For this interview, I look back at Poland’s 2002
World Cup Qualification Campaign.
The Interview will be as a video link companion, while the Blog
will be a presentation of the events.
This Interview will be followed by a future Interview about
Poland’s participation in the 2002 World cup.
The Interviewee is:
Mr. Jakub Drożdż
Mr. Drożdż is the Founder of Polish Football Alamanac and
Football enthusiast.
Mr. Drożdż’s contact info:
Twitter: @P_F_Almanac.
Website: http://www.polishfootballalmanac.net/
My contact information:
on twitter @sp1873 and on
facebook under Soccernostalgia.
Blog Link:
https://soccernostalgia.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-soccernostalgia-interview-part-58.html
Poland’s 2002 World Cup
Qualification Campaign:
When the year 2000 kicked
off, Poland had not qualified to the Finals of any major Tournament since the
1986 World Cup.
The glory years of the 70s
with Lato and Deyna and the early 80s era of Zbigniew Boniek were long gone.
Poland were no longer a force at European and World stage and had no
recognizable stars.
It was in 1999 that the first
steps were taken in Poland’s renewal. Michal Listkiewicz was elected as the new
President of the Federation.
His aim was to take Poland
into a new era, as the old methods were no longer working.
He renovated stadiums and
negotiated more favorable Television Rights. In addition, he brought into the
fold the likes of Zbigniew Boniek, as Federation Vice-Chairman.
It would his choice of
National Team Manager that would be the most significant. In early 2000, he
appointed Jerzy Engel, born 1952 to
replace Janusz Wojcik.
As a player, in the late
1960s and early 1970s, Engel had represented Kujawiak Wloclawek, AZS-AWF
Warszawa and Polonia Warszawa. He was forced to retire prematurely at the age
of 22 due to injuries.
He then embarked on a long
career as a Manager for the likes of Hutnik Warszawa, Legia Warszawa and
Polonia Warszawa among others.
Engel did not make an
immediate impact and his first few months at the helm were rather
disappointing.
Poland were defeated by Spain
(0-3), France (0-1), Holland (1-3) and managed scoreless ties with Hungary and
Finland.
The press conference
following the match vs. Finland (April 26, 2000, at Poznań) was rather
uncomfortable as the Polish Press had become hostile following these
disappointing results.
It was clear that Poland
needed a striker of quality to put away the chances. It was at the suggestion
of Zbigniew Boniek that the Nigerian-born Emmanuel Olisadebe was approached to
obtain Polish citizenship.
Engel was familiar with
Olisadebe, in fact it was Engel, at the time Manager of Polonia Warszawa, who
had signed him in 1997 after the Nigerian had failed his trials with Wisla
Krakow and Ruch Chorzow.
Olisadebe became a citizen in
July 2000 and immediately paid dividends as he scored in his first match for
Poland in a friendly vs. Romania on August 16, 2000, at Bucharest (1-1 tie).
When the World Cup qualifiers
kicked off in September, it became clear that Olisadebe had been the missing
link.
On September 2, 2000, at
Kyiv, he scored twice as Poland defeated Ukraine (3-1) in a key away match that
set the pace for the qualifiers.
In the following month, on
October 7th at Lodz, Poland took another decisive step with another
(3-1) win over Belarus at Lodz with Radosław Kałużny scoring a hat trick.
A few days later on October
11th at Warszawa, they were held to a scoreless tie by Wales.
They closed off the calendar
year 2000 with a friendly at Warszawa vs. Iceland on November 15th.
Poland won (1-0) with Tomasz Frankowski scoring from the spot.
.jpg) |
Photo From: Onze-Mondial,
Hors Serie 37, March 2002
.jpg) |
Photo From: Onze-Mondial,
Hors Serie 37, March 2002
The new year (2001) started
in a positive fashion as Poland defeated Switzerland (4-0) in a friendly in
Cyprus with Olisadebe once more amongst the scorers.
Poland would take a decisive
step in qualifying in the March 2001 qualifiers.
On March 24th,
Poland came away with another important away win (3-2) at Oslo. Olisadebe’s two
goals and Bartosz Karwan’s winner near the end sealed the win.
A few days later on March 28th,
Poland comfortably defeated Armenia (4-0) to consolidate their lead.
In the next month, Poland
hosted Scotland in a friendly at Bydgoszcz on April 25th, 2001 (1-1
tie).
Poland would get closer to
qualification in the June 2001 qualifiers. On June 2nd, they
traveled to Cardiff and came away with yet another important away win as they
defeated the Welsh (2-1). This made up for the point lost the previous October.
Olisadebe once again scored as did Pawel Kryszalowicz, who became a key
component of the team as the season progressed.
.jpg) |
Photo From: World Soccer,
March 2002
.jpg) |
Photo From: World Soccer,
March 2002
A few days later on June 6th,
Poland came away with a tie (1-1) in Armenia to close off a positive (2000/01)
season and be on the verge of World Cup qualification.
The (2001/02) season started with
a friendly at Reykjavik vs. Iceland on August 15th, 2001, that ended
as a (1-1) tie.
The decisive qualifier was on
September 1st, 2001, at Chorzów vs. Norway. Poland broke the
deadlock just before halftime through Pawel Kryszalowicz.
Two late goals by Emmanuel Olisadebe (77th minute) and Marcin Zewlakow (88th
minute) sealed the win and qualification.
Poland had qualified for its
first World Cup since 1986, a gap of 16 years, with a couple of matches to
spare.
Engel described this as ‘a
turning point’ and ‘start of a new era in Polish Football’.
_1006x1332.jpg) |
Photo From: Onze-Mondial,
Issue 161, June 2002
|
(Poland squad, September 1,
2001, World Cup Qualifier, Poland 3-Norway 0) |
Naturally, they went off the
boil just a few days later as they traveled to Minsk. They were perhaps still
in a celebratory mood and the pressure was off as they were trounced (1-4).
Engel felt this could serve as a lesson, he stated, ’Now we know that during
the World Cup there will be no time for any victory celebration before the next
match.’
Poland closed off its World
Cup campaign the following month at home at Chorzów on October 6th,
2001, vs. Ukraine (1-1 tie).
Emmanuel Olisadebe scored his eighth goal in the qualifiers (and 10th
overall for Poland) to justify his inclusion.
Poland closed off the calendar year with a friendly at Poznań on November 14th, 2001, against
Cameroon to celebrate qualification (match ended as a scoreless tie).
Jerzy Engel had a backbone of a team with new Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy
Dudek firmly established in goal with Adam Matysek in reserve.
In his 4-4-2 formation, the defense was made up of Tomasz Kłos and Michal Zewlakow on the flanks with
Schalke pair of National Team captain Tomasz Wałdoch and Tomasz Hajto in the
center. Jacek Zielinski and Jacek Bak were called upon when required.
The midfield organizer was Piotr
Świerczewski, complemented with the likes of Bartosz Karwan, Radoslaw Kaluzny
and Marek Kozminski. Jacek Krzynówek and Tomasz Iwan were also in the mix.
Upfront Oisadebe was paired
with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Pawel
Kryszalowicz (who displaced Andrzej Juskowiak) with Michal’s brother Marcin
Zewlakow providing competition.
For Engel, his team was one
of no stars with unity as the strength of the team.
The target of qualification
had been set and Jerzy Engel was the toast of the Nation.
The Nation was looking
forward to a first World Cup in sixteen years. However, qualifying and
participating in the Finals as two different things and Poland would find out.
References:
Bialo Czerwoni 1921-2001,
Author Andrzej Gowarzewski
World Soccer, October 2000
World Soccer, December 2000
World Soccer, Summer 2001
World Soccer, June 2001
World Soccer, October 2001
World Soccer, November 2001
_2179x1869.jpg) |
Photo From: Bialo Czerwoni
1921-2001, Author Andrzej Gowarzewski (Poland squad, September 1,
2001, World Cup Qualifier, Poland 3-Norway 0) |
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