Poland Soccer Blog

Stepinski heading to Spartak Moscow?

2013-05-23T22:49:00.000-04:00

Now that Mariusz Stepinski's day at Widzew Lodz are over, the 18-year-old striker is a mission of finding a new club for himself.

After a deeper research, it looks like the Polish U-18 striker will be heading to Russia -- exactly, Spartak Moscow.

The information was gathered from Stepinski's Facebook page where on Wednesday he wrote, "Can anyone say something in Russian?"

That was followed up with a post yesterday where Stepinski wrote,"It looks like it's time to learn Russian". But that's not all. His Polish U-18 teammate, Arkadiusz Milik, commented on the status a couple hours later saying, "Why? You're leaving for Russia?" Then, Milik commented once more saying, "Mario, so it's true what you told me earlier? Good luck at Spartak Moscow!"

Well, that sums it up all up. It looks like Stepinski is heading to Spartak Moscow on a free transfer after declining to renew his contract with Widzew after training 18 on May 12.

Official: Warszawa gets to host 2015 Europa League final

2013-05-23T20:50:00.001-04:00

It's official, the National Stadium in Warszawa will host the 2015 Europa League final, UEFA announced today.

"Two beautiful venues for our finals for 2015," UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said at today's news conference where he also announced that the 2015 Champions League final will be played at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

"I don't think I need to mention how important and prestigious this event is for the promotion of the Polish Football Association, the city of Warszawa, our country, our society and culture," Zbigniew Boniek said today.

It's the first time in history that Poland gets to host the final of a European competition.

Polish FA announces Ekstraklasa reform starting next season

2013-05-22T21:14:00.001-04:00

The Polish Ekstraklasa will have a different look starting next season.

The Polish FA announced during today's press conference that the league and federation agreed on a league reform starting next season.

The 2013/14 Ekstraklasa season will kick off on July 20. The first 30 rounds will be played as they have been to this point. After the 30 rounds, the league will be split in half and points will be divided by two. An extra seven games will be played to determined the champion of the league and two teams who will be relegated.

What do you think of the reform?

Video: Wolski's Serie A debut

2013-05-22T19:15:00.002-04:00

Milik, Stepinski, Linetty headline U-19 roster for upcoming qualifiers

2013-05-21T21:26:00.000-04:00

Polish U-19 national team head coach Marcin Sasal called up 23 players for three important European U-19 Championship qualifiers.

The roster is packed with talent, but the question is -- can they show it on the field against three tough opponents? With talents of Milik, Stepinski, Kobylanski, Linetty, Mrowca, Lasicki and Kedziora, the team is built for success on paper, but now they must shown it on the grass.

Here's the complete U-19 roster:

Goalkeepers: Oskar Rybicki (Hamburger SV), Dawid Smug (Inter Milan), Oskar Pogorzelec (Legia Warszawa

Defenders: Maciej Szewczyk (Alemannia Aachen), Seweryn Michalski (GKS Belchatw), Gracjan Horoszkiewicz (Hertha Berlin), Tomasz Kedziora (Lech Poznan), Igor Lasicki (Napoli), Adrian Liberacki (Reggina)

Midfielders: Sebastian Mrowca (Bayern Munich), Konrad Nowak (Gornik Zabrze), Kamil Kurowski (Kolejarz Stroze), Karol Linetty (Lech Poznan), Lukasz Kacprzycki (Lechia Gdansk), Aleksander Jagiello (Legia Warszawa), Radoslaw Murawski (Piast Gliwice), Martin Kobylanski (Werder Bremen), Pawel Stolarski (Wisla Krakow).

Forwards: Arkadiusz Milik (Bayer Leverkusen), Dariusz Formella (Lech Poznan), Lukas Klemenz (Odra Opole), Kamil Zielinski (Pogon Szczecin), Mariusz Stepinski (Widzew Lodz)

The U-19's kick off the qualifiers on June 5 vs. Spain. They play Croatia two days later, and finish up their group play on June 10 vs. Greece.

Dorna names roster for upcoming European qualifier

2013-05-21T18:02:00.001-04:00

Marcin Dorna named a 19-man roster who will kick off their European U-21 Championship qualifiers against Malta on June 6.

Missing from the roster is Piotr Zielinski, who was called up to the senior team, but Dorna's team is still packed with talent which includes Rafal Wolski, Pawel Wszolek and Dominik Furman.

Here is Poland U-21's full roster:

Goalkeepers: Rafal Leszczynski (Dolcan Zabki), Jakub Szumski (Piast Gliwice).

Defenders: Bartosz Bereszynski (Legia Warszawa), Mateusz Cichocki (Dolcan Zabki), Daniel Dziwniel (Offenbacher FC Kickers), Rafal Janicki (Lechia Gdansk), Marcin Kaminski (Lech Poznan), Julien Tadrowski (Pogon Szczecin), Adam Pazio (Polonia Warszawa).

Midfielders: Damian Dabrowski (Cracovia), Michal Chrapek (Wisla Krakow), Dominik Furman (Legia Warszawa), Mateusz Kupczak (GKS Tychy), Mateusz Lewandowski (Pogon Szczecin), Rafal Wolski (Fiorentina), Pawel Wszolek (Polonia Warszawa), Michal Zyro (Legia Warszawa).

Forwards: Bartlomiej Pawlowski (Widzew Lodz), Kacper Przybylko (FC Koln).

What do you think about the U-21 team?

Fornalik releases roster for upcoming training camp

2013-05-21T17:41:00.000-04:00

The future of Polish football is ready to play with the big boys as 19-year-old Piotr Zielinski received his first call up to the Polish national team for their upcoming friendly and World Cup qualifier.

Zielinski was among 20 foreign-based players who were called up by Waldemar Firnalik today, which also includes Adam Matuszczyk.

Missing from the list is Lukasz Piszczek, who's expected to undergo hip surgery after the Champions League final.

Here is Poland's complete roster:

Goalkeepers: Artur Boruc (Southampton), Tomasz Kuszczak (Brighton), Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal)

Defenders: Sebastian Boenisch (Bayer Leverkusen), Piotr Celeban (FC Vaslui), Kamil Glik (Torino FC), Marcin Komorowski (Terek Grozny), Bartosz Salamon (AC Milan), Marcin Wasilewski (Anderlecht).

Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Ariel Borysiuk (FC Kaiserslautern), Kamil Grosicki (Sivasspor), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Stade Reims), Adam Matuszczyk (FC Koln), Adrian Mierzejewski (Trabzonspor), Eugen Polanski (Hoffenheim), Maciej Rybus (Terek Grozny), Piotr Zielinski (Udinese).

Forwards: Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), Artur Sobiech (Hannover 96).

Fornalik will add couple players from the Ekstraklasa next week.

What do you think about this roster?

"Fakt": Warszawa to host 2015 Europa League final

2013-05-20T19:25:00.000-04:00

A major tournament is returning to Poland.

According to "Fakt", the National Stadium in Warszawa has been chosen to host the 2015 Europa League final. An official announced has yet to be made, but is expected on Thursday.

It's no secret that the Polish FA has been working on bringing the final to Poland for a while now, and with Zbigniew Boniek's strong friendship with Michel Platini, the President of UEFA, a dream has become a reality, making it the first time Poland hosts a major final, not including Euro 2012, where the final was held in Ukranie.

What do you think about this decision?

What went down on Sunday

2013-05-19T22:49:00.003-04:00

Rafal Wolski made his Serie A debut, coming on as a substitute in the 60th minute in Fiorentina's 5-1 win over Pescara.

Blazej Augustyn made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a substitute in the 57th minute in Catania's 2-2 draw with Torino. On the other side, Kamil Glik spend the entire match on the bench.

Piotr Zielinski spend the entire match on the bench in Udinese's 5-2 win over Inter.

GKS Belchatow defeated Zaglebie Lubin by the final score of 3-2.

Korona Kielce gave no chance to Jagiellonia Bialystok, beating the 5-0.

Piotr Parzyszk's De Graafschap won't play in the Dutch Eredivisie next season. They lost 7-2 on aggregate to Filip Kurto's Roda JC.

What went down on Saturday

2013-05-19T10:47:00.000-04:00

Legia Warszawa move closer to clinching their first league title since 2006 after beating Lech Poznan, 1-0. Ivica Vrdoljak's penalty kick winner sealed the deal in the 86th minute after Mateusz Mozdzen was shown a straight red card.

Grzegorz Krychowiak buried a game-winning, penalty kick goal in the 33rd minute in Reims' 1-0 win over FC Lorient. It was his fourth goal of the season.

Robert Lewandowski scored his 24th goal of the season in Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 loss to Hoffenheim. His goal was assisted by Jakub Blaszczykowski, who played the full 90 minutes, just as Lewandowski. Meanwhile, Lukasz Piszczek started and played 69 minutes.

After their 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, Eugen Polanski's Hoffenheim finished 16th in the Bundesliga and will play Ariel Borysiuk's Kaiserslautern, who finished third in the 2. Bundesliga, in a two-legged playoff.

Piotr Celeban scored his sixth goal of the season in FC Vaslui's 4-1 win over Dinamo Bucuresti.

Piast Gliwice moved back into third place after their 2-1 win over Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala. Marcin Robak scored the game-winner in the 79th minute.

Polonia Warszawa surprised everyone by beating Gornik Zabrze 4-0 away from home.

Projecting the May/June camp roster

2013-05-17T23:21:00.002-04:00

The last time we've spoke about the Polish national team, they were attacked from each corner, trying to cool down from two terrible performances that almost shut the doors from their entrance to the 2014 World Cup. Now, the team is set to reunite for another two matches -- a friendly vs. Liechtenstein and World Cup qualifier vs. Moldova.

Fornalik is scheduled to announce his roster early next week.

PROJECTED MAY/JUNE CAMP POLAND NT ROSTER:

GOALKEEPERS: Artur Boruc, Wojciech Szczesny (Jerzy Dudek)

DEFENDERS: Lukasz Piszczek, Kamil Glik, Bartosz Salamon, Marcin Komorowski, Sebastian Boenisch, Jakub Wawrzyniak, Piotr Celeban, Artur Jedrzejczyk

MIDFIELDERS: Jakub Blaszczykowski, Adrian Mierzejewski, ~~Ludovic Obraniak~~, Maciej Rybus, Mateusz Klich, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Piotr Zielinski, Daniel Lukasik, Ariel Borysiuk, Eugen Polanski, Jakub Kosecki

FORWARDS: Robert Lewandowski, Lukasz Teodorczyk, Artur Sobiech
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Some thoughts:

For the most who may have forgotten and are probably thinking -- what the heck in Jerzy Dudek doing on the list? Well, the 40-year-old keeper will be making his farewell match with the Polish national team, helping him join the Outstanding Representative Club with an appearance in the Liechtenstein friendly. His 60th appearance was organized as a tribute by Zbigniew Boniek and the rest of the Polish FA.
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Piotr Zielinski is a tough call. He's a key member of the U-21 team who are set begin their qualifications during the same time as the senior teams plays Moldova and Liechtenstein. However, this could be the perfect chance to call up the 19-year-old with Poland playing two less-attractive rivals. With Ludovic Obraniak's resignation, Fornalik does not have to look farer for a new number 10 when Zielinski is right here. He's made nine Serie A appearances this season with two assists.
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Bartosz Salamon needs to be back with the national team even if he hasn't played a single minute with AC Milan since the last training camp in March. He's the hope of the defense for years to come and his attendance there is just a boost.
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Mateusz Klich has had a good spell with FC Zwolle and a try with the national team wouldn't hurt anyone now that Obraniak is gone and also the same could be said about Radoslaw Majewski.
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A swap between Artur Sobiech and Arkadiusz Milik could take place. The Bayer Leverkusen striker has not been playing lately while Sobiech has taken all of his opportunities and has scored in the past two games. An option for Milik could be recalling him up to the U-21 national team for their important European qualifier vs. Malta.

What do you think of this PROJECTED squad?

Fornalik comments on Obraniak's resignation

2013-05-17T22:49:00.001-04:00

Polish national team head coach Waldemar Fornalik released a statement through the Polish Football Association regarding Ludovic Obraniak's resignation from the Polish national team.

"The Polish Football Association did not receive an official statement in which Obraniak informed us that he's resigning from the Polish national team. We can only rely on a text message which was sent to the director of our the national team. However, if Obraniak's desicion is true, than the only thing that I can say is that I'm shocked beacuse playing for the national team is highest recognition and honor. No matter who the coach is or how the team is performing, the national team is the most important. Also, all of my decisions are made for the good of the national team. I consider this topic closed. Right now, my focus is on our upcoming training camp and two matches."

Obraniak did mention that he does not want to be part of the Polish national team as long as Fornalik is the head coach.

Polonia Warszawa only Ekstraklasa team not to receive license for next season

2013-05-16T12:37:00.000-04:00

The Polonia Warszawa nightmare continued yesterday after the team did not receive a license for next year's season from the Polish Football Association.

Polonia was the only Ekstraklasa team not to receive a license due to financial trouble. This could mean that the club could be relegated to the Polish fourth division, however, the decision can be appealed, and most likely will be.

Ireneusz Krol, owner of Polonia Warszawa, assured couple days ago that Polonia will receive a license after an appeal.

Meanwhile, Ruch Chorzow, Gornik Zabrze Widzew Lodz, Zaglebie Lubin, Piast Gliwice and Pogon Szczecin all receive licenses but are subjected to supervision for financial or infrastructure reasons.

Breaking - Obraniak quits Polish NT

2013-05-16T09:35:00.000-04:00

No, this is not another April fool's joke, but according to Super Express, Ludovic Obraniak is stepping away from the Polish national team.

"I'm quitting the Polish national team," Obraniak told Super Express. "As long as Waldemar Fornaik is the coach, I don't want to be part this team."

Obraniak's troubles with the Polish national team began after their 2-2 draw with Montenegro in September. His unnecessary exchange with the opponent resulted in a red card which could have given Poland an advantage with the Montenegrin already playing with 10-men.

"I've told the management to not take me under consideration for the next selection." Obraniak added.

Kobylanski scores as U-19's fall to Bosnia in final tune-up

2013-05-15T20:35:00.000-04:00

The Polish U-19 national team fell by the final score of 3-1 to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their final tune-up before kicking off the 2013 European U-19 Championship elite round qualifications in June.

Martin Kobylanski scored the lone goal for Poland in the 14th minute, tyeing the game up at 1-1. Bosnia, however, scored twice in the late stages of the first half to clinch the win.

Poland: Dawid Smug - Adrian Liberacki, Seweryn Michalski, Igor Lasicki, Mateusz Zebrowski - Konrad Nowak, Krystian Nowak, Radoslaw Murawski, Martin Kobylanski, Lukasz Kacprzycki - Kamil Cupriak.

FC Barcelona to open pre-season with friendly in Poland

2013-05-15T11:23:00.000-04:00

FC Barcelona will open their 2013/14 pre-season in Poland, as announced today by director and spokesman Toni Freixa. Their first tuneup of the summer will be played on July 20.

The opponent and site of the match was not released, but according to several Polish sources, it looks like its going to be against Wisla Krakow at the PGE Arena in Gdansk.

"Over the next few days, we'll announce the city and opponent", Freixa said.

Most of FC Barcelona's players are well-known with the Gdansk-area because of the Spanish national team's adventure there during Euro 2012. Spain had their team base in Gniewino, near Gdansk, and they've played all of their group stage matches at the PGE Arena.

Jagiellonia looking to replace Frankowski with Clark

2013-05-14T09:43:00.000-04:00

Jagiellonia Bialystok's effort to replace Tomasz Frankowski, who's planning on retiring at the end of the season, has become wide-open after the Scottish "Express" revealed that the Polish club is looking to sign Queen of South striker Nicky Clark.

The Scottish newspaper reports that Jagiellonia wants to bring over the 21-year-old striker for a medical tests over the next 24 hours. However, Clark, who scored 41 goals in the Scottish Second Division (third tier) this season, will be hard-to-get after drawing interest from Celtic, Rangers, Sheffield United and Derby County.

Jagiellonia are in need of a makeover after two disappointing season after finishing in fourth place three seasons ago. There's also talk that Michal Probierz, currently unemployment, may be re-hired and takeover for Tomasz Hajto.

Stepinski set to leave Widzew Lodz

2013-05-13T22:09:00.000-04:00

Polish prospect Mariusz Stepinski has informed Widzew Lodz that he'll be leaving the club and moving abroad when his contract expires on his 18th birthday (which is today).

Stepinski rejected a professional contract offer from Widzew, according to Pawel Mlynarczyk, President of Widzew Lodz.

Widzew released a statement today saying that the 18-year-old striker will not train nor play with the club anymore, claiming it was a joint decision of the coach and player.

"Pilka Nozna" reported on Friday that the abroad club that Stepinski will sign with is Bundesliga side FC Nuremberg.

What went down of Friday

2013-05-10T22:20:00.000-04:00

Grzegorz Krychowiak did not dress (suspended) in Reims' 3-0 loss to Lille.

Tomasz Kuszczak played 90 minutes and saw a yellow card in Brighton's scoreless draw with Crystal Palace in the Championship play-off semifinals first leg.

Lech Poznan overtook the leader lead after their 4-0 win over Widzew Lodz. All four goals were scored in the second half thanks to Mateusz Mozdzen, Kasper Hamalainen, Bartosz Slusarski and Gergo Lovrencsics.

Polonia Warszawa won their first league game since March after a 2-1 win over Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala. Pawel Wszolek and Piotr Grzelczak scored for Polonia while Marcin Wodecki netted the lone goal from Bielsko-Biala.

Legia suspends Ljuboja for rest of season

2013-05-10T10:00:00.002-04:00

Danijel Ljuboja, the top scorer of the Legia Warszawa, has been suspended for the rest of the season, the club announced today on their official website.

The 34-year-old will miss Legia's remaining five leagues games and may never again put on a Legia shirt with his contract coming to an end this summer.

Ljuboja was hit with the hard fine after Legia's President Boguslaw Lesnodorski caught the striker and Miroslav Radovic celebrating Legia's Polish Cup victory at a night club in the early morning in Warszawa.

Radovic was not suspended, but will be charged with a high financial penalty.

Poland NT to play all home games in matches for points at National Stadium

2013-05-09T09:54:00.003-04:00

The Polish Football Association announced today that the Polish national team will play all of its matches for points through 2018 at the National Stadium in Warszawa.

That means all of Poland's home games during qualifications to Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018 will be played at the National Stadium.

The board also announced that the next three Polish Cup finals will take place at the National Stadium in a one-legged format.

Do you think it fair that Warszawa gets all of Poland's home games during qualifications?

What went down on Wednesday

2013-05-08T23:48:00.001-04:00

Adrian Mierzejewski scored a hat-trick and missed a penalty kick in Trabzonspor's 6-0 win over Sivasspor in the semifinals of the Turkish Cup.

Piotr Parzyszek scored two goals in De Graafschap's 2-1 win over Fortuna Sittard in the Dutch Jupiler League (second division). The 19-year-old has 12 goals in 29 games this season.

The Polish U-18 national team defeated Belarus by the final score of 1-0 today. Karol Zwir scored the lone goal in the friendly.

Polish First Division leaders Termalica Bruk-Bet Nieciecza beat Warta Poznan, 3-0, today and increased their lead to six points with six games left in the season.

Zawisza Bydgoszcz jumped into second place (the final promotion spot) after their 3-1 win over Cracovia Krakow today.

Piotr Zielinski came off the bench in the 68th minute in Udinese's 3-2 win over Palermo.

Legia clinches third consecutive Polish Cup

2013-05-08T23:34:00.004-04:00

Despite a poor outing and a 1-0 loss to Slask Wroclaw today, Legia Warszawa still managed to clinch their third consecutive Polish Cup title after winning 2-1 on aggregate.

The only goal in the game was scored early -- in the 2nd minute, and not by a Slask Wroclaw player but Legia's Michal Zewlakow, who headed the ball into his own net.

Slask dominated most of the game but failed to score another one which was much needed, allowing Legia to clinch their 16th Polish Cup in history.

Here is Zewlakow's own goal:

What went down this weekend

2013-05-06T20:12:00.003-04:00

Saturday

Artur Sobiech scored his fourth goal of the season -- first since November 11, in Hannover's 2-2 draw with Mainz. He also picked up an assist.

Jakub Blaszczykowski picked up an assist in Borussia Dortmund's 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich. He started and played 84 minutes.

Robert Lewandowski had a chance to scored the game-winner, but missed a penalty kick in the 60th minute in Borussia Dortmund's 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich. He played the full 90 minutes.

Slawomir Peszko's Wolves have been relegated to the English third division after a 2-0 loss to Brighton. Peszko has played only five games since October.

Lech Poznan took over the league lead for only one day after defeating Wisla Krakow 1-0 thanks to a goal from Lukasz Teodorczyk.

Sunday

Legia Warszawa retook the league lead away from Lech Poznan after their 1-0 win over Lechia Gdansk. Jakub Kosecki scored the lone goal.

Piotr Zielinski started and played 55 minutes in Udinese's 3-1 win over Sampdoria.

Saganowski delivers twice as Legia defeat Slask, 2-0, in Polish Cup final first leg

2013-05-02T20:03:00.000-04:00

A second leg was added to this year's Polish Cup final, but it looks like it would made a difference anyways as Legia Warszawa invaded Wroclaw today and defeated Slask, 2-0, in the first leg of the final.

Both goals came in the first half from Marek Saganowski, who now has six goals in six Polish Cup games.

The return leg heads to Warszawa next week with Legia having the advantage of clinching their third staright Polish Cup.

Here are the highlights: