Everything FEATURES: you need to know about every . The money, personalities Ekstraklasa club - managers, and players of the Polish players, statistics, star names, game fans' views and much more! . Stadiums: after the Euros, what now? Struggles in the Champions . League . Polonia - the biggest mess in Europe INTERVIEWS: . Kibu Vicuna . James Sinclair . Ben Starosta . Paweł Abbott I N A S S O C I A T I O N W I T H #EKSTRAKLASA - CLUBS #EKSTRAKLASA - CLUBS CREDITS #EKSTRAKLASA MAGAZINE zLazienkowskiej.blogspot.com The Team Editor: Michał Zachodny - polishscout.blogspot.com - Twitter: @polishscout Co-editor: Ryan Hubbard - EKSTRAKLASAreview.co.uk - Twitter: @Ryan_Hubbard Graphics/Design: Rafał Tromczyński - flavors.me/traanZ - Twitter: @Tromczynski Writer/Contributor: Andrzej Gomołysek - taktycznie.net - Twitter: @taktycznie Writer/Contributor: Marcus Haydon - Twitter: @marcusjhaydon Writer: Jakub Krzyżostaniak - www.lechinusa.com - Twitter: @KubaLech Writer: Tomasz Krzyżostaniak - www.lechinusa.com - Twitter: @TKLech Writer: Jakub Olkiewicz - Twitter: @JOlkiewicz Proof-reader: Lucas Wilk - Twitter: @LucasWilk Proof-reader: Simon Rees - Twitter: @simonrees73 Proof-reader: Matthew Joseph - Twitter: @elegantgraffiti #EKSTRAKLASA - EDITORS #EKSTRAKLASA - EDITORS Editor’s view Editor’s view Ryan Hubbard Michał Zachodny EKSTRAKLASAreview.co.uk PolishScout.blogspot.com Isn’t it interesting what a summer can do for a country’s image? Just a few months ago people were clamour- If one word could fully describe what kind of league Ekstraklasa really is then „specific” is the only answer. ing, led in part by the BBC, to criticise Poland and their footballing authorities for “widespread racism and Why? Well, this is exactly why we decided to take the challenge of preparing this magazine for you. We be- violence” inside the nation’s football stadia. lieve that there are dozens of stories worth telling and showing how colorful Polish football is – from laugh- able decisions of the authorities to the devoted yet often problematic supporters. Debatable sackings, awful Now, after a month-long feast of football in Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Warsaw, many fans have returned referees’ mistakes, brilliant goals, poor tackles, good and some really bad footballers, promising talents and loud fans. Welcome in Poland. from their Euro 2012 adventures with tales of cheap beer, excellent facilities, and some of the most friendly and welcome people that you could wish to meet. For what now seems like decades, Polish clubs has been neglected from the European main stage, rarely giv- ing a wider audience a chance to check what football means in Euro 2012 co-host’s country. The tournament Let’s not beat around the bush - the Polish Ekstraklasa is a completely different kettle of fish compared to allowed Poles to show what kind of people we are (Sol Campbell, I hope you were watching!), how our stadi- the international spectacle that millions have recently witnessed. Some stadia, especially the older ones, can ums, cities look, how our beer tastes… have hostile atmospheres, and to a first time fan it can be a little intimidating - my first experience of Ruch Chorzów’s crumbling terraces were a perfect example of this. But once you’ve experienced the thrill of an Yet for Polish club football, Euro 2012 should only be the beginning, a new, fresh start after disastrous decade Ekstraklasa atmosphere, I am quite confident you will be hooked. tarnished by huge match-fixing scandal with still ongoing investigation. While the professionalism kicks in, we are witnessing a very hard learning process of introducing basic marketing, club managing techniques, operation of structures building and, at last but not least, how to improve the level of football. After my trip to Chorzów, experiences with the ultras at Wisła Kraków, and in the two contrasting stadia of Śląsk Wrocław and Górnik Zabrze have since followed – each one reaffirming the reasons why I fell in love Last year, Ekstraklasa was given a chance to go abroad, signing several broadcasting deals that made Polish with the Ekstraklasa, and the country itself, in the first place. If you love watching football in Europe and you football at least a bit more global – now the net gets even wider and the likes of Wisła Kraków, Śląsk Wrocław haven’t been to Poland, try it. I’m sure you’ll come away with similar feelings. and Legia Warszawa are introduced to the households in the United Kingdom. For every reason, domestic clubs should do everything to make it as attractive product as possible – or at least understand that someone The standard of football may admittedly not quite be as high as some of the western leagues, but for entertain- may be interested in finding out what the league is about. ment and drama, the Poland’s premier competition is second to none. Four sides entered the last day of the 2011/12 season with a chance of lifting the title; and even in the close season, talks of mergers and bankruptcy At that point, we would like to thank every club that agreed to help us out, every person that decided to be the have kept interest in the league high. part of the project that was made out of passion only. We have came across some fantastic people, helpful and friendly, optimistic about the whole thing. But – as Ryan would tell you – the ignorance presented by few and their failure to recognize how little (no goods!) we want in exchange for introducing them to the completely Now that the Ekstraklasa is to be shown live on British TV for the first time, there has never been a better time new market… We will not name these people, teams nor organizations – they are not worth it. to learn about one of Europe’s fastest growing leagues. I sincerely hope that there are better times coming for Polish club football, even if the results of our teams in With that in mind, myself, Michał and a whole host of excellent writers have put together this guide, with the Europe are disappointing. Even if the very recent summer showed the mess inside both, the federation and ultimate aim of introducing a whole new audience to Polish football. Featuring articles on everything from the league, I see the potential that can make Ekstraklasa an attractive and interesting product, a very serious Polish clubs in Europe to a guide to the Pierwsza Liga, and interviews with a number of coaches and players, alternative to better, yet more sickening because of fans’ restrictions, surreal money involved football you may my hope is that this guide will lead you to become as enthralled in the Polish Ekstraklasa as I have over the know and watch already. last five-or-so years. We wanted to paint the full picture, not forgetting about the bad part, problems that surround football in gen- eral, not only the Ekstraklasa and I. Liga. The whole team would like to thank you for deciding to give a read So if you haven’t already; read on, pick a club, and get ready for the big kick-off on August 17th. We’ve got and chance to show what the beautiful game in Poland really is. We hope that it is only a start. a thrilling season ahead of us. Michał Zachodny Ryan Hubbard Editor, PolishScout.blogspot.com Editor, EKSTRAKLASAreview.co.uk #EKSTRAKLASA - CLUBS #EKSTRAKLASA - CLUBS What’s inside? #Ekstraklasa Magazine New season’s 8-10 polonia (RH) coming up... 11-13 10 players (MH) 14-15 authorities (MZ) 16-17 champions’ struggle (MH) 18-19 mired in mediocrity (JK) 20 stadiums post Euro (JK) 21-22 the one that got away (MZ) 12 13 23 adam nawałka interview (AK) 24 rafał ulatowski interview (MZ) 25 marcin dorna interview (MZ) 26-27 paweł abbott interview (RH) 28-29 fans in poland (JO) ...you know where 30-31 poland is new germany (SF) you should be... 32-34 ekstraklasa fixtures 12/13 35 - 36 ekstraklasa stats 11/12 37 - 101 ekstraklasa clubs’ pages 102-105 I. liga, clubs 106-107 on the other side (RH) 108-109 ‘nomad’ enjoys the life (RH) 110-112 ben’s twisted career (RH) 114 credits #EKSTRAKLASA - FEATURE #EKSTRAKLASA - FEATURE The first season back in the top flight was a relative success for Spaniard Bakero. After helping the club to avoid the drop, and Polonia; a fourth-placed finish allowed the Czarne Koszule to also presiding over the Czarne Koszule’s first win over cross- Europe’s biggest mess compete in the following season’s Europa League – and with town rivals Legia in ten years, Bakero was becoming increasing- Wojciechowski willing to spend more money, Konwiktorską ly annoyed by the owner’s constant interference in team matters. If you were looking for one club that’s been in unimaginable troubles throughout recent summer, then Polonia was becoming very optimistic. But despite flying high, a conflict After forcing him to drop players, and installing Directors of Warszawa should be your pick. Threatened to be swept away from Poland’s football map, in danger of moving between owner and manager saw the dismissal of the latter be- Football without his knowledge, the coach resigned his position to different city and then in difficult talks about what the future should be like - being a “Black shirts” fan was fore the season had even finished. during the summer of 2010. not enjoyable at all recently - here is Ryan Hubbard with the best and the worst story of the the year. Zieliński’s replacement didn’t last too long either. Former Polish But amazingly, fearing he’d made a mistake, Bakero crawled international Jacek Grembocki managed to guide Polonia past back to Wojciechowski asking for his job back. Even more sur- Montenegrans Buducnost Podgorica and San Marino’s AC Ju- prisingly, Wojciechowski actually accepted Bakero’s apology venes/Dogana before coming unstuck against NAC Breda.