The year 2024 is coming to an end and many Polish teams in the Ekstraklasa don't have much left to play. Some will have two matches, others will have three (if they are not eliminated from the Polish Cup), but Legia Warszawa and Jagiellonia Białystok still have the most work ahead of them. Both teams play in the league phase of the Conference League. What's more, both teams are still competing in the Polish Cup, so they actually have to play on three fronts. It's never easy, but the schedule for both teams at the end of the year is exceptionally cruel, even by European standards.
Departure, departure, and then… another trip. Jagiellonia is on a path to health
Krzysztof Marciniak from Canal+ Sport drew attention to the great challenge that awaits the current Polish champions. The inhabitants of Białystok start today (Tuesday, November 26) on a journey with a stop in Warsaw, which will end in Celje, Slovenia, where on Thursday, November 28, at 6:45 p.m. they will play in the Conference League with the local NK. But this is just the beginning.
The competition in Slovenia will begin a series of five away matches for Jagiellonia, and what's worse, each of them is extremely distant. After the competition with NK Celje, the Białystok team will face Pogoń in Szczecin on Sunday, December 1, approximately 700 kilometers away (one way). Thursday, December 5 is the match between PP and Olimpia Grudziądz. Second league, but another 350 kilometers away from Białystok. The next Sunday, December 8, is the next league trip, this time to… Krakow, as they will play Puszcza Niepołomice. Again, less than 500 km one way. On top of that, Thursday, December 12, and a trip to Mlady Boleslav, Czech Republic, as part of the Conference League.
Legia doesn't want to be worse. And in this respect it is not much worse
Another journalist, Żelisław Żyżyński, reacted to Marciniak's summary. “It's not the matches every three days that are the challenges, but the regeneration after them, constant travel, disrupted microcycles. The case of Jagiellonia is quite extreme, but Legia Warszawa is facing the same thing,” wrote Żyżyński. Can Legia really be compared to Jagiellonia in the next two weeks?
During this time, the Warsaw team will have a home match, but only one. The rest are also trips, mostly long distances. Legia will start its “tour” with a European visit to Nicosia, where it will play against Omonia on Thursday, November 28 at 9 p.m. Sunday, December 1 is Mielec (less than 300 km from Warsaw) and the clash with Stal. Polish Cup on December 5? Trip to Łódź (approx. 140 km) and a duel with ŁKS. On Sunday, December 8 (both “cup winners” always play on Thursday-Sunday) they have to cover over 450 km to Lubin for the match against Zagłębie.
Only at the very end of this two-week cycle Legia will play at home in the LK against Lugano in Switzerland (Thursday, December 12). Let us also add that before Christmas, on December 19, the Warsaw team will play the last match of the league phase of the Conference League, away against the Swedish team Djurgardens. On the same day, Jagiellonia will finally play at home against Olimpija Ljubljana. However, this does not change the fact that both teams will face real hardship during travel and a real test of their game every three days, “conquered” by an extremely unlucky calendar.
Jagiellonia Białystok matches until the end of 2024:
- NK Celje (away) – Thursday, November 28, 18:45
- Pogoń Szczecin (departure) – Sunday, December 1, 2:45 p.m
- Olimpia Grudziądz (departure) – Thursday, December 5, 3:00 p.m
- Puszcza Niepołomice (departure) – Sunday, December 8, 2:45 p.m
- Mlada Boleslav (departure) – Thursday, December 12, 9:00 p.m
- Olimpija Ljubljana (home) – Thursday, December 19, 9:00 p.m
Legia Warszawa matches until the end of 2024:
- Omonia Nicosia (away) – Thursday, November 28, 9:00 p.m
- Stal Mielec (departure) – Sunday, December 1, 5:30 p.m
- ŁKS Łódź (away) – Thursday, December 5, 6:00 p.m
- Zagłębie Lubin (away) – Sunday, December 8, 5:30 p.m
- Lugano (home) – Thursday, December 12, 18:45
- Djurgardens (departure) – Thursday, December 19, 9:00 p.m