For Poland’s team under Jerzy Brzeczek, the hour of truth strikes twice in the Nations League against Portugal and Italy.
Innsbruck – Do you know Krystian Holewik? The long-standing youth coach of the SPG Westliches Mittelgebirge knows all about the soul of the people in his native Poland and got to know and appreciate the new team boss Jerzy Brzeczek during his Tyrolean football days. Holewik knows what doubts Brzeczek had after the disappointing World Cup under predecessor Adam Nawalka and at the beginning of his term of office. He also knows, however, that the glow in Jerzy’s eyes set the President of the Association, Zbigniew Boniek, on fire.
The „Jure„, as Brzeczek was called in Tyrolean days, now has to do for the Poles what his ex-colleague Stani Cherchessov as Russian team boss succeeded in doing at the World Cup – to tickle the optimum out of a mediocre international class with system and good leadership. But he doesn’t want to leave that at all: „In attack and midfield, we’re certainly staffed with world-class players, defensively things look a bit worse. This may lead to a „flight to the front“ against European champions Portugal (without Ronaldo) today. „Risk,“ he announces.
Stani Cherchessov Honours
Player
Spartak Moscow
- Soviet Top League: 1987, 1989,
- Russian Premier League: 1992, 1993
- Soviet Cup: 1992
FC Tirol Insbruck
- Bundesliga: 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02
Individual
- USSR’s Best Goalkeeper of 1989 and 1990
- Russia’s Best Goalkeeper of 1992
Manager
Legia Warsaw
- Ekstraklasa: 2015–16
- Polish Cup: 2015–16
Brzeczek, as Olympic silver medal winner also a „Polish prince„, started in the Nations League with a remarkable 1:1 in Italy in group A3. Today he will be hosting Portugal and on Sunday the Italians. „There have never been two such Schlager games in such a short time in Polish football history,“ he takes a deep breath: „We are in a position to surprise. Ex-Tirol goalie Radoslav Gilewicz could also contribute to this in the coaching staff. The fact that with him, Cherchessov or Markus Anfang (1. FC Cologne) some former Tyrolean team mates now have such great coaching jobs, he comments dryly: „That shows how strong we were at that time in football and also as personalities.
It’s possible that Brzeczek’s nephew Jakub Blaszykowski will advance to Poland’s sole record national player (currently 102 appearances) with another outing today. According to football expert Holewik, this is also something the Poles are critical of. Cuba“ will in any case eventually be overtaken by Bayern star Robert Lewandowski (who is playing his 100th match today). „The pressure is everywhere very, very big“, alleged expert opinions leave him cold. Instead, he lives his dream on the outline. With very clear principles. SuperCasino has a clean and modern interface which makes it easy for players to navigate the website