odra, note 4
Jakub Rzezniczak (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Korona, note 5
Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus)- on the bench against Ergotelis

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan)- 13 minutes against Lechia
Rafal Boguski (Wisla Krakow)- not in the squad against Piast, injury
Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)- 45 minutes against Leverkusen
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens)- on the bench against Aris
Maciej Iwanski (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes and two assists against Korona, note 7
Jacek Krzynowek (Hannover 96)- 1 minute against Stuttgart
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk)- 90 minutes against Zakarpacie
Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Krakow)- 59 minutes against Piast, note 5
Radoslaw Majewski (Nottingham Forest)- on the bench against Crystal Palace
Patryk Malecki (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes and two assists against Piast, note 6
Rafal Murawski (Rubin Kazan)- 90 minutes against Rostov
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille)- 16 minutes against Auxerre
Szymon Pawlowski (Zaglebie Lubin)- 9 minutes against Slask
Sławomir Peszko (Lech Poznan)-90 minutes against Lechia, note 7
Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha Berlin)- on the bench against Wolfsburg
Bartosz Salamon (Brescia)- ?
Jakub Wilk (Lech Poznan)- 45 minutes against Lechia, note 5

Attackers:

Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes and a goal against Piast, note 7
Kamil Grosicki (Jagiellonia)- 90 minutes against Arka, note 5
Dawid Janczyk (Lokeren)- 63 minutes against Genk
Michal Janota (Excelsior Rotterdam)- a goal against FC Emmen
Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre)- 90 minutes and two goals against Lille
Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Lechia, note 6
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow)- 13 minutes against Polonia Warsaw
Grzegorz Rasiak (Reading)- match today
Marek Saganowski (Southampton)- not in the squad against MK Dons
Ebi Smolarek (no club)- season not yet started
Artur Wichniarek (Hertha Berlin)- on the bench against Wolfsburg
Maciej Zurawski (Omonia Nicosia)- didn’t play against Apollon

Summary: At first Grzegorz Lato claimed that Stefan Majewski will remain the temporary coach for the November friendlies. Then the PZPN’s board announced that the new coach will be chosen on the 3rd of November. Only later did they realize that in this case there would be no one to call up the squad for the upcoming friendlies (players have to be picked two weeks before the games). As a result, PZPN is fighting against time to find the new coach as soon as possible (considering they lost enormous amounts of time before). Franciszek Smuda is the one destined to become the new coach as he’s the only candidate treated seriously by the PZPN at the moment. His possible choice is also a result of fans’ pressure on PZPN and their recent boycott of the game against Slovakia. Smuda is the most popular choice among the fans, he wins every opinion poll by a large degree; choosing him would calm the fans and ease the critique a bit. Considering the fact that a foreign option is not seriously taken into consideration Smuda seems the best possible choice for me. Here are some of the reasons why:
1) His teams always play until the last whistle. Smuda is the best representative of the “never say die” attitude in Polish football. He advanced to the CL with Widzew scoring two goals in the dying minutes of the game against Broendby, Widzew won the championship at Legia scoring in the last minutes of the game, Rafal Murawski’s shot at the end of the overtime took Lech to the group stage of the UEFA cup. Smuda requires players to give their best throughout the whole of 90 minutes.
2) Smuda is not scared of any opponent. His teams always try to attack regardless of the opposing team they have to face. He inspires players and make them believe that they can take on anyone in the world. Of course, the results are various, but one can’t definitely say that Smuda’s teams lose the games before the first whistle is blown.
3) For a Polish coach, Smuda has got quite a good record in Europe. He advanced to the CL with Widzew and to the UEFA Cup’s group stage with Lech. His teams fought bravely against the likes of Dortmund, Udinese (both Widzew and Lech), FC Barcelona, Parma or Deportivo. He usually defeated the inferior opponents.
4) Smuda is a “player’s coach”. Most of the footballers he worked with have a good opinion of him. He may not be the brightest or the wisest of coaches, he’s not the most technologically advanced (you rarely see him with a laptop), but he’s able to build a positive bond with the players and inspire them to leave their hearts on the pitch. His motivational skills are the best in Poland.
5) He’s got the ability to correctly judge player’s potential. Of course, he doesn’t have a 100% record as far as transfers are concerned, but he very rarely picks players who are not up to the task. That’s a very important characteristic as Smuda will have to be able to choose the best from a group of 50-60 players, not 20 as it usually is on the club level (at least in Poland).
6) He’s a popular figure among the fans. As long as the team doesn’t play horribly he’ll have the public vote of confidence.

Don’t get me wrong, Smuda is not the best possible option available. I would really love the PZPN to hold talks with renowned foreign coaches, not only wait for their applications (as our FA does), but make the first move and try to reach them themselves (the best don’t look for the job, the job finds them). Smuda is just the best possible choice in the current circumstances. PZPN wants to have a Polish coach and we can’t do anything about it. Smuda is a person that can have a positive effect on the team and the players with his courageous approach. It’s better that the PZPN chooses him rather than Stefan Majewski.

Ireneusz Jelen scored his first two goals of the season. I hope that now Jelonek will put the ball in the net more regularly and establish his position as one of the most dangerous strikers in Ligue 1. Michal Janota is the other Pole that scored abroad this weekend; he already has six goals to his name this season. Rafal Murawski continues to win a stronger position at Rubin Kazan. After quite a positive performance against FC Barcelona (though he certainly wasn’t playing the lead role) he played for 90 minutes in the league for the second time in a row. Rubin proved last Tuesday in Barcelonathat they are a very strong team; playing regularly among such top class players will definitely enhance Muras’ abilities. Ebi Smolarek remains without a club. What’s even more interesting, there are no rumours about any clubs that would have been interested in him. Smolarek stopped answering calls from Polish journalists, there’s absolutely no contact with him at the moment. He hasn’t played a proper game of football for more than a year now. Jakub Blaszczukowski remains unimpressive for Dormund, this time he was substituted at half time. He’s yet to score this season, he’s usually taken off the pitch at some point in the game. Dortmund’s coaching staff really needs to do something fast to bring him back to shape. Good news for Kuba is that he got offered a new, better contract; a sign that they still believe in him at Borussia. Finally, did you count the number of goals scored this season by Artur Wichniarek? I’ve got a hint: it won’t take long.

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Celtic Glasgow)- 90 minutes against Motherwell
Jerzy Dudek (Real Madrid)- on the bench against Vallaloid
Wojciech Kowalewski (Iraklis Thessaloniki)- 90 minutes against Panionios
Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal London)- not in the squad against Birmingham, injury
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd)- on the bench against Bolton
Sebastian Przyrowski (Polonia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Odra, note 6
Lukasz Zaluska (Celtic Glasgow)- on the bench against Motherwell

Defenders:

Blazej Augustyn (Catania)- 90 minutes against Cagliari
Jaroslaw Bieniuk (Widzew Lodz)- match today
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre)- 90 minutes against Bordeaux
Seweryn Gancarczyk (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes against Wisla, note 7
Kamil Glik (Pisat Gliwice)- 90 minutes against Legia, note 6
Arkadiusz Glowacki (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes against Lech, note 6
Pawel Golanski (Steaua Bucharest)- 79 minutes against Politehnica
Tomasz Jodlowiec (Polonia Warsaw)- not in the squad against Odra, injury
Adam Kokoszka (Empoli F.C.)- 90 minutes against Mantova
Marcin Kowalczyk (Dinamo Moscow)- 90 minutes against Tomsk
Mariusz Pawelec (Slask Wroclaw)- 90 minutes against GKS Belchatow, note 5
Piotr Polczak (Cracovia Krakow)- 90 minutes and an own goal against Polonia Bytom, note 3
Jakub Rzezniczak (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes against Piast, note 5
Michal Zewlakow (Olympiakos Pireus)- on the bench against Asteras

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan)- 6 minutes against Wisla
Rafal Boguski (Wisla Krakow)- not in the squad against Lech, injury
Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)- 85 minutes and an assist against Bochum
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens)- 27 minutes against Panthrakikos
Maciej Iwanski (Legia Warsaw)- 90 minutes and a goal against Piast, note 7
Jacek Krzynowek (Hannover 96)- 9 minutes against Eintracht
Mariusz Lewandowski (Shakhtar Donetsk)- not in the squad against Karpaty
Wojciech Lobodzinski (Wisla Krakow)- 25 minutes against Lech, note 5
Radoslaw Majewski (Nottingham Forest)- 61 minutes and an assist against Newcastle
Patryk Malecki (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes against Lech, note 6
Rafal Murawski (Rubin Kazan)- 90 minutes against Chimki
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille)- not in the squad against Rennes
Szymon Pawlowski (Zaglebie Lubin)- not in the squad against Jagiellonia, injury
Sławomir Peszko (Lech Poznan)-90 minutes against Wisla, note 6
Lukasz Piszczek (Hertha Berlin)- not in the squad against Nurnberg, injury
Bartosz Salamon (Brescia)- not in the squad against Cesena
Jakub Wilk (Lech Poznan)- not in the squad against Wisla, injury

Attackers:

Pawel Brozek (Wisla Krakow)- 90 minutes against Lech, note 7
Kamil Grosicki (Jagiellonia)- 90 minutes against Zaglebie, note 5
Dawid Janczyk (Lokeren)- 90 minutes against Cercle Brugge
Michal Janota (Excelsior Rotterdam)- 11 minutes against FC Zwolle
Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre)- 90 minutes against Bordeaux
Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznan)- 90 minutes and a goal against Wisla, note 8
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow)- 13 minutes against Slask
Grzegorz Rasiak (Reading)- 18 minutes against West Bromwich
Marek Saganowski (Southampton)- not in the squad against Oldham
Ebi Smolarek (no club)- season not yet started
Artur Wichniarek (Hertha Berlin)- 90 minutes against Nurnberg
Maciej Zurawski (Omonia Nicosia)- the Cypriot league paused

Summary: The Lech-Legia game was one of the most thrilling Ekstraklasa games this season. Kudos to Wisla for not playing a defensive football and coming out on the pitch with a strong desire to win. Hence the game was very open with both teams exchanging “punches” throughout 90 minutes. Robert Lewandowski together with Semir Stilic proved that on their day they are unstoppable even for the best centre backs in Poland. I was very satisfied with the way Lewy was playing yesterday; he fought hard for every ball, made good decisions and scored when he had to. For me, it was Lewy’s best game so far this season. He said afterwards that he plays better when the opposing teams aren’t only concentrating on defense but try to play a game of football. It’s an interesting fact that Lewy is often criticized this season even though he’s the league’s top scorer at the moment. It just shows the level of expectations that the fans put on his shoulders, especially after he became a household name due to FIFA 10 advertising campaign (quite heavy in Poland, Lewy is smiling at you from every media store). I hope the Kolejorz striker wins the Golden Boot this year, a prize that may win him an interesting transfer offer in the summer of 2010. Slawomir Peszko had another energetic game for Lech, though his finishing left much to be desired. The game also marked Grzegorz Wojtkowiak’s return to the starting lineup after a long injury caused pause. One more player that has to be picked up for praise after the match is the 18 year old Mateusz Mozdzen. It’s the first time I’ve seen the youngster and he left quite a good impression. What’s surprised me most was his confidence on the ball, a characteristic rarely met in young Polish players who usually lack the skill of keeping possession. Mozdzen wasn’t impressive enough to call him the hope of Polish football, but he was on the same level of performance with the rest of Kolejorz squad and didn’t make stupid turnovers. Jacek Zielinski will certainly give him another chance in the coming months. As for Wisla, they had their own chances and could’ve easily scored if it wasn’t for Jasmin Buric. Patryk Malecki wasted their best chances, but he was dynamic enough to claim a call up to the Bialo Czerwoni for me. Pawel Brozek, as usual in the league, presented a level of performance unavailable for the majority of Polish strikers. Wisla remains at the top of the table with three points clear of the sensational Ruch Chorzow and five points clear of equally sensational Polonia Bytom. Legia is seven points behind, whereas Lech is trailing by eight. There is still hope for an interesting season.

Stefan Majewski will remain the national team coach for this year’s remaining friendlies (first one against Romania, the second most probably against Turkey). PZPN should have made the decision about who’s our permanent coach a long time ago, now they’re just wasting time. Unless they want to make Majewski permanent, a threat that seems more and more serious as the days go by. Franz Smuda, Henryk Kasperczak and Piotr Nowak are the other candidates. Nowak is a very interesting option; unfortunately he’s refrained from speaking to the polish press so far. It’s a shame as I’m really curious his ideas concerning the national team. He’s achieved enough success in the US to be considered a serious contender (any MLS fans here to give their opinion on Nowak?).

Rafal Murawski and Blazej Augustyn both had surprise starts for their teams this weekend. I don’t know much about Rubin, but I predict that some players were just rested before CL’s third round. I’m glad that Augustyn got another chance after a disastrous first game of the season. Dariusz Dudka finally played, but he failed to impress and gave away a penalty for Bordeaux. Ludovic Obraniak wasn’t in Lille’s squad this weekend, I think that his statements about leaving the club didn’t help him much. He should move in the winter transfer window as the current situation is bad both for the club and the player. Finally, a horrible month for Piotr Polczak. First he became the laughing stock after the game against Czechs (he was very bad, but the critique was sometimes too harsh for my liking, I think he paid for being considered Majewski’s pupil), now he scored an own goal which cost his Cracovia a point. The only way is up for the guy.

Highlights:

Robert Lewandowski scores the decisive goal against Wisla

Kuba Blaszczykowski’s assist against Bochum

Radoslaw Majewski’s assist

Dariusz Dudka gives away a penalty

Maciej Iwanski scores a very nice curved goal here

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the film yet. It was shown during the Warsaw Film Festival and gained positive reviews from the people interested in the game (Rafal Stec, a football journalist who finished film theory studies, recommended it on his blog). I don’t know if it’s going to be available in cinemas around Poland, but hopefully I’ll get my hand on the DVD version sooner or later. I advise you to do the same. Check out the trailer.