We have been drawn into a tough group with the US, Brazil and South Korea, with all of our group stage games to be played in Montreal. I guess it's still a while before we'll know what the team will look like (anyone know when the deadline for squads is?), but in this thread we can post our ideas, as well as discuss our group opponents.
CBC will be the host broadcaster. you could pick that up on a dish, but no american broadcaster has been named yet. Bet on FSC to pick it up!!
Does anybody know how strong the Polish U20 crop is? I'm an American of Polish heritage and I'm not too happy the U.S. has to go against Poland in the Group stages, especially this group. Brazil, I heard, is OK, as far as Brazil goes, with ONLY 3-4 players being standouts. That comment from a Brazilian friend of mine. Most likely Brazil will be the toughest in the group. I think Korea will be very tough, very quick and very disciplined. Some U.S. U20's played them in a tournament in Korea a few months back and got whooped. Granted, that was not the U.S. Squad that will be in Canada. I would be seriously bummed if the U.S. and/or Poland didn't advance. Also, if anybody knows, what does the future look like for Poland Football? For example, the U.S. youth future looks pretty bright. More interest, growing number of players and backgrounds, US Soccer has increasing revenues, I believe. Many positives. How about Poland?
The U-20 team will probably be differrent from the U-19 squad that qualified for the cup. Our U-20 crop is not as good as the U-17 crop, which is highly valued by experts, but it does have some decent members who "play" for good teams (striker Janczyk - Legia Warsaw; defender Fojut - Bolton; keeper Bialkowski - Southampton; midfielder Cywka - Wigan; striker Krol - Brescia). The US born Andrew Konopelsky also has a chance to play for the U-20 team. But its still to early to say who else will be in Canada; I don't think that people in Poland have much hope in the U-20 team, especially after the rather lame performance Euro U-19 that was held in Poland, but with a tournament that is so volatile, you never know. I hope that someone who regularly follows Polish youth teams can shed more light on this issue.
Alright i think i know a bit about Polish youth and would love to inform some of you guys about our current situation. Firstly, this is going to be a read so you may have to read it in parts, but you will be up do date, so take your time if you like. Secondly, I wouldn't take the uefa u19 finals in Poland as seriously as the results indicate, because all due respect it is youth football, and you hardly see more than 2 youth internationals from 1 squad go on to represent Poland at the senior level.....winning and playing good youth football never hurts but it isnt the best indicator at who does well at the senior level.....ie, Spain, who is dominant at the youth level in europe......but at the senior level they have troubles repeating these feats -- youth football is more about learning technical ability and gaining experience.......furthermore, we had lots of injuries prior to the u19 uefa finals, and i expect the team to be at least half different.....at least 5 outfield players will be different.... and lastly i want to mention one thing before we get started with actual players......Poland has consistently been bad at producing young players into good senior players, meaning by the time a good youth prospect pans out for Poland at the senior level, they are like 25 with 2/3 of their career over.......western europe is much better at giving young players chances and opportunities to be professionals younger, meaning they are much better at 25 than a player Poland would produce at this same age.......this is why joining the EU is so good for Poland, namely a lot of youngsters going abroad early to play their trade instead of burning out in the Polish 3rd -4th division......although most wont make it, if even a handful of all the kids we have sent to top leagues do, this should be very good for our team at the senior level in the future.......but credit to the Polish league as they have improved ever so slightly with producing Blaszczykowski recently...... For goalkeepers I believe its going to be either Bialkowski (Southamption) or Artur Krysiak (Birmingham city) to start, Bialkowski was a starter at southampton last year but has had troubles with injuries after bbreaking through, and form problems this year......Artur Krysiak is a very highlighy rated keeper that signed at birmingham, he has a very good shot at becoming a great pro, i think he was signed permanently only a few hours into his trial there woth management being very impressed!!! Bialkowski was suppose to be the starter at the u19 last year but was injured at the time, and Tyton was the keeper......not sure but i think the 3rd keepers spot will go to either Przemyslaw Tyton (Leczna) or Wojcech Szczesny (Arsenal).......Szczesny is very highly regarded, but is very young, plus he is the starter for the highly regarded Polish u17 team.....he played at the meridian cup representing europe in the second leg against africa......Globisz (Poland's coach for the u20s and u17s ) said he might take Szczesny, but to tell you the truth it depends on how our u17 team is doing at the time, because they have uefa u17 games and could possibly qualify to the fifa u17 championship in korea......it really depends if Poland gets past the elite round in the u17 starting in late March......goalkeepers is a position we shouldnt really worry about, we are pretty strong here......and i think bialkowski and krysiak are probably good choices......there is also one other name i forgot to mention: Przemysław Kazimierczak, plays for bolton wanders but is on loan at Accrington Stanley....he is a regular for the POland u19 squad, i dont know how he is rated by Globisz, but again goalkeepers we have plenty to choose from.........
Defenders lets start off, with who played at the u19s --> Artur Marciniak (GKS Belchatow) Jarosław Fojut (Bolton Wanderers) Krzysztof Król (Real Madrid C) Krysztof Strugarek (Lech Poznan II) okay these were the guys that played for us at the u19s, Marciniak can't get a game regularly for Belchatow and Stugarek didnt get any playing time for Lech Poznan 2 last fall, he has transferred now.......I think our D as a whole did not play especially great at the u19s, meaning they are all capable of better, but they arent the reason we didnt qualify for the semies........Krol and Fojut are the 2 centerbacks, Fojut is highly regard by Bolton Wanderers management and has already made an appearance in the EPL......he is big and he may have a bright future. very highly regarded.......Krzysztof has earned himself a contract with Real Madrid, but its still a ways before he makes the first team squad if at all........right now he plays for Real Madrid C, Real Madrids 3rd team.......once he learns more Spanish he will be playing for Real Madrid B later this season in the Spanish second division, taht is what his coach their says.........this is mainly where Spains u20 players come from, and they have a really impressive team judging by their performances last fall.......so this can only help his confidence (a major problem for Polish players) so obviously not all 4 of these guys will be starting for Poland come Canada....other players that missed out due to various reasons: Blazej Augustyn (Bolton Wanderers) this is Fojuts friend at Bolton Wanderers who has also earned himself an impressive professional contract abroad.......highly rated by Bolton he apparently has a real chance to make it in the EPL as well.... Arkadiusz Ryś (Auxerre, French Ligue 1) --> young defender playing for the reserves and Auxerre u18s......earned himself a contract.....cannot be a bad player to earn such a move also Lukasz Kanik, who is a 1988 birth, earned a contract at Energie Cottbus in the bundesliga.....he may have a shot as well..... these are all the guys i can think of right now......
for midfielders Arkadiusz Czarnecki (Lech Poznan II) Tomasz Cywka (Wigan Athletic, EPL) Mariusz Sacha (Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała) Andrew Konopelsky (LKS LODZ) Filip Burkhardt (WIDZEW --> Jagiellonia Białystok) this was the midfield that got regular time at the u19s and i think is the major problem with the showing at the u19 finals......Filip Burkhardt and Cywka were both singled out by Globisz as having bad u19 tournaments......that doesnt mean they are bad per say, but they definately didnt show anything spectacular......Filip was rated higher at a younger age but is having problems stepping up, he has transferred clubs again this year as he only made 2 appearances for Widzew last fall......my guess is he will not make it on the team, at least as a starter.....Andrew Konopelsy didnt have a great tournament either, he is the Polish-American player, but granted he was sick just prior to the tournament and probably couldnt show his all......he hasnt had much time for LKS and Arkadiusz Czarnecki has not had any time for lech poznan II last fall........the only player that played good attacking football from midfield was Mariusz Sacha, very quick player and assisted on 2 of Dawid Janczyks goals.....but again he is having troubles playing regularly for his club in the Polish 2nd division, and this is really a shame in terms of how the Polish league operates becasue he looks really really talented......and the fact that he was a surprise callup to the u19s shows more or less that we have lots of talented youngsters that do not get proper chances...... he was the surprise of our squad this tournament, and i would like to see him back, but i am not sure if Globisz will call him up doue to his club situation....one player from that 5 to definately get a callup will be Cywka, although he didnt play spectaculary he has been part of the set up a long time and has earned him self a profession contract in teh EPL.....this is what his manager Paul Jewell had to say about him: so from our midfield at the u19s cywka will be a starter for sure, and i am hoping Sacha gets a chance to prove his worth on a higher stage......maybe one of the other guys there might get a chance to make the squad, but there are other players that weren't part of the squad for various reasons that will also be looked at: Marcin Siedlarz (AC Siena) the kid is 18 going on 19 this year and has earned himself an impressive move to seria A, he hasnt had any time for the siena first team though.....pretty sure he plays reserves as he needs to learn italian he says in a recent intervie.....he may also get looked as well....... Michal Janota (Feyenoord, Holland) now this kid is the most highly rated youth player from our u17 squad....This kid is lighting up his Dutch youth league after joining Feyenoord midway through the season......he is a highly rated prospect for us for sure, the problem is his other commitments.....mainly how well the u17 team is doing....although he could probably play for both the u20s and u17s as they dont overlap dates, but you cant exhaust the player with tournament after tournament........Globisz hinted that he may come though, he is the only outfield player from the u17 squad that might come .... there is probably like another guy i am forgetting here, but also Globisz is probably looking at a couple of other players to fill the midfield void.......
Strikers for strikers one name you can put down as a starter for sure, barring injury is Dawid Janczyk (Legia Warszawa)......barring injury he is probably our star player, if you look at his hatrick from the uefa u19 tournament it shoud indicate his potential: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tEKmrUhCMFo 4-1 vs Belgium, hattrick for Janczyk, goals 2 and 3 of his assisted by Sacha....Belgium had a bad tournament, but they knocked out England and Serbia on their way to the finals in Poland....so they are no slouch.....Belgium also beat the Czechs, a team we lost to...... although i think there are other good players in the squad, i think he will be carrying a lot of pressure, but in a good way......on form this kid is great, he shoots well with both feet and has pretty good pace......plus he plays first team football, most of our other players dont get first team football, they are either signed by a big club abroad and playing for reserves, or worse signed by a Polish clubs and burning in the Polish lower leagues......Polish u20 players signed abroad for decent clubs in top leagues at least gain better experience in their reserve experience..... so to partner Janczyk who will it be? well most likely his striking partner at Legia, Maciej Korzym......these guy play first team football together so Globisz will be definately looking at that......but it depends how well they do this year in this league together, Korzym is not a definate to start.........Janczyk's striking partner at the u19s was Kamil Oziemczuk, another Polish youngster to earn an impressive deal abroad in French ligue 1 at Auxerre......again he was a player singled out by Globisz to have had a bad u19 tournament, but this year he has scored lots of goals for his u18 auxerre team and made some appearances in the reserives......he was played lots by Globisz in the past, but he has a serious knee injury and almost definately will not be going, further implying that kOrzym will be Janczyk's partner...... One player that could partner Janczyk, is Patryk Malecki, he is a wisla krakow player and looks very promising...... Patryk is a 1988 birth, and out of the entire squad he is who i am most impressed with, and that is including Janczyk........I've only seen him play 1 time but can already see the skill he possesses, sadly he picked up a ankle injury the day after scoring his first goal in the ekstraklasa (6 week injury)......his goal wasnt all that spectacular, but the runs he made in the game, the maturity and excellently timed passes were very impressive......he definatley looks the real deal, and has great attacking sense.....he was playing as a striker in the game he scored, but with the midfied depth problem we seem to have this kid might be pulled behind the 2 strikers and play as an attack midfiedler......i know the ekstraklasa isnt the highest caliber league to judge players, because of the bad technical quality but its usually played at a really high pace.......and this kid showed he has the pace, thats for sure, but he also showed great technical ability against men.......that was most impressive another striker that may get a sniff is Przemyslaw Trytko (Energie Cottbus, bundesliga), he made some u19 appareances last year and scored an impressive goal against the England u19s in a friendly........i know he is on the radar for sure, but i have no idea where Globisz has him in my mind, he is an 1987 birth and will probably be making some appearance for cottbus's first team in the near future......unfortunately he picked up an injury as well recently, but i am pretty sure he will be healthy for u20 selections.......
So take a breath, those are our players, if you read all that you deserve a pat on the back..... the main problem with our u19s last term was motivation, they showed in the second game that they can play football on their day......add the fact that the team lost to austria 1-0 in a game we played a 4-5-1 in, it should indicate that we are capable of a lot better.....we should of at least qualified for the semies at the u19s last year, even with the squad that showed up........mix that with most likely better players......i think we could put together a pretty good squad, at least a decent starting 11.......but again this is probably a slightly higher caliber level of football than the uefa finals, so we will see.......i dont want to build our team up with hype being this or that, but a lot of our players earned impressive moves abroad as well, they cannot suck obviously........with the right motivation i am sure they could play quite well.......but we do have a tough group........forunately, up to 3 teams can advance, so i am hoping our boys come out strong and at least get out of the group........but i am still not taking this tournament super seriously, mainly because of the swaying results by this group of players.....i think if you are going to the game you should go there to enjoy the atmosphere and hope our boys show up.......sometimes things do not click among players the way you would like...... the keys i think will be Malecki and Janczyk, dont be fooled that these guys play in Poland because they could probably get the same deals as Cywka, Fojut and so on--probably better deals in the future, i can see both of them as future senior NT players to be honest -- at least to some degree......they seem to be able to play with men quite easily and should be able to cope at that level.......the Polish ekstraklasa is of higher quality than i witnessed at the uefa u19 tournament, so i really think with the right motivation they can cut it at the u20s........ again i hope this helped, cheers mates......God i wrote a lot, but i love this stuff.....
no problem mate, i always like it when Polish expats are interested in our youth......one player i forgot to mention though, that you actually mentioned, was Krol at Brescia in Serie B (he's a striker).......i am pretty sure i heard he was injured before the u19s as well......he has already made an appearance for Brescia first team.... anyways, for those of you that don't know I am "m2793d1" on Polishsoccer.com..... later
couple of mistakes i actually made, one is that Mariusz Sacha wasnt playing as regularly for his club as i would like.....this was actually wrong he has been playing quite regularly but the website i used for second division statistics was messed up, gave me wrong info.......sorry guys.....good news though in this respect as he will probably get called up, as i was worried before...... also when i said Artur Marciniak (defender) wasnt getting any games for GKS Belchatow, that was true but he has made lots of appearances in the cup competitions......understandable since GKS is 1st in the Polish division.... but the rest of the specific Polish based players that i said were having club problems is still true, especially not getting any cup time or even time for the second team......again sorry....
BTW you guys are doing a great job on polishsoccer.com, and you, deyna, are one of the best posters there. I remember when it first started before the Korea/Japan WC it was full of trolling kids, but now it has become highly informative and interesting.
thanks, but i think there is at least a handful of posters on there with more footy knowledge than me..... i agree though, the forum has improved overall, more organized and better quality posts relating to the footy topics.......there is more subforums as well so lots of Poles who are only somewhat interested in football have places to post.....its become larger in scope i guess......i hope it keeps improving.... later mate....
just an update: i watched the Latics (Wigan Atletic) show episode 7 reserve highlights and saw some good play from Cywka......I've been waiting for a long time to see this kid play outside from what i saw at last years u19 tournament and he looked pretty good in a reserve game with professional players (against Liverpool)......obviously the atmosphere of a reserve match is not the same as a premiership game but the kid showed some real quality....... i think that the experience over this year is doing him good - as a i saw much more positive play from him at what is a higher level of football than i briefly saw of him last year.......I am still not sure what his set position is because in a previous highlight show it looked like he was playing as a d-mid but in this game he was playing on the left more it looked like......... anyways after Globisz said he had a bad u19 last year i knew he was capable of more than he was showing.....he has been capped so many times by Globisz so he was obviously expecting more......obviously i wasnt the type to judge a player, let a lone a youngster, on one performace in a tournament--> but some times great youth players have troubles as the age group rises......but i finally got to see him again and he looked like he has some real talent.....time will only tell what he makes of the opportunity, if he gets some first team action next year and so on......i wish him all the best.......
poland under 20 team is playing in a tournament in south korea we lost first game to chile 2-0 anyone what players were called to this tournament is anything close to will play in canada . we play south korea tommorow and then gambia
i am pretty sure its not the A team that went, guys like cywka, augustyn were playing in a reserve match the night before the chile game in england, so i dont think they travelled....fojut and malecki are injured i believe, I know Korzym wasnt there.....i really dont think it was a team close to our A-team that was sent, however they did play a strong Chile side, so its good opportunity and experience for these other youngsters.....
hm.. saw the korea vs. poland game today. I got to say, Poland should have won that match. The refs (who were fcuken retarded!) disallowed some plays that would have won the match for you guys. sorry about that , the Polish players played with class and integrity. ill be rooting for you guys in Montreal. Hope we both advance
thanks mate, can you do me a huge favour though, can you find out our squad for this game? like which players played, because i dont think we sent our best team at all.....but i am not sure right.... also, can you tell me if this was korea's best squad that played, will it be similar to the one going to Canada..... yah i heard the reffing was bad in the game on Korean forum here, but in the end its just a friendly tournament....experience is the best thing to get out of these, and reffing errors happen at the highest level as well....
sure ill find out your squads for this game. as for korea's squad, looked like a first team squad to me. I'm pretty sure I saw Shin Young Rok and other starters, so the team we saw today will probably be the one going to Montreal in the summer.
27 march 2007, 9:30 - Suwon Poland 2-0 Gambia Dawid Jarka 6, Krzysztof Król 90 Poland: Przemysław Tytoń (46 Bartosz Białkowski) – Krzysztof Król, Krzysztof Strugarek, Adrian Marek, Jakub Szałek – Kamil Wacławczyk (60 Jakub Tosik), Jakub Feter, Mateusz Cieluch, Mariusz Sacha (72 Artur Marciniak) – Szymon Kaźmierowski (46 Paweł Adamiec), Dawid Jarka.
post #9 on the first page should tell you about him.....right now he isnt on the greatest form for legia, he should of at least had a couple of goals in the last 3 games for Legia, but didnt score at all......but i still fully expect him to be going to Canada as a starter.....i think he will play better down the stretch of the season for legia as well....
Kadra na konsultację w Bydgoszczy: (14-17 Maja) Bramkarze: Bartosz Białkowski (Southampton FC, Anglia), Przemysław Tytoń (Górnik Łęczna). Obrońcy: Maciej Dąbrowski (Victoria Koronowo), Sylwester Dębowski (Górnik Zabrze), Jarosław Fojut (Bolton Wanderers FC, Anglia), Artur Jędrzejczyk (Legia Warszawa), Artur Marciniak (GKS Bełchatów), Adrian Marek (Zagłębie Sosnowiec), Adrian Pluta (Raków Częstochowa), Damian Rączka (VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach 1900, Niemcy), Ben Starosta (Sheffield United, Anglia), Krzysztof Strugarek (ŁKS Łomża), Jakub Szałek (KP Police). Pomocnicy: Paweł Adamiec (Zdrój Ciechocinek), Adam Danch (Górnik Zabrze), Jakub Feter (UKS SMS Bałucz), Damian Piotrowski (Zagłębie Lubin), Mariusz Sacha (Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała), Kamil Stachyra (Górnik Łęczna), Jakub Tosik (GKS Bełchatów). Napastnicy: Mateusz Cieluch (Jagiellonia Białystok), Łukasz Janoszka (Ruch Chorzów), Dawid Jarka (Górnik Zabrze), Grzegorz Kuświk (Gawin Królewska Wola). Source: 90minut.pl