Poland star player: Euzebiusz Smolarek
You scored both goals in the 2-1 qualifying victory over Portugal. Is it true that the game had a special meaning for you for family reasons?
My father, Wlodzimierz, had scored Poland’s last previous goal against Portugal, at the 1986 World Cup, so the qualifier was especially important for me. And when I scored the first goal, I started to think about my father and I said to myself: “Now you have done the same.” When I scored again, I realised that I had done even more. But my father was a better player than me. He finished third with Poland at the 1982 World Cup. I can still only dream about such a feat.
What has Leo Beenhakker done to get the team playing so well? Are his motivational skills the major factor?
First of all, he has such huge experience that he seems to know just what to do when he takes charge of a team. He reads the game fantastically and explains what he wants from the players in a way that’s easy to understand. Of course he motivates us and that has been fundamental. We never go into a game believing we’re not as good as our rivals. But motivation is only a part of it – and I don’t really know what Beenhakker’s secret is. I only know that he is an excellent coach.
Which of your team-mates should we look out for?
I don’t want to talk about individuals. I think we are strong as a team. We can do much more together and get results, and because of that I have never seen myself as a star of the team. All of them have worked for my goals.
How do you feel about playing Germany in the first game?
They will be extremely difficult opponents; I remember the game during the last World Cup [Germany beat Poland 1-0 in the group stage]. But just because we have never beaten them doesn’t mean that we must fear them. No, in fact that serves rather to increase my motivation to win. I‘d always like to have the memory that I was in the team that defeated them at last.
What have the Polish players learned from the unsuccessful World Cup finals of two years ago?
We don’t think too much about the last World Cup. It was in a different time and place, with a different atmosphere and conditions. And we had a different team, which cannot be compared with the present one. Yes, we did badly, but the most important lesson is not to get too stressed. Two years ago we thought too much about media criticism after matches. We know we can play much better this time
Interview by Dariusz Kurowski
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