For part 12 of the series, I caught up with Tomek Lenkiewicz. Tomek is originally from Wroclaw, Poland and is a recent college graduate from Arizona State University. He got his BA in History and currently works in the mutual fund industry in Scottsdale Arizona. His passion includes ice-hockey, politics, history and, obviously, football.

I thank Tomek for agreeing to the interview.

Tell us a bit about the Road to the World Cup – the qualification, and the emotions the fans went through at the time.

Poland’s road to the World Cup was not a very bumpy one. We were grouped with England, N. Ireland, Austria, Wales, and Azerbaijan. During the qualifications we only lost two games (both by the score of 2-1 to England), scored a total of 27 goals (only Portugal and Holland scored more in Europe), and qualified as one of the best second placed teams. The emotions of Polish fans would be best described as quiet confidence. We knew England was the best team in the group but all the other teams were well within our skill level. However, I must admit that some of the close games against Austria and N. Ireland were a little nerve wracking.

Give us a brief summary of your country’s footballing history.

Poland has a very proud footballing history. The country’s two oldest clubs hail from Krakow. Both, Wisla Krakow and Cracovia will be celebrating their 100 year anniversary this summer. On the interantional scene we made our WC debut in 1938 with Ernst Wilimoski netting 4 goals against Brazil in the legendary 5-6 loss. 2006 will be Poland’s 7th appearance in the WC. In 1974 and 1982 we placed third and we have also had success in the Olympics winning gold in 1972 (Munich) and taking home the silver in 1992 (Barcelona). Names like Boniek, Deyna, Tomaszewski or Lato are well known to footlball fans from the 70s and 80s.

What style of football does the national team play?

Poland plays a very fast, attacking brand of football. This is evidenced by the fact we were the third highest scoring team in qualifying from UEFA. Traditionally we feel most comfortable in the counter-attack. This is how he score most our goals. Most our players in the midfield and up-front are technically proficient and posses a fair amount of pace which which fits perfectly with our style of play.

How do you think Poland will fare at the World Cup?

After a very dissapointing performance in 2002, I think most Polish fans would agree that making it out of the group will be a success. Upon making it to the round of 16 we would most likely face Sweden or England, which are two teams we have historically had trouble beating. My heart says that if we stay injuiry free and play our style we could make some waves and make it to the quarter-finals. My mind says we will make it out of the group and and exit the tournament after facing England or Sweden.

Who will be the most important player for your country?

Without a doubt, Maciej Zurawski. The former Wisle Krakow frontman scored 7 goals for us in qualifying and has scored 19 goals this season for Celtic Glasgow. He posses all the attributes of a world class striker. “Magic’s” speed, dribbling ability and most of all his powerful and precise shot make him a player our opponents will have to pay close attention to. For Poland to do damage in this year’s tournament he will have to be infuentcial. Mark my words, Zurawski will be one of the most explosive and exciting players to watch for in Germany this summer.

Which player in your country’s side would you most like to get rid of?

About 90% of Polish fans would say Grzegorz Rasiak should not be in the line-up for Poland. I agree he has struggled on the international level but he does have potential and I think that is why Pawel Janas continues to cap the 25 year old target man. Personally,I believe Tomasz Rzasa does not belong on our 23 man roster. The right back is reaching the end of his career and does not have the speed necessary to play his position at the highest level. A quality winger would eat him alive. If Rzasa makes an appearance in Poland’s starting XI during the WC a quality opponent will make us pay.

Who are the players to watch from the other countries?

I look forward to watching Drogba, Henry and Nedved. All three are world class players and I think they will need to be their respective team’s best players for their nation to make an impact on the tournament. Henry is a particularly brilliant player and I cannot wait to see his exploits this summer.

What will be your excuse in the event of failure?

Our top players being out of form. A common problem for Polish players is their lack of playing time for their clubs. Dudek, Kosowski, Krzynowek and Mila are four players I can name off the top of my head who have had very limited playing time for their teams this season and yet they are key players on the National Team. As coach Janas said the training camp leading up to the World Cup should be utilized to work on tactics, set pieces and other “fine tunning” and not conditioning. The fear is that some key players will need that time to get in game shape. Look for that to be a major excuse in the event of failure.

Have you got the right manager?

Pawel Janas is the man for the job. He is a proven winner. As a player he was third in line with Poland in the 1982 World Cup. As a coach he took Legia Warsaw to the quarter finals of Champions League in 1996. An now he is has taken a team without much star power to the World Cup. Janas is a man of few words, in fact in terms of being media friendly he will be one of the poorest managers in the tournament, but I have seen him get more out of our players than any of the recent national team managers. Looking at the big picture Janas may be one of our national team’s biggest attributes.

What advice would you give him?

Two things. Firstly, if it aint broken don’t fix it. Lets play our attacking style no matter who it is that we’re up against. Don’t go into the Germany game looking for a 0-0 draw. Lets play like we did during qualifying. Secondly, don’t be to loyal to names. If guys like Kosowski or Krzynowek are not fit to play don’t put them out there just because they were keys to our team’s success in qualifying. Be flexible and look for alternatives. During the World Cup our starting XI needs to be the absolute best Poland can field; no exceptions.

Which team do you most want to beat?

Germany. For obvious reasons that will be a game loaded with emotion. This is the only soccer powerhouse we have not defeated in our history. In 1974 Poland played West Germany in the semi-finals. The field was flooded and the game was played in attrocious conditions. Poland lost 1-0 despite outplaying the eventual World Cup winners. To this day most Polish fans claim that is that game had been played on a normal pitch Poland may have won the World Cup that year. There would be nothing sweeter than settling the score and handing the Germans defeat on June 14th in Dortmund.

Which opposition player(s) will get the most stick?

Ballack, Podolski, Klose and company.

Where will you watch the matches?

At home with all my friends. It’s gonna be great fun getting together each morning knocking down a couple ice cold Polish beers and enjoying some world class soccer.

How keenly will the World Cup be followed in your country?

It’s going to be insane. We willl be playing in a Germany, with thousands of Polish supporters making the trip. Some fans are not very optimistic but I guarantee that everyone will be watching our boys do battle. The streets of Poland will be deserted throughout June.

Who will be the surprise team?

Look for Croatia to be one of the surprise teams. In their most recent friendly they beat Argentina which has to raise some eyebrows; and lets remember that Croatia also beat Sweden twice in qualifying. Not an easy feat. A solid back-line led by Kovac (Juventus) as well as Srna and the 21 year starlet Kranjar should make this team fun to watch. Call me crazy, but I have a feeling they can re-create some of the 1998 magic.

Who will win the Golden Boot?

Shevchenko. No world class striker has an easier defenses to play against. I expect him to score a bunch of gosls against Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. Even if Ukraine don’t go far they should be able to rack up a few goals against those two teams and Sheva will be involved.

Who will be the dissapointment of the tournament?

We had England in the group and I have to say they are a little over-rated. Don’t get me wrong they were the best team in our group, but after watching them play I don’t consider them a world class side. They are not deep in the GK position, they have a great midfield on paper but I have not seen Gerrard, Beckham and Lampard play up to theri potential under Sven. Another weakness is Sven himself who has never really settled into the job add to that Rooney’s injuiry, Owen just coming back and England’s record against Sweden and you have a recepie for disaster.

Who will win the World Cup?

I hate to be predictable like this but the team Brazil will be fielding this summer could be one of the best World Cup teams of all time. A South American Team has never won a World Cup on Euopean soil, but times have changed, and all the Brazilan stars now play in Europe and know the European game. The beauty of the World Cup is that anything can happen but someone would have to pull off a huge upset to stop the Brazilians.

***

I hope you enjoyed part 12. Follow up questions for Tomek can be e-mailed to me. Also, feel free to contact me if you would like to be interviewed or know a friend who would like/could be interviewed. Specific questions for specific countries which might pop in your mind in due course may also be sent.

For the rest of the interviews, check out the World Cup interview series page.

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