June 6, 2006
AVOIDING A REPEAT
Poles don't want a repeat of 2002

Four years ago Poland entered the World Cup optimistic that it would get out of the first round with ease.

Instead, the stunned Polish took a quick, early and embarrassing exit in Korea as the hosts and the United States advanced to the second round and beyond.

This time around, captain Jacek Bak promised that history wouldn't repeat itself.

"We went to Korea and didn't even get out of the group. It was a sad time," Bak told reporters earlier this week.

"Now we have a very young, very strong team and it's time to take the next step forward. If we get out of the group I think it will help us take off and we can even cause a surprise against England or Sweden."

Poland faces Ecuador in the "B" game of the opening day of the World Cup as the Germany-Costa Rica confrontation will get most of the world's attention.

"We need to approach this match (with Ecuador) from a different perspective to four years ago. Of course we've got three games in this group, but the first is very important, maybe the most important," Bak

told Reuters.

The Poles discovered that in 2002, losing to Korea in their opener.

This time they'll do it without veteran goalkeeperJerzy Dudek, who didn’t even make the team.

He lost his No. 1 position with 2005 European champion Liverpool to Jose Reina of Spain and eventually his job as the Polish keeper and a spot on the 23-man roster.

That’s the harsh reality of international soccer. No matter how talented you may be, if you can’t play for club, there’s a good chance you won’t play for country.

Dudek’s former understudy on Poland, Artur Boruc, acquitted himself well when he stepped in for the injured Dudek in Poland's final qualifiers in September and October.

Boruc, 26, has been at the right place at the right time. He transferred from Legia Warsaw to Celtic on loan in 2005. But he wound up as the top choice after Scotland international David Marshall surrendered nine goals in two games. Boruc took over and never gave up his spot, allowing about a goal a match as his transfer to Celtic became permanent.

In fact, goal might not be the only position in which a talented player might not start.

Midfielder-forward Ebi Smolarek, one of the leading goalscorers in the German Bundesliga in the 2005-06 season, might come off the bench, thanks to his exceptional ability to go one-on-one with opposing defenders. He earned the dubious nickname "The Hasch Bomber" when he tested positive for hashish during a stint with Feyenoord (Netherlands).

The Poles have a reputation for being a hard working side, although they do get the job done. Their defense has a reputation as being slow, but their fast forwards Tomasz Frankowski and Maciej Zurawski more than make up for it in their partnership up front produced seven goals each during qualifying.

As for getting the job done, the Poles certainly didn't do it against the U.S. in a World Cup warm-up in Kaiserslautern, Germany on March 1 as the Americans walked out of the stadium with a 1-0 victory in a snow-driven game.

Coach Pawel Janas praised the Americans, who scored an opportunistic goal off a Poland error. "They were the better team," Poland coach Pawel Janas said. "They deserved to win."

Janas, clawing for excuses, claimed the snow helped the U.S. more. "The snow didn't help," he said. "We had it in our faces. They had in their backs. Maybe it helped them a little bit."

U.S. coach Bruce Arena noted that the American-based players had been training in the warmer weather of California for seven weeks. "I don't think the snow was that much of an advantage," he said.

For an Eastern European country, Poland has done quite well internationally. The Poles' glory days spanned a decade a generation or so ago. They captured the 1972 Olympic gold medal and the silver in 1976. They finished third in the 1974 and 1982 World Cups.

The Poles were hopeful of adding another player to their World Cup team -- Argentine-born midfielder Mauro Cantoro, who had applied for Polish citizenship. Cantoro has forged a reputation as the Polish First Division's best central midfielder, standing out as the holding midfielder in Wisla Krakow's three championship teams.

Janas also was considering Christoph Dabrowski, who has joint Polish-German nationality. Dabrowski, 28, who has performed for the German B National Team, plays for Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga.

Let's face it. The Poles have lacked a world-class playmaker since the late Kaz Deyna (he played for the San Diego Sockers in the old North American Soccer League) and Zbigniew Boniek for the two third-place World Cup sides.

Poland has a history of using naturalized citizens. Nigerian-born Emmanuel Olisadebe became the top qualifying scorer in Europe for the 2002 World Cup, helping Poland to qualifying. But he has been plagued by injuries the past several years.

An interesting bit of information for World Cup history buffs

Poland has one of the best winning percentages in World Cup history at 58.9 percent with a 14-9-5 record.