Lech Poznań players are a sensation in the European Conference League. After beating Djurgården 2-0, they are close to reaching the quarter-finals of this tournament. There is no shortage of naysayers to remind you that this is not the Champions League or even the Europa League. We will talk with Robert Podolinski, an expert commentating on Coleyorge games, about how to perceive Lech’s success this season.
Dariusz Tuzimek, “Wprost”: How to relate to the successive victories of the Poznań team in the Conference League? Some fall into exaggerated delight, others completely devalue Lech’s achievements, pointing out that this is only the third level of competition in Europe. Former spokesman Kamil Kosovski even said it was just the “Bedronka Cup”. What is your opinion?
Robert Podolinsky: Lech’s victories in the LKE are certainly a success, but I would say that if countries like the Czech Republic or Hungary can allow their teams to reach the Champions League or the Europa League, then so can we. I hope that the Conference League is such a preparation, a rubbing. Such a first, small step towards more prestigious games. Because you have to start somewhere. On the other hand, to those who turn up their noses at Lech’s success, it can be said that it is not appropriate to be offended by the successful competition in Europe of the Polish team with a team like Villarreal, with whom Lech played in the group stage. And the matches against Djurgården are also valuable, they should not be underestimated either, because this is a great stimulus for the development of the team, a chance to gain international experience.
This season, the Lech team has two faces. More beautiful, more successful European, and uglier first league. Because in the spring in Ekstraklasa he was able to lose 1:2 to such outsiders as Slask Wroclaw or Zaglenbie Lubin. What is Lehi’s real face?
I think both are correct. Lech’s weaker position in the league is due to the fact that the coach has to rotate: so that those who played in European competitions in the middle of the week can relax on weekends in Ekstraklasa matches. Unfortunately, in Poland there is no team in which there are two equal players for each position. Lech is not such a team either. In the team from Poznan, the most important thing is the “backbone” of the team. In defense, these are Antonio Milic, Filip Dagerstahl or Bartosz Salamon, and in the second line, Jesper Karlstrem and Radoslaw Murawski. And in the attack Mikael Ishak. Around these players, the coach builds the rest of the squad, the driving force of the team is the side midfields.
Unfortunately, when John van den Brom changes the squad, something gets stuck in the team, in the league it doesn’t work the way it does in European competition. This is recognized even by Lech players. Polish clubs have faced this problem for many seasons, because we had to deal with the same phenomenon when Legia played in Europe, or even earlier Lech during the time of coach Dariusz Zhurav. But this season, the team from Poznań is already doing well in Ekstraklasa. True, the title of the champion eluded her in favor of Rakov Częstochowa, but Coleyorge is still on the podium in the table. At the end of the season, it will be very important for the coach to manage a group of 18-20 players in order to successfully combine competition on two fronts.
Source: Wprost
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