Poland
Leo wins hearts and minds
Expectations were very high when highly experienced Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker took charge of Poland in the summer of 2006. But he had a horrible beginning as the team lost 3-1 at home to Finland in their first Euro 2008 qualifier. In the
post-match press conference, Beenhakker desperately declared: “I have been in this business for 40 years and I know that the Poles can play much better. Just give me more time.”
A month later, the team beat group favourites Portugal 2-1 at home, giving a performance described by various pundits as the best in decades.
The Polish media began giving Beenhakker favourable coverage and positive nicknames such as Don Leo. By last October, when the Poles beat Belgium 2-0 to qualify for their first European Championship finals, Beenhakker had become one of the most popular figures in the country.
State president Lech Kaczynski awarded the coach the Cross of Merit, Poland’s highest civilian honour, while Donald Tusk, the prime minister and a big football fan, proclaimed qualification as a “day of national happiness”.
The team delivered after Beenhakker managed to instil a winning spirit. “If you want to beat somebody you must first believe that you are good enough to do it,” he says.
A good example of the coach’s psychological influence came after defender Grzegorz Bronowicki, playing only his second game for Poland, managed to largely contain Cristiano Ronaldo during the victory over Portugal. Beenhakker said to the player: “Now you are ‘Big Brono’, do you understand?”
He understood, as did the rest of the team, and they managed to top the qualifying group ahead of the theoretically much stronger Portuguese.
Poland have suffered disappointing group-stage exits at the last two World Cups, despite what had been described as a good draw in 2002 (South Korea, United States and Portugal) and a dream one in 2006 (Germany, Costa Rica and Ecuador).
They have again had a favourable draw for Euro 2008, facing Germany, Austria and Croatia; Beenhakker must use his motivational skills to ensure a different outcome. After the draw, he said: “We will go to Austria and Switzerland to fight for the title,” but quickly added, “the same as 15 other teams.”
Just a hiccup?
The team made a very promising start to their preparations when defeating a strong Czech Republic side 2-0 in February in
Cyprus. Seven weeks later, however, the Poles were demolished 3-0 at home by the United States. The media asked whether the defeat presaged an early exit this summer, just as at recent World Cups, or was, in fact, just a hiccup.
Beenhakker replied: “Do not tell me that they forgot how to play football after only one match. It is, rather, an accident and we must draw a conclusion from this defeat. I still have full confidence in my players.”
He has done so much for Polish football that few people are inclined to disbelieve him.
Interview with Poland coach Leo Beenhakker
Interview with Poland's Euzebiusz Smolarek
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