CL and EL Qualifying

The following are recent results of clubs with Polish players, that are competing in the Champions League/Europa League Qualifying stages.

Champions League Qualifying Second Round:

Wisła Kraków vs Levadia
July 15 (1st leg) Wisła Kraków (1-1) Levadia
Poles played - Pawełek, Sobolewski, Piotr Brożek, Małecki, Łobodziński, Jop, Paweł Brożek, Ćwielong (scored 1 goal)

APOEL F.C. vs EB
July 14 (1st leg) EB (0-2) APOEL F.C.
Poles played - Kosowski, Marcin Żewłakow (scored 1 goal)
**Adrian Sikora did not play

Europa League first qualifying round:

Anothorsis (7-1 agg) Käerjéng
**Anothorsis advance to 2nd round
Poles played - Łukasz Sosin (scored 1 goal)

Polonia Warszawa (2-1 agg) Budućnost
**Polonia Warszawa advance to 2nd round
Poles played - Przyrowski, Jodłowiec (scored 1 goal), Sokołowski, Skrzyński, Zasada, Kozioł (scored 1 goal), Lato, Majewski, Chałbiński, Mąka, Mierzejewski, Piątek

Europa League second qualifying round:

Anothorsis vs Petrovac
July 16 (1st leg) Anothorsis (2-1) Petrovac
Poles played - Łukasz Sosin

AC Omonia vs HB
July 16 (1st leg) AC Omonia (4-0) HB
Poles played - Maciej Żurawski (scored 1 goal)

Steaua Bucureşti vs Újpest
July 16 (1st leg) Steaua Bucureşti (2-0) Újpest
Poles played - Rafał Grzelak
**Paweł Golański did not play

Larissa F.C. vs KR
July 16 (1st leg) KR (2-0) Larissa F.C.
Poles played - none
**Arkadiusz Malarz did not play

Polonia Warszawa vs Juvenes/Dogana
July 16 (1st leg) Juvenes/Dogana (0-1) Polonia Warszawa
Poles played - Przyrowski, Jodłowiec, Mierzejewski, Zasada, Kozioł, Lato, Majewski, Kokosiński (scored 1 goal), Gołębiewski, Mąka, Piątek

Legia Warszawa vs Olimpi Rustavi
July 16 (1st leg) Legia Warszawa (3-0) Olimpi Rustavi
Poles played - Szala, Giza, Iwanski, Kiełbowicz (scored 1 goal), Paluchowski (scored 1 goal), Szałachowski (scored 1 goal), Ostrowski, Rybus, Mieciel, Borysiuk.

Poles Abroad

- Young Polish keeper Michał Miśkiewicz (1989) has been sold from AC Milan to Chievo Verona. The 20 year old keeper has been playing for the AC Milan reserves, and will now have a chance to gather even more experience by having a better chance to make the first squad of a Seria A club.

- Polish midfielder, Radosław Majewski, is close to sealing a one-year-loan to English Championship side Nottingham Forest. After a subpar 2008-2009 season for Polonia Warszawa, management has been looking to offload him and his high salary. Polonia will receive 150 thousand euro for Majewski's loan, with an option for a permanent transfer. Majewski has played for Poland 5 times (all friendly matches). If he returns to the same form he showed 2 years ago, he could again push for a spot for the Polish NT.

- Top Polish prospect, Michał Janota, has been loaned out by Feyenoord to Excelsior Rotterdam. This means Janota will play in the 2nd division in Holland next season. The young attacking midfielder has had trouble finding playing time at Feyenoord, and this move to Excelsior will guarantee him more playing time. Janota is considered one of the most promising young Polish footballers in the world.

- Artur Boruc has recently received praise from his new coach Tony Mowbray. Since Mowbray replaced previous coach Gordon Strachan, there has been a lot of talk of Boruc moving away from Celtic. However, it is looking that less likely that Artur will be moving any time soon.

- Rumours around Polish forward, Robert Lewandowski have begun to increase since the young forward stated he would like to leave Lech Poznan. Borussia Dortmund and Zenit St. Petersburg are the main clubs to have been asking about Lewandowski. However, Lech management is not likely to let Lewandowski leave this summer since they have already sold one of their star players, Rafał Murawski, to Rubin Kazan.

- Marek Saganowski might finally be on his was out of Southampton. It is rumoured that Saganowski has agreed to terms with Greek club AE Larissa, however there appear to be minor details to iron out. The 30 year old will need to play regularly and be in form, if he is to continue to have a chance to be called up the the Polish national team.

Daily Newswatch: July 8, 2009

Adrian Sikora in Cyprus

Adrian Sikora (29, 2 caps) has opted to join Cypriot League Champions Apoel Nikosia. Sikora who spent last season in Segunda Division's Real Murcia has agreed to terms on a 2-year contract. Sikora made 25 appearances for Real Murcia in 2008/09 mostly coming of the bench and scored 1 goal. He added another in the Copa Del Rey. Sikora joins fellow Poles Marcin Żewłakow, Kamil Kosowski, and former Wisla Krakow forward Jean Paulista. Sources indicate that Sikora was being persued by Lech Poznan and Wisla Krakow

Ruch Chorzow fined by PZPN

Ruch Chrozow were once again fined by PZPN. The fine of 30,000 zł stems from crowd troubles during the Polish FA Cup final May 19. Ruch supporters clashed with Police during the 15th minute of play. Fans also brought in pirotechnics which are banned in Polish stadiums.

Hernani applies for Polish citizenship

Koronia Kielce central defender Hernani (25) who just inked a new 3-year deal with his club, has applied for Polish citizenship. The strong forward, who speaks fluent Polish, arrived in Poland when he was 19 (Gornik Zabrze). Hernani, who has garnered interest from Zagłębie Lubin, Legia Warszawa, and Lech Poznań has stated that we would love an opportunity to suit up for the Red and White. Once his citizenship application is approvied he will try and win a nominiation with his strong on field play this coming season.

Daily Newswatch: July 7, 2009

Ekstraklasa withouth LKS Lodz?

LKS Lodz's legal battle to appeal a PZPN ruling that revoked their Ekstraklasa license has hit a snag in the Warsaw courts. The club's appeal was thrown out of court and it looks like the club will be forced to abondon their hopes of playing in Poland's top-tier competition this fall. The matter will be revisited in August.

Arkadiusz Malarz joins AÉ Lárissas

Arkadiusz Malarz (GK) has signed a 3 year contract with Greek side AÉ Lárissas. The 29 year old keeper moved to Greece in 2006, and has suited up for AÓ Xánthi, Panathinaikós, and most recetly ÓFI, for whom he made 27 league starts in 2008/09.

Marcin Burkhardt on trail at Metalist Kharkov

Former Poland international and Legia Warsaw player Marcin Burkhardt (25, 10 caps) is close to signing a contract with Ukraine's 3rd place finisher from 2008/09. Burkhardt has been on the prowl for a new club after IFK Norrköping were relegated to Sweden's II division. If Burkhardt comes to terms he will join Polish left back Seweryn Gancarczyk at Metalist.

Daily Newswatch: July 2, 2009

- In the First Qualifying Round for the Europa League, Polonia Warszawa defeated Buducnost Podgorica (2:0) in their first leg in Montenegro. The goals for Polonia were scored by Igor Kozioł (53') and Tomasz Jodłowiec (64'). With a strong win away from home, Polonia is almost guaranteed to qualify for the next round. Polonia Warszawa squad: Polonia Warszawa: Przyrowski - Mynar, Jodłowiec, Skrzyński, Zasada, Sokołowski (89' Mąka), Kozioł, Majewski, Lato, Sarvas (61' Mierzejewski), Ivanovski (73' Chałbiński).

- After spending three seasons at Arminia Bielefeld, 32 year old Artur Wichniarek is returning to Hertha Berlin. The Polish striker signed a two year deal with the 4th place Bundesliga team. At Hertha BSC, he will team up with fellow Pole, Łukasz Piszczek. Together they will be playing in the Playoff Round for the Europa League.

- There are rumours that Premiership clubs Fulham and West Ham United are interested in buying Polish forward Paweł Brożek from Wisła Krakow. Brożek has repeatedly expressed that he does not want to move to any eastern european league, even though there have been interest from those clubs. It will be a tough decision for Wisła to sell their star forward, as the will be hard pressed to find a replacement for their campaign to qualify for the Champions League.

Rafał Grzelak moves to Steaua Bucharest

According to the official site of Steaua Bucharest, the 27 year old Polish midfielder, Rafał Grzelak has signed with their team.

Last season, Grzelak played for Greek club AÓ Xánthi, but he also has played for ŁKS, Ruch Chorzów, MSV 02 Duisburg, Widzew Łódź, Lech Poznań, Pogon Szczecin and Boavista FC. Grzelak was part of the the Poland team that won second place in the u-16 European Championships in 1999, and was part of the team that won the u-18 European Championships in 2001.

He will join fellow Pole, Paweł Golański, who was also part of the Poland squad that won the 2001 u-18 European Championship. Steaua Bucharest finished 6 in the Romanian League and will play in the Second Qualifying Round in the Europa League this season.

Grzelak, who plays mostly as a attacking left midfielder, has been overlooked thus far by Leo Beenhakker for Poland's national team. Since the left midfield position is one of the weakest for Poland, if Grzelak plays well, he could possibly be called up in the near future.

Murawski Moves To Russian Champions

Lech Poznań has sold their star midfielder Rafał Murawski to Russian champions, Rubin Kazan for a reported 2.5 million euros.

According to Rubin Kazan, Murawski has signed a 3 year contract with his new club.

Rubin Kazan won the Russian title last year, beating out well known teams like Zenit St. Petersberg and CSKA Moscow. As a result, they will be playing in the group stages in the 2009/2010 Champions League season.

The 27 year old Murawski played in Arka Gdynia, Amica Wronki, and Lech Poznań. In his Polish Ekstraklasa career, he played 123 matches and scored 11 goals. He has played 19 times and scored 1 goal for Poland and was part of the Polish squad in the Euro 2008 championships.

This will be a big challenge for Murawski to step up to the next level in his footballing career. Hopefully he will play regularly for his new club, as he is an important part of the Polish National Team.

Poles To Watch In Europe

Recently the first and second qualifying matchups were drawn for both the Champions League and Europa League. Last year we saw Arsenal keeper Łukasz Fabiański play in the CL quarterfinals and his club made it to the semi-finals. We also saw Mariusz Lewandowski play in the finals of the UEFA Cup with his club Shakhtar Donetsk and defeat Werder Bremen. Who will we see this season? As things are right now, these are the Poles to watch for in both tournaments. (Highlighted are players who have recently been called-up to the Polish NT.)

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:
First Round:
None
Second Round:
APOEL F.C. (Kosowski, Ma.Żewłakow, Sikora) (5-0 agg) EB
Wisła Kraków (1-2 agg) Levadia
Third Round (Champions):
Kamil Kosowski (APOEL F.C.) (2-1 agg) FK Partizan
Marcin Żewłakow (APOEL F.C.) (2-1 agg) FK Partizan
Adrian Sikora (APOEL F.C.) (2-1 agg) FK Partizan
Michał Żewłakow (Olympiacos F.C.) (4-0 agg) Slovan Bratislava
Third Round (non-Champions):
Mariusz Lewandowski (FC Shakhtar Donetsk) (2-2a agg) Timişoara
Artur Boruc (Celtic F.C.) (2-1 agg) Dynamo Moscow
Łukasz Załuska (Celtic F.C.) (2-1 agg) Dynamo Moscow
Marcin Wasilewski (R.S.C. Anderlecht) (6-3 agg) Sivasspor
Marcin Kowalczyk (Dynamo Moscow) (1-2 agg) Celtic F.C.
Playoff Round:
Łukasz Fabiański (Arsenal F.C.) (3-1 agg) Celtic F.C.
Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal F.C.) (3-1 agg) Celtic F.C.
Artur Boruc (Celtic F.C.) (1-3 agg) Arsenal F.C.
Łukasz Załuska (Celtic F.C.) (1-3 agg) Arsenal F.C.
Marcin Wasilewski (R.S.C. Anderlecht) (2-8 agg) Lyon
Michał Żewłakow (Olympiacos F.C.) (3-0 agg) Sheriff Tiraspol
Kamil Kosowski (APOEL F.C.) (3-2 agg) Copenhagen
Marcin Żewłakow (APOEL F.C.) (3-2 agg) Copenhagen
Adrian Sikora (APOEL F.C.) (3-2 agg) Copenhagen
Group Stage:
Tomasz Kuszczak (Manchester United F.C.)
Jerzy Dudek (Real Madrid C.F.)
Grzegorz Krychowiak (Bordeaux)
Rafał Murawski (FC Rubin Kazan)
Michał Żewłakow (Olympiacos F.C.)
Kamil Kosowski (APOEL F.C.)
Marcin Żewłakow (APOEL F.C.)
Adrian Sikora (APOEL F.C.)
Łukasz Fabiański (Arsenal F.C.)
Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal F.C.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
EUROPA LEAGUE
First qualifying round:
Competed (Łukasz Sosin and Polonia Warszawa move on to second qualifying round)
Second qualifying round:
Łukasz Sosin (Anorthosis Famagusta FC) (3-4 agg) Petrovac
Maciej Żurawski (AC Omonia) (8-1 agg) HB
Paweł Golański (Steaua Bucureşti) (4-1 agg) Újpest
Rafał Grzelak (Steaua Bucureşti) (4-1 agg) Újpest
Arkadiusz Malarz (Larissa F.C.) (1-3 agg) KR
Sebastian Kosiorowski (Motherwell) (8-2 agg) Flamurtari
Polonia Warszawa (5-0 agg) Juvenes/Dogana
Legia Warszawa (4-0 agg) Olimpi Rustavi
Third qualifying round:
Maciej Żurawski (AC Omonia) (1-3 agg) Vaslui
Paweł Golański (Steaua Bucureşti) (6-1 agg) Motherwell
Rafał Grzelak (Steaua Bucureşti) (6-1 agg) Motherwell
Sebastian Kosiorowski (Motherwell) (1-6 agg) Steaua Bucureşti
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille) (4-0 agg) Sevojno
Jacek Bąk (Austria Wien) (5-3 agg) Vojvodina
Seweryn Gancarczyk (Metalist Kharkiv) (4-1 agg) NK Rijeka *sold to Lech Poznan
Mirosław Sznaucner (PAOK) (2a-2 agg) Vålerenga
Lech Poznań (7-3 agg) Fredrikstad
Polonia Warszawa (1-4 agg) NAC Breda
Legia Warszawa (3-3a agg) Brondby
Play-off round:
Mirosław Sznaucner (PAOK) (1-1a agg) Heerenveen
Zbigniew Zakrzewski (FC Sion) (2-4 agg) Fenerbahce
Łukasz Piszczek (Hertha BSC) (4-3 agg) Brondby
Artur Wichniarek (Hertha BSC) (4-3 agg) Brondby
Dawid Kucharski (Heart of Midlothian) vs Dinamo Zagreb
Paweł Golański (Steaua Bucureşti) (5-1 agg) St. Patrick's Athletic
Rafał Grzelak (Steaua Bucureşti) (5-1 agg) St. Patrick's Athletic
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille) (6-3 agg) Racing Genk
Jacek Bąk (Austria Wien) (5-4 agg)Metalurh Donetsk
Mariusz Lewandowski (FC Shakhtar Donetsk) vs Sivasspor
Marcin Kowalczyk (Dynamo Moscow) (1-2 agg) CSKA Sofia
Lech Poznań (1-1a agg) Club Brugge

Group Stage:
Łukasz Piszczek (Hertha BSC)
Artur Wichniarek (Hertha BSC)
Paweł Golański (Steaua Bucureşti)
Rafał Grzelak (Steaua Bucureşti)
Ludovic Obraniak (Lille)
Jacek Bąk (Austria Wien)
Mariusz Lewandowski (FC Shakhtar Donetsk)
Artur Boruc (Celtic F.C.)
Łukasz Załuska (Celtic F.C.)

**last updated Aug 28, 2009.

Daily Newswatch: June 23, 2009

The news today heavily leans towards the Ekstraklasa...

- Legia Warszawa will be without their top striker Takesure Chinyama for the next 6-8 weeks. The striker from Zimbabwe had an operation on his knee and will miss the first few games for Legia this season, including the 2nd round of qualifying for the UEFA Europe League. This means Director Miroslaw Trzeciak will have to get moving on the potential transfers of Marek Saganowski and/or Marcin Mieciel. Both strikers have been heavily rumoured to be headed to Lazienkowkska this summer.

- Wisla Krakow look set to make their first transfer of the summer, in the form of Slovakian Miroslav Bozok. The 24-year old midfielder, who plays for MFK Ruzomberok, is about 90% there, with only some medical tests to be done. However, the player warns that there are still other foreign clubs interested in him...

- Fellow Slovak Robert Vittek has come out and fully endorsed Ludovic Obraniak as a potential Polish NT player. Vittek, who plays with Obraniak at OSC Lille, said, "Obraniak has the potential to be the leader of your national team. My advice is simple: take Obraniak!" Here's hoping PZPN does not fumble this one up...

- Lech Poznan have picked up another striker from the lower leagues in the hopes of striking gold again (a la Robert Lewandowski). 22-year old Tomasz Mikołajczak from Nielba Wagrowiec was the Second League's leading goal scorer, netting 18 goals.

Daily Newswatch: June 22, 2009

- Ekstraklasa champ Wisla Krakow will play Estonian champs Levadia Tallinn in the second round of Champions League Qualifying. Although the club has only been in existence since 1998, Levadia has managed to win 6 domestic titles and 5 domestic cups. The squad is all-Estonian apart from two Russians.

The first leg will be played in Sosnowiec (due to ongoing construction @ Wisla's stadium) on July 14/15, with the 2nd leg back to Estonia a week later.

- Polonia and Legia have also learned their fate in the UEFA Europe League qualifying rounds. Polonia will take on FK Budućnost Podgorica from Montenegro in the 1st qualifying round (July 2/9), while Legia will enter the fray in the 2nd qualifying round, playing the winner of FC Olimpi Rustavi (Georgia)-B36 Tórshavn (Faroe Islands).

- Speaking of Polonia, two of their players are loan targets for clubs in the Premier League and/or Championship. Keeper Sebastian Przyrowski and midfielder Radoslaw Majewski are the players mentioned, with Przyrowski in particular being followed by some Premier League sides.

- Legia is interested in former NT player Arkadiusz Radomski. The 32-year old DM/CB has played abroad his entire career, save for two ekstraklasa matches with Lech Poznan.

Daily Newswatch: June 18, 2009

- The Robert Lewandowski transfer saga took an unexpected turn on Wednesday when Lech Poznan publicly stated they are not planning to sell the striker. According to the striker's agent Cezary Kucharski, the player expressed his desire to leave the Ekstraklasa club this summer. However, he does not have a minimum-fee release clause in his contract so the situation is a bit tricky. Lech director Marek Pogorzelczyk stated, "We may indeed sell one of our top players this summer, but it definitely won't be Lewandowski."

In terms of potential clubs interested, it looks as if Borussia Dortmund is off the list as they just bought Bulgarian striker Dimitar Rangelov from Energie Cottbus. The Thursday tabloids - with the emphasis being on tabloids - linked the 21-year old "Rewandowski" with Fiorentina.

- The UEFA Europa League - the fancy new name for the UEFA Cup - will have its first- and second-round draws on Monday, June 22. Two Polish clubs from the capital, Polonia and Legia, will learn who they play in the first and second rounds respectively. Lech Poznan will enter the cup in the third round.

Meeting in Cologne

As a result of the initiative of the Polish consulate in Cologne, Germany, a second meeting between Polish emigrants and members of Polish Football Association will take place on June 20.

Last year young players in Germany with Polish ethnicity, met with Jerzy Engel and Tomasz Wałdoch who encouraged them to play for Poland. This Saturday's delegation from the PZPN will include coaches Stefan Majewski and Marcin Dorna as well as former national team players; Tomasz Wałdoch, Tomasz Zdebel, and Andrzej Rudy. They will all be present to answer any questions that they young players may have.

In addition to the young Poles in Germany, promising Poles playing in Dutch and Belgian leagues will also be present. In total, nearly 50 candidates have been invited to Cologne. "We will explain to the boys how they can apply for a Polish passport so that they would be able to play for the Polish National Team" explains Maciej Chorazyk, Chief Scout of the PZPN.

Historically, the Polish Football Federation did not acknowledge the talent in other countries. Talents such as Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski, Piotr Trochowski and others went either unnoticed or were noticed too late. This is an important step in the right direction. Unfortunately, Poland's current youth development system is poor and it does not look like it will improve any time soon. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to scout young players with Polish backgrounds that have been trained and are playing in foreign countries.

Daily Newswatch: June 17, 2009

- Poland and Legia Warszawa player Roger Guerreiro looks set to finally make his move abroad. The Brazilian-born midfielder has been rumoured to move abroad after his impressive display at Euro 2008 but a move never happened. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, a handful of French and Greek clubs are interested in Roger, with the fee expected to be about 400k euro.

- As discussed previously on Polish Football Online, another Polish-born German footballer, Sebastian Boenisch, is on the radar of PZPN's scouts. Boenisch, who primarily plays LB for Bundesliga side Werder Bremen, was born in Gliwice and has 10 caps for the German U-21 team. He has expressed interest in playing for the Polish NT previously and now, finally, it looks like the PZPN are going to do something about it. But not so quick... PZPN President Grzegorz Lato has suggested he will wait for the start of the upcoming season before meeting with Boenisch. Lato said, "We will fight for this kid. We just have to pick the right time to meet with him."

I hate to say it, but it looks like another example of "too little, too late" from the PZPN. Boenisch is representing Germany at the ongoing UEFA Under-21 Championships in Sweden and was in Germany's starting 11 in their match vs. Spain.

Daily Newswatch: June 16, 2009

- The Greek press is reporting that Marek Saganowski is headed to Larissa FC to replace fellow Polish striker Maciej Zurawski. Saganowski is searching for a new club as his current side, Southampton, were relegated to League One recently. The player in question, however, is on vacation and has denied the rumours linking him to Larissa.

- Young Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny may be loaned out from Arsenal FC next season. The 19-year old, who shared 3rd keeper duties with young Italian Vito Mannone last season, apparently has 5 clubs interested in his services: 2 from the Coca-Cola Championship and 3 from League One.

- Will he or won't he? The Robert Lewandowski transfer saga continues, with the Lech striker coming out and saying he wants to move abroad this summer. German club Borussia Dortmund are highest on Lewandowski's list and fellow Polish NT member Kuba Blaszczykowski has told Lewandowski to make the move without hesitation.

- Grzegorz Bronowicki looks set to make his return to the Ekstraklasa this summer. The Red Star Belgrade LB, who has been in and out with injuries for most of the past year, is rumoured to be headed to Jagiellonia Bialystok or Lechia Gdansk. Brono was lauded in the Polish press as one of the heros of the famous 2-1 win over Portugal (only his 2nd senior cap), but has been a huge disappointment at Red Star and in terms of his NT progress. He has not played for the NT since May of 2008 and missed out on Euro 2008 due to injuries.

Polish Goal of the Month - May 2009

Video compilation of the best goals scored by Polish players in the month of May. The order is random - you be the judge.

Here is who made the top 10

1) Tomasz Brzyski (Lech Poznan - Ruch Chorzow)
2) Kuba Blaszczykowski (Dortmund - Karlsruhe)
3) Dariusz Pawlusinski (Odra Wodzislaw - Cracovia)
4) Ireneusz Jelen (Auxerre - Grenoble)
5) Dariusz Kolodziej (Gornik Zabrze - Odra Wodzislaw)
6) Ireneusz Jelen (Paris St. Germain - Auxerre)
7) Szymon Pawlowski (Zaglebie Lubin - Korona Kielce)
8) Marek Zienczuk (Lechia Gdansk - Wisla Krakow)
9) Wojciech Lobodzinski (Lechia Gdansk - Wisla Krakow)
10) Jakub Smektala (Odra Wodzislaw - Piast Gliwice)




Subsequently, you can download a copy of the video here

or view on YouTube here

No Interest in Brozek

Coming of a joint golden boot (with Takesure Chinyama, Legia Warsaw) title and second consecutive league title, Wisla striker Pawel Brozek isn't picking through the offers that were expected. Wisla report that no clubs have approached them in regards to the prolific scorer who has finally begun to make inroads in the National Team. Voted the most valuable player in the Ekstraklasa, Brozek may remain with the team and help the Polish side in a attempt to qualify for the Champions League.

Wisla has been approached by agents offering their services in helping find a potential suitor for Brozek, however, the club stands firm that they will only listen to offers from interested parties. A transfer fee of 3 million € is talked about as starting point in negotiations.

Will Boenisch Play for Poland?

As a result of the new FIFA rule change, 22 year old Polish-born left back Sebastian Boenisch, could still play for Poland.

Sebastian was born in Gliwice, Poland (which is also the hometown of another Polish football player that plays for Germany....Lukasz Podolski). He moved to Germany with his parents when he was only 1 year old. The Werder Bremen defender already declared his desire to play for Poland before the Euro 2008 championships. However, Poland coach Leo Beenhakker did not include him in his 23 man squad.

Before the rule change, once a player has passed the age of 21 and has already played at any level for a country, they were not able to switch. Now, even though Boenisch is 22, he has only played for Germany's U21 and U20 teams, and therefore is still eligable to play for Poland.

If called up, Boenisch would almost be guaranteed the starting left back position, as this is one of Poland's weakest spots. His current competition would be Jakub Wawrzyniak (who is currently serving a 3-month ban for using a banned substance) and Jacek Krzynowek (who Beenhakker placed in this position as a test....which has not worked out).

"I've always wanted to play for Poland. I said this already before Euro 2008. But I am not interested in being called up to play for a Poland B team" said Boenisch.

This season he played 24 matches in the Bundesliga and his team finished 10th in the standings. He is currently in the Germany U21 squad for the 2009 U21 European Championships.

Will Leo Beenhakker call up Boenisch for the August friendly against Greece? Does Boenisch still want to play for Poland? Will he choose Germany if senior coach Joachim Löw calls him up before Beenhakker? Until these questions are answered, Polish fans should not get their hopes up.

Poland Begins U21 Qualifying with a Win

Poland's U21 team won their first U21 European Qualifying match against Liechtenstein today 2-0 (1-0. The goals scored for Poland were by Maciej Korzym and Maciej Rybus.


The young Poles attacked their rivals from the beginning, but it wasn't until the 35th minute that they scored their first goal. A high cross from Mateusz Cetnarski was finished effectively by Maciej Korzym, hitting the ball past Nicolas Hemmerle. Three minutes from half, Maciej Rybus found himself alone with the keeper, but his shot missed the net by only a few inches.

In the second half Poland gained a great advantage in terms of possession. In the 51st minute, Ariel Borysiuk hit a beautiful shot from 20 meters out, but only managed to hit the upright. Five minutes after that, Poland took a 2-0 lead when Maciej Rybus took the ball down the left flank and scored from 10 meters out.

A larger margin of victory was expected from this match. Poland will need to play better against their other rivals in this group (Spain, Holland, and Finland).

Poland 2-0 Liechtenstein
Maciej Korzym 35, Maciej Rybus 56

Poland: 1. Wojciech Szczęsny - 2. Mariusz Gancarczyk, 3. Kamil Glik, 4. Mateusz Pielach, 5. Adrian Basta - 6. Kamil Grosicki, 8. Grzegorz Krychowiak, 7. Mateusz Cetnarski (46, 14. Ariel Borysiuk), 9. Maciej Rybus (76, 13. Tomasz Chałas) - 11. Maciej Korzym (67, 17. Marcin Wodecki), 10. Patryk Małecki.

Below is the schedule for Poland's group:

2009
June 9 - Poland 2-0 Liechtenstein
September 4 - Spain - Poland, Holland - Finland
September 8 - Liechtenstein - Spain, Poland - Finland
October 9 - Finland - Holland, Liechtenstein - Poland
October 13 - Poland - Holland, Liechtenstein - Finland
November 13 - Spain - Finland, Holland - Liechtenstein
November 17 - Holland - Spain

2010
March 2 - Spain - Liechtenstein
March 3 - Holland - Poland
August 11 - Finland - Spain, Liechtenstein - Holland
September 3 - Finland - Poland, Spain - Holland
September 7 - Poland - Spain, Finland - Liechtenstein

Daily Newswatch: June 9, 2009

- Poland only managed a 1-1 draw with Iraq in a friendly today. Similar to their display four days earlier, the Polish team disappointed with their form and were not able to defeat teams that are ranked much lower. The lone goal for Poland was scored in the 71st minute by Roger Guerreiro. Poland Squad: 1. Sebastian Przyrowski - 20. Piotr Polczak, 2. Bartosz Bosacki (46, 21. Jakub Rzeźniczak), 14. Michał Żewłakow, 8. Jacek Krzynówek (46, 15. Marcin Komorowski) - 7. Sławomir Peszko (72, 23. Dawid Janczyk), 5. Dariusz Dudka, 18. Łukasz Trałka (46, 6. Roger), 10. Rafał Murawski (65, 19. Tomasz Bandrowski), 16. Jakub Wilk - 9. Robert Lewandowski (46, 11. Marek Saganowski).

- Highly rated young prospect Martin Kobylański, the son of former Polish National Team member Andrzej, decided for now that he will play for the Poland U-15 team. In June the Polish and German U-15 teams will face each other in a friendly. Kobylański needed to decide which country he was going to play for. "I'm very happy, that he chose Poland" says U15 coach Marcin Dorna. "I am pleasantly surprised, that this fiasco around him did not negatively affect him" Dorna added. However German U15 coach marco Pezzaiuoli said that the German Football Federation has not given up on this matter.

Poland U-21 Squad Update

Coach Andrzej Zamilski made some changes to the U-21 squad that is getting ready for their game against Liechtenstein in their first U-21 Euro qualification match. Defender Mateusz Śliwa (Rega Trzebiatów) and midfielder Daniel Brud (Wisła Kraków), both left the squad and were replaced by midfielder Sebastian Janik (Wisła Kraków) and keeper Grzegorz Sandomierski (Ruch Wysokie Mazowieckie). Tomasz Chałas (Znicz Pruszków) has also returned to the squad.

Tomorrow's match will take place in Pruszkow, Poland (19:30 local time).

Poland U-21 Squad:

Goalkeepers: Michał Gliwa (Polonia Warszawa), Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal FC), Grzegorz Sandomierski (Ruch Wysokie Mazowieckie).

Defenders: Adrian Basta (Polonia Bytom), Mariusz Gancarczyk (Górnik Zabrze), Kamil Glik (Piast Gliwice), Mateusz Pielach (Avia Świdnik), Tadeusz Socha (Śląsk Wrocław).

Defenders: Mateusz Cetnarski (GKS Bełchatów), Grzegorz Krychowiak (FC Girondins de Bordeaux), Sebastian Janik, Patryk Małecki (both Wisła Kraków), Maciej Rybus, Ariel Borysiuk (both Legia Warszawa), Kamil Wilczek (Piast Gliwice).

Forwards: Kamil Biliński (Śląsk Wrocław), Tomasz Chałas (Znicz Pruszków), Kamil Grosicki (Jagiellonia Białystok), Piotr Grzelczak (Pelikan Łowicz), Maciej Korzym, Marcin Wodecki (both Odra Wodzisław Śląski).

Daily Newswatch: June 8, 2009

- Ludovic Obraniak was officially granted Polish citizenship and is expected to be called-up by Leo Beenhakker for the August friendly against Greece. As a result of poor performances by the Polish NT in qualifying so far, there is a lot of expectation for Obraniak to be the catalyst to turn things around. He can play LAM, CAM, RAM positions but he is most likely going to replace the aging Krzynowek on the left wing.

- The qualifying match against Northern Ireland on June 5 will be played in Chorzow, not in Szczecin. Initially it was planned to be played in Szczecin, but because there is a lack of stadium accommodations for VIP and media, the venue was changed to Chorzow at the Stadion Śląski.

- It doesn't look like Tomasz Kuszczak will be moving from Manchester United, at least not from the perspective of Kuszczak himself. Possible moves to Zenit Saint Petersburg and Besiktas do not interest Kuszczak, who is happy where he is. This shows that Kuszczak's priority is not to play regularly, but to be part of one of the best clubs in the world. He is further than ever from the Polish NT as Beenhakker is happy with his trio of Boruc, Fabianski, and Zaluska.

- This Tuesday, the NT will be playing another friendly in South Africa against Iraq. There is little interest in this match from the Polish fans since this isn't the team Leo Beenhakker will field in August vs Greece and in September vs Northern Ireland and Slovenia. However, it would be nice to see the players play with more ambition and intensity than what they showed in their poor display against South Africa on Saturday.

Poland Loses to South Africa

Today, Poland lost 0:1 (0:1) in a friendly game against South Africa in Johannesburg. This was the first time the two teams have ever met. The winning goal was scored Thembinkosi Fanteni in the 6th minute.

Poland had significant problems with assembling a team for this friendly. For various reasosns, ten players were not able to participate in this friendly. For those who did travel with the team to South Africa, Łukasz Fabiański and Wojciech Łobodziński obtained injuries, and Jakub Wawrzyniak had to leave South Africa as he was handed a 3 month bad for using a banned substance.

The match could not have started any worse as in the 6th minute, the South African's cracked our defense. Fanteni received a perfect pass from Parker and he put the ball into an open net.

Poland's first shot on net didn't come until the 22nd minute when Peszko hit a long strike that caused little concern for the South African keeper.

The most visible player on the field for Poland in the first half was Rafał Murawski who in the 40th minute went past 2 defenders into penalty box before a third defender kicked the ball out.

The game didn't change much in the 2nd half even though substitutions were made. One of the more disappointing displays was that of Roger Guerreiro. Poland counts on his creativity and passing to open up the play. He did not do any of that and had trouble making accurate passes.

Although a better display was expected from Poland, this was a group of players assembled because of other players not being able to play. As a result, this was not a team that knew how to play together and it showed on the field.

South Africa - Poland 1:0 (1:0)
Goals: Thembinkosi Fanteni 6
Referee: Tendayi Bwanya from Zimbabawe
Fans: 8000

South Africa: Itumeleng Khune - Siboniso Gaxa, Aaron Mokoena, Matthew Booth, Innocent Mdledle - Steven Pienaar (76-Siphiwe Tshabalala), Kagisho Dikgacoi, Benson Mhlongo, MacBeth Sibaya - Thembinkosi Fanteni (61-Katlego Mashego), Bernard Parker (88-Elrio van Heerden)

Poland: Łukasz Załuska - Jakub Rzeźniczak, Bartosz Bosacki, Michał Żewłakow, Jacek Krzynówek - Sławomir Peszko (46-Marek Saganowski), Rafał Murawski (60-Łukasz Trałka), Dariusz Dudka (79- Dawid Janczyk), Jakub Wilk (59-Marcin Komorowski) - Roger Guerreiro - Robert Lewandowski

Daily Newswatch: June 3, 2009

- Tomasz Kuszczak is set to sit down with Alex Ferguson to decide his future. The Polish keeper flipped between being the 2nd and 3rd keeper at Man U this season and with United apparently interested in Villareal keeper Diego Lopez, Kuszczak has asked his manager to clarify his standing at the club. If Kuszczak decides to leave, there is no doubt he'll be snapped up quickly - a number of Premiership clubs have expressed interest in the past and now Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg have expressed their interest as well.

- Another Polish keeper who has being playing second fiddle for the last few years, Jerzy Dudek, is rumoured to have signed a deal with Portsmouth FC. Dudek, who only made 8 apperances for the La Liga side, would most likely serve as cover for England #1 Calamity, err I mean, David James.

- GKS Belchatow striker Dawid Nowak looks to be the hottest commodity on the Polish transfer market this summer. The injury-prone striker, who scored 10 goals in 23 appearances this season, has been linked to Wisla Krakow, Lech Poznan and an unnamed foreign club.

- No big surprise here: Henryk Kasperczak has been let go by recently relegated Gornik Zabrze.

Poland NT flies out to South Africa

Here is the final squad that flew out for Africa on Monday:

Goalkeepers: Ł. Fabiański (Arsenal), Ł. Załuska (Dundee), S. Przyrowski (Polonia W.)

Defenders: D. Dudka (Auxerre), M. Żewłakow (Olympiakos), B. Bosacki (Lech), J. Wawrzyniak (Panathinaikos), J. Krzynówek (Hannover), J. Rzeźniczak, M. Komorowski (both Legia), P. Polczak (Cracovia Kraków)

Midfielders: Ł. Trałka (Polonia W.), Roger (Legia), W. Łobodziński (Wisła), T. Bandrowski, S. Peszko, J. Wilk, R. Murawski (all Lech)

Strikers: R. Lewandowski (Lech), M. Saganowski (Southampton), D. Janczyk (Lokeren)


It's a somewhat rag tag group of players, truth be told. Players missing include Artur Boruc, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Ireneusz Jelen, Ebi Smolarek, Marcin Wasilewski, Rafal Boguski, Pawel Brozek, Mariusz Lewandowski, Tomasz Jodlowiec and the perpetually bad-luck Dawid Nowak. Nowak is 4-for-4 -- 4 times Leo has called him up and 4 times he has been ruled out with injury.

It's quite clear that the timing of the friendlies affected some of the missing player's willingness to participate. Poland plays South Africa on June 6 and Iraq on June 9.

Newswatch: June 2, 2009

- Maciej Zurawski has made the move from Greek side Larissa to Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus. The 32-year old has been brought to the Eastern Mediterranean island in hopes of helping Omonia qualify for the UEFA Europa League (the new name for the UEFA Cup).

- Mariusz Lewandowski has decided to skip on the friendlies in South Africa for family reasons. What these family reasons are, no one knows. He also mentioned an end-of-the-season party in Donieck, as well as the fact that Shaktar's training camp starts on June 20 as further reasons to skip out on the South Africa trip...

- ... and it has not taken long for Coach Leo Beenhakker to react. Describing the situation, Leo said that the friendlies are on official UEFA match dates, meaning that Shaktar had no choice in the matter. Further, Leo somewhat shockingly likened the situation to that of Radek Sobolewski, who quit the NT days after the NT had qualified for Euro 2008. When asked for comment on the situation, Leo responded by saying, "Of course, when a player decides to stop playing for the NT, I have to respect his decision. After all, Radoslaw Sobolewski did the same. It was his choice. Will I call up Lewandowski again? We'll see..."

- A number of Bundesliga teams are in the hunt for 21-year old striker Robert Lewandowski. The Lech Poznan striker is high on the target list for Borussia Dortmund, whom he visited recently with his agent, but Hertha Berlin looks to be making a late charge as well.

Interview With Leo Beenhakker

Robert Błoński, Michał Szadkowski: We read that you are one of the
candidates for the new coaching position at Celtic.

Leo Beenhakker: I am on their list. Everyone is on their list.


Are you tired of all the rumors?

- Yes, because it used to be that before information was publicized, you called to the potential candidate and asked for their confirmation. Today, you first find the information in newspapers, a scandal is made out of it, and then someone calls and asks you to explain. I will never understand this, but I am from a different generation. Thirty years ago things were done differently.

The Dutch media claims that from June 1st, you will become the technical director at Feyenoord. In Poland there are people who say that you have at most one month left as the coach of the Polish National Team.

- I have said this many times, that I will resign as coach of the Polish NT for three reasons. Health reasons, if my children need me to be with them in Holland, and if I feel that I cannot perform my job duties the way that I want to. That someone will be giving me problems. For now, nothing like this is happening, but I will never say that in November 2009, I will still be the coach of Poland. However, obviously my ambition is the qualify for the World Cup.

Will you part ways with Feyenoord at the end of the season?

- My relationship with that club is based on the fact that I answer their questions. About the players, training etc. I don't have any position at the club, and I do not hold any responsibility. I don't have to part ways with them, because I do not have a contract with them. I help their new coach Marion Been, who is my friend, and he asked me for my advice.

But cooperating with the Dutch does conflict with your responsibilities as Polish NT coach. Instead of attending the Wisla - Legia match, you attended the Groningen - Feyenoord match.

- I know Pawel Brozek, Rafal Boguski, and Roger very well. For me, the Legia/Wisla match has as much value as a match with Jagielonia, where I can watch Kamil Grosicki, or a Cracovia where I can watch Piotr Polczak. As a fan, I would rather see a Wisla - Legia match. But I am not a fan, but the coach of the national team. Also, many Poles play abroad.

Can you imagine a Chelsea - Manchester United match without Fabio Capello?

- Apparently, he had a reason to be there.

Not going to Krakow, you gave a very good argument for your critics.

- That's their problem. To be a head coach of a national team, does not mean to put on a nice suit, sit in the VIP lounge, and watch a big league game. The day before the Wisla - Legia game, I went to Bordeaux to meet with Grzegorz Krychowiak. Nobody knew about this.

We called you. You didn't want to tell us, what match you picked.

- I like to work in the shadow. I organize my own trips to watch Polish players. Sometimes, people from my team know about my plans. I drive around France, Germany and other countries, to watch and meet with my players. Nobody has to know about this. I get in my car and drive.

Reports know that when you watch a match, you leave after 60 minutes. That's what happend in Auxerre, when you watched Ireneusz Jelen.

- One hour was enough for me to know that Ireneusz Jelen was in form and I should call him up. I found out what I wanted. Before the transfer of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Ajax Amsterdam from Malmo, I watched him for 30 minutes training on some poor pitch. I never saw him play a match.

Did some player in the Ekstraklasa impress you this season?

- There were some that developed. I'm talking about Robert Lewandowski, Rafal Boguski, Dawid Nowak, Patryk Malecki, Kamil Glik, Maciej Rybus, and I am waiting for Szymon Pawlowski from Zagłębie Lubin. I wanted to call up a few of them for them friendlies in South Aftics, but I decided not to, because on June 9th the U-21 team coached by Andrzej Zamilski are played a qualifying game against Lichtenstein. They are needed more on that team.

Is this a good time for Robert Lewandoeski to change clubs?

- When a player is 20 or 21 years old, he should not think about money, but about his career. He has to decide what is the best for him. He has to be sure that he will play at his new club. Let's say Robert went to Borussia Dortmund. He would do fine in the Bundesliga, but sitting on the bench would hurt his career. He won't become a better player if he only plays in 4 games in a season. He will develop better at Lech. Even more so if Lech will qualify to the Europa League. Kuba Blaszczykowski went to Borussia, because he knew they didn't have a player for his
position. He believe he would succeed.

But he had more experience, and Lewandowski only played one season in the Ekstraklasa.

- Mentally and as a player, Robert is ready to move abroad. It is important he chooses the right club. At his age, he as to play. Look at Dawid Janczyk. He changed from the bench at CSKA Moscow to Lokeren and it is working for him. Players often explain that it helps them a lot to train with the best, but only for 2 months. After that, if they don't play, their become worse.

Not only them. Roger remained in the Ekstraklasa and he had a terrible season.

- I disagree. He had good and bad games. But that is how he is. Do you remember the match against Wales and his fantastic goal in February? He has never disappointed me when playing for Poland. I don't know why it's different at his club.

Is it true that Feyenoord is interested in him?

- According to Polish media, Feyenoord is interested in half the Polish national team. I read about Dudka, Lobodzinski, Smolarek, Dudek, Jelen. Everyone is going to Rotterdam. I realize that this is the time of year for rumours. But that are rumors. Feyenoord has been scouting Roger since 2005. The scouts have been going to his games, and they have done the same with other Polish players.

Tomasz Zahorski had an even worse season that Roger.

- Zahorski showed me that he can play at the international level. The fact that he doesn't play at that level consistently, is another story. This season he was a victim of what was happening at his club. Gornik was relegated.

Did you enjoy this Ekstraklasa season?

- Three, four teams were fighting for the title to end. That is better for the league, than if one team has a huge advantage. The playing level didn't change. It didn't get better.

Were there any matches that you will remember for a long time?

- The Lech Poznan games at the beginning of the season. They were close to playing at an international level and they showed that in the UEFA Cup. I'm talking about the playing philosophy, that Franciszek Smuda introduced. They tried to take back possession immediately after losing the ball, and that they attacked their opponents on their half. I don't know why their form dropped so much in the last few weeks.

Wisla won the title. What chances do you give them to qualify for the Champions League?

- It depends on the draw. I hope that they will qualify, but I see that not much has changed in the club since last year. The same players that tried to qualify last year will do it again this year.

Do you now know what happened in Belfast and Bratislava, where Poland lost 6 points in World Cup qualifying?

- In football, individual mistakes often decide games. Do you remember the semifinal Champions League match between Arsenal and Manchester United? Kierran Gibbs made a mistake in the 2nd leg and Manchester United scored the only goal of the match. Are you going to blame Arsene Wenger? Not everything is in the hands of the coach.

Both games, Poland lost because of mistakes by Artur Boruc. What happened with him?

- A day before the Northern Ireland match, I told Lukasz Fabianski that he would play. The next day, Lukasz woke up sick. So I talked to Boruc, who was disappointed because he knew he wasn't supposed to play. He had a very unlucky game. That's it.

But that was his 2nd consecutive game where he played like that.

- You cannot link the two games. Artur wanted to win them. What can I tell you?

The day after the Belfast game, you sent him home. It looked like you stopped believing in him.

- I sat down with on Sunday morning. He was depressed, and we both agreed that the best thing for him and the team would be if he left. I wanted to protect him from the media. That's why Artur left on Monday, when the team was training, so that nobody would notice him. We respect each other very much and we have very good communication. We are friends off the field. That's how it is with the whole team.

Why did you call-up Jakub Wawrzyniak for the friendlies in South Africa, even though he was tested positive in a drug test and he could face a ban?

- Until a sentence is carried out, he is innocent. I believe him and I will defend him. What will happen if the Greeks say that he isn't guilty? Wawrzyniak did nothing wrong. He took weight loss pills. His only mistake was that he didn't tell anyone about it.

You wanted to call-up Ludovic Obraniak from Lille.

- It didn’t work out because he still doesn’t have a Polish passport. He will be called-up for the August friendly versus Greece. He is a good player, but I don’t know how he will play at the international level.

If Slovakia defeats San Marino on Wednesday, Poland will be 5 points behind the leader. Do you believe that Poland will qualify for the World Cup?

- If I didn’t believe, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you. First place in the group is still possible. We still have four matches left and I guarantee that none of our competitors will win them all. All the games we were supposed to lose, we lost already.

Kuszczak looking elsewhere

Tomasz Kuszczak has expressed his desire to leave the Champions League runner-up, Manchester United. Zenit Petersburg and Beskitas Istambul have been linked to the Polish keeper. "The time has come to think about me going on loan", said Kuszczak. "I'm a footballer for the greaters club in the world and I'm very happy." Despite his love for the English club, the man behind Van der Sar went on to say that he is not interested about the perspective of only playing a few minutes a season. If the Polish keeper were to join Zenit or Beskitas, his rivals for the position between the posts would be Wiaczeslaw Malafiejew and Rustu Recber, respectively.

2008/2009 Ekstraklasa Season Concludes

Wisła Kraków has won the Polish Ekstraklasa title for the 12th time in their history. They claimed the title by defeating Śląsk Wrocław 2-0. Wisła will not have another chance to qualify for the Champions League next season. Legia Warszawa, Lech Poznań, and Polonia Warszawa followed in the standings respectively, and will have the opportunity to qualify for the new Europa League next season.

Unfortunately, for Cracovia Kraków and Górnik Zabrze, they will not be playing in the Ekstraklasa as they have been relegated. Arka Gdynia will play a relegation playoff with the 3rd placed team of the Polish 1st League.

Top Goal Scorers:

1. Paweł Brożek (Wisła Kraków)...................19
-. Takesure Chinyama (Legia Warsaw)..........19
3. Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznań)..........14
4. Filip Ivanovski (Polonia Warsaw)..............12
5. Dawid Nowak (GKS Bełchatów)................10
-. Dariusz Pawlusiński (Cracovia Kraków).....10

Daily NewsWatch: May 29, 2009

- Robert Lewandowski has apparently rejected a move to SSC Napoli, the 13th place team in the Serie A. He is said to be eyeing a move to Ligue 1, with Auxerre as a strong possibility.

- Tomasz Kuszczak looks to be on the outs at Old Trafford. The Polish keeper failed to press Edwin van der Sar for the #1 spot and in fact lost the #2 job to English keeper Ben Foster. Foster, however, is fairly injury prone so Kuszczak was the de facto #2 for much of the season. Regardless, TK is a solid keeper who deserves to be starting more frequently, in my opinion. It has been rumoured that he would be loaned out to another Premiership club in the coming season.

- Anderlecht and Poland RB Marcin Wasilewski is being linked to a few clubs in the English Premiership. However, the RB has quite the reputation at his current club and one of the club directors has said Wasyl won't go for less than 2 million euro. Personally, I think Wasyl is a great character, a hard-worker, decent in supporting the offense (he scored 8 goals for Anderlecht this year) but ultimately, a very frustrating defender at the NT level.

- Polish youngsters Tomasz Cywka and Tomasz Kupisz have signed improved extensions at Wigan Athletic. 21-year old Cywka, in particular, should press for a spot in the first team squad next season, assuming he stays healthy.

Young Polish Duo Stay at Wigan

Tomasz Cywka and Tomasz Kupisz both extended their contracts with Wigan Athletic for another year. "These boys are the future of this club" said Wigan coach Steve Bruce.

Cywka came to Wigan three years ago, and Kupisz one year later. They play regularly for the reserve team. Kupisz made his first team debut on August 26, 2008 in a Carling Cup match against Notts County and scored the final goal in a 4-0 win. Cywka was close to breaking into the first team until he suffered torn knee ligaments this season. In 14 games this season, he scored 6 goals. "I am pleased. Until I had my injury, I had a very good season. Now my plan is to fight for a place in the first team" said 21 year old Cywka.

"I am happy at Wigan and I would like to play for the first team" added 19 year old Kupisz.

"We wouldn't have offered them new contracts if we didn't believe in them" concluded Bruce.

In the 2008/2009 season, Wigan finished 11th place in the Premier League.

Poland U-21 Squad Announced

Polish U-21 coach, Andrzej Zamilski, has announced his squad for a friendly against Sweden (June 5th in Malmo, Sweden) and their first qualifying match for the 2011 European Under-21 Football Championship against Lichtenstein (June 9th in Pruszkow, Poland). Poland are in a tough group with Spain, Netherlands, and Finland also in their qualifying group.

Only two of the players selected are currently playing outside of Poland; Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal London), and Grzegorz Krychowiak (Girondins Bordeaux).

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Michał Gliwa (Polonia Warszawa), Wojciech Szczęsny (Arsenal London)

Defenders: Adrian Basta (Polonia Bytom), Mariusz Gancarczyk, Adam Marciniak (both Górnik Zabrze), Kamil Glik (Piast Gliwice), Mateusz Pielach (Avia Świdnik), Tadeusz Socha (Śląsk Wrocław), Mateusz Śliwa (Rega Trzebiatów)

Midfielders: Mateusz Cetnarski (GKS Bełchatów), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Girondins Bordeaux), Patryk Małecki (Wisła Kraków), Maciej Rybus, Ariel Borysiuk (both Legia Warszawa), Kamil Wilczek (Piast Gliwice)

Forwards: Kamil Biliński (Śląsk Wrocław), Tomasz Chałas (Znicz Pruszków), Kamil Grosicki (Jagiellonia Białystok), Maciej Korzym, Marcin Wodecki (both Odra Wodzisław Śl.).

Reserve List: Daniel Brud, Sebastian Janik (both Wisła Kraków), Piotr Charzewski (Elana Toruń), Piotr Grzelczak (Pelikan Łowicz), Norbert Jędrzejczyk (Start Otwock), Przemysław Kotlarz (Polonia/Sparta Świdnica), Szymon Matuszek (Jagiellonia Białystok), Grzegorz Sandomierski (Ruch Wysokie Maz.).

Daily NewsWatch: May 25, 2009

Some news from the world of Polish soccer this morning....

- Wojciech Łobodziński is back in the kadra, after his impressive performance over the weekend for Wisla. Łobodziński, who came on as a sub and scored 2 goals for Wisla in a 4-2 win over Lechia Gdansk, replaces his Wisla teammate Rafal Boguski.

- Tomasz Kuszczak is a Premier League champion yet again, but will not gather a medal as he did not play in enough games this season for the Red Devils. He looked solid in United's 1-0 win over Hull on Sunday.

- Ireneusz Jelen continues his recent run of good, if not great, form. He was chosen man of the match as Auxerre defeated Saint-Etienne 1-0 over the weekend. In addition, Jelen was chosen Auxerre's player of the year by the fans. Good for Irek... hopefully, his club translates to the international level as well.

- As reported earlier on PFO, Ebi Smolarek is done at Bolton. Gary Megson has confirmed that the Polish forward will not be returning to the Reebok Stadium.

The Daily Kickabout: Fri May 22

- Poland and Dundee United keeper Lukasz Zaluska has a chance to become a Dundee United and Celtic hero on the same day. The keeper, who is headed to Celtic Park this summer on a free transfer, has the unique opportunity to help his current team secure a place for the UEFA Europa League and simultaneously can help his future team win the SPL title, depending on how he does against Rangers this Sunday.

- Sticking on the topic of Polish keepers, Lukasz Fabianski has recovered from his minor injury and will be the starting keeper for Arsenal as they battle Stoke this Sunday. Fabianski has been solid for the most part this season - here's hoping he can finally pip ahead of Manuel Almunia next season.

- Jakub Wawrzyniak stood before the Greek Superleague disciplinary committee today, pleading his doping case which came to light last week. I feel sorry for Kuba but, at the same time, he is a professional athlete and really, has no one to blame but himself for taking supplements without consulting the Pana doctors beforehand.

- The Ekstraklasa title chase is heating up... unfortunately for Legia, they will be missing their top striker Takesure Chinyama as they travel to Wroclaw to play Slask. Wisla and Lech play Lechia Gdansk and Polonia Warszawa, respectively.


this is just an example of what i think the "Daily Kickabout/MediaWatch/whatever we decide to call it" should look like. Sometimes there'll be more newsworthy articles, sometimes there will be less...
also, each bullet point could have a link set up to an appropriate topic in the forums.

The sad decline of Ebi Smolarek continues...

No one wants Ebi Smolarek, from the looks of it. Not Bolton, not the team that owns his rights, Racing Santander, not even the rumoured Greek teams that wanted him a few weeks back.

The 3-time Polish Footballer of the Year (2005-2007) has garnered one starting appearance at Bolton and has been an unused substitute far more often than not. And if you are one who easily gets depressed at the plight of our footballers abroad, you may not want to look at the following numbers:

2008/09 Season Totals
Starts: 1
Sub Appearances: 11
Shots: 5
Shots on Goal: 1
Fouls Committed: 6
Fouls Suffered: 2
Yellow Cards: 1

"Ouch" does not begin to describe those numbers. And yet, he has garnered another call-up from Leo Beenhakker for the kadra's June friendlies in South Africa. I am a huge Ebi fan and know he has played well for the bialo-czerwoni more often than not, but you have to question what Leo's basis is for selecting Smolarek? He is clearly out of form and does not deserve to be on the NT at this moment in time.

Notes
Discuss whether Ebi should be called up here -- link to forum topic.

could also create a poll : Does Ebi deserve to be called up?
Yes
No
Unsure

Squad announced for June friendlies in South Africa

Leo Beenhakker has announced the NT squad for the June friendlies in South Africa. The team will take on the home team Bafana Bafana on June 6 in Johannesburg, followed by a game against Iraq 3 days later in Cape Town.

Of note, the mercurial Artur Boruc is not included in the squad (at his own request) while Jakub Wawrzyniak, who has recently made headlines for all the wrong reasons, is in.

Jakub Blaszczykowski, who has been back in the Borussia Dortmund squad for the last month or so, is not included, but I think it might be a good pre-caution to take, given Kuba's propensity to get injured.

The Boruc decision seems to indicate that Fabianski is our de facto #1 and as much as I like Fabian's potential, the fact is he does not feature regularly for Arsenal, which worries me. Other than that, I am most interested to see how Leo lines up our midfield considering that apart from Boguski, none of the called-up players are experiencing a rich vein of form.


Full squad below...

Goalies. Ł. Fabiański (Arsenal), Ł. Załuska (Dundee), S. Przyrowski (Polonia W.).

Defenders: M. Wasilewski (Anderlecht), D. Dudka (Auxerre), T. Jodłowiec (Polonia), B. Bosacki (Lech), J. Wawrzyniak (Panathinaikos), M. Żewłakow (Olympiakos), J. Krzynówek (Hannover).

Midfielders: M. Lewandowski (Szachtar), Ł. Trałka (Polonia W.), R. Guerreiro (Legia), R. Boguski (Wisła), R. Murawski (Lech), S. Peszko (Lech).

Strikers: E. Smolarek (Bolton), R. Lewandowski (Lech), D. Nowak (Bełchatów), Paweł Brożek (Wisła), I. Jeleń (Auxerre), M. Saganowski (Southapmpton).

Reserves: A. Stachowiak (Odra), J. Rzeźniczak (Legia), P. Polczak (Cracovia), Piotr Brożek (Wisła), T. Bandrowski (Lech), D. Janczyk (Lokeren), Ł. Sosin (Anorthosis), J. Wilk (Lech).