Footy rouses from slumber

20th January 2012

Polish football began showing the first signs of rousing itself from its lengthy winter slumber, with Legia off to warmer climes on pre-season training and a healthy bout of rumours filling the columns of the Polish sporting press.

Legia are having an uneven time in Cyprus, training well in the sun and enjoying some easy wins, but bitterly disappointed about the state of the match pitches. “I was just happy nobody broke a leg out there,” commented an angry Maciej Skorza, after the last sparring match ended in a comfortable 5-1 win over junior opposition.

“I’m really cross today. We don’t deserve this kind of treatment. If we have to keep playing on pitches like this, we won’t be ready for the spring round. Instead of playing football, you’re fighting to keep your balance on the pitch and not get injured. It’s a waste of our time,” Skorza told reporters.

He had a point - Wednesday’s pitch was simply awful. The goalmouth was overgrown with bushes and right next to the pitch stood a tractor which must have been driving up and down the pitch earlier, so deep were the furrows. In four weeks’ time, Legia face their biggest match in years, against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League, followed by a series of crucial league ties.

Meanwhile, in Germany the transfer window has led to rumours of Bayern Munich wanting to buy top Polish striker Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund. It started with Bayern player Franck Ribery stating in an interview that he could see Lewandowski playing alongside him and this week developing into rumours of talks taking place in German paper Sport Bild.

Lewandowski quashed the idea, though, saying simply, “It’s the first I’ve heard of it.” Others in the Borussia camp see a darker motive behind the story. Former Bayern and Borussia player Thomas Helmer stated baldly, “Munich has always known how to irritate its rivals for the German title. Now they’re leaking to the press that they want the top players from all their main rivals.”

In England there are stories linking Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski with Greek side Olympiakos - despite information last week that the club’s other main reserve keeper had been loaned out to Hull, leaving still-injured Fabianski as the club’s only senior backup should anything happen to current number one, Wojciech Szczesny.

Just as puzzling is the deafening silence surrounding Poland’s forgotten keeper, Tomasz Kuszczak, who must surely be desperate to leave Manchester United, where he has clearly passed his sell-by date.