Tomek Chodorowicz
Poland’s Ekstraklasa seems to be able to produce a decent footballer, at least once in two or three years at the most. Since the departure of Jakub Blaszczykowski from Wisla Cracow to Borussia Dortmund however, no Polish player has been part of an interesting transfer to one of Europe’s major leagues. The talented winger arrived at Dortmund in the summer of 2007 for the fee of €3.5M. Since then though no player who has exited Polish domestic football has proved to be a worthwhile signing for the buying club.
That is not to say however that there are not players in Poland who cannot cut it abroad. There are at least five that are simply too good to continue playing football where they are, and should attract the interest of a handful of European clubs this summer.
1. Robert Lewandowski – Striker – Lech Poznan
The youngest among the “wonderful five”, the 20 year-old striker has a very bright future ahead of him and his career fast developing into a fine one. Having been told that he was too weak for Legia Warsaw’s youth team in 2006, the youngster joined the third league team Znicz Pruszkow. The result was Znicz’s promotion and the title of top scorer for Lewandowski. The following season, stepping up one division made no difference, with 21 goals he was once again named the best striker in his league. That is when Legia started showing some regret in letting the striker leave, still, not enough regret to buy him back, because Lewandowski joined another title contender, Lech Poznan.
Before Lewandowski made his league debut for Lech he had already scored four goals in the UEFA Cup qualifying rounds, and was rewarded with a call up to the national team. His international debut was one of 30 minutes of outstanding performance on the pitch and a goal against San Marino. Almost before anyone noticed, Lewandowski became one of the league’s biggest stars and a national team starter. He ended this season with 14 goals in the Ekstraklasa and some very noticeable displays against Udinese and Feyenoord in Europe.
Lewandowski`s pace, technique, and a genuine striker’s instinct for goals have made Borussia Dortmund desperate to land him. While Dortmund have officially declared their interest in the striker, many other teams, including Napoli, Panathinaikos, Feyenoord, and Auxerre are rumoured to be preparing offers for a player dubbed Poland’s new hope.
2. Semir Stilic – Midfielder – Lech Poznan
The player from whom Lewandowski received most of his key passes this season goes by the name of Semir Stilic. The young Bosnian midfielder came to Poznan last summer from Zeljeznicar Sarajevo, despite interest from Arsenal and Balkan superpower Dinamo Zagreb.
In January, Gordon Strachan was desperate to purchase the 22 year-old playmaker as a replacement for Shunsuke Nakamura. That transfer would have made a lot of sense, since Stilic’s attributes are quite like those of the Japanese. Stilic is fast, a good dribbler, his technique is far superior to other players in the Ekstraklasa, and his amazing free-kicks have brought his team a fair amount of goals this season. In a nutshell: Stilic has some real skill.
Semir Stilic is aware that he needs to move on in order to join his Bosnian national team colleague, Edin Dzeko, at the top of European football. Lech Poznan have grown tired of Stilic’s constant flirting with foreign clubs, therefore it is likely they will let the talented Bosnian go for a reasonable fee of €3M. Now facing up to the fact of Nakamura’s departure, Celtic have once again been linked with a bid for the services of Stilic. If not Celtic, then surely some other club will come up with the money.
3. Jan Mucha – Goalkeeper – Legia Warsaw
Some would say Polish football seems to be able to regularly raise quality players in only one position: goalkeeper. Ironically though, the best keeper plying his trade in Polish stadiums is Jan Mucha, a Slovakian.
When Lukasz Fabianski left Legia Warsaw for Arsenal two seasons back many doubted that the Slovak would be a worthy replacement. Mucha, now 27, had formerly been just a substitute at Slovakian sides Inter Bratislava and MSK Zilina. Having sold Boruc to Celtic and Fabianski to Arsenal in recent years Legia is considered a great place for goalkeepers to develop. And Mucha is no exception. A year of training in Warsaw and warming the bench for Fabianski did wonders for him.
It didn’t take more than a few league matches for Mucha to prove his class. Sports journalists immediately recognised him as the league’s top goalie with the ability to stop any striker from in the highest division. His solid league performance attracted the attention of Slovakia’s national team’s coach, Jan Kocian. Since his debut against Hungary in January 2008 he has made six more appearances for his country and has secured himself a place in Slovakia’s starting line-up.
Mucha, gifted with amazing reflexes, still needs to work on his game when coming off his line, but considering how fast he is developing it seems only a matter of time before he masters this too. Legia Warsaw are very keen to sell Mucha this summer since his contract is coming to an end. While Legia have not received serious offers yet, Mucha’s agent is hinting clubs from Jan’s dream league, the Premier League, are interested in his client.
4. Tomasz Jodlowiec – Defender – Polonia Warsaw
The Ekstraklasa’s top defender is another player who’s facing a busy summer. Until recently, after two years of appearances in the Polish top flight, Polonia Warsaw’s player was considered merely a good defender. This season, however, he improved beyond recognition and surprised football experts all around the country.
The very well built 24 year-old sweeper, who can also operate as a defensive midfielder, was the only defender well able to stop any given striker in the league. Jodlowiec was very consistent, and didn’t make a single serious mistake throughout the entire season. There were voices that the man must simply be from another planet, and that if Polonia had two of him, they wouldn’t have conceded a single goal this season. So far, the defender has only made two appearances for the national team, but according to coach Leo Beenhakker Jodlowiec is the brightest prospect for Poland’s backline.
Word of Jodlowiec’s performances soon spread all over Europe and the defender is going to be sifting through quite a few offers soon. Having already rejected two approaches from Napoli, Jodlowiec is supposedly on the shopping list of Hamburg, Hoffenheim and Sunderland.
5. Pawel Brozek – Striker – Wisla Cracow
Brozek, another striker, unlike Lewandowski, has been on top for several years now. This was the second consecutive season when Wisla’s 26 year-old striker took home the crown of the league’s topscorer.
Brozek,along with his twin brother, who also plays for Wisla, were considered great talents from the moment they emerged onto the scene. However, for many years both of them failed to meet their club’s expectations and both were loaned out to numerous Polish sides. Finally, three years ago Pawel was handed a real chance at Wisla, and ever since, no one can picture the Cracow team without him. Brozek has pulled on the national jersey 16 times since 2005, but has managed to put the ball in the opposition’s net only three times, and many said that the striker is simply not cut out for international level football. But after securing Poland’s win over the Czech Republic, the domestic media say that a new era has dawned for Brozek, and that the duet of Brozek and Lewandowski will be one of deadliest in Europe.
Next season Wisla might have to learn how to score without their speedy striker. Rumour has it that very soon Brozek will be scoring goals for Stuttgart or Anderlecht.
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