Poland coach: Leo Beenhakker
The charismatic, hugely experienced Dutchman, 65, has been in charge of Poland since 2006. He made his name with Ajax and led them to the Dutch league title in 1980.
Achieved the same feat in 1990 in a second spell in Amsterdam and also won the title with Feyenoord in 1999. His best-known achievement at club level is a hat-trick of league title wins with Real Madrid – 1987-89.
Has led several other club sides, including America and Guadalajara in Mexico, Zaragoza, Grasshopper, Istanbulspor and Vitesse Arnhem.
Has had two spells in charge of Holland and also led Saudi Arabia and Trinidad & Tobago, taking the latter to their first World Cup in 2006.
Do you agree with the view that Poland have no real stars?
Poland are a team that need to put in a lot of effort to win a game, and everybody in the team must be 100 per cent focused and fit. But conversely that also means our opponents need a lot of power to win – it is not easy to defeat Poland! In this sense, we really do not have a team of star players but the average is good and the team is very strong. What is very important is that they hate losing. We have played several matches in which the team were mentally so unbelievably strong that they could go for a positive result.
Isn’t a big part of this because you gave the players more self-confidence and kept telling them they were good enough to win?
But we are really good enough! I told them from the beginning: “You do not have to ask yourself if you are good or bad. There is no such discussion. The question is – are you good enough?” At the start of the qualifying campaign nobody could have imagined that we would get a victory and a draw against Portugal, one of the best teams in the world. And it was not just the results that were important but also the way we achieved them. That showed the team have high potential, but everything must work perfectly.
How big a problem is it for you that Jacek Krzynowek, one of your most important players, is not a regular for his club, Wolfsburg?
Not as big as some people might think.Krzynowek is a player who prepares himself very well. And it could actually be an advantage that he does not play tough Bundesliga games every week; he may be fresher than the rest. Krzynowek is the type of person who, whether he is playing for Wolfsburg or not, has to be in the Poland team. And he is.
How do you rate your group opponents? There was almost euphoria from the fans and pundits after the draw because Poland had seemingly been placed in a very good group for them.
It is not an easy one. Germany are always one of the best teams in the world, especially at major tournaments. Croatia are an up-and-coming nation. Their problem is probably playing as a real team but when you see the spirit and the way they played against England away [in the qualifiers], you must recognise they are a team with a great future. Austria do not have enormous quality but they will find so much extra motivation because they are playing at home.
I know this very well. I have seen so many tournaments when the home team get something extra. So in my opinion it is a very even group – four teams who have a certain level.
What would be a successful tournament for you?
If we survive the group stage it will be a big success.
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