Interviews: PZPN Vice-President Roman Kosecki Polonia midfielder Paweł Wszołek Sports Tonight TV’s Ed Draper Articles: PZPN Elections The Pięćdziesiąt ­ 50 top young players Financial Struggles Ekstraklasa and I.Liga Round-ups And much more!!! Issue Two - Winter 2012/2013 PLUS: Win a fantastic Custom Football t-shirt from CultZeros.co.uk - p.60 Sponsors/Patronages The #Ekstraklasa Magazine team would like to thank the following: Slasknet.com Contributors Contributors Editor: Ryan Hubbard - @Ryan_Hubbard - EKSTRAKLASAreview.co.uk Editor: Michał Zachodny @polishscout polishscout.blogspot.com Andrzej Gomołysek @taktycznie taktycznie.net Bartosz Barnaś czasfutbolu.pl Michał Dzida @MichalDzida Robert Błaszczak @robertblaszczak Marcus Haydon - @marcusjhaydon Emre Sarigul - @Turkish_Futbol - turkish-football.com Andrew Gibney - @Agibneyftbl - frenchfootballweekly.com Chris Mayer - @thebelgianwffle - thebelgianwaffle.co.uk Ian Capasso - @serieAzzurri - serieazzurri.com Meghan D’Amore - @thefootylady Gary Linton - @albaespana - albaespana.net Domm Norris - @dommnorris - sfunion.net Gareth Lloyd - @El_Lloydie Artwork: Ryan Hubbard - @Ryan_Hubbard Contact: [email protected] Facebook.com/EkstraklasaMagazine Cover Photo courtesy of Lechia Gdańsk Editors Whenever you feel lonely, forgotten or just bored Editor Notes: without the Ekstraklasa this winter, we have prepared a rather interesting reminder of what Michał Polish football is all about… Unfortunately, for the next two months we will not be able to see a single misplaced pass, miss-kicked ball, golden opportunity missed and flopped save going in – pitches are frozen, footballs are locked, players are on the beaches, managers watch the same Zachodny matches all over again. We, for better or for worse, can only discuss. #Ekstraklasa Magazine is the place for debate. One of our aims Polishscout. was not only to create a quarterly that explains you what Polish game is all about, but also to show everything that is beneath the mediocrity of players and managers. Great talents that are slowly putting their names in the notebooks of scouts from all over blogspot.com Europe, or a rich history with players who, if not for the communism, would be gracing finest pitches of Spain, France, Germany and England long before Wayne Rooney was born. We are here to explain and show; Why the biggest problem is the way clubs spend their money? Which manager is the worst dressed man in this part of the world, and who surprised us the most in the first half of the season? Why Zbigniew Boniek brings something more to the nation and its football federation than just hope? How the national team settled in six months after the failure that EURO 2012 undoubtedly was for Poland? There is, of course, more. We are doing our best to make it as attractive and as long read as possible, with our efforts to contact clubs, league and federation slowly paying off. Apparently, free advertising, writing and promoting is something unheard of in so many places in Poland. But we will be heard. Issue by issue, piece by piece. This is our hope, this is our – yours – Ekstraklasa Magazine. Editors I’m sure you won’t be surprised about the Editor Notes: question I am asked the most… “Why on Earth do you like Polish football?” Probably once a week I’m asked this. Sometimes possibly by the Ryan Hubbard same people over and over again; clearly in amazement that with one of the biggest leagues in the world right on my doorstep I dedicate my spare time to watch, research and write about the plucky, little Ekstraklasa. EKSTRAKLASAreview.co.uk Yes, I may live somewhere in between Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford, and have some of the world’s best players constantly on my TV screen. But the truth is that for me, the English Premier League is missing something - something that the Ekstraklasa has in abundance. Whilst the English league may be full of money, four-and-five star stadia, and be broadcast around the world; there is something distinctly enthralling about following a league which is aspiring to better itself; whether that be by building modern grounds or attracting better players. In England football is no longer a sport, but a business. With ticket prices constantly rising - some tickets costing a quarter of the average weekly wage - more and more are turning their backs on their clubs. Poland however still has a passion for the game, yet to be as tainted by greed. And it’s that passion amongst fans and players alike which, in my opinion, makes it stand head and shoulders above the bigger leagues. Some of my favourite football experiences have been in Poland. Whether on the crumbling terraces of Ruch Chorzów and Górnik Zabrze, or in the modern, yet atmospheric new homes of Wisła Kraków and Śląsk Wrocław. These experiences are something that are difficult to replicate in many other grounds around the world. And this is one of the reasons we bring you #Ekstaklasa Magazine. Both myself and Michał, along with all of our writers, believe that the Ekstraklasa offers something different to the bland and sometimes soulless football seen in so many other places. If you’re Polish, we want you to learn to appreciate that having the most money and best players doesn’t mean everything; and if you’re from elsewhere, we want you to know that by looking a little outside of the box you can find gems lying around. So welcome to our “sophomore” issue; we really, really hope you enjoy it. Contents INSIDE THIS ISSUE 8. The Difficult Life of an Ekstraklasa 48. Poles Abroad! Some of Europe’s top Manager. Andrzej Gomołysek tells us bloggers and writers tell us how the top why some of the most promising bosses Polish players are getting on outside of have recently had a hard time. their homeland. 11. Money, Money, Money… Marcus 54. F**k the System! Michał Zachodny Haydon guides us through the murky talks us through the inevitable changes world of Ekstraklasa finances. in the format of the Ekstraklasa. 13. INTERVIEW: Warsaw-based 57. When Bobby Met Eddie… British TV journalist Michał Dzida speaks to Polonia station Sports Tonight Live are showing Warszawa midfielder Paweł Wszołek. off the colourful Ekstraklasa to a new audience. Regular pundit Robert 15. The Ekstraklasa Autumn Round Błaszczak finds out what Presenter, and Review. Editors Michał Zachodny and Ekstraklasa newcomer, Ed Draper Ryan Hubbard give their views on the makes of it. fortunes of the 16 Ekstraklasa clubs. 60. COMPETITION. Win a fantastic 24. FEATURE: Introducing The custom t-shirt from CultZeros.co.uk! Pięćdziesiąt. #Ekstraklasa Magazine’s list of the top 50 young players in Poland. 61.PROFILE: Ryan Hubbard brings us the story of one of Poland’s lesser- 34. INTERVIEW: Not Tough Enough; known legends. Enter, Ernest Pohl. Michał Zachodny speaks to one of Poland’s most influential arbitrators, 63. Life After Death. Following on from Rafał Rostkowski. our piece in Issue One, Polonia Warszawa fan Christopher Lash looks at 37. Six Months In… Ryan Hubbard gives how life is at Konwiktorska after Józef the lowdown on Waldemar Fornalik’s Wojciechowski. first half-year in the Poland National Team job. 65. Fixtures/Results/Statistics/Tables 40. Ryan Hubbard goes through the first 17 rounds in Poland’s second tier - the Pierwsza Liga. 44. The USA wasn’t the only place with an Election in the last few months. Here’s the story of Zbigniew Boniek’s election as the new head of the PZPN. 47. INTERVIEW: Bartosz Barnaś speaks to PZPN Vice-President Roman Kosecki. Available from OckleyBooks.co.uk Inbedwithmaradona.com Tactics With numerous Ekstraklasa managers falling from The Difficult life the managerial merry-go-round this season, it’s no surprise that life as an Ekstraklasa boss is difficult. Taktycznie.net Editor Andrzej Gomołysek tells us of an Ekstraklasa how - despite having the tactical abilities - some of Poland’s most promising managersare struggling for Manager work. It’s not easy to be the manager of Ekstraklasa team. You pressing in the middle zones Śląsk had huge problems. It don’t have too much space for mistakes, as even the first was clearly visible in the spring. However, nearly all teams at one may be a good enough reason to look for replacement. the top showed some pathetic displays, so after a turtles- A very thin line divides managerial genius from failure; Polish race, the team from Wrocław, finished first. Lenczyk was managers are surprisingly likely to cross this line. hailed as a tactical genius. No-one even wanted to see that Śląsk, like other teams, played very poorly. Moreover, for this title he had to wait 35 years. Had his managerial abilities Case I: The old man is all at sea suddenly improved in those years? No... He was still over- confident, unlikely to hear anyones' Six months ago Orest Lenczyk became advice, and with training methods Polish Champion for the second time as similar to those used by Roman a coach. When he took over at Śląsk Infantry. Wrocław less than two years previously, the team was a mess, positioned in the The atmosphere in the dressing room relegation zone after a few straight also wasn’t too good, even during losses. However, it was still a strong golden times. Lenczyk was very likely team, full of top league players like to blame the players after bad games, Przemysław Kaźmierczak (exPorto), whilst being very proud of himself after Piotr Celeban (currently the star of successes. His attitude towards the Romania's third force FC Vaslui), media didn’t bring him support when Jarosław Fojut (would have been signed results started to be similar to the style by Celtic, if he wasn't badly injured), of play. After some horrible displays in Marian Kelemen (considered as the Europe (One game won, five lost.