Sadly all our good players, Miroslav Klose and Loukas Podolski (with consideration to Piotr Trochowski) all play for the German national team, die Mannschaft (The Team). All are native Poles but who grew up in Germany and learned the game there.
According to Wikipedia, there is conflict over whether Trochowski wanted to play for the PZPN (Polish national football team) and they didn't want him or he wanted to play for Germany since he "learned the game there, and they taught me (him) how to play"
Both Klose and Trochowski play for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, Germany's highest league. What makes me really sad (and angry) every four years, is not only do traitors Klose and Podolski play for rival Germany but they aren't just two good players, they are two of the best in the entire world at their positions. How amazing and exciting would it be if Poland had them especially and even, all three? Germany would certainly be in most every World Cup because of their population size and talent pool not to mention long, and rich history of success but at least Poland could join them too.
Podolski, young, atheletic, arrogant which you have to love, would look great in his native red and white. Klose too.
As of now, Poland literally cannot score. They have no strikers and get shut out in every match. Their last three friendlies being a 6-0 beating by Spain, a 3-0 shutout by Finland, and a loss to Switzerland. Their two best players, I believe are Dawid Nowak and Dariusz Dudka and they are simply by default since the rest of the team is so bad. Marisz Lewandowski is terrible and can't defend.
They do have another Lewandowski, Robert, who is only 22 to Marisz's 31. Maybe he'll be a ray of hope along with new manager, Franciszek Smuda who has to make the team more aggressive offensively and defensively and find younger players, with more potential as the most recent squads are tapped out and too old. They cannot compete with the deeper clubs. Poland has no depth. How do the U-19, 20, and 21 league's look? What does the future hold? Smuda's call-ups are younger, but will they be any better (and ultimately faster?)
Seeing how Poland is joint-hosting EURO 2012 very soon, I hope they use this time to recruit better players so they can at least be respectable hosts and not go out like SA did in the 2010 World Cup. They also must learn from their mistakes and seeing how they keep getting shut out, so far they have not, sad to say.
Their Oct 9th test against Mexico in the U.S. will be interesting with the amount of Polish fans in Chicago where the match is played, or the Sep 12 friendly against the U.S. in NY.
|