Group A: Czech Republic vs Poland discussion

When Poland teamed up with Ukraine to bid for hosting rights of Euro 2012, not even the most optimistic Polish football fans fancied themselves to beat competition from Italy. It appeared nailed on that Italians will host their first major football tournament since 1990. Other competitors looked strong on paper too with Greece and Turkey submitting brave individual bids, whereas Hungary united with Croatia to test the water. Despite being beaten by Italy in the short-list round, Poland-Ukraine bid comprehensively beat the Italian bid in the final round and won the lottery to host what many people call the greatest sporting event in Europe. Some would argue that quality of Euro Cups is superior to World Cups and from what we’ve seen so far in this tournament, I see no reason to disagree with that claim. There was a massive buzz around the country, as Poland sought to impress.

Only a few days after the draw for qualification round took place, Lech Kaczynski- Poland’s president- lost his life in a plane crash in Russia. His dreams of proudly seeing his beloved country host such a grand occasion in his reign were well and truly buried. However, Poland was unified as a nation and that tragedy inspired them to make it a tournament to remember; Both for foreign fans visiting, and for local Poles. Poor showings in World Cup 2006 and Euro Cup 2008, where Poland only won 1 out of 6 played games, were followed by nation’s worst showing of the decade in World Cup 2010 qualifiers, where Poland, despite being in a relatively easy group, didn’t even come close to booking their tickets to South Africa. If there was any time to make up for those disappointments, Euro 2012 was the chance.
State of football was quite different than when Franciszek Smuda took over in 2009. There were some young talents coming through, and a lot of Polish players were much improved. The latest Polish squad includes 3 key members of back-to-back Bundesliga winners, Borussia Dortmund and it speaks volume of the quality of Poland national team. Likes of Piszczek, Kuba, and Lewandowski played a major role in Dortmund winning the domestic double just a few weeks before the start of European Championships. There was a positive vibe around the country, and being placed in the easiest group of the competition, had got Poles believing that they could qualify to quarter-finals of Euro Cup for the first time in their history.

Poland’s Euro 2012 campaign kicked off on June 8th, at national stadium in Warsaw. The first 45 minutes could not have gone any better. Poland got into a flying start, and took a deserved lead over Greece through Robert Lewandowski’s header. To make things even better, Greece had a man sent of just before half time, and it was hard even for the most pessimistic Pole out there, to think there is a way his team would throw away such lead in front of 56,000 Polish supporters. As it panned out, 2004 European Champions made a spirited comeback in the second half, and were denied a victory only due to heroic penalty save of Poland’s second choice goal keeper, Przemyslaw Tyton. The first chapter didn’t have a perfect ending, but Smuda knows it could have been worse.
Next stop was Russia. The game became more important as we approached the kick off. There were plenty of reasons behind it. Football wise, Czech’s victory over Greece complicated things in group A and brought a lot of new possibilities on the table. Off the pitch, we witnessed some ugly scenes as Polish and Russian fans had a brawl before the game. Many were injured, and one person was reported dead. It was more than a football game now. Poland started strongly, but faded as first half went on. Arshavin’s peach of a cross, headed home by Dzagoev gave the lead to Russia, as Poland faced an up-hill task to get back to the game. The game was like a fast-paced war. Smuda and his team had 45 minutes to keep the Polish dream alive. The entire Poland were behind them and we all knew if the score line remains the same, it could get extremely ugly in Warsaw after the game. 11 Polish men walked onto the pitch at start of the second half. You could see their commitment and passion and determination to turn things around from the moment referee Wolfgang Stark blew his whistle to start the final 45 minutes of the game. Poland pressed higher up the pitch and raised the tempo of the game. It only took 12 minutes for the national stadium to go crazy after Captain Blaszczykowski (also known as Kuba) equalized in spectacular fashion.

He dedicated his goal to his mom, like he does all the time. Kuba witnessed his dad stab his mom to death when he was 11. He moved away from his father and never spoke a word to him for the rest of his life. It must have been horrific for a kid of that age. 15 years on, and he is the captain of his nation. He carries the Polish dream. You really could not make up such a dramatic story, and then he had scored one of the most important goals in history of Polish football. Poland kept on attacking and were unlucky not to leave the pitch with 3 points. However, the dream stayed alive as their faith remained in their own hands. Poland now has to beat Czech Republic on the final match-day in order to progress to the next round. It certainly isn’t mission impossible, is it?!
I’d like to talk about that encounter now. On paper, Poland are superior to Czech Republic. This Czech side isn’t comparable to the team they had in 2004 with likes of Cech, Nedved, Rosicky, Koller, Poborsky, and Baros all in prime of their careers. From that roster, only Cech, Baros, and Rosicky are still part of the team, and all of them have massively declined. The municipal stadium in Wroclaw will be behind Poland on Saturday in full voice. Wroclaw is only 5 hours drive away from capital of Czech, Prague, and I certainly would not be surprised to see many of their fans in the city, and clashes are to be expected before and after the game. It certainly won’t be a boring day out. In my opinion, Poland has what it takes to make history, and they should worry about themselves more than Czech. Nerves, sloppiness, and inexperience have been Poland’s undoing in this competition so far. They need to remain composed and calm even if the game was still a draw until mid-second half. All Poland needs is one goal and victory. They shouldn’t let the pressure, and stress gets better of them. Fans need to be patient, and don’t let their frustration affect their players on the pitch. Saturday June 16th is a very important day in history of Polish football. A nation’s dream could live or die that day. We’re only a few hours away from seeing whether this story has a happy ending or not. I believe Polska has got a great chance of sending its people wild and crazy on Saturday night. I predict a busy night for the police and pub owners of Wroclaw, Warsaw, and other major Polish cities on Saturday.