Patryk Małecki was one of the leaders of Wisła Kraków last season and one of the reasons behing their championship title. Though, to be honest, seven goals is not a superb achievement in the league of Ekstraklasa’s status. Nevertheless, Małecki was heralded as the Polish leader of international Wisła and the press continually promoted him as a serious candidate to play in the national team. Franz Smuda was criticized over and over again for omitting Małecki on his list of call ups. Personally, as much as I don’t like Smuda’s stubborness regarding some players (Boruc, Majewski), I didn’t find it a great problem that Małecki wasn’t in the national team. Or a problem worth discussing in detail. Wisła’s game against Skonto showed why exactly I’ve never considered Małecki worthy of regular call ups. First of all, I think his input in the Biała Gwiazda’s performances in overrated. It’s Maor Melikson that’s currently the leader of Wisła on the field; every offensive move, every danger that Wisła caused in front of Skonto’s goal was caused by Melikson. He’s simply a more skillful player than Małecki. Surprisingly, Melikson also looked much better physically than Małecki. Players like Iliev, Pajic, Sobolewski and Wilk were also much more useful than Patryk, who couldn’t find himself a place on the field, couldn’t get past Skonto’s defenders and made bad decisions. However, it’s not his poor form that makes Małecki a weak candidate for the national team (after all, he may improve in the course of the season). His lack of mental improvement is what I find most irritating. Maybe you remember those two situations from the Skonto game: Małecki cheered and wanted to shake hands with the red carded Skonto player, Małecki offending and provoking the Skonto defender who cleanly dispossesed him of the ball. What kind of an asshole does things like that? The truth is that Małecki is a dirty player, he looks for a confrontation in each single game, be it with opposition players or fans. In other words, he’s a boor who can bring the team more damage than success. Especially on a serious international stage where such behaviour is quickly eliminated. Having in mind the fact that we’ve got Błaszczykowski, Peszko and Grosicki ready to play on the right wing I will lose no sleep over Małecki and his absence in the Euro 2012 squad.

Other news: Kamil Glik moved from Palermo to Serie B’s Torino. It’s a lower league, but this transfer will give Glik an opportunity to play regular football in a country where defensive play is mostly appreciated. What’s important, Torino’s new coach is Giampiero Ventura, the one who gave Glik a lot of playing time at Bari. This means that Kamil already have the coach’s trust and should be an important first team player at his new club. He rejected the offer from Glasgow Rangers in order to stay in Italy.

Śląsk Wrocław won the game against Dundee 1-0 thanks to the latest transfer Johan Voskamp’s goal

Grzegorz Sandomierski is supposed to travel to Everton for trials. Jan Mucha should tell him that it’s not the best idea.

The press is speculating that Udinese will soon make an official offer for Ariel Borysiuk. Especially after they sold Gokhan Inler to Napoli.

On the one hand, I’m very surprised with Polanski’s decision, on the other hand, I really shouldn’t have been. Approximately a year ago Polanski clearly ruled out any possibility of representing Poland. He said that Germany is his homeland and that he represented it for the most part of his career and he couldn’t change the national team colours. Polanski was honest and I was glad that he didn’t bluff and told Smuda to look somewhere else in a straightforward way. It was even a some kind of relief after the mystery and understatement that surrounded the possibility of calling up Laurent Koscielny. Smuda accepted Polanski’s decision, but at the same time he left the door open for him if he changed his mind. Now, a year later, the Sosnowiec born player has grown to like the opportunity to play for Poland. It’s been on the cards since last month when I read an interview in which Polanski stated that he sat on the fence regarding the national team decision. Well, there was really only one way that the matters could develop. After all, it’s not like Polanski was anywhere close to being called up by Jorgen Loew. Now, a mere year before the Euros, he’s finally ready to represent Poland. It’s hard not to write that he’s entering an already established team, a team of players that had to fight hard to achieve their current squad status. Polanski’s motivation is the biggest question mark here. We know that it’s not a matter of choosing between Germany and Poland, it’s a matter of choosing between free time and Poland. Does Polanski want to honour his family like Ludo Obraniak does? Maybe his ambition doesn’t enable him to let go of such a great sporting opportunity? Or maybe he just wants to promote himself on an international stage and sign a lucrative deal outside Mainz, which definitely isn’t one of the richest German clubs. At the moment, Polanski is an enigma for me. He seems to be very down to earth in the interviews, doesn’t tell colourful stories about why he wants to represent Poland, but is clear that he wants to do it (as he was clear a year ago that he didn’t). He should expect a mixed reception in the beginning, especially after he initially rejected Smuda’s offer. Some may also find it difficult that he makes no secret of the fact that he feels more German than Polish. However, judging from my experience, the discussion will die out after Polanski’s initial games, especially if he proves useful. Just as it was with Emmanuel Olisadebe, Roger Guerreiro, Ludo Obraniak and Sebastian Boenisch. Now the latter three are serious candidates to partake in Euro 2012 and rarely anyone mentions their origins.

As far as his football skills are concerned, Polanski looks good enough to be included in the team. He plays on a defensive midfielder position and is responsible for distributing the ball from the back. Last season Polanski played in 28 games, 25 of which he started (in comparison, Adam Matuszczyk played in 24 games, but started only 16). He didn’t score a single goal, but managed to achieve four assists. His average note in Kicker was 3,29, one of the highest in the team (Matuszczyk’s average note was 3,59). Personally, I can’t tell you much about Polanski’s performances last season. However, I remember him from his stint at Getafe (2008/09 season) and he made an impression of a very organized and technically skillfull player. He didn’t take unnecessary risk and tried to pass to the nearest unguarded teammate. I would describe him as better version of Arkadiusz Radomski. In the national team he’ll have to compete with Dariusz Dudka, Rafał Murawski and Adam Matuszczyk. He may prove very useful if Dudka doesn’t repeat his last season’s form and Murawski continues to play average for Lech. Your thoughts on Polanski?

Other news: JW is energetically building a team to fight for the Polish championship. After he sold Adrian Mierzejewski, released Andreu and relegated Ebi Smolarek to the reserves, Wojciechowski decided to sell Artur Sobiech to Hannover 96. That’s a great information for every party involved. JW gets back the cash he invested a year ago and gets rid of a banned player (though he would have sold him for a much better price if he hadn’t banned him). Hannover gets the most talented Polish young striker for a moderate fee. Sobiech gets a chance to compete on a higher level and win himself a place in the Euro 2012 squad. His situation is similar to that of Mateusz Klich; if he plays regularly he will be included in the Euro squad. Hannover is a good place for Sobiech to develop, there is a competition for the place in the starting lineup, but not so harsh that Artur can’t deal with it. His main advantages are self-confidence, intelligence on the field, a talent for one-two plays and good positioning in front of goal. He’s been scoring goals everywhere he played so far. The only thing I fear is that he may not be dynamic enough for the Bundesliga. He also has an injury to deal with and will probably miss the beginning of the season preparations.

Other transfers: Kamil Kosowski (Apollon FC-GKS Bełchatów), Maciej Małkowski (GKS Bełchatów-Zagłębie Lubin), Mateusz Cetnarski (GKS Bełchatów-Śląsk Wrocław)

Emmanuel Olisadebe may return to the Polish league and play for Lechia Gdańsk if he’s fit\good enough. Błażej Augustyn will most likely leave Catania and may move to Serie B’s Torino. There are no further developments in possible transfers of Grzegorz Sandomierski, Ariel Borysiuk and Tomasz Kuszczak.

Completed transfers:

Adrian Mierzejewski (Polonia Warsaw-Trabzonspor): a year ago we were excited by Robert Lewandowski’s move to Dortmund and the huge transfer fee that followed. Lewy’s departure was analyzed for at least two or three months and came as no surprise to anyone interested in the Polish football. Adrian Mierzejewski, though he became the Ekstraklasa’s MVP, didn’t seem to have a potential for a big money move. There weren’t that many transfer rumours surrounding him (apart from Eintracht Frankfurt in the winter) and he wasn’t considered as big a star in Poland as previously Lewandowski. Most importantly, Mierzejewski was JW’s and Polonia fans favourite, he was supposed to lead his team to the championship title next year. Since JW isn’t interested in money that much, and I thought Mierzejewski’s worth was 3M at best, it seemed impossible that Adrian would leave Poland this transfer window. Impossible for everybody except for the Turkich league runners up Trabzonspor. They ended the negotiations with JW by putting 5,3M on the table, the highest fee ever for an Ekstraklasa player. The idea of breaking a transfer record in Polish football had to do woners for JW’s ego. More important, however, was the fact that Mierzejewski himself asked for the transfer for the first time during his relationship with JW. It’s no surprise; at Trabzonspor he’ll take part in European competition (maybe even CL), play in the stronger league and have three compatriots to help him assimilate. Moreover, the fact that the Turkish club decided to pay so much means that they want to make Adrian one of the leaders of the team (Trabzon also bought Didier Zokora this summer). The transfer itself was carefully carried out, the Polonia winger was scouted several times and was watched live by Trabzon’s coach Senol Gunes in the match against France. Mierzejewski’s task will be to play behind the strikers as the playmaker. If he succeeds in Turkey he’ll strengthen his position in the national team as well. This is the transfer that the Polish national team can only profit from.

Here’s what Trabzonspor is paying for

Mateusz Klich (Cracovia-Vfl Wolfsburg): this transfer is a huge surprise for me, mainly because Klich has only showed his potential in 2011. He was always considered a big talent, started playing at Cracovia as an 18 year old, but so far lacked the necessary spark to be considered the next big thing. It all changed this year when Klich became the true leader of his team and handled the pressure to help Cracovia avoid relegation. He was also called up by Franz Smuda for the first time and even managed to earn his debut in the national team. Klich is still a very young player (21 years) and probably Wolfsburg expect him to further develop. The move is extremely risky, mainly because it will be very hard for Klich to become a first team regular during his first year in the Bundesliga. However, if he manages to play regularly in Germany he’ll naturally win himself a place in the Euro 2012 squad as the backup playmaker. A brave decision from the youngster, but a one worth taking.

Michał Żewłakow (Ankaragucu-Legia Warsaw): Legia decided to add some experience to their squad and brought in Żewłak and Daniel Ljuboja. A year ago I was confident that players like Wichniarek, Żurawski and Radomski will bring extra quality to the Ekstraklasa, but they all turned out to be bigger or smaller failures. That’s why I won’t predict that Żewłak will be a definite success at Legia. Still, I think that his character and skills predispose him to become the leader of the Skorża’s team. It will be funny if he turns out to play better than Wojtkowiak or Jodłowiec.

Other interesting transfers:

Dawid Plizga (Zagłębie Lubin-Jagiellonia), Daniel Sikorski (Górnik Zabrze-Polonia Warsaw), Marcin Baszczyński (Atromitos-Polonia), Grzegorz Bonin (Górnik Zabrze-Polonia), Bartosz Bosacki, Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznań-free transfer), Jakub Kosecki (ŁKS Łodź-Legia Warsaw, return from loan), Marek Saganowski (Atromitos-ŁKS Łodź)

Transfer rumours:

Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia-Swansea): the Jagiellonia officials expect an offer of 3M from the newly promoted Premiership club.
Ariel Borysiuk (Legia-Udinese): Udinese is officially interested in Borysiuk, but is waiting to end the Alexis Sanchez transfer saga to make an official proposition. The matter should be resolved this week, this is a transfer very likely to happen.

Rumours I’m waiting offer: some serious offers for Ireneusz Jeleń, Ludovic Obraniak and Tomasz Kuszczak.

It’s sometimes hard to follow Smuda’s line of thought, but this is what I think about chances of particular players to represent Poland in Euro 2012:

Dead certs:

Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal): after what he showed in the last season it’s hard to imagine that he won’t remain Arsenal’s starting keeper. As a result, he’ll also overcome Fabiański in the fight for Poland’s nr 1 blouse. Smuda trusts him and wasn’t disappointed by Szczęsny so far.
Łukasz Piszczek (Dortmund): the best Polish right back by a large margin, when healthy he always starts the games for Poland. Smuda wants to base the team on Dortmund players and Piszczek is one of the most important elements of his tactical plan.
Rafał Murawski (Lech Poznań): Smuda has been a fan of this player ever since he coached Lech. Muraś is the vice-captain of the team, but he may end up on the bench in 2012 if his form continues to drop.
Adam Matuszczyk (FC Koeln): Smuda introduced this player to the national team. Matuszczyk’s status in the team is becoming more and more important, he should be our leading central midfielder in 2012.
Jakub Błaszczykowski (Dortmund): captain and the leader of the team. He’s constantly growing mentally and should be prepared to handle the pressure next year.
Adrian Mierzejewski (Polonia Warsaw): Smuda spotted him a year ago and his high opinion of the player was confirmed last season. Mierzejewski became an MVP of the Ekstraklasa and now Trabzonspor wants to pay 4M for him.
Sławomir Peszko (FC Koeln): Smuda forgave him his misbehaviour because he counts on him very much. The transfer to Koeln only strengthened Peszko’s position.
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille): Smuda sees him as our starting playmaker and set pieces specialist.
Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund): the top scorer of Franz’s national team, was benched only once by him during his spell as a national team coach.

Big chance:

Łukasz Fabiański (Arsenal): I don’t believe that he’ll replace Szczęsny as Arsenal’s starting keeper, but he’s got enough quality and Smuda’s trust to be a backup in the national team as well.
Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznań): the fact that he can be a backup for every position in the defense acts as his advantage. Smuda knows him well from his times in Poznań.
Arkadiusz Głowacki (Trabzonspor): surprisingly, Smuda wants to make Głowa one of the defensive line leaders. He’ll be included in the Euros squad as long as he stays healthy.
Dariusz Dudka (Auxerre): Smuda resigned from him once, but decided to trust him once again after his good performances for Auxerre. Since then he’s an important first team player.
Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor): Grosik may easily be the best dribbler in the national team. Has been receiving regular call ups this year. Will act as an impact sub in 2012.
Ireneusz Jeleń (Auxerre?): will be picked by Smuda as long as he’s healthy, but his injury problems seriously limit his chances to play in the starting lineup.

50% chance:

Przemysław Tytoń (Roda Kerkrade): Tytoń is Smuda’s discovery and the coach will want to have ‘his’ keeper in the team for the Euros. Doesn’t have a chance to compete with Szczęsny and Fabiański for the starting spot.
Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Białystok): should compete with Tytoń for the third keeper spot.
Tomasz Jodłowiec (Polonia Warsaw): isn’t convincing in the national team, but continues to keep his place in Smuda’s squad.
Maciej Sadlok (Polonia Warsaw): plays mainly as a left back for Poland, but may find himself outside of the team if he doesn’t improve his performances,
Kamil Glik (Palermo): promoted by Smuda, but hasn’t developed as much as expected. May be included in the team if he plays regularly in the Serie A.
Jakub Wawrzyniak (Legia Warsaw): quite good performances in the recent friendlies make him a serious candidate for the left back backup role.
Łukasz Mierzejewski (Cracovia): inexplicably, Smuda loves this player. But even he will have to understand that Mierzejewski isn’t quality enough for international level.
Jakub Rzeźniczak (Legia Warsaw): just behind Piszczek as far as Polish right backs are concerned, but Smuda may decide that the Dormund full back and Wojtkowiak are enough.
Paweł Brożek (Trabzonspor): cool finishing against Argentina improved his position in the team. Smuda may want to include a typical goalscorer in the squad.

Outside chance:

Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd): may return to the national team if he finds himself a new club.
Piotr Brożek (Trabzonspor): a natural left back will have to be tested if he plays regularly in the Champions League for Trabzonspor.
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens): Smuda hasn’t resigned from him, but doesn’t seem convinced by the skillful Brazilian. Franz opted for Mateusz Klich when he handed in last call ups.
Patryk Małecki (Wisła Kraków): his chances would have been higher if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s conflicted with Smuda. Still, Franz hasn’t officially ruled out Małecki’s comeback.
Artur Sobiech (Polonia Warsaw): the most talented Polish young striker hasn’t played a lot under Smuda. Now he’s also got problems with Polonia’s owner Józef Wojciechowski (proposed pay cut) to deal with.
Euzebiusz Smolarek (Polonia Warsaw): only a large number of goals in the Ekstraklasa can bring back Ebi to the national team.
Dawid Nowak (GKS Bełchatów): a year ago he was close to the starting lineup. Since then Franz has realised that Nowak isn’t determined and healthy enough to compete on the international level.
Radosław Majewski (Nottingham Forest): Smuda never trusted him. The fact that he stopped playing regularly in England doesn’t help either.
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht): Smuda contacted the player, but hasn’t guaranteed the first call up for him.
Ariel Borysiuk, Maciej Rybus, Michał Kucharczyk (Legia Warsaw), Jacek Kiełb (Lech Poznań), Cezary Wilk (Wisła Kraków), Mateusz Klich (Cracovia), Szymon Pawłowski (Zagłębie Lubin), Tomasz Kupisz (Jagiellonia Białystok), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Stade Reims): Smuda may want to include two or three younger players in the Euro squad. However, none of them will play an important roel in the team.

No chances:

Artur Boruc (Fiorentina), Michał Żewłakow (Legia Warsaw), Maciej Iwański (Manisaspor): Smuda officially resigned from them.
Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznań?): one of Smuda’s favourites, but constant injury problems will make it hard for him to even find a new club.
Błażej Augustyn (Catania): Smuda doesn’t seem interested at all in him.

Question marks:

Sebastian Boenish (Werder Bremen): if he’s healthy, he will definitely be included in the Euro lineup and will most probably play in the first eleven. His fitness after a season long pause is a big question mark.
Manuel Arboleda (Lech Poznań): Smuda fights for a citizenship for Maniek, but the Colombian isn’t welcomed by the players in the team. His form this year doesn’t enable him to be included in the team.
Damien Perquis (Socheaux): should debut in the national team this year, Smuda is personally involved in granting Perquis Polish citizenship. The question is whether he’ll have enough time to find common understanding with another players.

As you can see, there are more than thirty players that may be considered Euro candidates. Apart from the central and left defense, Franz has already created the core of the team. There won’t be many surprise call ups in the midfield and attack. The fight is for the 17th or 18th place in the squad, not the 10th or 11th. In my opinion, apart from Boruc, Smuda chooses the best Polish players available. As much as I’d like to see guys like Majewski or Piotr Brożek given an extended chance, I don’t think there are any players outside of Smuda’s squad good enough for the starting lineup. The controversy concerns the backup players, not the starters (why Klich, not Majewski or Roger, why Kucharczyk and not Sobiech or Smolarek etc.). Though Smuda didn’t omit unnecessary controversies, I consider his selection process rather successful. Much bigger problem, the one I described in detail last time, is the strategy.

Summary: Finally, we had a game that recalled a serious international encounter where points are at stake. Kudos to the French team for coming on an unofficial date and putting their best possible performance. Laurent Blanc has got a great effect on his team; blase players are replaced with young wolves hungry for fresh blood. It’s clear that those French players will follow their coach into fire. Can the same be said about Franz Smuda? Not exactly. Rumours are circulating that the players are unhappy with the strategy that Franz is proposing, playing out of position and that they want a more organized tactical plan. Nevertheless, playing against Smuda was out of the question. The Biało Czerwoni gave their all, played to the best of their abilities and tried to squeeze the most out of Smuda’s tactical plan. Sadly, this all wasn’t enough to even earn a draw against France since the difference in skills and the culture of play was too vast. We played a typical Smuda style: tried to keep possession for as long as possible, sped up our game when we approached the French goal and tried to employ high pressing. It’s visible that the players feel more and more comfortable in this strategy, but it’s also visible that it has very serious shortcomings. First of all, our keeping of possession is not effective. The defenders exchanged passes very often, but only Łukasz Piszczek was able to play a forward pass and start an offensive move. Wojtkowiak and Jodłowiec tried some long, direct passes, but majority of them were intercepted by the French. Jakub Wawrzyniak only played backward passes. That’s why either Dariusz Dudka or Rafał Murawski played close to the defensive line. They picked up the ball and tried a quick, diagonal pass in the direction of the offensive players. This was effective only when the French didn’t employ pressing; when they did, a lot of passes, especially Dudka’s, were intercepted by our opponents. The pressing as well didn’t work as Smuda imagined. During the first quarter of an hour we tried the high pressing and even recovered the ball on a couple of occassions, but the French quickly grew accustomed to it and had no problems to find a free player to pass the ball to. The ineffectiveness of our pressing strategy was especially visible in the first fifteen minutes of the second half when we couldn’t get hold of the ball for a longer moment. Technically skilled teams, like France or Spain, have absolutely no problems to keep possession in the games against us. The next problem is our offensive display. Even when we’ve got an occassion to cross there’s only Robert Lewandowski available in the penalty box and he’s covered by at least two defenders. Ludo Obraniak, who should join Lewy in the box, was too often preoccupied with distributing the ball and wasn’t fast enough to enter the box. Moreover, he’s not a typical striker and therefore feels more comfortable outside the penalty area. Another factor that weakened our offense is the fact that neither Dudka, nor Murawski ran into the French defensive line. Le Bleus were happy to guard Lewandowski and had no surprise runs to deal with. In 4-2-3-1 strategy one of the defensive midfielders should run into the penalty box when the ball is on the wing, Dudka and Muraś preferred to keep away from shooting opportunities. The major offensive problem is that we can move the ball to the wing, but then don’t have enough players available for the cross. Finally, players were too inaccurate on the French half, especially when trying the decisive, key passes. This is caused by the shortcomings in the skills department and the fact that some of the players are not used to such a high tempo of a game.

These are the tactical problems that should be dealt with by Franz Smuda. Unfortunately, it’s hard to believe that our coach will do that as he seems satisfied with the way we play. The best proof for that is his reluctance to make any substitutions, even when the game was getting away from us and the players were tired. Ludo Obraniak could have been easily replaced after the first half as he couldn’t find himself in the game before the break. Then in the 60th minute, if only Smuda observed that we don’t have enough players in the box, Paweł Brożek or another offensive player (Grosicki, Kucharczyk, Pawłowski) should have been brough on. It was also clear that Rafał Murawski doesn’t have the energy to run after the French midfielders for 90 minutes. We lost control of the midfield at the beginning of the second half and this was the time to bring on a fresh central midfielder. Smuda waited till the 79th minute to introduce Adam Matuszczyk and, what’s worse, he brough him on for the offensive minded Adrian Mierzejewski. Brożek and Pawłowski had the ‘impressive’ five minutes to change the course of the game, that’s not enough time to make a real impact on the game. My point is that Smuda doesn’t read the game well. He chooses the starting lineup correctly, but then is too reluctant to make any changes if his chosen players don’t come up with the goods. On the one hand, it’s good for the players to feel the coach’s trust, but on the other hand Smuda’s being too stubborn doesn’t help the team. What’s more, what can we say about Kucharczyk, Pawłowski or Klich if neither of them got more than tean minutes of playing time during the two games. Not to mention the likes of Cezary Wilk or Grzegorz Krychowiak who weren’t on the field even for a single minute. Irritation must be high among the substitutes.

Player ratings (1-10):

Wojciech Szczęsny 8: a very good and confident performance. Saved everything he had to save and won a one on one duel with Hoarau. Has the character to play the Artur Boruc role (read: save our asses) in the 2012 tournament.
Łukasz Piszczek 7: everytime we had the ball on the right wing Piszczek ran forward and made himself available for the pass. Great speed and stamina, good cooperation with Kuba Błaszczykowski. Not bad in defense, next time his crosses should be more accurate.
Tomasz Jodłowiec 4: his unlucky deflection of N’Zogbia’s shot caused the French goal. Had both good moments and clean intervention, but at times he had problems to keep up and his first touch fails him too often. Not good enough in ball distribution.
Grzegorz Wojtkowiak 5: a bit more confident and safer than Jodłowiec. However, his ball distibution when we need a forward pass also isn’t good enough.
Jakub Wawrzyniak 4: his main goal was not to make any mistakes. Hence he only passed the ball backwards to Szczęsny or the central defenders. After some time it became irritating. Only one offensive run, a poor result when compared to Piszczek.
Rafał Murawski 5: just as against Argentina, he didn’t play bad as long as he had the strength to run after the opponents and ask for the ball while in possession. Completely lost in the beginning of the second half when he couldn’t compete with the French midfielders. Has huge problems with accuracy under pressure when he’s tired.
Dariusz Dudka 5: played ‘his’ game, to the best of his abilities. Won possession on a couple of occassions, passed the ball to the nearest teammate. Just don’t expect him to play some opening, diagonal passes.
Adian Mierzejewski 6: very active on the left wing, where he competed against the powerful Bacary Sagna. Had some good crosses and good dribbles, but there weren’t enough players in the box to meet them. Better and more confident with each single game.
Jakub Błaszczykowski 6: drives our game forward together with Piszczek on the right wing. tries very hard to be the leader of the team. Able to trick the opponents with one single move, but doesnt run past opponents often enough.
Ludovic Obraniak 5: overmotivated, though active, he wasn’t accurate enough in the first half. His set pieces also weren’t as dangerous as usual. Played a lot better in our last offensive rush forward in the dying minutes of the game.
Robert Lewandowski 6: the most dangerous and the most guarded Polish player. Covered by at least two french players at all times. One good shot from outside the penalty box, and one header saved on the goalline by the French defender.
Adam Matuszczyk 5: brought on to play in the more offensive role, should stick to the central midfielder one.
Paweł Brożek, Szymon Pawłowski: didn’t play long enough, but managed to add some spark to our attacks. Brożek showed that he may be useful when we need to keep the ball upfront.

Conclusions:

- we have players who can win every other game against average teams. To win, or play on equal terms, against superior opponents they need some help from the bench. At the moment, it looks like our strategy isn’t refined enough to pose any threat to serious opponents. What worked for Smuda in the Ekstraklasa isn’t enough on the international stage.
- Smuda’s reluctance to substitute players is growing more and more irritating. He has no idea how to influence the game from the bench when the team is in crisis, or just has no confidence in his substitutes. But why did he call them up then?
- I think we’ve got at least six-seven players who, provided there are no injuries, will be a part of the starting lineup during the Euros. Szczęsny, Piszczek, Błaszczykowski, Mierzejewski, Obraniak and Lewandowski are Smuda’s chosen ones. Murawski and Dudka are also very close to the starting lineup, but the have to fence off the competiton from Adam Matuszczyk, who may still improve his place in the pecking order. The central defenders and Wawrzyniak seem to be backup options at best, Smuda is waiting for Boenish and Głowacki to get fit and for Perquis to get the citizenship.
- Adrian Mierzejewski did his best on the left wing, but had no support from Wawrzyniak. Therefore the right wing is much much stronger than the left one and our strategy is too easy to read for our opponents. The French attacked on the left side very often in order to tire our Dortmund duo. We need healthy Boenish as soon as possible to balance the wings.

The players have the ambition and the majority of them have the skills to compete in the Euros. It seems that at the moment the manager and his style of running the team is the biggest problem for the Biało Czerwoni. As much as one can’t criticise Smuda’s choice of players (apart from the conflict with Boruc and not giving a chance to Małecki), his instructions for them leave much to be desired. Either Smuda changes something in his tactics and stops being so stubborn, or we’ll have no chances to compete against the serious European opponents.

Highlights:

This is what I learnt from the Sunday’s game:

Advantages:

- the result. Even though we played against the absolute backup players of the Argentinian national team, a win is always a win. It’s a result that gives confidence to the players and makes them believe that they are going in the good direction. Our opponents couldn’t exactly be called a serious team, but they still had players from Sevilla, Villareal, FC Porto or Manchester City. If you ask me, it’s better to play against Argentina C that the likes of Moldova or Georgia.
- Adrian Mierzejewski scored his first goal for the national team. So far it seemed that Mierzejewski isn’t confident enough in national team colours; this goal should help him take more responsibility for the way we play. Adrian has just become the MVP of the Ekstraklasa and he’ll probably play a very important role for us next year.
- the Dormund trio. They are the real leaders of the team, play like players should on international level. I think they matured and became even more confident of their skills after winning the championship title in Germany. They are also well prepared in physical terms. The right wing and Robert Lewandowski are the strongest points of our team.
- Paweł Brożek’s finishing. Ice cold finish from Brożek showed that he may be useful to the national team, at least in the joker role. Especially when you compare his composure to Kamil Grosicki’s lack of effectiveness in front of goal.
- Jakub Wawrzyniak. I’m not a big fan of the Legia player, but he looked better and more natural at left back than Maciej Sadlok or Dariusz Dudka. Wawrzyniak won himself a right to be tested againt France.

Disadvatages:

- the game was a picnic; we fought against players who played together for the first time in their lifes. Moreover, since everybody new about the status of the Argentinian team. not a lot of fans decided to visit the stadium and the atmosphere didn’t recall a serious football match in one bit. The initial high ticket prices didn’t help either.
- Smuda’s reluctance to bring the subs on the field a bit earlier. Guys like Szymon Pawłowski, Grzegorz Krychowiak or Cezary Wilk probably have a chance to represent Poland next year, but we still haven’t learnt about how they play in national team colours against a bit more serious opponent.
- Kamil Grosicki. A player starting for Poland can’t waste as many chances as Grosik did. The serious competition at Euros won’t forgive so many wasted opportunities.
- the central defensive pairing still looks extremely shaky. Especially Tomasz Jodłowiec doesn’t look agile enough to compete on international level.
- Rafał Murawski’s fitness. As long as Muraś had the strength he played quite well. However, in the second half it looked like he was already too tired to keep up. We need Muraś ready to work hard for 90 minutes during the Euros.

Now for the France game. This will be a much more serious encounter. First of all, the French team is one of the strongest in Europe at the moment. Laurent Blanc brought back the positive atmosphere to the team and created a dangerous mixture of youth and experience. There are already established players in the squad, like Evra, Abidal or Benzema, but there are youngsters who have great careers in front of them like Gameiro, M’Villa or or Cabaye. This team defeated Ukraine 4-1 at the weekend after goals two goals form Socheaux’s Marvin Martin, and single ones from Gameiro and Kaboul. Blanc rotates the players so it’s hard to expect which stars he’ll use against Poland. It’s possible that the ones who were benched against Ukraine will get their chance against the Biało Czerwoni from the first minute.

As for Poland, there aren’t many changes expected in the starting lineup. This will be the most serious test for Smuda this year and he’ll make sure to play the strongest possible lineup. The only certain change is the inclusion of Ludovic Obraniak, who didn’t play againt Argentina because he joined the team only a day earlier due to having his first baby born. Against his first homeland, Ludo will play instead of Kamil Grosicki, who was less convincing than Adrian Mierzejewski in the last game. Other possible change may occur in the defensive line. Smuda is thinking of replacing either Grzegorz Wojtkowiak or Tomasz Jodłowiec with Kamil Glik. I’d prefer that Smuda keeps Wojtkowiak on the field as I view him as a much safer defender than his two rivals.

This can be a game that will finally give us some answers. We play against a good team, whose coach should make sure that his players aren’t complacent. We’ll play in front of a sell out crowd at perfect time for a good spectacle. It’s hard to imagine much better friendly conditions before the Euros.

Poland-France (Warsaw, 21:00 CET)
Poland: Wojciech Szczęsny – Jakub Wawrzyniak, Tomasz Jodłowiec (Kamil Glik), Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Kamil Glik), Łukasz Piszczek – Rafał Murawski (Adam Matuszczyk), Dariusz Dudka – Jakub Błaszczykowski, Ludovic Obraniak, Adrian Mierzejewski (Kamil Grosicki) – Robert Lewandowski

Ps: I know that the fequency of posting was very low lately, I’ve just returned from two wekk holidays. I’ll try to improve that. I work as a teacher and since my younger students will start holidays at the end of June I’ll have more time to blog then. You can, of course, expect a detailed review of the France friendly.

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Fiorentina): not in the squad against Brescia
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd): not in the squad against Blackpool
Sebastian Małkowski (Lechia Gdańsk): on the bench against Lech
Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Bialystok): 90 minutes against Korona, note 7
Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal London): 90 minutes against Fulham
Przemyslaw Tytoń (Roda Kerkrade): no in the squad against ADO, injury
Łukasz Załuska (Celtic Glasgow): on the bench against Motherwell in the cup final

Defenders:

Blażej Augustyn (Catania): on the bench against Inter
Piotr Brożek (Trabzonspor): 90 minutes against Karabukspor
Piotr Celeban (Śląsk Wrocław): 90 minutes against Górnik, note 6
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre): 90 minutes against Brest
Kamil Glik (Bari): not in the squad against Bologna, red card ban
Arkadiusz Głowacki (Trabzonspor): not in the squad against Karabukspor
Tomasz Jodłowiec (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Ruch, note 6
Marcin Kikut (Lech Poznań): not in the squad against Lechia, injury
Łukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund): no match
Jakub Rzeźniczak (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Wisła, note 6
Maciej Sadlok (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Ruch, note 5
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht): no match
Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Hubert Wołąkiewicz (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 6
Michał Żewłakow (free transfer): cancelled his contract with Ankaragucu

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan): not in the squad against Lechia, injury
Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund): no match
Ariel Borysiuk (Legia Warsaw): not in the squad against Wisła
Mateusz Cetnarski (GKS Belchatow): 90 minutes against Zagłębie, note 4
Tomasz Cywka (Derby County): no match
Janusz Gol (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Wisła, note 6
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens): 87 minutes against Olympiakos Volos
Maciej Iwański (Manisaspor): not in the squad against Istanbul BB, injury
Jacek Kiełb (Lech Poznań): 11 minutes against Lechia
Tomasz Kupisz (Jagiellonia Bialystok): 90 minutes and two goals against Korona, note 8
Grzegorz Krychowiak (Stade Reims): 32 minutes against Evian
Radosław Majewski (Nottingham Forest): no match
Patryk Małecki (Wisla Krakow): 90 minutes against Legia, note 6
Adam Matuszczyk (FC Koeln): no match
Adrian Mierzejewski (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes and two assists against Ruch, note 7
Rafał Murawski (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille): 74 minutes and a goal against PSG
Sławomir Peszko (FC Koeln): no match
Maciej Rybus (Legia Warsaw): 68 minutes against Wisła, note 5
Bartosz Salamon (Foggia): no match
Cezary Wilk (Wisła Kraków): not in the squad against Legia

Attackers:

Paweł Brożek (Trabzonspor): 56 minutes against Karabukspor
Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor): 90 minutes against Fenerbahce
Michał Janota (Go Ahead Eagles): no match
Ireneusz Jeleń (AJ Auxerre): not in the squad against Brest, injury
Michał Kucharczyk (Legia Warsaw): 86 minutes against Wisła, note 5
Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund): no match
Andrzej Niedzielan (Korona Kielce): 90 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 2
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow): 78 minutes against Zagłębie, note 6
Szymon Pawłowski (Zagłębie Lubin): 90 minutes against Bełchatów, note 6
Dawid Plizga (Zagłębie Lubin): 76 minutes and a goal against Bełchatów, note 7
Marcin Robak (Konyaspor): 90 minutes against Galatasaray
Ebi Smolarek (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes and a goal against Ruch, note 6
Artur Sobiech (Polonia Warsaw): not in the squad against Ruch, injury

Summary: I’ve already written a lot about Dortmund’s performances this season. This was one of the most joyful teams to watch in Europe and the Polish element made their games even more exciting. What’s best, our trio didn’t serve the Tomasz Kuszczak role in Dortmund, but were one of the most important elements in Borussia’s championship campaign. I’ve seen many Dortmund games this season and I hope I can judge our players’ input rightly:

Łukasz Piszczek (33 games, 2662 minutes, 0 goals, 7 assists, 3,09 average rating in Kicker): the biggest success story in Polish football this season. Came to Dortmund as a rotation player of the relegated Hertha Berlin and was supposed to fill the same spot in his new club, if not play even less time. What we didn’t know was the fact that Piszczek’s transfer was carried out due to Jurgen Klopp’s personal request. There is no better proof of manager’s trust in player’s skills. In the beginning of the season Łukasz was playing every second game, but an injury to Patrick Owomoyela meant that he naturally became Borussia’s starting right back. And he flourished incredibly when he got the starting spot. I think I wrote it before, but I’ve never seen such a good, offensive minded Polish right back. Whether it was Gotze or Kuba, Piszczek cooperated with them flawlessly, made himself available for forward passes and one two plays and usually finished his moves with a driven cross. Seven assists is an incredible result for a full back. In the national team Piszczek had no problems to win himself a place in the starting lineup and became our most reliable defender. There is no doubt that he’ll stay in Dortmund next season and earn CL experience. The only drawback of the season was the corruption scandal Piszczek was involved at Zagłębie Lubin, but he already announced that he has no plans of resigning from the national team.

Jakub Błaszczykowski (29 games, 1528 minutes, 3 goals, 4 assists, 3,56 average rating in Kicker): was the biggest Polish star at Borussia in the beginning of the season, but in the end he was used as a squad rotation player due to Mario Gotze’s emergence as the brightest prospect in German football. Kuba didn’t make a huge step forward, didn’t improve his game as much as Piszczek or his other teammates and wasn’t the leader of the team he was in the previous seasons. Nevertheless, his cooperation with Piszczek had to bring a smile to Polish fans’ faces. There’s hope that next season Kuba will get even more playing time, not only because of the CL involvement. There is little chance of replacing Gotze on the right wing, but Nuri Sahin’s transfer to Madrid may mean that the young German will be used more often in the middle of the field, just like in Dortmund’s last game of the season. This would mean a place for Kuba on the right wing. Finally, it was a good season for Błaszczykowski in terms of injury problems. Hopefully, his body got used to the aggresive style of the Bundesliga.

Robert Lewandowski (33 games, 1586 minutes, 8 goals, 3 assists, 3,58 average rating in Kicker): the former biggest star of the Ekstraklasa had a good first season on the German pitches. Maybe Lewy wasn’t spectacular and didn’t make the jaws drop, but he confirmed that Dormund made a good decision to acquire him from Lech Poznań. In the first half of the season he played the role of the joker and managed to score a handful of goals after coming on from the bench. In 2011, after Shinji Kagawa’s injury, Lewy became a starter for Dortmund, though he had to be satisfied with a link up player role, as he played in the spot between Lucas Barrios and the midfield. His goal tally isn’t impressive, but he clerly improved his first touch, long shot and keeping the ball under pressure. The only irritating disadvantage that Lewy can’t eliminate is his lack of effectiveness in front of goal. He could, and should, score more than eight goals in the league. Next season, provided Barrios and Kagawa stay, he should be the first offensive player to come off the bench and start at least half of the games for Dortmund. Definitely our biggest attacking prospect.

It was a crazy fortnight in the career of Ludovic Obraniak. After a disapponting season marked by poor form and beng warming, Ludo scored two most important Lille goals this season. At least he’ll be remembered for something this season; when you look at Ludo’s numbers they are far from impressive (26 games, but only 5 in the starting lineup, 2 goals and 2 assists). Obraniak lost the rivalry with Gervinho, Moussa Sow and Eden Hazard, one of the biggest young talents in Europe. He accepted his role in the team without controversy, but will have to move in order to play more next season (there is no sign that Lille will sell their stars, especially with CL in perspective). It was visible in the recent national team games that, in the long run, bench warming has a very negative form on Ludo. I hope he’ll have no problems finding a mid table club in France or Germany that would make him prepared 100% for the Euros.

Finally, the Polish trio at Trabzonspor were extremely close to winning the Turkish championship in their first season in Turkey. Arkadiusz Głowacki couldn’t establish himself as much as he’d like to in Trabzon due to injury problems. Still, when he was 100% healthy he usually had a stable place in the starting lineup. Trabzonspor’s good results meant that Głowacki returned to the national team. The Brożek twins took much time to assimilate in Turkey; Piotr was faster as he played every second game on the left back position (he also had some injury problems). If he continues to play regularly next season Smuda will have no other choice but to call him up. Paweł won himself a place in the lineup during the last stages of the season. He only scored two goals, but showed enough promise to stay in Trabzon for the next season. He’ll probably be used in squad rotation system.

Other news:

- Koeln publicly announced Sławomir Peszko’s financial demands (he wanted to earn 50% more after only half a year at the club). This means that Peszko won’t probably stay at Koeln. His manager, Andrzej Grajewski, says that they have lots of other offers, but he may only be bluffing to earn a better negotiating position. In my opinion, to move clubs so frequently is an idiotic move from Peszko.
- Lech Poznań won’t play in Europe next season, which means that the ranking points they scored this year will account for nothing next term. Kolejorz will sell at least one of their star players (most likely Semir Stilic) and probably won’t invest a lot of money in incoming transfers. This will stop the club’s development for a year.
- Slovakia’s national team coach Vladimir Weiss may manage Legia Warsaw next season. He’s a very successful manager and a good choice, if it wasn’t for the fact that he wants to manage Slovakia at the same time. That’s a huge risk for Legia.
- Wisła is interested in strengthening their defensive line with Marcin Wasilewski. Sounds like they want to improve the Polish element in the team. Wasyl is clearly good enough to aid Wisła in their CL campaign. Knowing Smuda’s reluctance to travel, this move may also be his only chance to return to the national team.
- Jerzy Dudek played his last game for Real and received a farewell worthy of a champion.

Highlights:

Tomasz Kupisz scores twice for Jagiellonia

Ebi Smolarek’s goal for Polonia and two assists from Adrian Mierzejewski

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Fiorentina): not in the squad against Bologna
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd): 90 minutes against Blackburn
Sebastian Małkowski (Lechia Gdańsk): on the bench against Polonia
Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Bialystok): not in the squad against Legia
Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal London): 90 minutes against Aston Villa
Przemyslaw Tytoń (Roda Kerkrade): no in the squad against Heerenveen, injury
Łukasz Załuska (Celtic Glasgow): on the bench against Motherwell

Defenders:

Blażej Augustyn (Catania): not in the squad against Roma
Piotr Brożek (Trabzonspor): not in the squad against Istanbul BB
Piotr Celeban (Śląsk Wrocław): 90 minutes against GKS Bełchatów, note 5
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre): 90 minutes against Valenciennes
Kamil Glik (Bari): not in the squad against Lecce, red card ban
Arkadiusz Głowacki (Trabzonspor): not in the squad against Istanbul BB
Tomasz Jodłowiec (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 6
Marcin Kikut (Lech Poznań): not in the squad against Ruch, injury
Łukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund): 90 minutes and an assist against Eintracht
Jakub Rzeźniczak (Legia Warsaw): not in the squad against Jagiellonia
Maciej Sadlok (Polonia Warsaw): 74 minutes against Lechia, note 4
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht): 90 minutes against Standard
Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes and an assist against Ruch, note 6
Hubert Wołąkiewicz (Lech Poznań): not in the squad against Ruch
Michał Żewłakow (free transfer): cancelled his contract with Ankaragucu

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan): not in the squad against Ruch, injury
Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund): 87 minutes against Eintracht
Ariel Borysiuk (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 4
Mateusz Cetnarski (GKS Belchatow): 71 minutes against Śląsk, note 6
Tomasz Cywka (Derby County): no match
Janusz Gol (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Jagiellonia, note 5
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens): 38 minutes against PAOK
Maciej Iwański (Manisaspor): not in the squad against Bucaspor, injury
Jacek Kiełb (Lech Poznań): 62 minutes and a goal against Ruch, note 6
Tomasz Kupisz (Jagiellonia Bialystok): 90 minutes against Legia, note 6
Grzegorz Krychowiak (Stade Reims): 74 minutes against Clermont
Radosław Majewski (Nottingham Forest): no match
Patryk Małecki (Wisla Krakow): 90 minutes and an assist against Cracovia, note 6
Adam Matuszczyk (FC Koeln): on the bench against Schalke
Adrian Mierzejewski (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 6
Rafał Murawski (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Ruch, note 6
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille): 11 minutes and a goal against PSG in French Cup final
Sławomir Peszko (FC Koeln): not in the squad against Schalke, injury
Maciej Rybus (Legia Warsaw): 1 minute against Jagiellonia
Bartosz Salamon (Foggia): on the bench against Cosenza
Cezary Wilk (Wisła Kraków): 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 6

Attackers:

Paweł Brożek (Trabzonspor): 81 minutes and a goal against Istanbul BB
Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor): 75 minutes against Konyaspor
Michał Janota (Go Ahead Eagles): 83 minutes against Den Bosh
Ireneusz Jeleń (AJ Auxerre): not in the squad against Valenciennes, injury
Michał Kucharczyk (Legia Warsaw): 3 minutes against Jagiellonia
Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund): 90 minutes and two assists against Eintracht
Andrzej Niedzielan (Korona Kielce): not in the squad against Arka
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow): 90 minutes and a goal against Śląsk, note 6
Szymon Pawłowski (Zagłębie Lubin): 90 minutes and a goal against Widzew, note 6
Dawid Plizga (Zagłębie Lubin): 90 minutes and an assist against Widzew, note 6
Marcin Robak (Konyaspor): 90 minutes against Sivasspor
Ebi Smolarek (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Artur Sobiech (Polonia Warsaw): 45 minutes against Lechia, note 4

Summary: Wisła won their title in the best possible way for their fans, that is by winning the derby game against Cracovia. Once again it was the Israel’s Maor Melikson that decided about the result of the Biała Gwiazda game. This is definitely the best transfer to the Polish league made in the January transfer window. It’s also a proof of Stan Valckx’s, Wisła’s sporting director, eye for talent and wide net of contacts. Wisłą brought players from all over Europe (Netherlands, Bulgaria, Israel, Italy), but at the same time managed to create a well oiled machine from them. Kew Jaliens may have not turned out the best defender in the Ekstraklasa, but he’s quality enough to keep the Wisła defense together with Osman Chavez. Sergej Pareiko is the goalkeeper that the Wisła fans have been waiting for a long time and a one that guarantees less bloopers than Mariusz Pawełek. Lat but not least, Cwetan Genkow, though initially criticized, managed to score six goals after his adaptation process was complete. Another great decision by Valckx was to sell the Brożek twins and let Pawełek go on the free transfer. Paweł and Piotr have already spent too much time in the Ekstraklasa and didn’t guarantee the progress that was needed in Kraków. It was the last chance to earn respectable money and Valckx together with Robert Maaskant decided to cash on it. I don’t think anyone missed the twins this year. The truth is that Wisła is only in the first stage of the rebuilding process, but nevertheless was good enough to win the title. Apart from the Brożek twins and Pawełek, they also lost Marcelo and Junior Diaz before the season started, which meant that they’d have to build their defensive line from scratch. It took them less time than anyone expected. Now Wisła’s squad needs further restructuring; they ought to get rid of useless and budget draining players (Branco, Żurawski, Boukhari, Rios, Łobodziński, Garguła?) and replace them with two or three quality players. It all depends on Valckx’s instinct and the owner’s willingness to spend more money. Supposedly, the scouts have already been working for months on new transfers. Only if they are successful we can have the slightest hope of watching an Ekstraklasa team in the Champions League next season.

Does the title for Wisła mean anything for the national team? It certainly means that you can win the Polish title with only two/three native players in your starting lineup. Franz Smuda can only scout Patryk Małecki and Cezary Wilk in the CL qualifications next season (there is no word about Wisła being interested in any other Polish player). Małecki was definitely the new champion’s leader throughout the season, especially after the Brożek twins left in January. He’s fanatic about his team and became a sort of a cult figure at Reymonta street. He’s dynamic, has a nice shot and a never say die attitude. The latter also acts to his disadavantage as he’s prone to lose his composure in the more demanding moments. Smuda says that he expects Małecki to shine both on and off the field. Judging by his latest insult of Saidi Ntibazokiza from Cracovia, it won’t be easy for Mały to win Smuda over, especially that he’s to face a stern competition on his position (Kuba, Peszko). Cezary Wilk is much less eye-catching than Małecki, but he’s been progressing very nicely this season. He was able to make the step forward from a weaker club and established himself as an important squad player at Wisła. Next season, he’s going to slowly replace Radosław Sobolewski as the starting defensive midfielder in the team. In two or three years time Wilk should be a national team regular and a candidate for a transfer abroad. It’s only a shame that since Małecki got included in the team no other young Polish player has been able to break through at the Biała Gwiazda. Maybe Valckx should scout the Polish market with the same intensity that he scouts the foreign one.

Franz Smuda sent the call ups for the games against Argentina B and France. Apart from the return of Paweł Brożek, there isn’t even a slightest surprise on the list:

Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal); defenders: Łukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Kamil Glik (Bari), Arkadiusz Głowacki (Trabzonspor), Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre); midfielders: Ludovic Obraniac (Lille), Adam Matuszczyk (Köln), Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia D.); strikers: Robert Lewandowski (Borussia D.), Paweł Brożek (Trabzonspor), Kamil Grosiki (Sivasspor)

Brożek may not be deserving the return, but in all honesty who else was Smuda to pick? Irek Jeleń is injured once again and Marcin Robak is simply not good enough, at least in my opinion. This is the best that we can afford at the moment. These call ups show that the process of granting Damien Perquis Polish citizenship takes longer than expected. I don’t know if it’s wise to include him in the squad as late as seven or eight months before the Euros. Smuda’s assistant, Jacek Zieliński, also explained that they didn’t pick Radosław Majewski and Marcin Wasilewski because they haven’t been playing regularly. Fair enough, though Wasyl had to pause because of the red card, not poor form. Generally, I have a feeling that Franz stopped looking for any new candidates or solutions. He’s sticking to the guys you see on the list (plus the injured Jeleń, Fabiański, Boenish and Peszko) and he’s too lazy to use his last chance to try somebody new. He even stopped attending the games and I don’t even know if he watches the players on video. It’s good that the guys can feel his trust and support, but on the other hand they may feel overconfident and stop fighting for their place in the squad next season. Smuda has to remember that a lot can change in a year.

Other news:

- Ludo Obraniak scored the decisive goal in the French Cup final. I hope it’s his goodbye goal for Lille and that he’ll move somewhere he’d play regularly next season.
- Sławomir Peszko is a tough negotiator. He’s already met the Koeln officials three times, but wasn’t able to agree the new contract. There’s speculation about interest from Werder and HSV, but I think Peszko is just using the rumours to win higher wages.
- Radek Majewski won’t play in the Premiership next season. Nottingham Forest once again lost in the semi final of the Championship play offs. Is it the time for Maja to move (especially that he lost his place in the squad)?
- Łukasz Piszczek won’t resign from playing for the national team as a result of his involvement in the corruption process. What a surprise!
- Tomasz Kuszczak will leave ManUtd at the end of this season. His former club, West Bromwich, is seriously interested in his services. That would be a perfect choice for Tomek.

Highlights:

A backheel assist from Łukasz Piszczek and a great cross from Lewy to end Dortmund’s season

szólj hozzá: Dor 3-1 Fra

Paweł Brożek scores his second goal in the Turkish league. Nice pressing.

Ludo Obraniak scores an incredible goal in the French Cup final

Jacek Kiełb scores his first for Lech

Another good goal from Szymon Pawłowski

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Fiorentina): 90 minutes against Inter
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd): on the bench against Chelsea
Sebastian Małkowski (Lechia Gdańsk): on the bench against Wisła
Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Bialystok): 90 minutes against Widzew, note 5
Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal London): 90 minutes against Stoke
Przemyslaw Tytoń (Roda Kerkrade): no match
Łukasz Załuska (Celtic Glasgow): on the bench against Kilmarmock

Defenders:

Blażej Augustyn (Catania): not in the squad against Brescia
Piotr Brożek (Trabzonspor): not in the squad against Bucaspor
Piotr Celeban (Śląsk Wrocław): 90 minutes against Polonia B., note 6
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre): 90 minutes against Montpellier
Kamil Glik (Bari): not in the squad against Palermo, red card ban
Arkadiusz Głowacki (Trabzonspor): 90 minutes against Bucaspor
Tomasz Jodłowiec (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 4
Marcin Kikut (Lech Poznań): not in the squad against Widzew, injury
Łukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund): 90 minutes against Werder
Jakub Rzeźniczak (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Korona, note 6
Maciej Sadlok (Polonia Warsaw): on the bench against Cracovia
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht): not in the squad against Genk
Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Widzew, note 6
Hubert Wołąkiewicz (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Górnik, note 7
Michał Żewłakow (free transfer): cancelled his contract with Ankaragucu

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan): not in the squad against Górnik, injury
Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund): 34 minutes against Werder
Ariel Borysiuk (Legia Warsaw): 74 minutes against Korona, note 5
Mateusz Cetnarski (GKS Belchatow): 33 minutes and an assist against Arka, note 6
Tomasz Cywka (Derby County): not in the squad against Reading
Janusz Gol (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Korona, note 6
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens): 56 minutes against Olympiakos Volos
Maciej Iwański (Manisaspor): not in the squad against Gaziantespor, injury
Jacek Kiełb (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Górnik, note 5
Tomasz Kupisz (Jagiellonia Bialystok): 90 minutes against Widzew, note 4
Grzegorz Krychowiak (Stade Reims): 90 minutes against Nimes
Radosław Majewski (Nottingham Forest): on the bench against Crystal Palace
Patryk Małecki (Wisla Krakow): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Adam Matuszczyk (FC Koeln): on the bench against Eintracht
Adrian Mierzejewski (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 7
Rafał Murawski (Lech Poznań): not in the squad against Górnik, injury
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille): not in the squad against Nancy, banned for misbehaviour
Sławomir Peszko (FC Koeln): not in the squad against Eintracht, injury
Maciej Rybus (Legia Warsaw): 16 minutes against Korona, note 5
Bartosz Salamon (Foggia): not in the squad against Taranto
Cezary Wilk (Wisła Kraków): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 6

Attackers:

Paweł Brożek (Trabzonspor): 62 minutes against Bucaspor
Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor): 23 minutes against Ankaragucu
Michał Janota (Go Ahead Eagles): 90 minutes against AGOVV
Ireneusz Jeleń (AJ Auxerre): 76 minutes against Montpellier
Michał Kucharczyk (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Korona, note 5
Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund): 76 minutes against Werder
Andrzej Niedzielan (Korona Kielce): 90 minutes against Legia, note 4
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow): 90 minutes and a goal against Arka, note 6
Szymon Pawłowski (Zagłębie Lubin): 87 minutes against Ruch, note 5
Dawid Plizga (Zagłębie Lubin): 90 minutes and an assist against Ruch, note 5
Marcin Robak (Konyaspor): 90 minutes against Genclerbirligi
Ebi Smolarek (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes and a goal against Cracovia, note 6
Artur Sobiech (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Cracovia, note 4

Summary: The tension surrounding the fans’ organizations in Poland has been clearly felt lately. First, there was an assault of the leader of Lech Poznań fans (Wiara Lecha), Litar, on the family who came to watch the Poland vs. Ivory Coast game and were ‘careless’ enough to buy tickets for the behind the goal stand. They were so irresponsible that they even wore the national team colours during the national team game. Not to be outdone, the leader of the Legia Warsaw fans, Staruch, assaulted his own player, Jakub Rzeźniczak, after one of the less successful games. Since we live in the times of CCTV and video cameras in mobile phones, both incidents were recorded and presented in the media. Consequently, the government had to take a stance and promise that they’d solve the football hooligans problem, as this was something the society expected of them at this point. Even though it was only talk, not undertaking any action, on the government side, the fans reacted very energetically and started undermining the prime minister’s Donald Tusk policy. On numerous Ekstraklasa stadiums you could spot the banner that the fans (‘kibole’) are only an imaginary problem and that Tusk uses it to hide his incompetence and draw the media’s attention to something else. So far so good, at this point I was more convinced by the fans’ point of view. Don’t get me wrong, I’d happily get rid of rude behavior and people like Litar or Staruch from Polish stadiums. I also don’t want the fans’ organizations to be in control of the stadiums since they are first to defend their own interests, not the interests of the other spectators. At the same time, I think the crusade against the fans went too far and at one point all people interested in football and attending the games regularly were associated with a mindless troglodyte who is just looking for an opportunity to punch somebody in the face. I was on the fans’ side, until some of them proved too imbecile to be treated seriously.

I wasn’t in Poland at the time of the Polish Cup final, but I read and watched as much as possible after I came back. From day one, the FA’s idea to organize the game between the two teams whose fans hate each other in Bydgoszcz was an irresponsible one. Still, I thought that in the wake of the recent government’s witch hunt aimed at the fans the latter would be able to answer with great atmosphere and prove that they can support their teams without threatening anybody or anything. Once again, the fans’ organizations proved not, well, organized enough to be trusted. The Legia fans entered the pitch after the game and the Lech fans reacted with demolishing the stadium and attacking the security service. Even the TV studio was destroyed in this violent frenzy. As the saying in Poland goes: ‘you presented yourself very nicely in front of millions of viewers’. Surely, after such a great presentation of fans’ culture and harmlessness nobody would even touch them. If they thought in this manner they may be bigger idiots than I thought them to be. Consequently, the government reacted in the worst possible way, that is by closing the stadiums in Warsaw and Poznań. Once again, thousands of fans had to pay for the idiocy of the hundreds. The police said that they can’t guarantee safety on the stadiums, but somehow they had no problems with it before the Bydgoszcz incident. It was clearly a political decision, a one ordered by the prime minister. He wanted to show that he can do something, but in fact he showed the weakness of his own state apparatus. It is the police who should be able to do something, catch the criminals posing as fans on the spot and sentence them as soon as possible. Closing down the stadiums only shows that the police is not able to do their work properly. By his decision Tusk wanted to put pressure on the clubs; no spectators means no money for them. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the clubs were compensated after they sue the government, which would be considered the biggest loser in this situation. At this point, the only result of the stadium closure is chaos and the further defamation of Polish football.

I agree that the hooligans have to be eliminated. They are people who break the law and should face the consequences for it. The saddest thing, however, is that nobody in power in Poland has any idea about how to deal with the problem. We’ve got a year left till the Euros. I don’t want to be ashamed in front of the rest of the world in 2012.

Ps: I promise to write about football next time.

Ps 2: I haven’t been allocated any tickets for the Euros…but my sister has. I’m sure to see the quarter final in Warsaw. I’ll have to fight for the other tickets though, Any luck on your side?

Goalkeepers:

Artur Boruc (Fiorentina): 90 minutes against Cagliari
Tomasz Kuszczak (ManUtd): on the bench against Everton
Sebastian Małkowski (Lechia Gdańsk): on the bench against Legia
Grzegorz Sandomierski (Jagiellonia Bialystok): 90 minutes against Górnik, note 7
Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal London): 90 minutes against Bolton
Przemyslaw Tytoń (Roda Kerkrade): not in the squad against NAC, injury
Łukasz Załuska (Celtic Glasgow): on the bench against Rangers

Defenders:

Blażej Augustyn (Catania): not in the squad against Juventus
Piotr Brożek (Trabzonspor): not in the squad against Eskisehirispor
Piotr Celeban (Śląsk Wrocław): 90 minutes against Wisła, note 6
Dariusz Dudka (AJ Auxerre): 90 minutes and an assist against Lens
Kamil Glik (Bari): 90 minutes against Sampdoria
Arkadiusz Głowacki (Trabzonspor): on the bench against Eskisehirispor
Tomasz Jodłowiec (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Arka, note 6
Marcin Kikut (Lech Poznań): not in the squad against Bełchatów, injury
Łukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund): 90 minutes against Borussia M.
Jakub Rzeźniczak (Legia Warsaw): 45 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Maciej Sadlok (Polonia Warsaw): not in the squad against Arka
Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht): 25 minutes and a red card against Lokeren
Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Bełchatów, note 6
Hubert Wołąkiewicz (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Bełchatów, note 6
Michał Żewłakow (free transfer): cancelled his contract with Ankaragucu

Midfielders:

Tomasz Bandrowski (Lech Poznan): not in the squad against Bełchatów, injury
Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund): 64 minutes against Borussia M.
Ariel Borysiuk (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Mateusz Cetnarski (GKS Belchatow): 74 minutes against Lech, note 4
Tomasz Cywka (Derby County): not in the squad against Norwich
Janusz Gol (Legia Warsaw): on the bench against Lechia
Roger Guerreiro (AEK Athens): no match at the weekend
Maciej Iwański (Manisaspor): not in the squad against Manisaspor, injury
Jacek Kiełb (Lech Poznań): 59 minutes against Bełchatów, note 5
Tomasz Kupisz (Jagiellonia Bialystok): 90 minutes against Górnik, note 7
Grzegorz Krychowiak (Stade Reims): 90 minutes against Angers
Radosław Majewski (Nottingham Forest): on the bench against Bristol City
Patryk Małecki (Wisla Krakow): 90 minutes against Śląsk, note 4
Adam Matuszczyk (FC Koeln): 26 minutes against Wolfsburg
Adrian Mierzejewski (Polonia Warsaw): 90 minutes and two goals against Arka, note 7
Rafał Murawski (Lech Poznań): 90 minutes against Bełchatów, note 5
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille): on the bench against Lorient
Sławomir Peszko (FC Koeln): not in the squad against Wolfsburg, injury
Maciej Rybus (Legia Warsaw): 59 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Bartosz Salamon (Foggia): 80 minutes against Nocerina
Cezary Wilk (Wisła Kraków): didn’t play against Śląsk

Attackers:

Paweł Brożek (Trabzonspor): 7 minutes against Eskisihirispor
Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor): 75 minutes against Katrabukspor
Michał Janota (Go Ahead Eagles): 90 minutes and a goal against Dordrecht
Ireneusz Jeleń (AJ Auxerre): 90 minutes against Lens
Michał Kucharczyk (Legia Warsaw): 90 minutes against Lechia, note 5
Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund): 64 minutes against Borussia M.
Andrzej Niedzielan (Korona Kielce): 90 minutes against Ruch, note 5
Dawid Nowak (GKS Belchatow): 90 minutes against Lech, note 4
Szymon Pawłowski (Zagłębie Lubin): not in the squad against Cracovia, injury
Dawid Plizga (Zagłębie Lubin): 90 minutes and a goal against Cracovia, note 6
Marcin Robak (Konyaspor): 90 minutes and a goal against Besiktas
Ebi Smolarek (Polonia Warsaw): not in the squad against Arka, red card ban
Artur Sobiech (Polonia Warsaw): not in the squad against Arka, injury

Highlights: Marcin Robak’s fourth goal for Konyaspor

Dariusz Dudka’s assist

szólj hozzá: Auxerre 1-1 Lens All goals

Wojciech Szczęsny against Bolton

Michał Janota scores against Dordrecht

Adrian Mierzejewski’s second goal against Arka

A very nice goal from Dawid Plizga