I know Gomez is pretty good, Mike. But it was Ballack that ruled for Germany today, and he probably will again against Poland, that's why he must be stopped in the midfield. I guess the Germans will start against us with the duo of Gomez/Klose up front...remember in 2006 Podolski wasn't playing that well against us (he probably still feels more Polish than German), whereas Klose was all out, almost as if he hated Poland and Polish players.
Ballack is the engine of that team and I have great respect for his abilities.... His form in the second half of the premiership season has been awesome gomez is going to be a handful for our guys....especially off set pieces....our work is cut out for us....the game is going to be epic We certainly are going to have chances as the german defense is really suspect.... Full concentration for the full game, tough play from our two dmf, and some cold blood in the box can't wait
What are u talking about? Boruc 'handled' pirlo?.... Because Boruc made a couple of great saves, he handled Pirlo?I am not sure if a GK can actually handle an opposing player by merely making saves.... And what gives you confidence that Boruc can also stop Ballacks shot? your comment evidences your limited knowledge of football Look at Brono's performance against ronaldo in Chorzow or Lewan's against Simao and Deco in the same game to see what handling really constitutes ...and those performances give me confidence against the Germans
handled AS IN shots... jesus a christ... apparently i need to draw the whole picture for you... no goalkeeper could ever shut down a field player, period Ballack's shot is damn good, i wasn't hating on Ballack, i love the guy as a player... is it alright if i have confidence in my guys though? if you can be all over Ballack's dick, i'm pretty sure i have the right to be all over Boruc's and do you really have to bring up my knowledge of football? how classy do you have to be to do that? just because someone disagrees with you you have to question their knowledge... grow up for christ sake... we can purely agree to disagree, its as simple as that... just because you say a faceless comment like that, it doesn't mean that i'm going to come back at you with some bullocks
Poland v Denmark halftime: Polska 1 Krzynówek (43.) Dania 1 Vingaard (29.) Poland also had a PK saved... don't know who took it, maybe Zurawski?
Yeah, Zurawski took it, a poor attempt. Kind of Ronaldo-style, stutter step, that ended up looking like a pass to the keeper. The Danes are forcing us to play positional attack, which is good for us to practice, and are not giving us to man opportunities to counter. We are playing pretty well as a team, and its especially nice to see Dudka and Wasilewski moving up and creating chances.
After today's match versus the Danes, I believe only two questions remain before the EURO's: 1) The key question: Left Back. Neither Wawa nor Golinski seem to have been good enough today, both defensively and offensively. I say put Zewlakow there and start with Jop in the center D. Probably less risky that way, especially against speedy wingers...but we're all waiting to seemwhat Leo will decide. 2) Not so key question: Zurawski or Roger to start in the recessed forward slot: I believe that Leo's mind is made up and that Zuraw will start with Roger to come in as a sub at some point in the second half. Minor points: Smolarek will prolly start as a true striker. Blaszczykowski (if healthy) or Lobo on the right, Krzyniu on the left. No way Leo is going to mess with Dudka/Lewy in the DM spots, they have proven to be solid both on D and O. I am happy with the way the team is progressing. The collective form seems to be ready to peak for the Germany game. If so, Leo is a true genius....if not, well, there is always the next year....
i agree fully on all aspects you touched upon... i knew there was likely no chance that Roger would start, but he definitely could be used as a sub. Krzynowek is a lock on the left... like u said don't mess with Dudka and Lewandowski... and on the right you have the Kuba then Lobo option... Smolarek is the only thing truly working up top and Zurawski may not score goals but is pretty industrious out there helping out the cause. as for left back... i think it might have helped a little bit bringing Bronowicki... eh... Leo will figure something out i can't wait!!!!
here's a great article going into the Euro http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=1/newsid=679342.html i like Leo's plans for the future at the end of the article
I would put Golanski as the left back - mainly because he has more pace (to match up with Odonkor - provided Odonkor starts) than Zewlakow and I feel a lot more comfortable with Zewlakow as CB....i am not sure if Zewlakow will endure a full 90 as a left back either.... I am not of the result on Sunday but I know we will give it our all....anything is possible
I'm not about to start double-guessing a football legend like Beenhakker for the choices he made, but I simply don't like Zurawski. Saganowski is a bum as well, IMO. I hope Leo will have a plan as to how they should be used. All in all, our striking choices are incredibly weak.
are you kidding? Pawel didn't show or prove anything when he was given the chance in the friendly against USA... i don't know if you remember that Zurawski is industrious, Pawel isn't quite anything for the national team... after the Euro maybe Leo can experiment and try out Pawel... but not at the crucial point in time... the Euros start in a few days!!! these last couple matches were to finalize the squad and get the guys that were going to play time to click with each other... this wasn't experimenting time... these last few friendlies were only for fine-tuning before the Euro
i agree fully... like what was Leo supposed to do? Zurawski is industrious... Pawel hasn't proven anything when given the chance... Matusiak is out of form... Saganowski appears to be the last resort... i just wish Jelen was in a better situation
i'm pretty sure he is out of form and not getting much time at Auxerre... they reduced him to a substitute's role there for a while this past year... and i think his sub role has been reduced to practically nothing
Well Zurawski has done nothing since leaving Wisla in 2005. Zurawski as of now is about the same calibre player as Frankowski. Why is everyone so blind. The "Magic" has faded. Between 2005-2008 Zurawski scored 22 goals. Pawel Brozek in one season scored 23. At least Beenhaker should of took Pawel Brozek as a substitute as well as Niedzielen. He will have to substitute Zurawski a lot. But I guess everyone thinks he needs a last chance
1--- Zurawski is at about the same point in his career as Sobolewski... Sobolewski was forced out because there was definite competition for his midfield spot because Leo felt that Lewandowski and Dudka were fully capable with players like Gargula etc. able to fill in if need be. ON THE OTHER HAND Leo likes playing with two strikers up top and Smolarek is the only guarantee. Zurawski may not score the goals so when you check the stat sheet you won't see Zurawski... BUT Zurawski is very industrious and is effective in the attack. you know who had the run down the left flank and cut the ball in to Smolarek who dished it off to Krzynowek for the goal??? Zurawski did that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLDHCoRnFcU&feature=related 2--- In a world of what have you done for me lately, Pawel Brozek clearly did not show up in the friendly match against the USA... Leo gave him the chance and he effectively did NOTHING... just a few days ago Zurawski helped set up the Krzynowek goal, plain and simple. do you want Poland to do well in the Euro or are you just looking out for the better interests of Wisla players? i know Pawel has had a great year... BUT when Leo was experimenting with strikers to see who he would invite to possibly be in the Euro squad, Pawel did nothing to show he deserved it... so what if he gets the job done in league play. this isn't league play, everything is thrown out the window and it is a matter of what can you do on the international stage. also in terms of chemistry all the guys have had a chance to work with Zurawski, why JUST BEFORE the Euro switch things up to make the players think Leo is unsure of himself. ALSO you make a big deal about the statistics... SINCE Zurawski's transfer to Larissa he has scored 6 goals in 11 matches. Leo knows what he is doing, just look at his track record in the past 3--- Niedzielan?!?!? you can't be serious. Niedzielan just came back from serious injury. Niedzielan isn't even fit yet. If Niedzielan never had gotten injured then yes. Because he was having a phenomenal year before his injury. BUT he hasn't become fully fit yet since his injury. If he was remotely fit then Wisla would have been consistently starting him at the end of the season when he came back, BUT he wasn't even fit enough for Wisla. So there is no chance to know what you are going to get with Niedzielan and how prepared he is. IN ADDITION you do not want to possibly rush Niedzielan back too soon so he may pick up another injury or hurt himself worse. 4--- Another option in the form of Matusiak hasn't looked very good since coming to Wisla and after his minor injury he has not proven to be fit the slightest bit. Matusiak would have been included if he was fit, BUT these guys literally have to be ready by Sunday for the match against Germany if need be. Leo didn't think he was ready and i trust in his judgement. Otherwise I'm sure we would have seen Matusiak instead of Saganowski. 5--- What other options are out there? Most of the other Polish strikers OR possibilities out there don't even get enough playing time or opportunities in the form of Jelen, Piszczek, Janczyk, etc. And I don't know how many would have been capable of stepping up big on this short of notice that are still around domestically
there is a chance... the person that would take his spot would be Lobo or Zahorski... right now i don't know if Kuba will start and if he doesn't look good then Leo will pull the trigger and use Lobo. Leo likes Lobo but he hasn't done much domestically for Wisla since his transfer. so who knows. right now i'd say Lobo, then Kuba, then Zahorski... who knows. i think Lobo looked pretty good in the 2nd half against Denmark so i think he might get the nod. who knows how training goes the next couple of days as well as what Leo is thinking