7 League Shots – Round 1

After each league round this season, EKSTRAKLASAreview will try to get You short insight into how things went on the pitches in Polish top league. First round is on us!

1) Jan Urban loves to play with youth’s minds. Take this – asked who will be league’s best scorer this season, Legia’s coach came up with rather unlikely answer – Patryk Mikita. Guy who was yet to make his debut for the club was given such a confidence boost that in the opening match of the season (5-1 trashing of Widzew Łódź) he scored once and assisted at two other goals. Picked man of the match, he may be onto bigger things – and no one will be able to say that Urban knew little about it…

2) Get your own Ljuboja. Lechia’s recent dreadful record was expected to be continued when, with just little more than ten minutes to go, Podbeskidzie was leading them 1-0. Then their new signing, Daisuke Matsui, ex-Japan international, scored twice and in the end that meant a vital point in Michał Probierz’s opening match. Matsui is paid more than others but his skills are obvious for most – despite the obvious gap in quality between him and the rest, it may work the same way as it has with Ljuboja at Legia. He learned youngsters a lot, and even though in the end he was kicked out of the club, he gave the impression the league is moving into the right direction. Get yourself a Ljuboja now, Polish clubs – that may do the job.

3) Trust the untrusted. Mariusz Rumak will not be given much credit for the way Lech kicked off their season at Chorzów, but he surely should be praised for the way he handled Vojo Ubiparip in the recent weeks. Out-of-favor striker-turned-winger was about to join Piast Gliwice but when the moved collapsed, he was returning to Poznan knowing his fate – subs bench for the rest of the season. But he was picked for the opening two games (cup and league) and scored in both – Rumak proved that he will not look at anybody’s status within the club but what one can offer on the pitch. Points dropped at Ruch are not alright, but message is clear. And right too.

4) Get some pace. Zawisza Bydgoszcz might have waited a long time for their Ekstraklasa comeback but there was much more happening on the stands than in Ryszard Tarasiewicz’s team. When they were promoted they looked like an inspired lot – on Saturday, they were all lost, slow and out of place. Jagiellonia was not even up to their 60% levels but still got three points and it must be a worry that the difference between the tempo in 1. Liga and Ekstraklasa is so big. Be sure that Zawisza makes some late, desperate business on the transfer market then…

5) Passes are overrated – Mariusz Brosz could have say to Wojciech Stawowy at the end of Piast’s 3-2 victory at Cracovia, the other newcomers. Hosts had possession and maybe even looked better on the eye, but Piast was clinical and showed how much more pressure counts. Well prepared to the game, they fought hard high up the pitch, only rarely allowing Cracovia to beat their lines with some fine passing – but for every one time Cracovia succeeded, they have failed too many times. It even looked as if dramatic 3-2 was too flattering for Cracovia…

6) You can’t do it without a striker. Franciszek Smuda even considered playing right back up front, but in the end he put attacking midfielder Łukasz Garguła there – the result, however, was quite simple to predict. Górnik hold on well for the majority of the goalless draw in Krakow but the most obvious thing was not even the lack of striker at Wisła. It was the answer where both clubs will belong – surely, not in the top half of the table, at least not without proper striker each.

7) “I wonder why they haven’t talked a lot about us” – asked Pavel Hapal ahead of his Zagłębie start to the season at home, against Pogoń Szczecin. With five new signings starting, he was full of hope that his squad will be exciting and continue fine form from the end of last season. But Wdowczyk’s Pogoń was too intelligent for them, easily breaking what looked like a project prepared too quickly. Perhaps Pogoń proved a point – that with less activity and more trust into less known players, you can get more in such short period than from enormous transfer activity? That would even seem right…

Advertisement