Dariusz Wdowczyk

Ivica VrdoljakSebastian MilaPierwsza Liga Review

The End of Two Era

Stadion Sląski

Ekstraklasa ReviewSixteen fans give their views on theirteams performances during 2012/13

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - The best and worst teams of the Ekstraklasa season

Issue Four - Summer 2012/2013

Sponsors/PatronagesThe #Ekstraklasa Magazine teamwould like to thank the following:

Slasknet.com

Editor: Ryan Hubbard - @Ryan_Hubbard -EKSTRAKLASAreview.co.uk

Editor: Michał Zachodny - @polishscout -EKSTRAKLASAreview.co.ukAndrzej Gomołysek - @taktycznie - taktycznie.net

Dawid Kosmalski - @Angamoss - angamoss.blox.pl

Michał Dzida - @michaldzida - sportowyobiektyw.pl

Marcus Haydon - @marcusjhaydon

Tomasz Galiński - @T_Galinski

Mike McKenna - @MikeMcKenna_

Marc Boal - Kolejorz Fans Scotland

Season Review: Konrad Ferszter, Kuba Krzyżostaniak, Michał

Zachodny, Adam and Piotr Rajpert, Ryan Hubbard,

Christopher Lash, Piotr Truchlewski, Maciej Głombiowski,

Michał Rygiel, Michał Szewc, Arek S. “Koroniarz”, Andrzej Peterek,

Mateusz Cieślak, Borys Jansyn, Krzysiek Wesołowski, Patryk Ostry.

/EKSTRAKLASAreview

/EkstraklasaMagazineCover Photo: Legia.com

Artwork: Ryan Hubbard

Contributors

Almost to the day it was twelve monthssince the hype of Euro 2012 explodedin Warsaw - big and loud openingceremony, Robert Lewandowskiglancing his header past Greekgoalkeeper, Wojciech Szczęsny beingsent off and Przemysław Tytoń savingpenalty with his first act in the game.What a day it was, what an end to abeautiful and hopeful set up for thewhole country.

For the first forty-five minute webelieved that this is going to happen. Itwas going into the right direction.Moves were swift, players elegant andwell motivated by the coach. Is that stillthe game against Greece I'm writingabout? No, it's Moldova vs Poland, thematch ended with a one-all draw thatended our dreams of making it to Brazilfor next summer World Cup.

The two games were similar and notonly be the ending result. The wayPoland crumbled under the pressureafter the break, when they wereexpected to move even further forward,attack with more intent and precision,showed that mentally nothing haschanged over the year. Names mighthave changed rapidly, Artur Borucmight be back in the goal, three Polishplayers took part in the ChampionsLeague final but on the pitch in thewhite-red kits it was same old, sameold.

Our boys once again took one hell of abeating. Not just the main team but U21boys, the hope for the future, werestruggling against Malta for majority ofthe game, missing glorious chancesand only coming out victorious at thevery end. The U19 team was playingat home but all they could do in thejunior Euro qualifications was the finaldraw with Greece. Those results reflecton all of us.

For the reasons of the continued slumpof the national teams, you have to lookat the country. The league was fairlyinteresting this season, but would webe able to pick more worthremembering moments that happenedon the pitch or off it? Polonia Warszawawas devastated by some accidentalguy who happened to have an ideahow to get out some money of the club.

Polish champions were hammered inEurope. The continental spring hasended for other Ekstraklasa clubsbefore first rains came. And we shouldnot be surprised that when WaldemarFornalik hoped to bring some fresh legsagainst Moldova and turned to league'sbiggest hope and one of better playersJakub Kosecki, he failed miserably onthe international stage - yes, evenagainst such poor opposition. And, bythe way, Legia's Jakub Wawrzyniak,the other player who appeared stillcontracted to Ekstraklasa club, wasperhaps the worst from the side.

The gap is growing, sadly. We mighthave some great footballers withhopeful youngsters making their waythrough, but above all of them isWaldemar Fornalik, a man who wassuccessful with RuchChorzów but... that wasonly Ruch. And he hasnot won anything inPoland. He wassecond best, gettingeverything out ofbunch of averageleague players whichhe led to the second-place finish and nowthey were second fromthe bottom. Was hegiven the job too easily?Not being againstWaldemar Fornalik,one should

ask whether he is not too short ofqualities to manage on the internationalstage. He is simply good man for theleague.

So the first signs of twelve months thatfollowed the opening ceremony ofEURO 2012 are bad. But there are alsomoments of hope and perhaps reasonsto believe that it may be better rathersooner than later. Finally some outfieldplayer was bought from Ekstraklasa byPremier League club (Tonev), a fewwingers have emerged to create classof their own, Lech and Legia are nowlooking to spend but also educate intheir academies, while the leagueattracts players from better countrieslike Scotland.

Of course we can live with this hope butthat should not mean there is a lot todo. The example must come from thevery top and if Zbigniew Boniek, thePZPN president, is as experiencedafter his great career of player andauthority, then he should recognize the

real problem. We, as a footballcountry, are lacking a leading

example. Allowing suchsaddening results andperformances as againstUkraine or San Marino togo unnoticed and withoutreaction will hurt us evenmore than the defeat atEURO 2012.

Michał Zachodny

Editor, #EkstraklasaMagazine

The Year of the Defeated

Every year we know that Spring will beunpredictable, yet every year we try topredict it.

Whilst in our last edition we may havededuced that Legia would win the title, itwas a lot closer than we imagined at thestart of 2013.

Who knew that Lech would build up a titlechallenge after a fairly poor autumn?Who knew that Polonia's exodus wouldhave such a massive effect? Who knowthat Górnik's wheels would come off soquickly and spectacularly? Who knewthat Piast would be the ones fighting with

Śląsk  for  the

bronze medal?

Spring also had its fair share of surprisesat the bottom end too. In Issue Three wemarked down both Podbeskidzie andGKS  Bełchatów  as  certainties  for  thedrop, and even though we had an inklingthat Polonia's financial situations wouldseal their fate, we were sure that at leastone would have been in the PierwszaLiga next term. Whilst we did eventuallyget it right, we never would have guessedthat GKS's relegation would have onlybeen by a whisker - Ruch Chorzów onlyescaping the fall by virtue of a head-to-head result back in Autumn.

The second tier also had its shocks as,nailed on for promotion with seconds oftheir penultimate game remaining,Termalica Bruk-Bet Nieciecza werestaring another Pierwsza Liga season inthe face just 60 game-minutes later.Stomil Olsztyn on the other hand, as-good-as relegated in winter, pulled off astunning comeback to secure their 1.Ligastatus with a game to spare.

And now with the door closed on thePolish season, we're already thinking

about next season. The Ekstraklasa’sdecision to split the league into

two and add an extra sevenrounds on at the endwas yet anothersurprise which weweren’t prepared for.With the intention ofgiving all sidessomething to playfor until the verylast game, we canonly wait and seewhether the ideaturns out to be ar e s o u n d i n gsuccess or amassive failure.Either way, weare only fiveweeks away (atthe time ofwriting this) fromthe big kick-offon July 19 -giving us thesmallest ofsummer breaksbefore we get tosee the stars

return to the pitches of Białystok, Kielceand Bielsko­Biała.

As well as its surprises, 2012/13 also hadits disappointments, most notably in theform  of  Polonia  Warszawa  and  ŁKSŁódź’s  financial  implosions  andsubsequent demotions (both of whichhad been written about in previousissues). Now two of Poland’s oldest andproudest clubs must work their way upthe pyramid because of the actions ofowners who never really had the clubs’interest at heart.

Whilst surprises seemed to becommonplace in the Polish leagues, itwas actually the two pre-seasonfavourites for promotion, Cracovia andZawisza Bydgszcz, who find themselvesback in the tp-flight after gaps of twelvemonths and 19 years respectively.

Ryan Hubbard

Editor, #Ekstaklasa Magzine

Ekstraklasa: The Predictable Unpredictability

INSIDE THIS ISSUE8. The Road to Rio is now closed

Tomasz Galiński reports on Poland’sWorld Cup Qualifying draw in Moldova.

11. The return of Dariusz Wdowczyk

After his return to management followingcorruption charges, Dariusz Wdowczyktook the hotseat at Pogoń Szczecin.Marcus Haydon tells us his story.

15. The 2012/13 Ekstraklasa Review

Sixteen fans tell us the story of theirclub’s 2012/13 season.

34. Dynamic Wingers

Michał Zachodny talks about the Polishleague’s love affair with the winger.

37. Pierwsza Liga

With four clubs contesting promotion upuntil the last day, the second-tier wasjust as thrilling as the first. RyanHubbard reports on the season.

42. Goals are Overrated!

Andrzej Gomołysek ponders whetherthere is such thing as a “non-scoringstriker”.

45. Kolejorz Fans Scotland

#Ekstraklasa Magazine talks to MarcBoal, founder of Scotland’s only LechPoznań fan club.

49. Defining a season

Michał Zachodny briefs us on the fifteengames which defined the 2012/13Ekstraklasa season.

53. The Cursed promise of success

The problems at Górnik Zabrze extendfar beyond their spring collapse. DawidKosmalski tells us more.

56. The end of two era

With the culmination of the 2012/13season, two of Poland’s most renownedplayers, Tomasz Frankowski and MichałZewłakow retire. Ryan Hubbard profilestheir careers.

61. Legia’s true leader

Scorer of their late, title-deciding penaltyagainst Lech, Wojskowi skipper IvicaVrdoljak is profiled by Michał Zachodny.

64. Poland’s Forgotten Stadium

Once the pride of Polish football,Chorzów’s Stadion Sląski is now just abuilding site. Ryan Hubbard wonderswhere its future lies.

68. The view from the gantry

After commentating on the Ekstraklasafor British TV station SportsTonight Live,Mike McKenna has fallen a little in lovewith the Ekstraklasa.

71. “I stayed so that Sląsk could jointhe legends”

After signing a new three-year deal,Sląsk Wrocław midfielder Sebastian Milatalks to Michał Dzida in an #EkstraklasaMagazine exclusive.

73. The Good XI, The Bad XI and TheUgly XI

77. Ekstraklasa/1.Liga and 2.LigaStats, Results and Tables.

By Tomasz GalińskiWith failure to beat Moldova not an option four Poland’sWorld Cup qualification chances, just a point from theirtrip to Chisinau left the Białe-Orły’s trip to Brazil allbut over before it had even begun.

The Road to Rio is now closed

Shame. Embarrassment. Disgrace. It istough to find any other words to describewhat happened on Friday night inChisinau. The Polish players onlymanaged to secure a draw against ahopeless Moldova and virtually lost theirchances to get promoted to the 2014World Cup in Brazil. Despite having a lotof opportunities in the first half, they wereonly able to score once.

Things started well for WaldemarFornalik’s side as Jakub Błaszczykowskicalmly opened the scoring after a greatpass from his Dortmund team-mateRobert Lewandowski. Then, for the next20 minutes, the visitors created three orfour guilt-edged chances to score asecond. It seemed that the second goalwas just matter of time. However, Rybusmissed the target twice, Salomon’sheader went just wide, Lewandowski hitthe post and finally, Polański decided toshoot with Lewandowskialone in the middle of thebox. There is no doubtthat the second goal forthe Poles would havekilled the game..

However, then came the37th minute. The onlymistake by Wawrzyniakand Komorowski allowedEugen Sidorenco to levelthe game. What’s more,the hosts weredemanding a penalty asGrzegorz Krychowiak(allegedly) fouled one ofthem in the box after ah o r r i b l emisunderstanding withBoruc. Thankfully, the

Spanish referee, Fernando Teixeiradecided not to use the whistle.

It would seem that it should have been ananimated 15 minutes in the locker roomduring the half-time break. Unfortunately,the second half was much worse than thefirst. It seemed that the Polish playerswere looking for the winner; Lewandowskiattempting twice, but it wasn’t somethingthat the goalkeeper should be surprisedby. Meanwhile at the other end, Polandendured a scary moment early in thesecond half when former Cracoviamidfielder Alexandru Suvorov foundhimself alone in the box, but missed agreat chance, eventually losing control ofthe ball. As the game slowly drew to anend, Poland were forced to accept thatthey had dropped two important points inChisinau.

As Poland had tried to chance theirfortunes, Fornalik’s substitutions left a lotto be desired. Both Jakub Kosecki andArtur Sobiech showed nothing afterentering the pitch. As for the LegiaWarszawa midfielder, it could seem thathe is solely useful in the PolishEkstraklasa. The National team issomething he cannot yet manage. It isalso tough to say anything positive aboutHannover striker Sobiech. He was on thepitch for 11 minutes and did hardlyanything of note. The only positive fromthe second half was Piotr Zieliński, whoreplaced an inconclusive AdrianMierzejewski. Just his second game in thenational team, and although he failed toshow anything spectacular in theMoldovan capital, it was still a lot morethan Mierzejewski.

Poland is now located in 4th place inGroup H, 5 points behind the leadersMontenegro.

Poland - Liechtenstein04.06.2013 - Stadion Cracovii, Kraków

Images: PZPN

The return of Dariusz WdowczykBy Marcus HaydonAfter his suspension for match fixing was liftedearly, former Legia, Celtic and Readingdefender Dariusz Wdowczyk took charge ofEkstraklasa side Pogoń Szczecin earlier thisyear.At 7am on Friday 28th March 2008 it allcame tumbling down. The club hadn’tknown; the fans hadn’t known; not evenhis wife or children had known. But thetruth was that Dariusz Wdowczyk had aterrible secret and it was about to be laidbare.

Four years earlier things had seemedmuch more tranquil. Wdowczyk wasleading his Korona Kielce side to the thirddivision title (south-east region). He wasa big fish at that level; you don’t find toomany former national team captains andEkstraklasa champions floating aroundin the regional leagues, but Wdowczykhad been lured to Kielce by the challengeof starting a project from scratch, backedby a wealthy owner with ambitions ofreaching the Ekstraklasa.

His first season in Kielce had beenrelatively successful but ultimatelyfruitless, missing out on the title toCracovia. Wdowczyk, though, wassuspicious of outside influence. Thefollowing campaign, he began to tire askey results again went against Koronaand pressure began to mount on hisfamous name. “In some games we werejust being punished for nothing [byreferees],” he claimed when I met him inWarsaw café in 2011. “And that’s whena guy came to me and said that he couldhelp.”

That “guy” turned out to be a fixer.‘Andrzej B’, to give him his legal moniker,approached Wdowczyk claiming to bethe man behind Cracovia’s promotion theprevious year. Frustrated by what he sawas influences out of his control,Wdowczyk took up the offer. “We [were]playing hard, we [were] working hard, we

[were] doingeverything we cando, but the results[were] different,” theformer Celticdefender recalls. “SoI thought this was theonly way we coulddo it: to give a greenlight to this guy totalk to referees withsome money.”

Korona went on to lift the title that seasonbefore Wdowczyk left Kielce in 2004,going on to lead Legia Warsaw to theEkstraklasa title in 2006, the second ofhis career after an earlier and far moresurprising success at city rivals Poloniain 2000. After that silverware with Legia,Wdowczyk’s reputation was strongenough for him to betouted as a candidateto take over thePolish national team,only for LeoBeenhakker to bechosen instead.

Within two years, thatfateful knock on thedoor arrived. Sat in apolice cell in Wrocław,Wdowczyk was left toreflect on his actions.

“You start to think:‘what have I done?’You start to realisethat you didsomething stupid. Idon’t wish for thatsort of experience –it’s not a good sort ofexperience. Me andmy family werehurting for a longtime.”

Critically forWdowczyk, when thePolish authoritiesopened theirinvestigation intofootball corruption in2005, they chose notjust to monitor the

current situation, but also toretrospectively prosecute those theybelieved to be involved in corruptactivities in the past. The investigationshave proven deeply controversial andresulted in hundreds of arreststhroughout the game, though few as highprofile as Wdowczyk’s. After pleadingguilty to the charges, he received asuspended prison sentence and wasbanned from footballing activities for fiveyears by the court and seven years bythe Polish Football Association (PZPN).

We met while he was serving that banand he admitted his phonebook wasmuch lighter and his life much slower, buthe vowed to return to football. “I knowthat there is a great stain against myname, but I would say that I have to workfrom the beginning for this name again.

That’s a challenge.”

Last July, with time still to run on thosebans, he won an appeal to have thesuspension of his licence reduced. “I ampleased with this document,” he toldreporters as he emerged from the PZPNoffices, gripping his UEFA Pro licence.Almost from the day he was convictedWdowczyk vowed to return to the dugout.The question was, who would take him?Last October he was spotted in a hotel inKatowice meeting with representatives ofrelegation threatened PodbeskidzieBielsko-Biala, but nothing transpired.However,  when  Pogoń  Szczecinsacked Artur Skowronek inMarch, Wdowczykhad found a suitor.

“Five years I’ve beenwaiting for this day,” hetold the Polska Timesafter his unveiling. Hisappointment was met bya mixed reaction from thenational media andPogoń’s supporters. Viewsranged between those whofelt he should never work infootball again to those whosuggested he’d been asacrificial big-name for theauthorities. One internet posterdescribed him as “[just] a smalldrop in the corruption cesspool”.

“Looking at what is happening inPolish sport, I'm starting to wonderabout what values it turns to,” saidArtur Jedrych, former head ofdiscipline at the PZPN, whenquestioned on Wdowczyk’s return.

“For those who have been found guiltyof participation in a corruption scandal,in general there should be no place infootball.” Roman Kosecki, vice-president of Jedrych’s former employers,meanwhile, had a different view: “Thecorruption case involved more than 600people. Dariusz Wdowczyk is one of thefew who pleaded guilty and was sentenced.I see no reason to believe why he shouldbe burnt socially and forbidden to return tothe coaching bench.”

Wdowczyk inherited a difficult situation inSzczecin. Pogoń were hovering just abovethe relegation zone and had taken just onepoint from their previous six matches. Itrepresented a gamble on both fronts:Pogoń  on  a  coach  with  pedigree,  but  atarnished reputation; and Wdowczyk witha club in a delicate situation and with whomhe probably can’t afford to fail.

His first game in charge was against LechPoznań  and  if  he’d  hoped  to  slip  quietly

back into the dugout, that wish wasextinguished in the pre-match pressconferences when his opposite number,Mariusz Rumak, stated that he couldn’thelp but think about the honest coachesdeprived of an opportunity by the return ofWdowczyk. The words were not laden withresentment, but they certainly added to theunease felt by his return.

Pogoń lost that match to Lech and took justone point from the following threegames. By the time bottomside GKSBełc

hatów came toSzczecin in Wdowczyk’s

seventh game, the club’s supporterswere making their displeasure heard.

“What are doing?” they chanted. “Youdishonour  our  Pogoń.”  A  banner  in  thestands threatened physical violenceagainst the manager and his team if theydidn’t win the match. Against a backdropof  whistles  and  jeers,  Pogoń  lost  1­0.Things appeared bleak, but Wdowczyk andhis players found answers just in time andafter a fraught 3-2 victory against RuchChorzów,  Pogoń  mustered  the  pointsnecessary survive, albeit eased by theoff-field demise of Polonia Warsaw.

It’s not been the most auspicious of returns,but Wdowczyk has at least kept Pogoń in

the Ekstraklasa. It perhaps says moreabout the scale of the corruption in Polishfootball than Wdowczyk’s credentials thathe has return to the country’s top flight sosoon after having his license reinstated. It’snow up to him to silence his critics and, thisbeing football, that will most likely bedetermined by results on the field.

Legia.com

No agendas, no bias. Just sixteenfans from sixteen clubs, giving theiropinions on their side’s performances.Welcome to…

The 2012/13Ekstraklasa

Review

Champions: Legia WarszawaIt was seven long years. Seven years of

disappointment with only short moments

of happiness thanks to three Polish Cups

and the adventure in last season’s Europa

League.

After losing the title in the last days of the

2011/12 season, many of us asked

ourselves when we would finally achieve

the main target of the league title.

Especially as we couldn’t do it with a good

squad including stars like Ljuboja,

Żewłakow and Radović, hot prospects like

Wolski, and one of the best managers in

the country. We had everything; players,

coach, stadium, fans, budget, a good

autumn round, and our usual rivals, Wisła

Kraków for example, struggling to find

their best form. Yet we failed once again...

After Maciej Skorża’s departure, the club

announced that new manager of the team

would be Jan Urban, who was previously

Legia coach from 2007 to March 2010,

winning one Polish Cup and twice ending

the league just behind the champions.

You could find many sceptic Legia fans

after this choice. They asked if Urban was

the right man in the right place after he

failed in Lubin just a couple of months

earlier.

After the 2012/13 season we can now

comfortably say that Urban deserved the

highest respect. He built a strong team

and gave Legia their first double since

1995. With nearly the same squad, he

created one of the best results in the

club’s history. He took a lesson from the

mistakes of his predecessor.

In his first days at the club he underlined

that he would love to see Legia less

addicted to Danijel Ljuboja’s form. He was

not afraid of giving a chance to Łukasik,

Furman and Kosecki as well. These

youngsters who couldn’t play for Legia

under Maciej Skorża were key players in

Jan Urban’s squad. With Ljuboja, Radović,

Saganowski and Vrdoljak in good form

they made a brilliant mixture which

dominated the league in the first round.

Jan Urban has completely changed the

mentality of this team. In 2011/12. As well

as earlier seasons, if the team lost a goal

it was nearly impossible to win a game.

Urban made them a team with strong

psyche. Working out a result wasn’t a

problem like in the past seasons.

The key moment of the season took place

in winter when the club announced

Bogusław  Leśnodorski  as  its  new

chairman. Mr Leśnodorski didn’t want to

waste time, and just after his nomination

made big work in the winter transfer

window. Vladimir Dvalishvili and Tomasz

Brzyski (both from Polonia

Warsaw), Tomasz

Jodłowiec  from  Śląsk

Wrocław,  Bartosz

Bereszyński  from  Lech

Poznań,  all  moved  to

Łazienkowska in the winter

break. Jealous fans from

nearly all over Poland

began to say that Legia had

bought quantity rather than

quality and called them “FC

Hollywood”. They were

almost sure of their thesis

after two spring games,

when Urban team’s won

only one point - losing to

Korona and drawing against

Bełchatów.

But the team woke up. After the defeat in

Kielce, Legia didn’t lose until the end of

the season. Wisła were beaten in Kraków,

Polonia at Konwiktorska, and Lech at

home. Many bad runs had come to an

end. Ivica Vrdoljak’s penalty against Lech

in Ekstraklasa matchday 27 practically

gave us a title.

Legia didn’t play well this spring and

that’s a fact. It was difficult to describe the

style of this team. But despite this, and

the problems with Ljuboja and Radović

after winning the Polish Cup, the team

were still able to achieve the target. In the

most difficult moments they showed team

spirit and cool heads - something that

they lacked last year.

It was the best season for Legia in

domestic competiton for many years.

Now it’s time to show how we can

participate in Europe. Losing to

Rosenborg last year was a big

disappointment for all of us. Now we have

a chance to reach the group phase of the

Champions League. It has been “Mission

Impossible” for Polish teams for many

years, and to be honest I can’t see Legia

making it this year. It’s too early,

especially with new players in the

defensive line, which will be almost

completely new with Jędrzejczyk moving

to Krasnodar and the departures of

Żewłakow, Choto and probably Astiz and

Suler. In my opinion the European

challenge for Legia is to qualify for the

Europa League group phase, and play

there as well as they can. It will be great

to see them again in the knockout phase.

But most of all, Legia have to stabilize

their position in the Polish league. They

have to build on this championship,step

by step staying stronger and stronger. At

this time I think we have t right guys in

the right place inside the club. We have

everything to be a dominant side in this

league for years. We’ve been missing

one thing for years, but now we have a

mentality of champions… finally.

Konrad Ferszter@kferszter

zLazienkowskiej.blogspot.com

Runners Up: Lech Poznań

With the departure of five key playerslast summer, most notably super strikerArtjom Rudnevs, most Lech fansapproached this season with a naggingworry at how the team would cope.Mariusz Rumak started his first fullseason in charge by bringing a numberof youth up in to the first team, and onlymade a few transfers. Sitting here,celebrating the clubs first ever vice-champion finish, the phrase „In RumakWe Trust“ rings out.

An early exit from Europa Leaguequalifying at the hands of AIK Solnameant that the only hope left was for aproper domestic push. The fall round ofthe season, Lech brought to life Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the form of afootball club. Unfortuneatly for fans inPoznan, the ugly side of the team wouldrear it’s head during home matches asLech were unable to break a streak of

not being able to win in front of theirhome fans. The young team, seeminglycrippled by the expectations of Poznancrowd, struggled to score even a singlegoal at times, and were completelyunable to break down teams that couldsit back and defend. Looking back,these dropped points would end upbeing crucial as Lech chased first placeLegia Warszawa throughout the year.What ever they lacked at home, theopposite Lech was traveling aroundPoland and building one of the mostimpressive away records in all ofEurope this season. Many of the resultswere 1:0 wins, but the trial by fire endedup being a massive leap of experiencefor young players who were thriving likeKarol Linetty.

Lech went in to the long winterbreak with a sigh of relief. Despite beingin a comfortable position, it was clear

this team was getting results, but justbarely. The signing of Finnishinternational Kasper Hamalainen addedan experienced and skilled player to themidfield, and he was soon joined by theyoung Lukasz Teodorczyk from PoloniaWarsaw. Thanks to good results fromLech and some dropped points fromLegia, the distance between the top twowas cut to just a couple of points at onepoint. Lech broke the spell of theirinability to win at home, and playersfound form at just the right time.Hungarian loanee Gergo Lovrenscics inparticular wanted to ensure he wouldn’tbe returning to Lombard Papa at theend of the season and went on a streakof scoring goals in consecutive games,earning a four-year contract by the timehe was finished. A 0:1 loss in Warsaweliminated Lech from the title race,though they still had amassed enoughpoints to ensure a second place finishwith a comfortable margin over thirdplace.

The Lech players will have a sourtaste in their mouth, knowing that theywere so close to a title. The experienceof the pressure of being involved in atitle race though will have done wondersfor a very young squad that was stillgelling together. They can now regroup,and with a few additions to the squad, apush for the group stage of the EuropaLeague and another run at the titleshould be the minimum expectations forthis group.

Kuba Krzyżostaniak

@KubaLech

LechinUSA.com

3rd: Śląsk WrocławAs Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Śląsk Wrocławhad one hell of a season. Changing itsshape, playing one of the best football inthe country - as Mariusz Rumak admittedat the end of the season - and thencollapsing totally at Legia's stadium. Ifonly Stanislav Levy knew how to makethem play only the right, the winning way.

It's not easy to assess this seasonwithout really knowing how much wasgoing on in Wrocław off the pitch. Playerswere conflicted with former managerOrest Lenczyk for most of last seasonand only as current campaign has started,it reached all critical levels and someonehad to go. Stanislav Levy was chosenmostly because he was the unknownoption, someone from the outside of sowell known and used environment inPoland. He was supposed to be the extramotivational kick for the players -occasionally, he was.

Śląsk was battling on the European stagebut... that might be too much to say - theywere kicked out of Europe after just onewin in six games. Brutal assessment ofsummer activity but also true evaluationof the class and Levy's first weeks in thejob were even made harder as the squad

went unpaid for months. What is evenworse, Śląsk's board didn't really care orknew about players contracts and whenthe winter has ended, they have lostTomasz  Jodłowiec,  while  announcingsigning of ex-Ligue 1 winger, EricMouloungui. The only problem with himwas that he never regained his fitness,never looked sharp and could not finishthe season with Śląsk ­ when signing thedeal, someone failed to notice thatseason ends in July, not with end of May...

So this season - poor in Europe, nearlymen in the domestic cup after losing toLegia and third in the league whichprobably reflects true class of the team.Again, that wasn't the season of Śląsk'sstrikers. Cristian Diaz was too fat to play,Johan Voskamp failed to score since fallof 2011 and Łukasz Gikiewicz should feellucky to be where he is, despite simplynot being good enough. Behind thescenes, two main shareholders werefighting each other to the point whereEuropean license was in danger, andwhen  they  reached agreement, Śląsk'stwo of three best players were alreadygone for free.

Such  a  mess  Śląsk  is.  Nodirection, no consequence andno real passion behind this team.It should be there, especially inthe season they should defendthe championship. Too manypoor results and poorperformances coming fromabsolutely nowhere, leavingLevy clueless as of what to donext. He coped quite well, butopinion of him might be harmedby the way he used DaliborStevanović, sometimes elegantand mostly lazy centralmidfielder.

This season should be a lessonto all of them. There is nochance that even as good teamas we had, one that won the titlein 2012, will fight to the end withas many problems surroundingit - players arriving drunk, coach

moaning about drinking culture, clubsinking in debts, license in danger,contracts left to expire, best playersleaving the club... This summer it has tochange and for once there is a need ofa person who will take this mess andclean it up. Stanislav Levy is the one todo it on the pitch, especially havingSebastian Mila for three more years, butwithout help of the board, Śląsk will nevercatch Lech nor Legia. They will remainthe nearly men.

Michał Zachodny

@polishscout

EKSTRAKLASAreview.co.uk/Slasknet.com

4th: Piast GliwiceYeah, we had some bad times with MarcinBrosz, standing on two different sides. Hewas close to leaving the club, we wereclose to celebrating that moment. Butnow? We are celebrating together as oursuccess allows us to play Europeanfootball in Gliwice next season - only a fewyears from the time when our home wasdeclared not good enough to even hostleague games. As for the manager, welook at his time here as a constant learningprocess and also a good one. Both he andPiast become better with the time, learningfrom tough defeats and a hurtful periodafter our first relegation from Ekstraklasa.If all of that was needed for us to be wherewe are now - fourth place, Europe, high inpeople's estimation - then so be it, allshould be forgotten.

This season was delightful. Even if ourdefence was sinking more goals thanbottom of  the  table GKS Bełchatów, weknew that there would be some price topay for our status as newcomers. But thathas disappeared with time too as peoplestarted to look and admire our attackingperformances, the way our team pressedtheir opponents, how we used wings andforced mistakes. It was a pleasure toobserve as Brosz and his team gainedconfidence and raised their awarenessthat this league is... weak. That even wecan do something well here.

We are far from project finished. We knowthere is much to improve as knows itMarcin Brosz and club's board. There maybe a glass ceiling above our heads thatwe may not break because of our tightbudget or small stadium or average city.But if we play those factors to themaximum, I'm sure we can go forward andthen perhaps take advantage of themwhereas minimalism will be treated as anexample really.

Stability is the key word, allows thecompetition to grow within the team.Without stars we have made it quite far.We can still hear that Piast is playing in anunelegant way though. Our strong side isthe size of the squad, and even when welose some players there is alwayssomeone to cover up. Wojciech Kędziorawas ruled out when he was the team's

best striker, and even though without himRuben Jurado's form dropped, there wasalways a solution for Piast. We knew howweak our defence was, but thankfully wehad Dariusz Trela in goal, and he earnedus a few points this season. The otherproblem was how poor our midfield couldbe at the creative side of our game. Toomuch depends on how Tomasz Podgórskiplays  on  the  day.  Young  RadosławMurawski is one for the future, whileMateusz Matras is developing quicklygiven how strong he is as a player, howgreat his stamina is.

I have spoken with Marcin Brosz recently,only asked him why we have achieved somuch this season. He answered that allfactors were important - the training base,stadium, atmosphere around the team,size of the team and good competition forplaces in the squad. I think it is also worthit to add that both our coaches, Brosz andDariusz Dudek are still learning, takingchances to go abroad and observe how itworks at bigger clubs with better and moreexperienced managers.

Adam and Piotr Rajpert

5th: Górnik ZabrzeA season of two halves. One with formwhich made a title challenge seemrealistic, and another which, if it hadn’tbeen for the first half, would have seenus battling for Ekstraklasa survival.

Górnik’s autumn round was played withthe same optimism which beamed fromthe fans, after the usual summer exodusin order to pay the bills was avoided.Whilst Adam Marciniak had alreadydecided to go to Cracovia before theirrelegation,  and  Michał  Pazdan  wasenticed to Jagiellonia by his formerteam-mate Tomasz Hajto, PrejuceNakoulma  stayed,  as  did  ŁukaszSkorupski and Aleksander Kwiek. Andwith the young talents of Arkadiusz Milikand  Paweł  Olkowski,  coach  AdamNawałka  had  once  again  built  a  teamfrom the ashes, ready to surpriseeveryone once more.

The opening day, local derby win againstPiast Gliwice quickly put a smile on thefaces of the fans, and draws against thetitle favourites Lech and Legia, bright-starters Widzew and perennial bogeyside Jagiellonia, kept them there wellinto September. But it wasn’t until Kwiek,Milik and Nakoulma put reigning

champions Sląsk Wrocław tothe sword with a 4-1 victory,that fans of the Trójkolorowibelieved that this Górnik sidecould be the real deal.

Just one week later,Arkadiusz Milik’s braceagainst relegation-battlers Podbeskidziealso co-incided with the start of aninternational break. With three playerscalled into the Poland squad for thegame against England, it clearly showedthat people were noticing the sterling jobthat, not only the players, but Nawałkawas doing too.

However it wasn’t long before Górnik’sgreat start began to catch up with them.A drab goalless draw in the WielkieDerby Sląska was soon followed by theirfirst defeat - a 2-0 home reverse toZagłębie Lubin. Two more draws (onepositive against fellow title-chasersPolonia, and one negative against apoor Pogoń) passed before Nawałka’smen finally saw off their 2013 in style,with wins away at Wisła Kraków, and athome to Lechia Gdańsk.

Whilst 18 year-old Milik’s departure inWinter wasn’t really much of a surprise,Górnik’s second half collapse was. TheSpring opener against Piast quicklyraised hopes, but before we knew it,three successive defeats had made atitle challenge a distant dream.

Without Milik, and with both Kwiek andNakoulma off-form, more defeatsquickly  came  against  Sląsk,Podbeskidzie and Korona. It was onlythe poor form of other rivals that still keptus with a chance of reaching Europe.

The home edition of the Wielkie DerbySląska may have appeased the fans toa certain extent, but with rumours rifethat Górnik couldn’t afford to qualify forEurope, defeats against Polonia, Pogońand  Wisła  made  supporters  moresuspicious as well as angry.

On paper, fifth position looks like a goodseason for Górnik. But the truth is, itcould have been so much more. WithAleksandar Kwiek off  to Zagłębie,  andSkourpski, Nakoulma and Olkowskipossibly leaving the Ernesta Pohla, onlythe competion of the new stadium isgrounds for optimism in Zabrze aheadof the new season.

Ryan Hubbard

@Ryan_Hubbard

EKSTRAKLASAreview.co.uk

It's been an incredible season for PoloniaWarsaw, with as many twists and turns asa Holywood whodunnit. Ultimatelyhowever it will be the club's last in the topflight for at least a couple of years. On 28May 2013, as a result of huge debts dueto financial mismanagement from theirowner Ireneusz Król, Polonia weredemoted from the Ekstraklasa, a sad sayfor everyone associated with the club.

Last summer had seen Król's takeover atthe famous old Warsaw club and thedeparture of a whole host of well-paidstars. This did not initially faze the firstteam. Led by their dedicated andcharismatic coach Piotr Stokowiec anddriven onwards by the attacking quartetof  Paweł  Wszołek,  Vladimir  Dvalishvili,Tomasz Brzyski and Łukasz Teodorczyk,Polonia finished the autumn round in 3rdplace. Polonia's attacking style attractedmany plaudits and they were hailed bymany as the revelation of the first half ofthe season.

However the winter break brought hopesof a title challenge crashing down to earthwith the sales of Dvalishvili, Brzyski andTeodorczyk as Król was shown to lack themoney required to run the club. Stokowiecdid his best to replenish the squad withthe little funds he had, bringing in players

such as midfielder Jakub Tosik anddefenders Martin Baran and Igor Morozov.He also put his faith in youngsters suchas  Miłosz  Przybecki  and  those  whoremained from the winter cull.

The spring was much less successful onthe pitch for Polonia and from early Marchto the middle of May the team went eightgames without a victory. Despite the dropin form the side continued to play withheart, and the performances of playerssuch as the mercurial Jacek Kiełb and thelightening quick Przybecki delighted thefans. Indeed towards the end of theseason the Czarne Koszule went on a fivematch unbeaten run, including a 4-0 winat Górnik Zabrze where they played somewonderful, expansive football.

Unfortunately events on the field quicklypaled into insignificance in March andApril as it became increasingly clear thatthe club were in danger of not receivinga top flight licence. Król had not paid theplayers in months, and the club's debts toits employees spiralled. The Ekstraklasa'sfinal decision to deny Polonia a licenceprovoked an outpouring of grief from theclub's fans. The last home game of theseason was an especially emotionaloccasion as Polonia and their fans bowed

out from the Ekstraklasa withdignity and class.

So what next for the secondWarsaw club? Ireneusz Królcontinues to hang on to powerbut it is to be hoped that a newPolonia will arise, most likely inthe 4th or 5th tier. The clubcertainly has the fanbase topropel itself up the leagues butit remains to be seen whethera trustworthy sponsor can alsobe found.

However what most Poloniafans will take from this seasonis the desire and application ofPiotr Stokowiec and hiscoaching staff despite off-the-pitch problems and thecommitment of the players,some of them having notreceived any pay for over sixmonths. That will always be

remembered. Polonia will be back, watchthis space.

Christopher Lash

@rightbankwarsaw

Rightbankwarsaw.wordpress.com

6th: Polonia Warszawa

7th: Wisła Kraków

Somehow we reached the end of theseason, full of disappointment,embarrassment by the poor play of Wisła.It is not the season we expected. Yes weknew that it could be an uphill struggle,but we never thought that it would beMount Everest. This was due to anumber of factors that led to the poorposition in the table.

Chemistry in this group was no non-existent in pre-season, so it was decidedthat  with  the  majority  of  players Wisławould say goodbye. Contrary toexpectations,  with  Michał  Probierz  thesituation did not improve. It was evenworse. The players did not perform intraining and attitudes of some wereappalling. Therefore Probierz reacted. InMay, when four players were suspended,he also withdrew Maor Melikson from theteam, but ultimately decided to changehis decision. Even then, the Israeli lostthe desire to play in the colours of Wisła.But if someone could surprise him? Theclub was getting more and more nervous,yet,  Probierz  announced  that  Wisławould fight - as always - for thechampionship. These plans were quicklydisproved in the league. Rumours beganto emerge that the players were playingagainst the coach. Results and style, orrather its absence, could only confirm it.In this position, Probierz hung out thewhite flag as early as Matchday six.

If anyone expected that in his placewould be a coach that could quicklychange  the  face  of  Wisła  weredisappointed.  Unfortunately,  Wisła

caused great harm with Tomasz Kulawik.When the team was completely broken,she needed a coach with charisma, witha vision. Someone who knows wherehe's going. Kulawik could provide onlyimprovisation, and so it seemed with theplayers on the pitch. They looked like abunch of lads who just met, three hoursbefore the game, to have a kick-about.Zero any idea and - like Konrad fromAdam Mickiewicz's "Forefathers" - onebig improvisation.

So it seemed with the transfer policy ofthe club. It was to be bold in puttingyoung players, ending up with cameoappearances for  Dawid Kamiński, AlanUryga and Michał Chrapek, then built onby  Uryga  and  Paweł  Stolarski,  but  it'sdefinitely not enough. Certainly, it wasexpected that Damian Buras, who cameto Wisła as of one of the most talentedplayers in the Małopolska region, wouldget  a  chance.  Michał  Chrapekdisappointed us. Maybe our expectationswere built too high, but it was a weakseason  for  him.  He  had  to  be Wisła'screator, and often created manywayward forward balls. And withChrapek's playmaking surpassed, it wastoo much to be able to count on the partof Łukasz Garguła or Cezary Wilk.

Wisła's summer signings also didn't raisethe playing field. Rommell Quioto andJan Frederiksen arrived in Krakow, yetleft in the winter. Daniel Sikorski also saidgoodbye to the club. What led Probierzto select these players, we do not know.The first two were tested and issued a

positive opinion, blocking the way forPiotr  Brożek's  transfer.  However,acquiring Daniel Sikorski, from thebeginning was treated as a joke - a funnylittle joke. In particular, the laughter atDaniel should have been in the matchwith Śląsk Wrocław. But it was not, it wasonly a dud. Arkadiusz Głowacki startedwith a decent return, but in the end failedto complete a rapid exit, at the end of theseason led wiślacką youth. On the plusside we should also include theacquisition  of  Michael  Miśkiewicz,  andthat his attitude on the pitch won acontract extension. Kind of likeEmmanuel Sarki who, after Melikson'sdeparture, is probably the only one leftat Wisła who can run faster with the ballthan without it.

And if better players than last season arenot acquired, it should not be surprisingif Wisła's games cause toothache. Goodperformances can be counted on thefingers of one hand - and I do not havea thumb or index finger. It's enough tosay  that  from  ten  home  games  Wisłaplayed with teams that finished abovethem, they have won only three, losingseven. Fortress at Reymonta 22 hasbeen long everything but and ArkadiuszGlowacki's words - "we are happy to stayup" - tell all the rest of this season.

It has to be better. Coming in isFranciszek Smuda, and possibly TomaszFrankowski  will  also  return  to  Waweł.Maybe Mirosław Szymkowiak will cometoo - players who celebrated triumphs onthe  pitch  with Wisła.  They  might  evenreturn to the bench!?

Piotr TruchlewskiForumWisla.pl

@forumwisla_pl

8th: Lechia GdańskLechia Gdańsk have finished the seasonin 8th place. Not too good, not too bad.

Eight is the number which Lechiaobsessed with in 2012/2013 season. Notonly was it Lechia’s final place in theT-Mobile Ekstraklasa, but it was alsotheir highest scoring game (Lechia 4–4Ruch), their average position throughoutthe, (10 times), the position mostoccupied, and Lechia also drew 8 times.So, is that ok? I don’t think so. No-onein  Gdańsk  wants  Lechia  to  be  anaverage Polish team. None of the Lechiasupporters want to lose so many gamesin the final minutes.

We also had an extremely difficult timewhen we lost our best player, AbdouRazack Traore, and failed to find anyoneto take his place. His absence was verynoticeable in the second round.

But is there a chance thatnext season is going to bedifferent? We will see.

A lot of strange things havehappened recently at Lechia.The coach was fired, Lechiadidn’t renew the contract with

their  captain  Łukasz  Surma,  and  alsowith Grzegorz Rasiak, who played prettywell recently - even though he said thathe was really interested in signing newcontract with Lechia.

We now have to wait and look whatLechia’s new coach Michał Probierz willdo. He is a very experienced coach, sowe should be optimistic. However, hedidn’t achieve anything special with anyteam recently. We have to wait fortransfers. We have to give him a chance.

The sad thing is that for the last fewyears Lechia have failed to developmuch. We have a beautiful, very bigstadium, but unfortunately at thematches come less and less fans. Is itgoing to change?

I hope so. A few days ago the media inPoland announced to the world someincredible information – on 20th July at

PGE Arena, Lechia Gdańsk will play afriendly match against Barcelona. AdamDuda will face with Carles Puyol, RafałJanicki with Lionel Messi. FCBsupporters around Poland are lookingfor the tickets. I’m pretty sure that everyseat in the stadium will be occupied.What will be the result? Every Lechiasupporter knows that even Barcelonawill never win against the mighty LechiaGdańsk!

Maciej GłombiowskiLechia.net

@Lechianet

9th: Zagłębie LubinIt’s quite easy to describe thisEkstraklasa  season  by  Zagłębie  Lubin.If I were to choose just one word to doso, I’d pick either disappointing or…typical. Unfortunately the scenariorepeats itself year in, year out. Manypeople in Lubin thought that by retainingPavel Hapal after successful spring in2012,  Zagłębie  will  finally  have  somesort of stability. We had a coach withChampions League experience, wemade a few nice signings. In cameRobert  Jeż,  Michal  Papadopulos,Aleksandar Tunchev and Michal Gliwa.Along  with  Szymon  Pawłowski,  CostaNhamoinesu, Jiri Bilek and Adam Banaś,Zagłębie  was  tipped  for  Europeanqualification, and supporters like methought that we could really do it thistime. We believed in our club inspite ofthe points deduction, which wasn'tunderstandable by many. Well, asSteven Fry said, we couldn't be'wrongerer'. The start of 2012/13campaign was absolutely abysmal.Zagłębie lost 6 of its first ten Ekstraklasameetings, drew 2 and won only twice.We only had Podbeskidzie and GKSBełchatów  to  thank  for  being  ashopeless as we were back then.

Unsurprisingly,  Zagłębie  finally  turnedthe corner. Lubin based club won 4 oftheir remaining 5 games and drew one,which meant we climbed out of therelegation zone and had a healthy 12point advantage over Podbeskidzie andGKS. It was a typical winter forMiedziowi, as two guys named Paweł –coach Hapal and sporting directorWojtala had to make some squadchanges. We got rid of last winter'stransfers – useless players such as IvanHodur and Roman Sloboda and out ofform players like Darvydas Sernas,Patryk Rachwał and Janusz Gancarczyk.Once  again,  Zagłębie  board  showedgreat patience in Hapal, and decidedhe's staying after miserable autumnround. Spring round started and wecontinued to play decent football.Miedziowi defeated Pogoń, salvaged adraw at Piast and grabbed 3 points verylate in the game against Jagiellonia.Some people even started to speak ofHapal time. The rest of the league wasn'tplaying  brilliantly,  so  gullible  Zagłębiesupporters thought that despite thesloppy first round, we still have alegitimate shot at European qualification.And, to everyone's surprise (not!),Zagłębie started to underachieve again.Losses at Legia, Lech and Ruch pushedus into a dead zone – we couldn't berelegated, as GKS and Podbeskidziedecided to make a run for it much later

and we couldn't reach thethird place. Our cupcampaign came to anabrupt end after fallingvictim to Ruch Chorzów.

The brightest moment of thisotherwise disappointingseason was a double overŚląsk. The 4­0 at our home turf againstbiggest rivals tasted beautifully.Supporters said that Zagłębie could loseevery single game from there. And theypretty much did just that. We ended theseason at 9th place, same as a year ago.Can Zagłębie  finally  prove  that  they'recapable of breaking the bad habit andreach the championship group after 30games of 2013/14 season? I believe it'shigh time for that, Miedziowi just got ridof 10 players, with Szymon Pawłowskiand Costa Nhamoinesu leading thegroup.  Zagłębie  will  surely  undergo  arevolution and I hope we'll come out ofthis stronger.

Michał Rygiel@zaryglowane

Michalrygiel.wordpress.com

10th: Jagiellonia Białystok

Summing up Jagiellonia’s 2012/13season could be done in just a handfulof short phrases:

“Red Card, Yellow Card, Draw. Red Card,Yellow Card, Draw”. Repeat adinfinitum…

Summer started in quite positive fashionfor Jaga, The signings of Michał Pazdan,Jakub  Słowik,  and  Ugo  Ukah  werebrought in by Tomasz Hajto with theintention of shoring up the previousseason’s second worst back-line.Something which may have worked hadthey not adopted Hajto’s “Go in hard orgo home” philosophy. With three redcards and over 25 yellow between them(not to mention the rest of the team),they were forever treading on egg-shells- eventually regaining their status as theEkstraklasa’s second worst defencebehind Ruch Chorzów.

Another area Hajto aimed to improvewith his summer transfers was the attack.With no-one able to match the record ofTomasz Frankowski, the boss lookedtowards ADO Den Haag striker Ebi

Smolarek to fill the gap - and eventuallybecome a replacement for the retiringstriker.

But Ebi didn’t have the instant impactthat Jaga fans were hoping. In just hissecond appearance he was dismissedin injury time for a flailing elbow to theface of a Piast Gliwice defender.

In the end, the Autumn round can onlybe described as frustrating. Drawseverywhere kept Jagiellonia out of therelegation battle, but after going behindin the majority of games, it could havebeen far, far worse.

As Spring rolled around, transfer activitywas much less to get excited about.However in Dani Quintana, TomaszHajto did discover a gem. If it wasn’t forhim (and his ability to stay on the pitchfor 90 minutes without receiving a redcard), Jaga could have quite easily beendragged into a relegation battle.

Despite having beaten both of the toptwo, the season has been yet anotherwrite-off for Jagiellonia. Rather ironically,the team’s results for the season are

filled with more red and yellow thanadorns the club shirt. Having drawn 13times and lost 9, another season ofinconsistency has proved disappointing.

With the new season already just aroundthe corner, and Hajto’s departurealready confirmed, there are majorissues for the incoming coach - whoeverit turns out to be - to address.

Firstly, and most importantly, areplacement for Tomasz Frankowski isneeded. Without his goal threat, wecould struggle to hit the net. And withoutgoals, you cannot win football games.

Secondly, the aggressive nature of thesquad must be changed. If we are to tryto win games, we must keep elevenplayers on the pitch. Then, and only then,can we think about moving up the table.

Michał Szewc

11th: Korona KielceThis is the team to love. We meet theplayers in the city, they recognize us,they smile at us, they wave to us, wesmile and wave back, shake hands andspeak for a little while. It almost feels likethey are one of us.

And this is visible on the pitch, to behonest. Korona is fighting for 200%,always giving their best, leaving the pitchwith dirt and mud covering players' shirts.They hear our road after each tackle,they are occasionally applauded forreceiving yellow or red card, they nevertake the foot out of the challenge.Sometimes it will hurt them, like it musthave hurt Maciej Korzym when his legwas broken at the end of the season,when he collided with Jagiellonia'sgoalkeeper. He will miss few months,that is very bad news for the team, butalso that reflects Korona's true quality.They fight for the club, for the team, theynever allow their opponents to havesome space to breathe.

Sadly, football is not only about fightingand will to win. There must be somequality. Obviously there is Maciej Korzymwho has scored nine goals andsometimes proved why he was regardedas one of Polish top talents not so longago. Michał Janota likes to flick the ball,dribble past his opponent but he is losingthe ball too often and perhaps not feelingthe support from his manager. Mostlybecause he failed to make the challengeat some point of the game.

This season should showwhere we are after impressingthe nation in the previouscampaign. But in the end wehave struggled to beat anyteam on the road, scoring eightaway goals which is the worstresult in the league. We were simplyawful, even in the fight we haveconstantly gave to our hosts. Theyhammered us each and every time andI'm not even sure how we managed toget five points - five draws - on the road.Miracle perhaps? We needed it to stayin the league then...

...which shows how Korona have fell thisseason. From promising side thatperhaps was needing some more qualityand youth to come to the team thatturned its reputation to typical foulers,kickers and abusers. We don't mindbeing hated by rest of the league, weembrace it, but we would love to seesomething more from Leszek Ojrzyńskiand his men. We like the coach, he isstubborn but intelligent guy, butsometimes he behaves like one of theplayers and fails to spot the most obviouschoices - Pavol Stano is not the striker,Artur Lenartowski will not be better andVlastimir  Jovanović  will  not  match  thebest creators in the league. Kamil Kuzera,another one, noted such regress of hisform that I don't think he should be withus next season - despite being perfect fitin every other term.

But still we have some brilliant gamesbehind us. Fantastic win against Legia(3-2) at the start of the spring round wasprobably our best match this year - theywere the perfect target. Favourites,biggest spenders, new players in the side,showing some good football... But wewanted it more, we were sharper, fasterand simply more hungry throughout the90 minutes. We kicked them off theirperch for at least that one game,becoming the last side to beat Legia inthe league, probably for someconsiderable time too. Our 4-0 win overPiast Gliwice and trashing of so poorJagiellonia (5-0) were beautiful days aswell, if only not for the problems andconflicts between fans and police. Sorarely there are problems caused by theother side, not supporters, and Kielce arethe strangest example of it.

Perhaps it took our and players' focus offthe pitch too much? We definitely haveto do better next season and make thesquad stronger - but when we hear aboutlack of money and investments made atthe club, there is only hope that LeszekOjrzyński  will  once  again  make  hismiracles and his short squad work.

Arek S. "Koroniarz"

12th: Pogoń SzczecinSomewhere deep inside I know that weshould have been relegated fromEkstraklasa. Obviously I'm over the moonthat we are still in the league as goingdown might have meant further financialproblems and even the end of club'sexistence,  but...  my  word,  PogońSzczecIn was very poor this season.When I hear people talking that we andRuch Chorzów should go down in placeof  GKS  Bełchatów  and  PoloniaWarszawa, I'm not even angry. BecauseI know how they have been playing, Ihave seen them and, sadly, I have seentoo much of Pogoń this season.

The start was good. We lost some, wonsome and been in the middle of the table,safe from any danger of relegation scrapor battle for top spots. Everything youwould like to have from newcomers, withplayers also enjoying their football andmanager Artur Skowronek giving his bestdespite constant questions regarding hislack of experience and young age. EdiAndradina might have added few kilos tohis weight but surely he was fit enough toplay couple of decent passes each game,where others did as good as they couldand we were definitely on the course ofstaying up safely.

Then it all started. Results dropped for awhile, confidence was gone, nervousdecisions were made, players lost theirform, Artur Skowronek was gone andDariusz Wdowczyk came in. I don't haveanything against him, despite hiscontroversial past and the sentence formatch-fixing. I know he tries to do his bestwith very short squad, also one short ofquality, but he will not do it by constantlymoaning about what was left to him. Imean, Artur Skowronek made fewmistakes but each time he looked liketaking a lesson out of them, whileWdowczyk looks like repeating them overand over again.

His solutions to our lack of quality up frontwas often laughable and we lookedclueless whenever we moved forward.Edi looked even less fit and less willingto help out, while Akahosi's awfulhairstyle was the best thing describingPogoń's style. He is another example ofhow we regressed over the course of theseason - our midfielder from Japan was

full of energy, impressing with his passingrange and running the show (or at leastrunning for Edi), while suddenly all thequality was gone. He was so low onconfidence, so easy to beat in thechallenge, so easy to dispossess...

Dariusz Wdowczyk tried to teach hisplayers to play with three at the back. Attimes it worked - for sixty minutes itworked in Warsaw against Legia butthere was always the moment coming upwhen we knew who will make mistake,who will screw up and the points will begone. If not six points won in last threegames, we would really go down! And wewere lucky against Górnik and thankfullywe were already safe when Polonia cameto the city - they played with their thirdteam against us and we still struggled formost of the game!

I still can't get my head around the factthat two arguably the worst teams in theseason, Pogoń and Ruch, have producedone of the best games too. In Chorzówwe were great in the first half, we playedlike never before and after this season,but of course it must have gone wrongafter the break. I don't know whatWdowczyk told them, but he did it wrong.Thankfully, there are more screw-ups atRuch  than  at  Pogoń  and  with  Chałas

scoring a third from an easy situation Iwas fairly sure of our win. Such a shamethat it was Adam Frączczak who scoredthe own goal to bring back the nervousmoments, but he was our best player thisseason. What is more, he - playing as afull back or wing back - was our top scorerwith five goals. Five goals! That's so poorand it shows exactly how uncreative wewere for most of the season.

I don't know what these people in theboard are waiting for. They can't hopethat Edi will get younger or even a bitslimmer, they have to find someone whowill replace him or at least few newplayers who will make him sit on thebench. Bartosz Ława is similar story ­ hecould run all day long but in his age, heis not that fast anymore. We need freshblood and only then we can fairly judgeon Wdowczyk's comeback. For now, heis still yet to convince anyone that he wasthe right man to suceed Artur Skowronek.

Andrzej Peterek

13th: Widzew ŁódźAnother season came to the end. Few teams can admit it as areason to pride, the others can’t. Needless to say that times ofWidzew’s greatness are gone. Nowadays it’s team whose aim israther mid table position. That’s why many of us were speechlesswhen at the start of the season Widzew became a leader andstayed for few rounds. In first few matches Mroczkowski’s Kidswere at their best while ravaging opponent after opponent.However they were not persistant enough and in the end, startedlosing. Especially after winter break, their game was not sofascinating, except few matches (for example vs Legia Warsaw,1:1 after thrilling match). After good run they had mixed form. Itwas hard to predict how their game will look like. But during theseason results were not the most important thing. All of this wasstaying next to fuss about the new stadium.

At the end, table was so flattened, that there was possibility theycan drop down to lower division. However they ensuredthemselves 13th position and both club staff and fans breatheda sigh of relief. It’s hard to claim that this season was more than

“average” for Widzew.

Mateusz Cieślak

14th: Podbeskidzie Bielsko­BiałaPhew…

After the first fifteen games, fourteenthplace seemed like a pipedream. Toactually achieve it shows the effort put inby  Czesław Michniewicz  and  his  teamafter winter (eventually) released its gripon Poland.

Whilst you may be hoping for somein-depth report of Podbeskidzie’s autumnround, detailing the shortfalls andproblems which led to finishing the roundon just 6 points, there simply is noexplanation other than “they were awful”.

With loss after loss, after loss, it lookedas though a new low point-scoring (andgoal-scoring) record could be achievedbefore winter. Eventually the players didmanage to score two in a game on fouroccasions, but even then two of thegames resulted in 3-2 defeats.

With Robert Kasperczyk finally runningout of ideas, his dismissal left a mix ofemotions. Yes, we were struggling for ourleague survival, and a fresh approachwas needed. But this was a man who hadled us, a small club from a small city, tothe promised land.

Even so, his replacement CzesławMichniewicz came in with a plan tofight to the death. And that isexactly what we did.

With a couple of shrewd signings(notably Telichowski and Wodeckifrom Górnik), and the better utilised

talents of Damian Chmiel and FabianPawela, and the ever impressive RobertDemjan, the spring showed a completelydifferent Podbeskidzie.

With victories at Ruch Chorzów, GórnikZabrze,  Lech  Poznań,  Lechia  Gdańskand Widzew Łódź, much of the hard workwas done away from home. But that said,there were also important victories inBielsko­Biała  when  Jagiellonia  andPogoń Szczecin came to visit.

Spearheaded by the always-dangerousDemjan, and later the goals of Chmieland Pawela, it did for a while seem asthough it would only be PoloniaWarszawa’s demotion which saved us.However when Demjan’s penalty in thefinal game was tucked away, and newsfiltered through of Ruch’s loss toJagiellonia, to know that safety wouldhave been assured regardless of thedecisions made by a licensing committeewas an overwhelming feeling.

Now attention turns to 2013/14. Ourbiggest hope of survival lies in keepinghold of Demjan and Chmiel. Relegationwould have confirmed their departures,but now we have a chance of holdingonto our stars - although a number of bigclubs will understandably be hoping topounce.

With the miracles that Michniewiczperformed in spring, I won’t writeanything off just yet.

Borys Jansyn

15th. Ruch Chorzów

It all looked so good and reasonable. Foras great season as we had in 2011/2012,Waldemar Fornalik earned himself achance to move to work with the nationalteam. We all knew he had enough qualityand intelligence to get the best job in thecountry. It sounded quite logical whenPZPN came and took Waldek away, toappoint his brother and former assistantTomasz in place as manager of RuchChorzów. After all, only few clubs inPoland have anything to do with logic andwe thought we had it. Some kind ofadvantage.

Now we still quite don't believe how poorwe were and how we have managed tostay up. Second from the top last season,second from the bottom now - not surethere is a team that could match theregression we noted in space of justtwelve months. Jacek Zieliński, man whoeventually ended the disastrous time ofTomasz Fornalik, was as clueless.

Our season was quite simple - lose four,draw one, occasionally get three points,lose four, repeat. It's not like we wereplaying some boring football, but we weresimply not good enough. The defence wehad  last  season with Rafał Grodzicki  atthe heart of it looked lost without him - andeven  when  he  was  gone  to  Sląsk,  helooked quite bad every time he played forthem! Organization, individual mistakes,goalkeeper's clangers, help from those upfront... there were games when you feltthat the players have given up before theyeven came on the pitch.

We have lost 0­4 to Lech Poznań ­ twice.The game against Lechia Gdańsk, whichwe drew 4-4 despite leading with twogoals when the match got into added time,the woeful experience of watching ussuffer  against Pogoń Szczecin,  the waywe lost to Górnik Zabrze... There is nomoment of pure joy, nothing special aboutthis season, not even the fact we havemade it to the semifinal of the Polish Cup.To be fair, this season was like anightmare in which you observe all thosebad things happening over and over again,while you can't move and you are justforced to watch. Of course only when youhave your season ticket at Ruch.

The quality of performances dropped, thecommitment was nowhere near the levelit used to be, while players and their formregressed tragically. Marcin Kikut shouldnever be allowed to play football again,Zeljko Dojkić was one of the worst, MarekSzyndrowski gave the ball away socheaply, Igor Lewczyk was only huntingfor opponents, while giving GrzegorzKuświk  25  chances  this  season  soundslike another reason to consider this was

indeed nightmare. He scoredthree times actually - this was anightmare!

Rare sights of sun came fromJanoszka and Jankowski butyou would expect them to bemore mature and grew into theleague. So in turn, that is onlyanother negative thing about our season- they were matured but not as often asthey should be. Filip Starzyński did alrightand should be one of our best players nextterm,  while  Jacek  Zieliński's  faith  inexperienced  players  like  Zieńczuk,Malinowski, Baszczyński and Stawarczykoften proved pointless. Don't we reallyhave few younger, sharper and fasterplayers in the reserves that we have to putourselves through the struggle with thatbunch?

I hope some changes are considered andfew first days proved to be judgementalfor at least ten players - will it be the samefor  the manager?  I  think  Jacek Zielińskishould feel himself that this is notsomething for him, and look for newchallenge. Everything about Ruch thisseason was tiring and even the look of ourmanager could say it all - after last whistleof last game, which we obviously have lost,there was huge grim on his face, not quite

believing in what he saw. Maybe he thinksit was a nightmare too?

Krzysiek Wesołowski

16th. GKS BełchatówPeople can say that promotions andrelegations cannot be decided in the firsthalf of a season. In our case, we are livingproof that those people are not alwayscorrect.

When Kamil Kiereś was forced out of theGKS Bełchatów door after  five  losses  inthe opening five games, it seemed anecessity. Devoid of hope, ideas, andmost importantly points, a change wasdesperately  needed.  Jan  Złomańczukwasn’t…

Whilst Złomańczuk oversaw our first pointsof the season (a draw with Korona and awin at home to Podbeskidzie), therewasn’t a lot different in the performances.Whilst Kiereś had lost his games againstWisła, Legia, Lech, Sląsk and a top­of­the­league Widzew, the new boss was losingto relegation rivals in Ruch and Pogoń.

The dismissal of Złomańczuk in Novemberwas hardly a surprise. He was only eversupposed to be a temporary solution, andwhen results hadn’t picked up as much asthe board hoped, he was on his way outafter just six games. But his replacement,Michał Probierz proved even worse.

After a promising early career, Probierz’scareer has sloped off inrecent years. His fourgames in charge may buthave added two points tothe tally, entering winterlevel with Podbeskidzie onsix, but the task ahead wastoo much. Something evenmore drastic had to change.And when the board,unable to afford muchmore, turned back to KamilKiereś in the new year, well,lets just say that hope hadcompletely disappeared inBełchatów. But how wrongwe were…

They say that the grassisn’t always greener on theother  side,  and  Kiereś’return proved that to betrue. Whilst his first fivegames of the season hadbeen a total washout, hissecond five (against the

exact same opponents)left GKS as the onlyunbeaten team in theEkstraklasa’s Springround - despite onlyscoring one goal!

Although we quickly lostthat record with defeats

against Korona and Ruch Chorzów (theteam who eventually managed to surviveahead of us on head-to-head results), wewere soon back on track with victoriesagainst  Pogoń  Szczecin,  PoloniaWarszawa,  Górnik  Zabrze  and  ZagłębieLubin. Draws against Lechia and (theheartbreaking last minute draw to)Jagiellonia left everything out of our handsfor our final game. And although wemanaged to defeat Piast in Gliwice, ourclosest rivals in Łódź couldn’t help us outagainst Podbeskidzie.

Whilst our Spring was worse than Legia,the only other team which bettered us wasthe one that mattered - Podbeskidzie. Putin that position again, in any other seasonwe would have done enough in spring tosurvive.

However it was not meant to be, We mustnow start next season in the PierwszaLiga for the first time since 2005.

With many players already leaving the club,we must ensure that we keep hold ofKiereś. If there is anyone able to guide usthrough the hard times once more, it is him.

Patryk Ostry

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Dynamic WingersBy Michał Zachodny

Some say that wingers are a dying breed. Butnot in Poland. In Poland they are somethingwhich should be admired.

It's not that Polish football is boring, no. The level is not as pooras, for example, what the match between Ruch Chorzów andPogoń Szczecin may  look  like, with many great goals mixedwith moments of total comedy.

Ekstraklasa is praised for its tactical and physical approach,even if that is unlikely praise for the league that - up until now- lasted for only thirty weeks. Without a doubt, most of the leagueis average with only a narrow selection of clubs and playersdeserving a mention as something more.

There is one certain thing that keeps being mentioned by thosewho who work in football and observe Polish league for playersor to analyze the clubs. Ekstraklasa lacks energy, lacksdynamic players who can suddenly change the score or lookof the match. Mostly wingers - those who can also dribble,create advantages, link with through passes, play the final ball.Those who can successfully fight with the impression that Polishleague is boring.

Looking at the way Borussia Dortmund pressed Bayern Munichin the Champions League final at Wembley, one would scratchtheir heads seeing three former Ekstraklasa players keepingup with the pace of the game. But it is exactly why they are notplaying in Poland anymore - they had the energy to stand outfrom hundreds of slowly running and thinking footballers thatare still in our Lechs, Legias and Sląsks.

From the period when such players were in small numbers inthe Ekstraklasa, now fans can be happy that more of them plytheir trade in the league. Some are younger, some are better,some have other weaknesses, some may never leave thecountry - but at least they are quick, they make the difference.

Poland, slowly, is becoming a football culture in which wingersare something truly special.

Look at Legia Warszawa, the champions. Jakub Kosecki is oneof the best players in the league, followed closely by such firmsas Atletico Madrid or Valencia. He is not only some cheeky guythat speaks too loud and too much for his age and experience- football craves for that certain type of player. Brave, confident,technically brilliant and... well, fast. And Jakub Kosecki is veryfast.

This season, his first full one in Legia's first squad, he hasscored 15% of their league goals (9), adding four assists. One

of them was made when he was takendown in the box as Legia took on Lech inthe final stages of the campaign, needinga win to go five points clear at the top.Mateusz Możdżeń,  then Lech's defender,could not cope with his rival's pace. Hehanded Legia a penalty and earned

himself a red card - and this is only one ofthe examples when Jakub Kosecki simplymade the difference.

The Hungarian winger from Lech Poznań,Gergo Lovrencsics, is another example.Aleksandar Tonev, who will leave the clubfor a new adventure in Scotland (Celtic),England (Aston Villa) or Germany (WerderBremen) is a different type of winger -stronger, rather a runner than a sprinter.Lovrencsics, on the other hand, proved inhis first season in Poland what an additionhe may be - he gets into one-on-ones veryoften, cuts into the box when possible andis able of producing a fine, long-distanceshot. With seven goals to his name (15%of Lech's goals) and four assists, he is oneof that kind of players - precious for histeam.

Sląsk ended the season third in the table,and that despite having two properwingers. Piotr Cwielong had probably thebest time of his career with eight goals -most of which were vital for his club. Hepops up in the right places, co-operateswell with the team's captain, SebastianMila. No wonder several (althougharguably low-key) German clubs areinterested in him. Waldemar Sobota, onthe other hand, is a typical dribbler withpace. His passes are often mis-timed buthe still was able to get four assists in ateam where Sebastian Mila, Sląsk's brain,

dominates in final balls. Cwielong andSobota combined have provided almost athird of Sląsk's goals this season.

One of relatively new league sensations isTomasz Podgórski. Recently he struggledin the level below, but when coach MarcinBrosz showed him the way, hisperformances welcomed Piast back intothe league and helped the club to the bestfinish in its history (fourth place). He is nota spectacular player, rarely getting into adribble, but he takes advantage of his paceand co-operates with team-mates wellenough to create danger inside the finalthird. By scoring seven and assisting fourgoals, he attracted wealthier clubs inPoland as well.

Zagłębie  may  have  had  better  seasonbefore, but surely they know somethingabout  wing  play.  Szymon  Pawłowski  forlong has been their best player, and it issomething of a pity that his last year inLubin ended only in ninth place. He is avery intelligent player. Maybe not so fast,but the number of key passes he hasprovided has earned him a deal inGermany or perhaps at Lech. Adrian Błądwas shining while on loan at 1. Liga sideZawisza Bydgoszcz, but he also moreoften than not proved his quality inEkstraklasa. He likes to run with the ballfrom deep positions, attack his marker andrecently made great progress at the

Fot. PZPN/CyfraSport

defensive part of his game. He isZagłębie's one for the future.

Perhaps the most significant example ofthe way that kind of players are neededand appreciated in Poland is the one ofDani Quintana. Before he came to Poland- spotted and signed by Jagiellonia only onvideo evidence - he switched clubs eachyear at second and third level in Spain.But when he came here, he made thedifference straight away - his vision,technique and pace was one of the rareshining lights in Jagiellonia's troublingseason. Dawid Plizga was similarlyimportant for them, which is quite normalgiven his experience - he scored five andassisted six from the wing, proving thereare two sides to his game: a creator anda finisher.

Despite quite a good season in terms ofresults, it has been a very problematicyear for Polonia - almost definitely the finalone in the Ekstraklasa for someconsiderable period of time. While they willbe relegated into the lower leagues fortheir debts, most of the players will stay atthe top. Paweł Wszołek, despite having anightmare of a round, played some greatfootball last autumn. He earned himself astart against England in 2014 World Cupqualifications and almost signed forBundesliga club Hannover. His pace andenergy with which he burst forward andbeat opponents allowed him to scoreseven and assist five of Polonia goals -this prospect never went missing on thosewho still want to sign him up.

In Piotr Stokowiec's disappearing teamwas  also Miłosz Przybecki,  also  a  goodexample of exciting prospect and pacywinger. He is one of the fastest - if not thefastest - players in the league. Heconstantly puts pressure on his opponentsand although he has still a lot to learn interms of tactics and technique, his pace ismaking him one of the hottest transfertargets this summer.

One of the best dribblers in the league is,unexpectedly, Bartłomiej Pawłowski fromWidzew Łódź. Someone who has seen himplay this spring would not believe thatJagiellonia once said that he was notwanted anymore. His dribbling skills andconfidence is something that made thedifference for Widzew and saved themfrom a scrappy relegation battle. When hesees the space, he shoots instantly,always being dangerous for the opponents'keeper. Mariusz Rybicki from the sameclub is younger, but also a great threatwhen in form and one to look at in the future.

Those players are different and definitelythere are more of them in the league -

some had quiet season, others simplydid not perform up to the standards,others are ones for the future. The leaderof the wingers' band is Jakub Kosecki,whose abilities and character made himfans' favorite in Polish capital, andprobably will put him on the wing ofnational team very soon. It may be takingit too far, but for all of them JakubBłaszczykowski of Borussia is someoneto follow. Work hard, always look to takeadvantage of their own talents, believe init - and you will make the top. If notWembley, then one of those Legia-Lechgames, one that Jakub Kosecki hasrecently decided almost on his own.

Fot. AgencjaGazeta

Pierwsza Liga ReviewBy Ryan HubbardWhilst the Ekstraklasa season proved to be dramatic bothon and off of the pitch, the drama provided by Poland’ssecond tier, the Pierwsza Liga, proved to be more than amatch…

The race for PromotionAs the season began, it seemed asthough it would be a battle between thetwo favourites for promotion; recentlyrelegated Cracovia, and a free-spendingZawisza Bydgoszcz.

Although the Pasy were to be withoutsome of their “star” players, most notablyBurundian Saidi Ntibazonkiza, the sheersize of the club compared to some oftheir rivals seemed enough to put themin line for a quick return to the Ekstraklasa,

Zawisza had strengthened well in thesummer, picking up Paweł Abbott fromRuch Chorzów, former Górnik and Legiastriker  Tomasz  Chałas  from  Elbląg,Bytom’s  Daniel  Mąka,  and  keeperWojciech Kaczmarek from Cracovia.

However, rather surprisingly it was FlotaSwinoujście who stormed to the top ofthe table, not dropping a single pointafter eight games. Led by veteran strikerSebastian Olszar, signed on a freetransfer in the summer, GKS Tychy,Miedź  Legnica,  Arka  Gdynia  andOlimpia  Grudziądz  were  all  defeatedbefore they finally dropped pointsagainst Stomil Olsztyn in matchday 9.

Although they didn’t start with the sametenacity as their rivals, Termalica Bruk-Bet Nieciecza were still keeping paceafter their late season collapse in2011/12. Now under the guideship offormer  Wisła  Kraków  boss  KazimierzMoskal, there was real hope that thevillage side could go one better thisseason.

Whilst Flota continued to battle away, a7­1  win  against  ŁKS  n  matchday  11

being the biggest victory of the season,the chasing pack were battling it outthemselves. A 3-1 win for Cracoviaagainst Zawisza put them temporarily inthe driving seat, and when they finallybroke Flota down, the small club fromthe Baltic coast began to sink.

Zawisza then stuck three past Flota, withNieciecza putting four in the net a weeklater. By the time winter came around,Flota still had a lead, but the five pointgap between themselves and Niecieczacould have been significantly more.

With Cracovia in third, and Zawisza infourth, both sides promoted from the IILiga: Grupa Zachodnia, Miedź Legnicaand GKS Tychy, sat behind, still with adistant chance of a second promotion intwo years. A little further back, A lateautumn  run  from  Olimpia  Grudziądzsurprised everyone, with only a poorstart keeping them from challenging.

With the return from the breakinterrupted by poor weather conditionsall over the country, it was another club,Dolcan Ząbki, who began the strongest.As the sides above them all droppedpoints on a number of occasions, a runof seven wins pulled the club from theoutskirts of Warsaw right into thepromotion challenge. Eventually endedby Nieciecza much too early for a pushto the top-flight, Dolcan eventually tailedoff.

At the top however, it was the samechallengers who had been there for theduration. Although now going through apoor spell, surrendering their lead, Flotawere still amongst the challengers.Nieciecza lead the way for most ofspring, with Zawisza and Cracoviabattling for the advantage in second-place.Eventually as Nieciecza were clawed inby the chasing pack, it seemed asthough every time one of the sidesgained an advantage it was quicklyspurned. Cracovia lost to Zawisza,Nieciecza lost to Cracovia. With theseason entering its final stages, thechallenging four still couldn’t beseparated.

With a 1-0 defeat at home to Zawisza inmatchday 32, Nieciecza eventuallyfound themselves tied at the top withtheir victors, meaning that Cracovia andFlota were all still in with a chance ofclaiming one of the two promotion spots.However as Cracovia dropped to a 1-0defeat at home to GKS Tychy, Zawisza

Fot. PZPN

and Nieciecza had their chances to sealpromotion with a game to spare.

Despite going 1-0 down to Flota, a laterally from Zawisza put them 2-1 in frontasthe game headed towards stoppage time.In Małopolska, a goal from Jakub Biskuphad also put Nieciecza on the brink ofpromotion with seconds to play againstOlimpia  Grudziądz.  However,  firstly  an89th minute goal from Flota strikerArkadiusz Aleksander in Bydgoszcz, andthen a 90th minute equaliser fromGrudziądz goalkeeper Michał Wróbel  inNieciecza, sent the promotion spots downto the wire.

With the head-to-head results andpossibility of three teams tying at the endof the season, there were a number ofextremely confusing permutationsaffecting who would emerge victorious.But with a two point advantage overCracovia, both Zawisza and Niecieczaknew that just a draw against PoloniaBytom and Flota respectively would beenough to see them promoted.

With two penalties in Legnica ensuringthat Cracovia were doing all that theypossibly could, Andrzej Rybski and PawełAbbott scored goals which made theKraków club’s game meaningless.However just on the stroke of half-time, aChristian Nnamani equaliser for Flotagave Cracovia hope.

With  Miedź  missing  a  penalty  againstCracovia, the visitors must have felt likeit was their day. And although the homeside did finally score (another penalty),Bartłomiej Dudzic scored with 20 minutesleft to ensure victory - although theyneeded more goals from Flota.

Whilst Zawisza quickly went on to claimthe  title  with  goals  from  Paweł  Abbott,Tomasz Ostalczyk and Sebastian Ziajka,

it was Nieciecza who eventuallycapitulated.

Going two-one down through SebastianOlszar, the onus was on Nieciecza toattack. But no matter how much they tried,they struggled to escape their own half.Eventually pushing men forward to gainan important equaliser, Nieciecza left toomany holes at the back, allowing Flota tonab two late goals, ensuring Cracovia’sreturn to the Ekstraklasa after one season,and Zawisza’s return as champions after19 years.

The Mid-table MediocrityWhilst the battle for promotion was fairlyconsistent all season, a number of sidestowards the middle of the Pierwsza Ligaoccasionally found themselves riding highat one point, and then struggling at another.

After failing to return to the Ekstraklasa atthe first attempt, Arka Gdynia’s secondtry once again resulted in failure with afifth-placed finish.

With striker Charles Nwaogu dismissedafter missing a late penalty against 9-manZawisza, boss Petr Nemec soon followed.Unable to string a run of decent resultstogether until it was much too late,frustration seemed to be the theme ofArka’s season.

To be fair to them, the early season lossesagainst Flota, Nieciecza. Zawisza andCracovia were to be expected. But it wastheir inability to pick up important pointsagainst Grudziądz, Dolcan and Katowicewhich sent them into winter in ninthposition.

Whilst the winter break was bookendedby wins at ŁKS and Warta Poznań, therewere more losses - against BogdankaŁęczna, and again Nieciecza and Flota ­before things got better. And they did getbetter. 25 points from a possible 30,dropping  points  against  only  MiedźLegnica and Stomil Olsytzn, left Arkaseven points off the promotion spots - nodoubt cursing their early season form.

After their promotions from the DrugaLiga’s Grupa Zachodnia, both GKS Tychyand Miedź Legnica were quickly aimingfor a top-half finish. But with both facingNieciecza, Zawisza and Flota in their firstfive games, they were effectively throwninto the second-tier at the very deep end.

Whilst both of them went on very strongrund in October and November, finishing2012 in fifth (Miedź) and 6th (Tychy), theynever really looked like challenging for thetop spots.

Both sides saw a dip in form after thewinter break, with the Upper Silesian sideTychy the better of the two. Holding theirfifth position until the final day, it wasArka’s 3­0 walkover against bankrupt ŁKSwhich finally dropped Tychy into sixth.

Miedź’s  struggle  was  much  moreapparent when they were hammered 5-1by Zawisza in March. Whilst wins againstTychy, Nieciecza and Bytom came, theywere mere moments of distraction froman otherwise disappointing Spring.Defeats to Grudziądz, Sandecja, Olsztynand Katowice only confirmed the fact thatthey weren’t yet ready to challenge for tophonours.

Tucked in between the two promotedsides,  Dolcan  Ząbki,  normally  battlingagainst relegation, surprised a few inSpring. With just three wins until the endof October, the eleventh month proved tobe  a  lucky  one  in  Ząbki,  as  Dolcanstormed to eleven wins from their nexttwelve games - a run stretching until lateApril.

But just as quickly as it had arrived, formdisappeared into the abyss. Lossesagainst Nieciecza, Flota and Bytomhalted Dolcan’s promotion push at theworst time. Wins in Tychy and Brzeskomay have brought important points, butthe damage had already been done. Arkaand Katowice hammered the final nailsinto Dolcan’s promotion coffin, andseventh position was as good as theycould achieve.

Like  Dolcan,  Olimpia  Grudziądz  wereanother team who had swapped arelegation battle for a failed shot atpromotion to the Ekstraklasa. But whilethey were unable to reach the big time,they had already had a chance tocompete,  beating  Lech  Poznań  andPogoń Szczecin in the early rounds of thePolish Cup.

Whilst Olimpia did pick up points here orthere, back-to-back wins were extremelydifficult to come by. They did manage itin August against Bytom and ŁKS, andagain in October with victories againstKolejarz  Stróże,  Arka  Gdynia  andZawisza Bydgoszcz, but as spring arrivedand  ultimately  passed,  Grudziądz’sinconsistency worsened. Unable to stringtwo of any kind of result together, ninthposition looks a lot moredisappointing than it did at thestart of the season.

With their pre-seasoninterrupted by the activities offormer shareholder IreneuszKról, not much was expectedof GKS Katowice. Aftersettling from regular bottom-half finishes in recent years, asimilar result was expected for2012/13. Whilst their eventualtenth place finish was nothingto shout home about, it doesmark a slight improvement onlast year’s 13th spot.

It could have been muchbetter for GieKSa though.Losses  to  a  poor  ŁKS  Łódźand Brzesko, whilst drawingwith Warta and Bytom - theten points dropped withrelegated sides represent thedifference between mid-tableobscurity and a promotion challenge.

Back in eleventh position, you’d find itdifficult to believe that the league’s topscorer, Maciej Kowalczyk, plied his tradeat Kolejarz Stróże. But the fact that his 22goals accounted for almost half of histeam’s entire tally just goes to show theproblems  which  faced  PrzemysławCecherz’s men.

Whilst victories against both Flota andZawisza may have been cause foroptimism amongst  the Stróże  faithful,  itwas misplaced. Losses to Warta, Bytomand Bogdanka soon put the players backin their places, and lower-half finish wasalways on the cards.

Bogdanka Łęczna were yet another sidewhose inconsistency cost them dearly.Although they managed to avoid beingdragged into the relegation battle, theywere unable to forge a single winning run- every one of their 11 victories beingfollowed by dropped points.

Łęczna’s season had got off to the worstpossible start with successive defeats toMiedź, Brzesko and Arka, and with morepoints dropped to ŁKS and Stomil Olsztyn,there wasn’t much for the Bogdanka fansto sing about. And although their seasonended on a six-game undefeated run, fiveof those were in fact draws - an averageseason for a particularly average team.

Although they managed to staycompletely clear of the relegation battle,

Sandecja  Nowy  Sącz’s  final  leagueposition sat them just one position aboutthe drop zone in 14th. Autumn winsagainst Nieciecza, Bytom and Grudziądzwere as good as it got though, as bigdefeats to Zawisza (5-0), Arka (3-0) andOlsztyn (4-0) left them closer to thebottom of the Pierwsza Liga than the top.

Although a six-game run without defeatkicked off spring, normal service wassoon resumed as after April’s win againstMiedź, they failed to pick up another pointat home.

In their last ten fixtures, Sandecjamanaged to pick up three points on justa single occasion, and they didn’t evenhave to kick a ball to do it. Disappointinglytheir 3­0 walkover against ŁKS was  thehighlight of their run-in, and the sooner

that they can forget about this season,the better.

The battle to beat the dropWith one of the four Pierwsza Ligarelegation spots decided in April due toŁKS’s withdrawal, just four clubs battledit out for the important 14th position,knowing that only one would survive.

After their late reinstatement to the leaguebefore the season kicked off, PoloniaBytom were always going to be one of thecontenders. With four points to their nameafter their opening seventeen fixtures, it’sno surprise they were written off. In fact,

Bytom took until 17th April 2013 toregister their first win of the campaign - anarrow 2-1 victory at home to FlotaSwinoujście.

After another five defeats, points finallybegan to flow from the Silesians. Butwhilst three draws and two wins were avast improvement, they were relegatedwith five games to spare - that despite a2­0 victory over Warta Poznań.

Whilst promoted Miedź Legnica and GKSTychy had managed top-half finishes,their eastern conterparts didn’t have quiteas much fun in the second tier. BothOkocimski Brzesko and Stomil Olsztynfound the Pierwsza Liga much more of ahardship after romping to promotion theprevious season, and with just a win eachafter ten rounds, they were pretty muchnailed on for a quick return to the Druga

Fot. PZPN/CyfraSport

Liga.

But whilst Brzesko and Olsztyn werestruggling, Poznań’s second club Wartawere much better off. With a decent youngside, they were able to pick up victoriesagainst  the  likes  of  Stomil,  ŁKS  andKolejarz  Stróże  before  September  wasover.

With Warta picking up more and morepoints, on the way to finishing 2012 intenth-place, Brzesko and Olsztyn weregetting desperate. Whilst they managedto pick up wins against GKS Katowice andSandecja respectively, they went into thewinter break occupying two of the fourdrop-zone positions.

However returning to action in aparticularly cold March, momentumchanged completely. Well, for two of thesides anyway.

Whilst Brzesko picked up a few morevictories as the season progressed, theywere still interspersed with numerouslosses  ­  defeats  in  Gdynia  and  Stróżealmost confirming their relegation.

Stomil and Warta though, had a completerole reversal. Suffering from hugefinancial problems, Warta’s squad wasstripped bare. With just six points in thewhole Spring Round (three comingagainst  bankrupted  ŁKS),  a  long  slidedown the table resulted in a relegationdogfight rather than a late push up thetable.

In compete contrast, Stomil’s springconsisted of a fantastic run of form whichonly saw four defeats from their 17 games.

Victories against three of the top four gavethe Olsztyn side a huge morale boost asthey clawed back the deficit betweenthemselves and safety.

Whilst a Matchday 31 victory over rivalsBrzesko could have assured their safetywith three games remaining, a 4-0 defeatput the celebrations on ice for a furtherfour days. But with a one-nil away victoryin Gdynia, Stomil Olsztyn ensured theirPierwsza Liga status for another twelvemonths, condemning Warta andOkocimski to the final two relegationplaces.

Legia fans during their 3-0 win over Górnik Zabrze in March(image: Ryan Hubbard)

Goals are Overrated!By Andrzej Gomołysek

With more and more goals coming from midfield,is the Ekstraklasa the perfect place for strikerswho don’t score?

“An attacker who plays well with his backto the goal” is one of the most populardescriptions of forward players in thePolish Ekstraklasa. Even the newly-signed Śląsk Wrocław attacker describedhimself as a “not-specific goal-poacher”.14 goals were enough to secure thecrown of best scorer in Ekstraklasa. Sowhen nearly all strikers have problemswith scoring goals, how can youdifferentiate the artist from a piece ofwood? Does a good attacker who doesn’tscore goals exist?

Robert DemjanIn the last edition of #EkstraklasaMagazine, I described Demjan’smovement as one of the things worthseeing in the Ekstraklasa. His off-the-ballabilities and work rate during the gameare exceptional, not only for PolishLeague. However, it was totally unnoticed,as he hadn’t scored too many goals sofar. But this round of Ekstraklasa was hisbreakthrough. This time, not only thanksto his abilities further from the goal,Podbeskidzie were able to avoidrelegation this season. It’s possible thathe’ll spend next season in a bigger andbetter club. However, (nearly) no-onewould have said this a few months ago,when despite some impressive displayshe wasn’t a frequent guest on scoresheet.

Łukasz GikiewiczLet’s say he’s a player with a similar styleto Demjan. He’s able to receive long ballsfar from the goal, maybe even find himselfin the area or focus opponents’ attentionand give teammates space to createactions. It’s all true, except the level ofquality. With his vision and technique,Demjan was able to secure points for amediocre team. With a far better squad,having Gikiewicz upfront, Śląsk had hugeproblems with scoring goals. Nearly all ofhis goals came from shots from distancelower than 5 meters, however even insuch situations he completed somespectacular misses. His woodentechnique caused him a number ofproblems even with easiest ball, so thechance to create anything of his own istiny. However, always after (another poor)game when he scores, he’s first tounderline, how good he was, as his shotfound it’s way into the net. In fact, with somany possibilities in the middle, with abetter finisher, Śląsk could compete for

the championshipmuch longer. What helacks in technique andcreativity can’t becompensated only byphysical abilities andhigh work rate.

Cristian Omar DiazAfter a bright start atŚląsk,  he  quicklybecame one of manyu n e x c e p t i o n a lEkstraklasa players.He seemed to be a realgoal-poacher, able toscore at least 15 goalsper season. He playedwell off-the-ball, andhaving good finishinghe could be fed bycrucial passes provided by the creativeŚląsk midfield. However, he was forcedto play much deeper in Orest Lenczyk’stactics, so he was always unable to showhis best. He was often in the shadowsduring duels in the middle, and had a lowamount of goalscoring chances. In recentmonths he also lost his pace completely,being unable to escape the challenges ofdefenders. It seemed unimaginable tolose competition for a place in team withGikiewicz, but he managed to do it. Wealready know that he won’t play inWrocław next  season,  but  it won’t  be  aloss for Śląsk.

Daniel SikorskiMichał  Wróbel,  Olimpia  Grudziądz’sgoalkeeper , scored more goals in this ILiga season than Wisła’s striker netted in

the Ekstraklasa. On the other hand,Sikorski didn’t conceded any.

With some time spent in Bayern and inAustria, he seemed to be a valuableaddition to Ekstraklasa. However, mostof his games showed a lack of evenelemental quality. Mediocre pace, poortechnique, no vision at all (has anyoneseen him with ball with head up to seepartners’ positioning?) makes him theobject of parody songs sang even by hisown club’s supporters. He slightlyimproved during the season, but it wasstill to a level far behind Ekstraklasastandards (and believe me, they aren’thigh). Too many crazy actions without achance of succession were made, as wellas too many off-the-ball runs intopositions where a ball was impossible toplay. He has to have good agent though,as despite of all of that, he’ll spend nextyear in Austria again.

Daniel LjubojaConsidered by many as the bestEkstraklasa player in recent years. Even ifit isn’t true, it is not far from it. He neverwon games for Legia thanks to good90-minute displays. He made it only thanksto good single passes or movements. Hisbright past was clearly visible in his play,so even playing worse than his Frenchstandards, he was still an exceptionalplayer who deserved his place in the squad.Ironically, playing often in the strikers’ role(the main reason why Maciej Skorża is nowthe former Legia manager), he wasn’tscoring too many goals. However, oftenhis passes or off-the ball runs createdopportunities for other players. In thisseason, he co-operated extremely wellwith Marek Saganowski in the openinggames of the season. Focusing opponents’

attention, he made it possible for playerslike  Kosecki  or  Radović  to  make  insideruns and score important goals. In manysituations only his movement was enoughto cause havoc in opponents’ defensiveline, which led to defenders not only losinghim, but also other players.

Bartosz ŚlusarskiAnother player with “wooden” descriptionin the media. Always considered as theone who creates chances for himself easilyand equally wastes them with ease.Surprisingly in last round he started toscore, becoming the best Polish goalscorerin the league. As with other cases here, hisabilities or even form haven’t improved inrecent months. Better conversion ratio ofhis actions gave him however better pressreviews. On the other hand – he’s a striker,By his goals, he will be known.

Browse through our back cataloguePlus much, much more at

/Ekstraklasa-Magazine

Kolejorz Scotlandwith Marc BoalHow do you know when you’ve made it as a “bigclub”? Well, when you have a fan club in Scotland

“So much in the media gets brought upabout the bad things that happen infootball, but nobody hears about the goodstuff” says Marc Boal, president of theScottish  branch  of  Lech  Poznań  fans.

“brand new friendships, meeting otherbrilliant  fans  in  Poznań  –  all  throughfootball.”

Since establishing the fan group in 2012,Marc has been a regular (well,considering he's not from Poland) atLech's Stadion Miejski. But how did theunlikely allegiance actually come about?

“I didn't really know much about Polishfootball. I saw Rangers play GórnikZabrze and GKS Katowice at Ibrox in thelate 80's” exclaims Boal. “Other than thatI  had  heard  of  Lech  Poznań,  LegiaWarszawa,  Wisła  Kraków  and  WidzewŁódź  as  they  always  seemed  to  be  inEurope most seasons.

“My friend Matthew Pye had met hisGirlfriend Ania in Scotland when she wasworking there and they decided to moveto Poznań. He was always telling me howcrazy these games were in Poznań, andhe invited me over for a weekend inNovember 2010 to try some of the localbeer and to catch a Lech game” says

Marc. “The fixturewe were going towas against rivalsWisła, and I wasn'tprepared at all...

“Walking to thestadium theatmosphere waselectric, and wecould hear thefirecrackers goingoff in the brandspanking newstadium. I looked atMatt and said

“what's going onhere?!.

“Once inside, theUltras in the boiler(Lech's Ultrassection) started upthe drums, and thechoreo began,which was out ofthis world. I hadnever ever seenanything like that ina ground before,and I have been tolots of big games inScotland. That wasme hooked. The

noise from 24,000 fans got the hairs onthe back of my neck standing. Lechromped home for a 4-1 win, and I wasalready planning my next trip.”

His next trip didn't take long to come tofruition either. The very next season, Marcwas back in Wielkopolska, cheering onhis new found love.

“I came over again for a game in 2011against Jagiellonia. Lech won again, thistime 2-0, and the atmosphere was bedlamonce more. Thestandard of footballwasn't the greatestin the world, but bythen I was telling mymates in Scotlandabout these games”.

Back in his nativeScotland, wordamongst his friendsquickly spread.Before he knew it,another trip wasplanned. And thistime Marc wasn'talone.

“In March 2012, four of us were there forthe  meeting  against  Śląsk,  this  timewearing our kilts and wearing Lech shirts.The regulars were having a chuckle atthis”. Bringing their own style to one smallsection of Poznań, Marc remembers thatsome of the locals weren't quite prepared.

“One of the stand-out memories was oneof our gang, Davie, went through theturnstile with his kilt on. The look on thefemale steward's face that had to bodysearch him was hilarious - he waseventually told just to head into thestadium!”

“Watching my mates' faces once the boilerbroke into full voice was priceless - theydidn't know what they had just walked into.Firecrackers going off everywhere, a seaof jumping fans. Lech won 2-0, and ournext trip was practically planned beforewe had even returned to Stary Rynek”.

With Marc's trips slowly gathering afollowing amongst his friends, it was thenthat the group decided to set up theSupporters Club, hoping to attract morefans.

“Following this trip, a Facebook page wasset up, titled 'Kolejorz Fans Scotland'. Itsurprised me that people had seen ourflag at the game and quickly started to jointhe page. New friendships were beingformed”. And for Marc, the obsession wastaking a hold. “Lech was becoming a bitof a drug now, I was checking my holidaysat work to see when I could fit in my nextgame. I couldn't get enough of LechPoznań now”.

Whilst Marc openly admits that thestandard of football may not always matchthat of leagues around the continent,there are other factors which also makePoznań  his  now­favourite  'holiday'destination.

“I managed to get to the Lech v Górnikgame in September for a drab goallessdraw. But even that doesn't matter whenyou have some of the best fans in the worldto watch when there is not much happeningon the pitch”.

It was also around this time when anothernew friendship was established, this timewith another 'branch' of Lech fans.

“A now good friend of mine, RobertDziemidzik got in touch around this timealso. Robert runs the Lech Poznań LondonSupporters club, and our group and theguys from London now regularly go togames together.”

But making the journey to watch hisbeloved Lech hasn't always proved as easyas booking a low-cost direct flight. Marcshowed the extreme lengths he would goto when Lech's biggest rivals Legia cameto visit the Stadion Miejski.

“Flights  from  Scotland  to  Poznań  hadstopped, and I was panicking” remembersMarc. “I didn't want to miss this game... Iwas checking every possible way to makethe  journey  to Poznań  from  the UK,  andeventually managed it – with three flightsto get to Poznań and 2 to get back hometo Scotland. We travelled back home withthe London Kolejorz via Stansted, with thefriendships going strong. We even hadKolejorz Scotland polo shirts made, withthe boys from London also taking one each”.

“The worst part of the trips is the travelling”Boal proclaims with certainty. “I live in theOrkney Islands (at the most northern tip ofScotland), and it takes an eight-hour boatjourney just to reach Aberdeen. From thereit's a three-hour coach trip to Edinburgh,and then a three­hour flight to Poznań. It'svery tiring, but worth every second onceyou get inside the Stadion Miejski. I havenow travelled over 14,000 miles justcoming to see this great club”.

“After our spring win against Lechia Gdańsk,we met up once more with Robert. And noweven more guys from our club are makingthe trip to Wielkopolska for the games. Onthis trip we even took a tour around theStadion Miejski. The calmness is such astrange feeling, especially after seeing itso lively on a matchday”.

With so many trips to Poland, it is a wonderhow it affects Marc's family life. But as heexplains, he manages to fit it in very well.

“For the Legia game I brought along myfianceé Karen, and even she was blownaway with the fans and the flags. It may bea very costly hobby, but I will continuemaking the journey. Although maybe notas much now that my fianceé is due ourfirst baby in October. The baby already hasits own Kolejorz romper suit, and I lookforward to eventually taking my kid toPoznań”.

Clearly already recruiting members for its'junior' section, the Kolejorz Scotland fan

club appears to be going from strength tostrength. And with Boal's enthusiasm, therewill be plenty more visits ahead for him, hisfriends, and also his new family.

A short look back at the Fifteen games whichdefined the 2012/13 Ekstraklasa season.

Defining a SeasonBy Michał Zachodny

31.08.12: Wisła Kraków 1­3 Polonia WarszawaSaved from administration earlier that year and somehowglued into a proper football team by Piotr Stokowiec. Beatingpoor Wisła was one thing, but the style of Polonia's victory of itabsolutely caught an eye of the country.

21.10.12: Lechia Gdańsk 1­3 Sląsk WrocławSpecial game for visitors' captain, Sebastian Mila, who kickedoff his career at Lechia, but this time, with the Polishchampions two-nil down at half time, he scored twice to marka remarkable comeback  at tough time for Sląsk.

28.10.12: Legia Warszawa 3-2 Piast GliwiceEarly sign that Marcin Brosz's team will be no pushovers inthe league and they raced Legia up to the end of the game. Alot of effort was made by hosting side but eventually DanijelLjuboja's class was too much for them to handle.

18.11.12: Lech Poznań 1­3 Legia WarszawaComing back to the changing room at half time, they didn'tknow what have hit them. Legia was cruising at three-nil attheir biggest enemies' home and laughing in their faces. Greatgame from Kosecki and Radović.

30.11.12: Lech Poznań 0­3 Sląsk WrocławAnother sign that something was clearly not working for Lechat their home as visitors have turned the corner of some badform. Mariusz Rumak was devastated at the way Cwielongand Sobota destroyed his defence.

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Legia.com

07.12.12: Sląsk Wrocław 1­0 Legia WarszawaIf you can't beat them... buy them? Stanislav Levy's arguablybiggest win in Wrocław, a hope that they still might be in the titlerace despite a slow start. But when the scorer of the only goalin the game, Tomasz Jodłowiec, joined Legia in winter break, itwas all over.

23.02.13: Korona Kielce 3-2 Legia WarszawaEnded previous round with a defeat and kicked off new year insame manner - surely that wasn't the championship form? Aftertheir spending spree, much was expected from Legia, but theywere stopped by ambitious and fighting Korona.

30.03.13: Polonia Warszawa 1-2 Legia WarszawaProbably the last capital derby for some time, depending onwhere Polonia lands after relegation. Young Dominik Furman'sgoal at the end of the match proved decisive but there were stilldoubts over Legia's quality.

20.04.13: Podbeskidzie 1­1 GKS Bełchatów"We haven't really arrived on time," said Podbeskidzie'smanager, Czesław Michniewicz. "If so, then we haven't left thechanging room at half­time" replied to him GKS winger, ŁukaszMadej. In a relegation six-pointer, both teams could earn only apoint each.

29.04.13: Jagiellonia Białystok 0­1 Lech PoznańMariusz Rumak was furious at the fixtures, claiming Legia hadalways advantage over his Lech playing the day before, but histeam performed well even under pressure. Gergo Lovrencsicsprovided a vital winner to keep the distance close at the top ofthe table.

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Legia.com

Legia.com

12.05.13: Piast Gliwice 3­2 Sląsk WrocławAs the title was down only to Legia and Lech, Sląsk and Piastfaced a tie that could decide the third place in the league.Second half was mental ­ Sląsk took advantage but soon waschasing the score and when Piast was reduced to ten men andlevelled the score, visitors allowed them to score the winner inthe dying seconds.

18.05.13: Legia Warszawa 1­0 Lech PoznańIn a game of only few chances Lech was looking to stop Legiabut not necessairly by winning. Home side was the better one,but they needed eighty-six minutes to break their opponents.Kosecki went on a run, was hacked in the box, Vrdoljakconverted it to handle the trophy to his Legia.

25.05.13: Lech Poznań 0­2 PodbeskidzieHuge win for the away side as Fabian Pawela's brace meantthey can still dream of their league status. Lech, on the otherhand, by losing this game crowned Legia without them gettingup from the couch. Shocking performance.

30.05.13: GKS Bełchatów 1­1 Jagiellonia BiałystokHow important goals can be? Jagiellonia made almost sixgames without having scored even one and when they did, itsent GKS down. Emilijus Zubas was named league's bestkeeper but also his mistake in the added time gave GKS onlythe draw when they needed all three of them.

02.06.13: Widzew Łódź 1­2 PodbeskidziePodbeskidzie knew they must win to stay up and quick goalfrom Chmiel made them more comfortable. Demjan scored his14th of the season in the second half but as Rybicki replied forWidzew, the ending was devastatingly nervous for the visitors.They have survived.

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The Cursed Promise of SuccessBy Dawid KosmalskiAt the halfway point, they looked like titlecontenders, but by April Europe looked adistant dream. There are problems on thepitch as well as off it at Górnik Zabrze…

When Prejuce Nakoulma kicked the ground instead of the balland missed penalty in the dying minutes against Lech Poznań,no-one knew that it was only a beginning of a series of tragicand embarrassing events. Well, that could have happened toanyone, right? Even if he is currently the best and the mostvaluable player in the team, it's still possible. But there is noreason to not believe in Górnik Zabrze, right? Answers to allthese questions came quickly and painfully. Yes, Górnik wererelegated four years ago, but 2013 was in many aspects farworse than in the Pierwsza Liga. It seems crazy, I know, in#Ekstraklasa Magazine Issue One I myself wrote about myexpectations - mid-table safety was all I wanted. If anybodywould have offered me before the start of the season sixthplace and a two-million euro net transfer profit, I'd have takenit without hesitation. But after being in third place after 15games, it is a massive disappointment.

At the end of 2012, despite growing optimism, everybody inZabrze had in mind that Górnik couldn’t compete with Legiaor Lech in organisational and financial terms. So ArkadiuszMilik, seven goals in 14 appearances, was rightly sold in

December to Bayer Leverkusen. A great deal for the club, an18 year old striker and a big Adam Nawałka success ­ the manwho put faith in Milik and gave him time to settle in seniorfootball. Not only Milik reached his peak at this time, but thewhole team too. Nobody was surprised when National Teamcoach Waldemar Fornalik called Milik, Łukasz Skorupski andAdam Danch up for friendly against South Africa and the WorldCup 2014 qualification game against England.

Górnik’s defense ended 2012 as the best in the league withjust eleven goals conceded. KSG played some thrilling games,including trashing the now former champions Śląsk Wrocław4-1, and a 2-2 draw against Legia Warszawa, where Górnikshowed spirit that has not been seen at Roosevelta in years.To sum up what Górnik was all about at that time – goodcrossing, intelligent movement without the ball, clever andpatient passing - watch the second goal from Górnik’s gamewith Korona Kielce. Bang! A great finish by Nakoulma, anothervictory too. So why not challenge for the top of the league? Infact, it was their first chance in almost 20 years to fight for their15th title. And they squandered it in a very bad manner.

Don't get me wrong, there were moments of brilliant andentertaining football, but in some ways they are regrets - whathappened in 2013 is a sad example of why Górnik isn't readyto be a challenging force in Poland.

Firstly, acquisitions in the winter transfer window where justplain bad. When Grzegorz Bonin and Tomasz Zahorski (bothex-Górnik players) were heading down to Zabrze, we knewthat  Nawałka's  “miracle­maker”  reputation  (reviving  thecareers of Bartosz Iwan and Seweryn Gancarczyk are goodexamples) would be challenged. Bonin’s awful crossing skills

and poor finishing (despitetwo goals) could not helpGórnik, and Zahorski… Well,I still don't understand why hewas ever considered to be agood target man. For thatreason he limited Górnik’sstyle of play to manyunsuccessful long balls. OnlyIreneusz  Jeleń  put  in  someeffort to justify his signing.Sergei Mošnikov was barelyinvolved,  Mateusz  Słodowyand Marciń Kuś played onlyin the Młoda Ekstraklasa team.

Secondly, injures huntedGórnik down. In 2012, thequartet of Nakoulma, Kwiek,Olkowski and Milik wereexcellent, not only in attack,but also in defensive duties,mainly pressing theopposition with great effect.

GornikZabrze.pl

In 2013, Prejuce Nakoulma wasn't readybecause of injury and Africa Nations Cupduty, Milik was sold and experienced rightback Michael Bemben, was injured -moving Olkowski down from the right wing.Ultimately, the formation which served sowell in Autumn did not work properly. Theleft side of defence was also damaged.Mariusz Magiera unfortunately picked upanother long injury, while SewerynGancarczyk missed a few games throughsuspension, leaving centre-backOleksandr Shevelyukhin to step in.Ironically, he quickly became one of theslowest left backs that Polish football hasever seen. The whole team and its gameorganisation became messy, which causedmany defensive errors (20 goals concededin spring), and just twelve goals scored,compared to 23 in Autumn. Incredibly, Milikstill remained Górnik's top scorer as theseason finished.

Thirdly, there was a concerning rumourfloating around, that the club didn't want toparticipate in the early Europa Leaguequalification rounds for financial reasons.You couldn't make that up – it's clearlyPolish football folklore. After a three-nil lossto Legia Warszawa the title hopes weregone, but Górnik still had chance to end atleast in fourth place - and they did almostnothing to claim it. Suddenly the promiseof success made the supporters veryserious about every game, however theteam failed to turn up, causing massiveanger. The atmosphere between fans andplayers became very tense after the 1-0defeat to Podbeskidzie. There was nousual 'high fives' and 'thanks for the effort'chants. Only insults with corruptionallegations.

Suspiciously, Górnik lost all games againstrelegation-threatened sides, Podbeskidzie,GKS Bełchatów and Pogoń Szczecin. Forsome fans it was enough. They gave up.If the players don't want to win, The fansare not going to support them. Even winsagainst Piast, and their greatest rivalsRuch Chorzów didn't improve the fansattitudes as they normally would. The onlyanswers that Górnik’s players could musterwere “They [rivals] wanted it more”, “Weneed to learn from that”, and “We have towin our next game”. From March manyprayed for the season to end immediately.It is understandable why Górnik lackedquality in the second half of the season,but absolutely no desire on the pitch isunacceptable. Watching Piast Gliwice,Górnik’s supposed “little Upper Silesianbrother” gaining a Europa League spotonly makes the whole situation more painful.

Now the season is over the club needs todouble their efforts to prevent thedisintegration of the team. To do this,Górnik  have  to  stick  with  Nawałka,  nomatter the cost. Despite a poor 2013,Nawałka is still the best manager around,capable to rally his troops even after majorlosses  in  squad.  He  did  it  after  Jeż  andSikorski (his reputation may be low now,but at Roosevelta he had very good spell)were sold and I'm sure he will do it againafter the loss of Aleksander Kwiek, and thepossible departures of Nakoulma,Mączyński, Skorupski and Olkowski.

But, do not give him total control in transfermarket. His record in that matter is, well,questionable to say at least. With a transferban and contract limitations, Nawałka andhis staff need to be very careful and try tosign players only with potential and thedesire to be better. If no free agent will be

suitable, they should give youth moreplaying time. With the current boss onboard, Górnik's still a fine and attractiveplace to develop before going abroad. Thelikes of Wojciech Król, Daniel Barbus orKonrad Nowak are in the perfect place toget more chances to impress scouts fromvarious clubs.

The key to a good next season lies inNawałka's  hands,  especially  in  the  latesummer-autumn period. In 2014, with threenew stands finished, motivation at Stadionim. Ernesta Pohla could also come from22 thousand supporters.

In fact, I can't wait to see that, to feel amuch better atmosphere. For now, adifferent approach from everybody at theclub is much needed. But we are GórnikZabrze and we can do far better than thisabysmal year so far.Fot. PZPN

The end of two eraBy Ryan Hubbard

One received a guard of honour as he left the pitch in Białystok, the other received one ashe entered it in Warsaw. For their contributions to Polish football, it was the least they deserved.

It has been two contrasting seasons for Jagiellonia striker Tomasz Frankowski and Legia defenderMichał Żewłakow. The former saw his side limp into a mid-table finish whilst the latter pickedup a first Ekstraklasa title and Polish Cup to put alongside the eight championship and cupmedals won in Greece and Belgium. But despite their various ups and downs this term, theyshould rightly sit alongside those such as Boniek, Deyna and Lato, as players who have giventheir all for Polish football. Living legends in their own right. Their final day congratulationsrightly mark...

Born just one month after KazimierzDeyna, Andrzej Szarmach and GrzegorzLato helped fire Poland to a World Cupbronze medal, Tomasz Frankowski wasalways destined to be a footballer. Afterhis primary school team won a juniortournament, he was snapped up by hislocal team Jagiellonia at the age of just ten.One of the most promising youngsters atthe club, "Franek" eventually signed acontract with the club after his sixteenthbirthday. It was here that, alongside futurePolish representatives Mariusz Piekarskiand Marek Citko, he helped Jaga's youthteam to the 1992 Polish Championship.

With his talent easily recognisable, it wasn'tlong after that Tomasz made his first teamdebut. With Jagiellonia making a return tothe top flight after a two-year absence,new coach Witold Mroziewski includedFranek in his team to face Ruch Chorzów.Though he was unable to help his sideavoid a 3-0 defeat, he finally did net hisfirst goal in the Jagiellonia yellow-and-redin early October - a penalty in a 3-2 lossto Szombierki Bytom.

With Jagiellonia suffering massivefinancial problems, relegation wasinevitable. Just nine points - twowins and five draws - from their 34games saw them rooted to thebottom of the table. But despite the

his first strike being his only goal of theseason, Frankowski was attracting interestfrom abroad. French club RC Strasbourghad took notice of the nineteen year-old,and in return for some training equipmentand the cost of a pre-season training camp,Franek was soon packing his bags foreastern France.

Whilst he struggled on his arrival,Frankowski began to impress inStrasbourg's reserve side, netting 22 times.However his spell at the club was injury-plagued, and he only managed to net twicein 21 appearances for the first team. Bythe time 1996 came around, Tomasz hadattracted the attention of anotherFrenchman - boss of Japanese clubNagoya Grampus Eight, Arsene Wenger.

Despite Wenger's ability to spot talent,Franek's time in Japan was short lived.The striker played just seven times beforehe returned to France with third-tierPoitiers, where he finally found his goal-scoring boots. After 22 goals in 32 games,a move to Martigues for a season turnedout slightly less successful. In the summer

of 1998 Frankowski found his way back toPoland, with Franciszek Smuda securinghis signature for Wisła Kraków.

Poland's second city proved to be themaking of now-24 year-old Franek. In hisfirst term at Reymonta 22, Tomasz's 21goals helped Wisła to their first league titlein 21 years, as well as making him theleague's top scorer. His impressiveshowings in the Wisła red and white alsoearned a debut call-up to Janusz Wojcik'sPolish national squad for a game againstCzech Republic.

Whilst both Frankowski and Wisła failed tomatch their previous season'sachievements in the 1999/2000 season,the disappointment was merely temporary.In 2001 both the championship and thegolden boot were regained, whilst aLeague Cup victory against Zagłębie Lubinwas added to the haul. But despite hisperformances for the Kraków club, he wasrepeatedly left out of the national team withcoaches continually citing that he "didn'tfit the teams system".

Before he moved on from Kraków, Franekadded a further three league titles, twoPolish Cups, and one more golden boot.In the autumn of 2005, the striker headedonce more abroad - this time to SpanishSegunda División club Elche CF.

Tomasz Frankowski

Fot. PZPN

As well as a successful three-month spellon the Iberian peninsula, Frankowski hadfound his way back into the internationalsetup - and was proving to be an importantpart of it too. With seven qualifying goalsincluding strikes against both England andWales, he helped Poland to qualify for the2006 World Cup.

Tomasz's goal at Old Trafford alsoattracted Wolverhampton Wanderersmanager Glenn Hoddle, who snapped himup in the January transfer window for£1.4million, however his time at Molineuxwas to be the most disappointing of hiscareer. Unable to hit the back of the net forthe remainder of the season, nationalcoach Paweł Janas even took the drasticdecision to not include Frankowski in thesquad for the the 2006 World Cup.

Nicknamed "the Pole without a goal" in theWest Midlands, Frankowski agreed to aloan spell on the Spanish island of Tenerifeat the start of the 2006/07 season. Butwhilst he did finally hit the net in Spain, histime there was far from successful. Afterjust three goals in 19 showings, Tenerifedecided not to buy Tomek, and he wassoon on his way back to England.

With Wolves now under the managementof Mick McCarthy, Franek soon foundhimself on the transfer list. But before hecould find a new club, a knee injury ruledhim out of action. A mutual termination ofFrankowski's contract was inevitable, andwhen he did finally resurface in 2008, itwas on the other side of the Atlantic.

With contract negotiations dragging on, thestriker swung things in his favour with afriendly brace against Columbus Crew. Afurther two goals on his home debut,against New England Revolution, quicklymade him a crowd favourite, but a fall-outwith coach Denis Hamlett kept him out ofthe starting eleven. By the time Novemberrolled around Franek's contract was up,and just before Christmas, he put pen topaper on a two-year contract back at hishometown club Jagiellonia – turning downoffers from Górnik Zabrze and PoloniaWarszawa among others. Sitting on 116Polish league goals, the 34 year-oldquickly set about ascending the list of theleague's all-time top scorers, and with sixgoals in Spring, he was already crept intothe top ten.

2009/10 finally saw Frankowski return tothe  form  he  was  regarded  for  at  Wisła.Eleven goals saw him surpass FriedrichScherfke into ninth place, whilst Jagielloniapicked up their first ever major trophy – thePolish Cup – beating Pogoń Szczecin 1­0in Bydgoszcz, although an 11th placed

league finish was largely due toa ten-point deduction handeddown after corruption charges.

Starting the 2010/11 season witha Europa League qualifyingdefeat to Aris Thessaloniki, a 1-0victory over Lech Poznań in theSupercup followed; and withouta points deduction, Jagaattempted to improve on theirleague position. With fourteengoals in his 29 games, a fourthGolden Boot was earned as theclub again found their way intoEurope by virtue of a fourth-placed finish. Whilst their Euroadventure again failed at the firsthurdle, fifteen goals not onlygame Franek his best season inseven years, it also moved himabove Włodzimierz Lubański andTeodor Peterek, making him thefourth all-time top scorer in thePolish league.

After joining his former bossFranciszek Smuda's Euro 2012squad as an attacking coach,signs were beginning to showthat Frankowski's playing careerwas coming to an end. Starting the seasonon 162 goals, one last push saw him neton six occasions. The last – a fourth minutepenalty  against  Pogoń  ­  took  him  aboveRuch Chorzów legend Gerard Cieślik, intothird position, ensuring his place in Polishfootball history.

The striker finally confirmed his retirementon May 29th, saying his goodbyes to theJagiellonia faithful in a 1-0 win againstRuch Chorzów on June 2nd.

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When a fifteen year­old Michał Żewłakowstarted his youth career in his home-cityof Warsaw, no-one would have imaginedthe role he would play in Polish football.Alongside his striker twin brother Marcin,a season in the youth team at DrukarzWarszawa was followed by a term atanother local side Marymont – before bothgot their big break in 1993, at newly-promoted Polonia Warszawa.

With his first two seasons (one in thetop-flight, and another in the second)failing to make a real impact, Michał wassent to yet another Warsaw club, this timeHutnik, for the 1995/96 season. Gainingsome valuable first-team experience, hereturned to Konwiktorska 6as Poloniacelebrated a promotion back to thecountry's elite.

Now commanding a starting position, thecentre-back played in all-but-one ofPolonia's league games, helping them tofinish the 1996/97 season in eighthposition. And despite playing on four fewer

occasions, he managed to hit the backof the net twice the following season – apair of penalties against PetrochemiaPłock and Zagłębie Lubin tying him in thescoring charts with his sibling.Establishing himself as one of the

country's top talents, Żewłakow's sterlingdisplays in defence helped Polonia to theirhighest league finish since their 1946Championship victory. Although they wereunable to prevent high­spending ŁKS Łódźfrom lifting the championship, theymanaged an excellent 2nd-placed finish –qualifying for the UEFA Cup in the process.

Though Polonia's first foray into a majorEuropean competition – a First QualifyingRound clash against Estonian side SadamTallinn – was successful, it didn't last long.An aggregate defeat to Dynamo Moscowin the next round put them out of Europebefore the domestic season had evenbegun.  But  even  so,  the  Żewłakowbrothers had made quite an impression ona number of clubs, and before Autumn hadeven begun, both Michał and Marcin wereon their way to Belgian club KSK Beveren

– themselves managed by a Pole,Stanisław  Gzil.  Finding  themselves  in  aBelgian relegation battle, Marcin andMichał performed impressively. Eventuallymanaging to avoid the drop, anotherBelgian team, Excelsior Mouscron, came

swooping in for the pair; and in the summerof 1999 they switched Flanders for Hainaut.

Michał's  performances  even  caught  theattention of Janusz Wójcik, who called himinto the national team for a friendlytournament in Thailand. Having becomean important part of the national teamsince his first appearance against NewZealand, the two brothers were includedin Jerzy Engel's squad for the World Cupin Japan and South Korea. Michał went onto pick up his 26th and 27th caps forPoland, starting in the defeats against bothSouth Korea and Portugal.

Whilst Marcin went on to spend a total ofseven years at Mouscron, Michał movedon after just three. Both impressed the fansof  the  club massively,  but  it  was Michałwho earned the big move away. After 94league appearances (out of a possible102), Michał signed a deal at the country'smost famous club Anderlecht. Andfollowing his last appearance – a Cup Finaldefeat to Club Brugge – Michał separatedfrom his brother, with the transfer earninghis former club close to €1million.

In  his  first  season  in  Brussels,  Michałfound himself playing a huge role in the

“Paars-wit” defence. With 25 leagueappearances and run-outs in the UEFA

Michał ZewłakowFot.PZPN

Cup against sides including Stabaek,Midtjylland, Bordeaux and Panathiaikos,Żewłakow once again was prevented frompicking up his first league championshipmedal – this time Club Brugge finishing asChampions, leaving Anderlecht to settlefor second place. However, second placewas enough for the club to qualify for theChampions League preliminary rounds,and wins against Rapid Bucuresti andWisła Kraków gave Żewłakow his first tasteof Europe's biggest club competition.

Whilst eventually finishing bottom of agroup containing Olympique Lyon, BayernMunich and Celtic, the Purple-and-whiteswere storming in their domesticcompetition. Whilst their huge lead overBrugge slowly shrunk, Anderlecht stillmanaged to pick up their 27th leaguechampionship – Zewlakow's first majortrophy. Another failed Champions Leaguecampaign followed in 2004/05; once againfinishing bottom, in a group containingValencia, Internazionale and WerderBremen. And with a resurgent Club Bruggefighting their way back in the league,Żewłakow  once  more  missed  out  on  awinners medal – Anderlecht finishing 3points back in second.

2005/06 proved to be Michał's final seasonin Belgium. Making 31 appearances, hedid help Anderlecht to steal back theircrown from Club Brugge, but drawn in aChampions League group with Chelseaand Liverpool, they were once againunable to progress further. Now out ofcontract, a number of clubs showed theirinterest in Żewłakow, although he decidedto wait until after the summer's World Cupin Germany. And after missing just seven

minutes of Poland's ultimatelyunsuccessful tournament (losses toEcuador and Germany eliminated Polandbefore they defeated Costa Rica 2-1),Żewłakow  signed  a  contract  with  Greekchampions Olympiakos Piraeus – makinghis début in a 2-1 victory against SkodaXanthi.

Whilst Norwegian boss Trond Solleid (whohad previously managed Club Brugge, andhad  known  Michał  from  his  time  inBelgium) left the club days after Christmas,Żewłakow  prospered  in  Piraeus.  In  fourseasons in Greece, he helped theErythrolefki to not only three league titles,but also 2 Greek Cups and one Supercup.In  the  2008  Greek  Cup  Final,  Michałscored Olympiakos' second goal as theydefeated Aris Thessaloniki 2-0. He wasalso finally able to progress past the groupstage of the Champions League, doing soon two occasions. In 2007/08, the Greekchampions finished second behind RealMadrid before being knocked out in the lastsixteen to eventual finalists Chelsea, whilstin 2009-10 they progressed in a groupfeaturing Arsenal, Standard Liege and AZAlkmaar, before again bowing out in thenext round, losing 3-1 on aggregate toBordeaux.

During his time on the Aegean coast, healso helped his country to qualify for the2008 European Championships – Poland'sfirst appearance at the tournament. But itwould prove to be his last majorinternational  tournament.  The  Białe­Orływere eliminated in the group stage, whilsttheir 2010 World Cup Qualifying campaignresulted in a disappointing fifth-place finish

– with only San Marino keeping them off ofthe bottom. But whilst they may not havebeen  winning,  Żewłakow's  influencewas growing even more. At the end ofthe qualifying round, he sat level withWładysław Żmuda on 91 caps. Still witha few years of his career remaining, the34 year-old clearly had Grzegorz Lato'srecord 100 international appearanceswell in his sights.

Whilst a move to Turkish clubAnkaragücü in the summer of 2010didn't live up his to experiences atprevious clubs, Michał continued to pickup international caps at a fast rate.Jacek Bąk and Jacek's Krżynowek's 96caps were passed in a friendly againstCameroon, whilst Kazimierz Deyna's 97was  beaten  in  Łódź  against  Ukraine.And when Franciszek Smuda called thedefender into his squad for a NorthAmerican tour in December 2010,passing Lato's record was a formality.

Whilst Żewłakow's 101st cap in the 2­2draw against Ecuador looked to be hislast, a friendly against Greece, in his

former home stadium in Piraeus, providedthe perfect opportunity to say his goodbyes.Substitutes after 62 minutes of thegoalless draw, the centre-back received astanding ovation as he left the pitch.

Whilst his international career was over,one  trophy  still  evaded  Żewłakow  –  thePolish league title. Having only manageda silver medal at Polonia Warszawa in1998, he returned to his hometown in thesummer of 2011 after a 13-year exile,signing a one-year deal at Legia. But whilstLegia managed their second successivePolish Cup win, a Spring round collapsesaw them miss out on the Ekstraklasa title,eventually  finishing  third  behind  ŚląskWrocław  and  Ruch  Chorzów.  With  thedisappointment of missing out once more,a further one-year deal was signed – onelast chance for the elusive league title.

Whilst appearances under Jan Urbanproved  to be harder  to come by, Żewłakstill played a part for the Woskowi. Anown-goal in the final wasn't enough to stopLegia lifting the trophy in front of the Żyleta,whilst sixteen appearances were made inthe league. And when PodbeskidzieBielsko­Biała  defeated  Legia's  closestrivals  Lech  in  Poznań,  Żewłakow  finallyachieved the holy grail – the missingEkstraklasa gold medal to add to hisextensive collection.

Rather than the usual guard of honour asthe  player  leaves  the  pitch,  Żewłakow'sfinal appearance in the 5-0 victory againstŚląsk  came  from  off  of  the  bench.  Stillreceiving the traditional ovation, heentered the pitch replacing Dickson Choto

– taking the captain's armband on the way.

For a man so ingrained on Polish footballhistory, it is only fitting that his finalmoments as, not just a Legia player, but afootball player, were lifting the leaguechampionship in his hometown. Not manyget the chance to say goodbye in such astyle. There are not many who deserve itas much as Michał Żewłakow did.

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Legia’s True LeaderBy Michał Zachodny

With five minutes remaining of the crucialleague meeting between Legia Warszawaand Lech Poznań, the home side earn apenalty. Ivica Vrdoljak steps up to effectivelywin Legia the title…

"This team has no leaders," said JanUrban in one of countless interviewshe had this spring. Rising popularity ofLegia among Polish media wasobviously hurting the quality of hisopinion with certain tones repeatingitself, but surely that one had to standout. Surely, in a squad of suchexperience and quality, there shouldbe one person able to lead the line?

Michał Żewłakow played over hundredof matches for Poland, been at the topof European game. Danijel Ljuboja isone of the most famous player thatever graced domestic league, even ifmost of it comes from controversies hecaused.  Miroslav  Radović'sperformances over last two years havemade him also an important figure.Marek Saganowski is another obviouschoice, given his experience andstatus among Legia fans. DicksonChoto and Inaki Astiz, despite sufferingfrom injuries throughout the campaign,have offered a stability at the back andadvice to many younger team+mates.

And then there is another one, IvicaVrdoljak. Triple champion in Croatiawith Dinamo Zagreb, adding twodomestic cups as well, he still is thebiggest transfer any Polish club hasever made. But when Legia Warsawannounced the deal back in thesummer of 2010, with big pomp andproud of his pricetag of around €1.5m,many scratched their heads. Why payso much for a defensive midfielderinstead of goalscoring striker,especially at the age of 27, without anyinternational experience?

Given the armband straight away bymanager  Maciej  Skorża  even  thoughhe could barely speak Polish, Vrdoljakrarely produced anything that wouldmake Polish press justify his price andtransfer. Legia dropped even as low asto eleventh place in his early months,forcing him even to face questions ofwhether he regrets the move. "This

situation is new to me but I'm strongenough to handle it," he said.

There was a problem not only withresults but his adaptation to the league.After he received seven yellow cards inhis first eleven games in Poland, hehad to face accusations of being brutaltackler. Arguably, that is part ofVrdoljak's nature of which Legia wasaware at the time of pushing the dealthrough. Croatian midfielder who wastransferred to Dinamo Zagrebalongside his team+mate, MarioMandzukic, was always known for histoughness on the pitch. "I deservedeach card," Vrdoljak said.

First season in Poland ended with atrophy - the Polish Cup - but failure inthe league put even more pressure onLegia manager, Maciej Skorża. Hewas on his way out of the club butonly because famous Czechcoach, Vladimir Weiss, pull outof the deal at the lastmoment,  Skorża  remainedin his seat. Althoughscoring eight in justthirty-two games thatseason, Vrdoljak'smost importantrecord to the fansand media wasthe disciplinaryone - fourteenyellow cards anda single red one.His aggressionon the pitch wassomewhat explainable bythe way he wanted toprove his worth, but Legiadesperately lacked classand togetherness to getanywhere close RobertMaaskant's  WisłaKrakow. An away 4-0defeat to eventualchampions wasthe lowest pointof Vrdoljak'sopening year in

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Polish football.

The second one was even harder to takefor as ambitious player as Ivica Vrdoljak is.Legia could not reach the high level ofperformances in the league again, whileplaying really well in Europe and reachingthe 1/16 stage of Europa League, where aminimal defeat to Sporting Lisbon stoppedtheir march. Vrdoljak's season was hit withmicro injuries and win in Polish Cup wasagain only a distraction to the decision tosack  Maciej  Skorża  and  welcome  JanUrban again. With even more moneypumped in the squad, the pressure atLegia got only bigger and bigger as twosuccessive third-place finishes were notenough.

But in the 2012/13 season he played evenless. Only seven appearances were putdown to muscle injuries and only fewnoticed that he is missing - Legia wasplaying well, always close to the top andJan Urban introduced youngsters whoplayed well enough to gain internationalexperience.  Especially  Daniel  Łukasik,who proved as strong in the tackle, butperhaps showing more attacking intentwith his passes. Certainly, with Vrdoljakback from the injury only for the winterbreak and his place in the starting line upwas far from guaranteed.

With  Lech  Poznań  putting  pressure  onLegia it eventually all came down to thematch between these two sides at apacked Pepsi Arena in Warsaw. Hostswere far better team but failed to converttheir advantage as visitors looked satisfiedwith the draw. In a game of few chances itwas Ivica Vrdoljak - a changed man givenhis huge beard was gone after shave -who sent a delightful through pass toincoming Jakub Kosecki who sneaked infront  of  Mateusz  Możdżeń  and  washacked down in the box. All of thathappened in the 85th minute of the game- with Legia waiting long seven years forthe title, the pressure could not be higher.A chance to go five points clear at the topwith two games to go was at their hand.

Just who should take the decisivepenalty? Vladimir Dvalishhvili andMiroslav Radović were arguing but noneof them looked certain about taking theresponsibility. Ivica Vrdoljak, with anarmband again, reconciled them takingthe ball, putting it on the spot and takingfew steps for a run. His penalty was notperfect, small hesitation in his run up tothe ball could be noticed, but his shot wastoo powerful for Krzysztof Kotorowski tosave. Legia were the champions again.

It was the perfect moment for IvicaVrdoljak. Not a spectacular player but

definitely vital in the final run to the title,good tackler (only four yellow cards in hislast season) and better passer than hewas when he joined the club. He neededthat goal not only to justify his price tag,though. When Legia's spring started withonly four points from opening three games,his contract extension was put on hold andJan Urban claims on lacking leadership inthe side were also pointed at him. Now notonly the title itself but the way he playedand behaved in that crucial, definingmoment of the season proved that Legiahave a leader in Vrdoljak. For the feelingof being champions again, no-one fromLegia will care about the €1.5m spent onhim in the summer of 2010 any more.

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Poland’s Forgotten StadiumBy Ryan Hubbard

Once the pride and glory of Polish football,Chorzów's Stadion Slaski now sitsabandoned in the centre of Poland'sindustrial heartland. Under renovationnow for almost four years, work hasslowly ground to a halt after seriousconstruction malfunctions threatened toput lives at risk. Now with the localauthorities deciding on the future of thestadium, deadlines are constantly beingpushed further and further away. Theonce proud home of the national teamnow looks on as work on other newstadia in the country commences, andinevitably finishes. Waiting for its ownturn to be in the spotlight, hoping toregain its status as the home of Polishfootball - a title which has transferred 300kilometres north to the capital, Warsaw.A role which may never return.

Built out of the rubble of World War Two,the Śląski opened its doors to a "friendly"against East Germany in 1956. Despitea 2-0 defeat, the stadium quickly foundfavour amongst both the fans andauthorities. Despite its distance from thecapital, the massive

population of Upper Silesia combinedwith the popularity of the sport in theregion resulted in the national teammaking it their "home" in all but its officialtitle.

With the region's coal mines creating adeathly haze across the stadium, theearly evening sun providing an orangeglow, and the screams of over 80,000supporters bursting eardrums, it is of nowonder that English journalistsnicknamed the stadium "The WitchesCauldron" - right before Robert Godochaand Włodzimierz Lubański fired the Białe­Orły to a famous 2­0 win.

The stadium's tunnel famouslysuppressed the noise from the crowduntil the last moment, with many visitingplayers commenting on the intimidatingatmosphere inside. During the 53 yearhistory of the ground, Italy, USSR andNetherlands (twice) all came away fromChorzów with nothing but a ringing intheir ears.

The  Stadion  Śląski  was  just  as,  andmaybe even more intimidating, when clubsides came to play. Over its history,

Ruch Chorzów, GKS Katowice, PoloniaBytom, and even GKS Tychy used thestadium on their European adventures,to various successes. However the mostsuccessful club side to use the groundwas Górnik Zabrze. During the sixtiesand early seventies Górnik were adominating force in Polish football, liftingeight league titles and six Polish cups ina twelve year period. Qualifying forEuropean competition, Górnik decided toplay their continental ties in neighbouringChorzów rather than their own smallerstadium in Zabrze. The decision provedto be a good one, with the Trójkolorowionly losing three of their seventeenEuropean games there.

With their continental tenure at theStadion Śląski  spanning over  20  years,Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United,Manchester City, Dinamo Kyiv andGlasgow Rangers were all defeated.Only Sparta Prague, Real Madrid andBayern Munich managed to beat Górnikin Poland, and during their 1963 meetingwith Austria Vienna, the stadium'sbiggest ever crowd was recorded as120,000 Silesians crammed in to see thehome side record a 1-0 victory.

The "Kocioł Czarownic" wasn't just usedfor continental clashes either. Over theyears a numer of Wielkie Derby Śląska(Great Silesian Derbies) between Ruchand Górnik utilised the stadium insteadof Ruch's tiny ground. It was also usedfor the Polish Cup final, with the 2009edition being the last. There, soon-to-bePolish national boss Franciszek Smudaand his Lech Poznań side defeated Ruch,

After missing out on hosting games at Euro 2012, Chorzów’sSilesian Stadium has suffered more than its fair share ofproblems. With no end in sight to its construction, whatlies ahead for the former home of Polish football?

@Ryan_Hubbard

managed by his future successorWaldemar Fornalik.

And with the stadium spending its finalyears as a 47,000 all-seater, it's finalgame was in front of an even furtherreduced crowd as just 4000 witnessedPoland's 1-0 World Cup Qualifying loss toneighbours Slovakia.

CONSTRUCTIONWith Poland bidding to co-host the 2012European Championships, the localauthorities decided that it would be theperfect time to renovate the stadium,which after years of mistreatment wasbeginning to look worse for wear. Plansfocused on adding an extra tier to threesides of the ground - increasing thecapacity to 55,000, whilst also giving thestadium a polycarbonate roof (at43,000m2, one of the biggest in the world)and modernising the exterior. And straightafter the final game, the bulldozers movedin to begin the renovation.

Given an estimated completion date of2011,  the  Śląski  was  included  on  theshortlist for Euro 2012, although alaxidasical campaign from Silesianauthorities quickly saw the region miss outon hosting even a single game. Inhindsight, the call was a good one. Withdelays mounting and deadlines constantlychanging, it was quickly apparent that theŚląski would not have been ready for thebig kick-off anyway.

The biggest problem at the stadiumoccurred in July 2011 during a part of theproject called "The Big Lift". As a sectionof the giant cover was due to be lifted intoplace, attachment mechanisms whichhold the steel cables supporting the roofsnapped under extreme tension. Whilst

no-one was injured, the malfunction didcause both the construction workers andthe guests of the stadium's hotel to beevacuated.

Whilst the construction has sufferedimmensely, the accident actually turnedout to be a blessing in disguise.Numerous experts went on to claim thatthe roof's design was unsafe, with oneeven going on record to say that if workcontinued with the current design,thousands of lives could be lost shouldthe roof collapse.

With work grinding to a halt, the UpperSilesian authorities now had three options.Either the roof would have to becompletely redesigned, scrapped, or allrenovations would be suspended, barelymaking the stadium operable once more.With the stadium already close to fourtimes  its  original  102  million  złoty(£27million) budget, it is unsurprising thatthe voivodeship chose the mostinexpensive option. And almost two yearsafter the original problem, it was decidedthat the roof was to still be included.

THE FUTUREThe construction of Warsaw's 55,000capacity Stadion Narodowy has leftserious doubts as to what the Śląski willbe used for upom completion. With thePZPN declaring that the capital's newarena will now become the home of thenational team, the uses for Chorzów'sredeveloped stadium may be extremelylimited. Upon receiving the news theSilesian authorities even went as far aschanging the ground's planned colourscheme, from the Polish red-and-white to

the blue-and-yellow of the Silesian flag -giving it a more"local feel".

Although the stadium will likely gain mostof its income from hosting athletics,speedway and music concerts, thatdoesn't mean that Silesia's centrepiecewould be completely devoid of the sportwhich made it so famous. The Śląski hasbeen touted as a possible home forEkstraklasa side Ruch Chorzów, althoughthey currently struggle to fill their 10,000capacity stadium now. And with securityproblems prohibiting the StadionNarodowy from hosting club games, itcould be an ideal venue for the finals ofboth the Polish Cup and the Supercup.

PZPN president Zbigniew Boniek also hasdecided that the stadium could bid to hostgames at the 2020 EuropeanChampionships - scheduled to be playedin a number of European countries. WithBoniek's friend and former Juventus team-mate Michel Platini in charge at UEFA, itjust may have a chance.

However the construction problems meanthat we're still a long way off of seeing anysporting action return to the Stadion Śląski.With work still trundling along at a snail'space and the estimated completion dateof July 2015 seemingly nothing more thana stab in the dark, there is still a few moreyears before the country can be proud ofits forgotten stadium once more. But eventhen it might be much too late.

@Ryan_Hubbard

Fot. PZPN

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The view from the gantryBy Mike McKennaWhilst many Poles wonder why foreigners enjoy watching theEkstraklasa, when you watch it as your day job, it’s hard notto fall in love…

Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? A highlyenjoyable Polish league season, withplenty of twists and turns at the top andbottom of the table, a few crazy decisionsby club owners, referees, the PZPN andsome wonderful action on the pitch. It’sbeen a privilege for me to cover, and Iknow my colleague and fellowcommentator Oscar Chamberlain wouldsay exactly the same.

There’s a lot for us to look back on overthe course of the season, but before I doI’d like to take a little time out for personalreflection. You see, I still consider myself

relatively “new” to Polish football and itsfrequent surprise factor.

I mean sure, I remember watching RobertLewandowski score every week for LechPoznań,  I  even  remember  when Wisławere a good side (I’m kidding Wisła fans!)However, I was still totally naïve when itcame to the relegation battle (who’dexpect the bottom two sides to play likechampions for the entire spring round?)and also the so-called form sidesdropping like flies in the second half ofthe season. This is the first year whenI’ve been able to watch the league fromthe first kick of the ball to the last and not

dipped in and out like I do withmost leagues I cover, and itgoes without saying that I’mnow totally hooked on Polishfootball.

This can be summed up by megoing in to one of the othercompanies that I work for onthe penultimate day of theEnglish Premier Leagueseason where I could watchpretty much any game beingplayed in the world at that time.Instead of choosing to watcha big English, German,Spanish or Italian game, Iinstead found myself a freebooth and settled down towatch  Jagiellonia  v  Wisła  inthe hours prior to my (non-Polish) kick off. Or that the lasttime I started a new career ona certain football managementcomputer game I chose tostart at OKS Stomil Olsztyn.Or my desperate huntingaround for internet feeds sothat I could watch the PolishU21s against Lithuania, of all

sides. It’s a league I’ve immersedmyself in, and I’ve loved doing so.Anyway, enough gushing about mynew love affair and onto the footballitself.

Even the most ardent of LechPoznań fans would struggle to convinceme that Legia weren’t worthy championsthis year. Not only were they top of thetable from October, but at times theyplayed the type of football that wouldhave me out of my seat in excitement,and with several young players at the fore.We saw some players at other clubs havewonderful Autumn or Spring rounds, butover the course of the season it’s difficultto look beyond Jakub Kosecki as myplayer of the year. Without him, Legiawere simply not the same side. He addscreativity and vision, and his ability toglide past players makes me believe hecould step up to regular football for boththe national team and in Europe verycomfortably indeed. The goal he scoredagainst Widzew in November was trulyindicative of his talent, and had it beenscored in England we’d never have heardthe end of it!

Lech’s form in the Spring was remarkableas they pushed the champions all theway to the finish line. Any side who cantake 37 out of a possible 45 points awayfrom home deserves great credit, andthere’s no reason to suggest that theycan’t come again next year. The signingof Kasper Hämäläinen was an inspiredpiece of business from coach MariuszRumak, and the Finnish internationalcertainly lit up the Ekstraklasa for me. Hisvision was key to ensuring Lech brokedown many stubborn defences in theirplethora of 1-0 wins, and I would besurprised if he’s not already on the lips ofthe many scouts who make the trip to thebanks of the Warta. It’s imperative forLech that they lose that fear they have ofplaying at home sometimes if they are togo one better next year, and even moreso if they are to progress in Europeancompetition, but that ability to grind outaway wins will hold them in good stead.

I found Piast Gliwice’s story to perhapsbe the most interesting of the lastEkstraklasa year. For a newly promotedclub to settle so confidently in the topflight and then have the audacity to finishin a European spot is truly remarkable,and they did so by playing good football.There is a theory that perhaps some ofthe romance has disappeared from worldfootball, but Marcin Brosz’s men perhapsproved otherwise, and he may well be a

Fot. PZPN/CyfraSport

wanted man this summer. It will beinteresting to see if they suffer from thedreaded ‘second season syndrome’ nextyear, and also to see how such a smallsquad adapts to the rigours of Europeanfootball. Of course, there’s no doubt thatPiast were helped by Górnik’s implosionin the spring, where they lost 10 of their15 games, but Piast picked up big winsover the campaign including a doubleover Śląsk Wrocław, not  to mention  thefright they gave Legia back in the Autumn.If I was to give out a prize for over-achievers of the year, Piast would take itby a mile.

Of course, not every story can have ahappy ending, and themisery of Polonia’s season isultimately Piast’s antithesis,despite the two sidesfinishing just 4 points apart.You can read about Poloniain more detail elsewhere inthe magazine so I won’t saytoo much, but to see a clubof such history who thoughtthey had won the battle oftheir lives last summer bestripped of their veryexistence is tragic for anytrue football fan. ConsideringPolonia were the greatentertainers in the Autumn,they were chiselled down intoa shell of their former selvesby the time the clocks wentforward, but we can onlyhope that their supportersand investors can save theclub no matter the level theyare to be involved at nextyear.

Like every fan of Polish football, I’mhoping to see genuine improvement at aEuropean level next year, especially afterthe many disappointments from last Julyand August. If we cast our minds back,clubs were perhaps caught out by theeuphoria of the European Championshipsand so were a little light in theirpreparation, but for whatever reasonthere’s no doubt Polish clubs were caughtunawares in qualifying.

Of course, there can be no excuse of theEuros this time around, and perhapsclubs will be in better physical conditionthanks to the new start date of the season,which gets underway the weekend of July

13th. That midweek all 4 Polish sides aredue to start their qualifying campaigns,and so hopefully all will be in pristinecondition ahead of kick off. Legia inparticular were caught cold by Rosenborgof Norway, who were of course well intotheir domestic season last year by thetime the tie came around, and so the newstarting date will hopefully go some wayto countering that.

In theory Legia should also benefit fromUEFA’s change of regulations to seedingfor the competition, and so while a coupleof years ago they could have met the likesof Arsenal, Schalke or AC Milan, they’llnow meet the likes of Celtic or Basel ifthey make the play off round, whichshould give Jan Urban’s men genuinehope of qualifying. Indeed, if they cankeep adding to their squad in the mannerthey are while keeping their best playersaround, they have a marvellous chance.

In  the  Europa  League,  both  ŚląskWrocław and Lech Poznań will  feel theycan improve on last year’s Europeanshowing, while it’s perhaps reasonable toexpect Piast Gliwice to take thecompetition a little less seriously and justlook enjoy themselves and see where ittakes them. I was pleased to seeSebastian Mila had agreed a new deal inWrocław as he is one of the shining lightsof the Ekstraklasa for me, and if Śląsk canfind a goal scorer this summer, they willfeel European football won’t be beyondthem either.

It has been a season I’ll never forget, with highs like Abdou Razak Traore’s over-head kickfor Lechia against Lech or Przemysław Kaźmierczak’s 30 yard rocket at Ruch, and the lowpoints such as the events at Polonia (or if you’re a Wisla fan, the early season performancesof Sergei Pareiko!) and I’m already counting down the days to the start of the next one.

In my job at this time of year I traditionally suffer from the post season blues, but with thenew season already on my horizon I’m beginning my research for the new campaign. It’s ashame to lose both Polonia and GKS Bełchatów, but this year has taught me never to writeoff any side who looks dead and buried at Christmas time, and in Piast’s case, old fashionedRoy-of-the-Rovers type football still happens. And that, my friends, is wonderfully energisingafter years of being jaded by the pomp and ceremony of the introverted Premier League.

Now I just need to work out how to pronounce Zawisza Bydgoszcz…

“I stayed so that Śląskcould join the legends.”

By Michał DzidaAt the Ekstraklasa Gala, Sebastian Mila was awarded as thebest midfielder of the league. Śląsk Wrocław’s captain talksto “Sportowy Obiektyw” editor-in-chief Michał Dzida aboutpast season, future plans and much more!

“Ekstraklasa Magazine”: You werechosen by Ekstraklasa players as thebest midfield player, but who did yougive your vote to?

Sebastian Mila: It was a while ago, butas far as I remember, my vote wasgiven to Dominik Furman from LegiaWarsaw. I also give a lot of credit toJakub Kosecki, Szymon Pawłowski forthis season as well.

- Do you give more credit to currentnew talents like Furman, than tothose of previous generations?

I see that this guys are better preparedand trained than the previousgenerations. They are also moreprofessional and have stronger attitudetowards their targets. Clubs these daystake much more care of youngerplayers. Training facilities are also muchbetter these days.

- To summarise the season in furtheraspects. Who was the bestgoalkeeper of the season then?

Zubas from Belchatów has made somefantastic saves, especially in thesecond part of the season. We alsohave to remember about goalkeeperslike Trela, Skorupski, Kuciak, Kelemenand Gikiewicz.

- Talking Zubas, everyone is over themoon abut him. But do you see himin a bigger club, with more pressureevery match performing at the samelevel as in Bełchatów?

Well, that’s a good point. In footballsometimes you have a great season butthe next one may be a whole of adifferent story. Especially, if you are in ateam, which is expected to win everygame and perform on a high level. Forsome players it a big problem and manyof us not only in Poland can’t cope withbig expectations. It’s a mentalityproblem, we are only humans.

- Who was the toughest defender hisseason?

It was a difficult season for me as anoffensive midfielder, because thedefenders have become strongcompetitors. If I was to choosesomeone I would say Jarek Bieniukfrom Lechia Gdańsk was in great shape

in the match against Śląsk. TomekJodłowiec, Adam Danch, or Dąbrowskifrom Pogoń Szczecin have also beentough opponents. We can’t forget aboutLegia’s Bereszyński!

- What about him?

I remember when we played at Lech thisseason and he came on in the secondhalf, as a striker. After the game I cameto Paweł Barylski from our coachingstaff and I told him that Bereszyński willgrow to be one of the best strikers ofyoung generations in Poland! I startedwatching Bereszyński and a quicklyrealized that he is a son of my formerteam mate, who I played alongside inGrodzisk. I am really happy for Bartek toplay so well and develop his career.

- His example is a great case studyabout the transfer market in Poland.Why don’t more Ekstraklasa clubs goon to search such “bargains”?

I’ll tell you why! In my opinion clubs don’thire formers players as scouts. I havebeen in some talks with Śląsk aboutbecoming a scout after I finish myfootball career. I would love to travelaround the country and watch somelower league games in order to look forsome starlets. What’s the way for theclubs to use the potential of Polishplayers.

- All right, but what aboutsome wrong syndromeshappening to some youngplayers. Maybe sometimeswe “make” them big starstoo early. And some ofthem get to big contractspretty soon and they startto perform only outsidethe pitch…

It’s very difficult to define. It’sa problem not only withyoung players, but with allplayers. There are a lot offactors, which we have toconsider. Sometimes theweaker form is not only aneffect of an injury, but alsosome off the pitch problems,with family, or at school etc.Sometimes it’s due a form ofthe whole team, or astronger competition thatcomes in the team at thecertain position. But in myopinion it’s not a big issue

this days. The sort of step-back whichhappens to some of young players is stillsmaller than in used to be. They aresimply more professional.

- Which striker impressed you themost is the 2012/2013 season?

Foremost, Robert Demjan fromPodbeskidzie has done great job hisseason. Michal Papadopulos fromZagłębie has got a great timing on thepitch. Marek Saganowski, WladimirDwalishvili and Bartek Ślusarski are alsoworth mentioning.

­ Ślask manager, Stanislav Levy is atarget of hundreds of mems andjokes on the internet. What is he likeas a person, compared to his publicimage?

He is a pure professional. We don’t havemuch time to see him through his socalled „internet image”. He has got a lotof distance towards himself andeveryone around him. He is a frequentjoker as well. So he hasn’t got anyproblem with the “internet image”.

­ Śląsk had some turbulent times.What can we expect from your team inthe next season?

Śląsk is a club with some tradition.Wrocław has got a massive footballhunger. We are a strong force inEkstraklasa after last three seasons.The club has made huge steps forward.There is a certain direction taken by theclub owners. They want Śląsk to join thegroup of the most titled clubs in Polandlike Legia, Górnik or Ruch and becomea powerhouse of the league. That’s wayI decided to stay. I requires years andthe owners realize it.

- You have signed a new three yearcontract. Is Śląsk going to be the lastclub in your career?

I will see how this three years will go on.If I stay in good shape and will avoidserious injuries then I think that I will beavailable to sign next contract. That’s allI know for now.

Michał Dzida

@michaldzida

Editor, Sportowy Obiektyw

The Good XIBy Ryan Hubbard and Michał ZachodnyThe best eleven of the season; voted by theeditors of #Ekstraklasa Magazine.

Emilijus Zubas (GKSBełchatów)Was he the best secret ever keptby Lithuania? Six months in Polandwas enough to gain him areputation, almost save the cluband move to Legia, perhaps?

Bartosz Bereszyński (LegiaWarszawa)

How on earth Mariusz Rumak could not see what a right backhe has in his team? Jan Urban clearly knew better and settled

"Beresz" in title winning squad.

Marcin Kamiński (Lech) Poznań)One of the reasons for which Lech survived without ManuelArboleda. Solid as rock at the heart of their defence, reading thegame very well.

Artur Jędrzejczyk (Legia Warszawa)Moved from right back to the central role, he was one of Legia'ssilent heroes this season. Developed steadily and earned hismove abroad.

Paweł Golański (Korona Kielce)He used his experience well in an otherwise average season forKorona. A true character, even if problematic at times for referees.

Piotr Cwielong (Sląsk Wrocław)If you look at the goals he scored, he was one of Sląsk's mostdecisive players. He raised his game despite being almost outof club last summer.

Sebastian Mila (Sląsk Wrocław)Apparently he is too slow for the national team but his decisionmaking is still at the highest level in Poland. Great vision andleft foot. Worth every penny Sląsk paid him.

Tomasz Podgórski (Piast Gliwice)He may not be spectacular midfielder, but definitely was one ofleague top performers this year. Provided goals and assistswhile driving Piast forward, all the way to Europe.

Jakub Kosecki (Legia Warszawa)Cheeky little winger, brave dribbler with great pace, shining lightin an otherwise often boring league. One for the future, definitely.

Robert Demjan (Podbeskidzie Bielsko­Biała)Huge sensation of the season and probably the best reason whyPodbeskidzie is still in the league. Great confidence, strengthwhen he was on the goalscoring run.

Maciej Korzym (Korona Kielce)What? Two Korona players in The Good XI? Yes - Korzym hadhis best season and it's a crying shame he got injured at thevery end. We hope he will bounce back soon!

MANAGER: Jan Urban (Legia Warszawa)Great goal record and the historic double, should fans ask formore? Yes, but although the style was rarely seen in the laterstages of theseason, histeam simplykept winning.

The Bad XIBy Ryan Hubbard and Michał ZachodnyThe eleven players who haven’t performed aswell as we’d hoped - voted for by the editorsof #Ekstraklasa Magazine.

Michał Gliwa(Zagłębie Lubin)The Butterhands ofthe league - in eachgame he played,Lower Silesia derbyaside, he was thebiggest threat for hisown team. Thatsays it all.

Kebba Ceesay(Lech Poznań)Controversial choice? Definitely. But his behavior wasn'talways up to the standards and the way he was destroyed byKosecki proved Lech really could do better than him.

Oleksandr Szeweluchin (Górnik Zabrze)Too slow to catch a turtle and big ships are making turns fasterthan him. Awful season of many dreadful performances. Hardto think why Nawałka picked him so often?

Arkadiusz Głowacki (Wisła Kraków)Yet another season hit by injuries but that will not cover up forsome lack of focus. Mistimed challenges combined with poordecisions - must be better than that!

Mariusz Pawelec (Sląsk Wrocław)Stanislav Levy almost devastated few substitutes benchesbecause of his mistakes. Once was strong in challenge, nowonly reckless. Awful when going forward too.

Ivica Iliev (Wisła Krakow)A player as experienced as him should at least care. He wasoffered a chance at Wisła, changed positions but played onlyworse and worse. Failed in Poland, now on his way out.

Dalibor Stevanović (Sląsk Wrocław)Despite his passing being slick and accurate, he was quiteawful and unproductive in destruction. No, there is betterexpression than that - he was simply lazy!

Grzegorz Bonin (Górnik Zabrze)Why, oh why he was offered yet another chance at Górnik?He was so bad that once when he faced an open goal, hecould only score from the rebound after hitting the bar first!

Takafumi Akahosi (Pogoń Szczecin)Awful, awful hairstyle - whichever you choose from his season.At first he played quite well but soon he showed his true nature.Almost every decision was... wrong.

Daniel Sikorski (Wisła Kraków)It may not be his fault -after all, someone tookthe decision to sign him.But he never will be aprolific striker. Or nevershould be a pro footballerin the first place?

Daniel Gołębiewski(Polonia Warszawa)So bad that his coachmoved him to play as aleft wing-back. Wheneverhe tried to score, hetripped - at least he actually succeeded few times!

MANAGER: Tomasz Hajto (Jagiellonia Białystok)He always claimed to know better than anyone else, justbecause he played in the Bundesliga once. Former defenderwho failed to put pieces together in his Jaga's defence.

The Ugly XIBy Ryan Hubbard and Michał ZachodnyThe eleven players who have made us cringein one way or another, voted for by theeditors of #Ekstraklasa Magazine.

Sergei Pareiko (Wisła Kraków)The craziest goalkeeper this league had in recent years?Probably. But he also allowed too many easy goals this season,showing also more aggression towards... everyone else.

Patrik Mraz (Sląsk Wrocław)He showed up at training after night of drinking and was kickedout of the club. One of the worst left-backs this season. WhySląsk have signed him in the first place?

Ugo Ukah (Jagiellonia Białystok)Actually, his best performance this season came when he shota TV ad. On the pitch he committed too many blunders, alwaysblaming others too. And his disciplinary record speaks for itself.

Piotr Stawarczyk (Ruch Chorzów)We had to add someone from Ruch and he was one of theirworst players this year. He showed his true nature this year,as his decisions cost them precious points.

Kamil Kuzera (Korona Kielce)He reached the highest levels of aggression but was nowherenear with his football - matched Korona's characteristicsperhaps too well.

Robert Jeż (Zagłębie Lubin)Often described as Pavel Hapal's favourite, he must have beendoing something right at practice to play that much. But in theleague? Lazy, bored, frustrated. Never liked by the crowds.

Robert Szczot (OlimpiaGrudziądz)Not as much as the playerhimself but for his hair. Evenworse each time he decides tochange it.

Marcin Borski (PZPN)Alright, so maybe he hasn't kicked the ball as much, but surelyno other personality in the league has affected (negatively) asmany games as this certain referee, right?

Tomasz Kulawik (Wisła Kraków)If only Polish fans had equivalent of "You don't know whatyou're doing" chant, Tomasz Kulawik would hear it at everygame.

Cristian Diaz (Sląsk Wrocław)At one point he was so fat that he was made to jogg round thepitch after each training session. Not as profilic in front of goalas he was at the dinner table, sadly.

Danijel Ljuboja (Legia Warszawa)Truly brilliant player and one of our favourites... If he simplyhadn't been simulating heart problems just to get quicker tothe bar. Should behave better.

SPECIAL MENTION: Ireneusz Król (Polonia Warszawa)That bunch of league's most ugliest players should be(mis)managed by the biggest failure of them all. He promisedso much, delivered so little - put Polonia into the grave. Wedon't want people like him in the game.

@Ryan_Hubbard

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