Memories come by themselves. The more pleasant ones – from exactly ten years ago, when Poland managed to win 2-0 against Germany, and the less pleasant ones – almost exactly a year ago, when MichaĆ Probierz started to put together the broken national team in his first matches as coach. Since then, the team has moved forward, it slipped into the Euro, new players appeared, the air inside the group changed, it's a far cry from mishaps like the one with Moldova. However, she still has not played a match even similar to the one from a decade ago against Germany.
MichaĆ Probierz is another coach who has still not beaten any of the football powerhouses in a match for points. Fernando Santos didn't even have such an opportunity, because in the meantime he was losing to giants like Moldova and Albania, so he was chased away after less than a year. CzesĆaw Michniewicz didn't manage to do it either – he lost to Belgium and didn't beat the Netherlands in the Nations League, and he was also beaten by Argentina and France at the World Cup. Paulo Sousa drew at most against the greats (England and Spain), and he was still highly praised for it, because earlier Jerzy BrzÄczek had lost so painfully against Italy and the Netherlands that he lost his job even before the European Championships, to which he was promoted. So the coach doesn't matter – the Poles can only win a draw against the strongest players.
But football is not at all predictable and immune to surprises. The Greeks had just gone to Wembley on Thursday and defeated the English, European runner-up, 2-1. At Euro itself, Slovakia was able to win against Belgium, and Georgia against Portugal. You can also look deeper – into the qualifying rounds, in which Scotland won against Spain and Wales against Croatia. In recent years, European medium players such as Ukraine, Hungary, Sweden and Turkey have been able to take advantage of favorable circumstances – a bad period, distraction after a great success, less motivation or injuries to key players – and defeat the favorites. In a low-scoring discipline, especially in the national team, which is not as tactically refined and structured as club football, surprises do happen. Actually, everyone, but not Poland. We still have to go back to the match against Germany, exactly ten years ago on Friday.
It's been 10 years. Everyone shows us; “Hey, every now and then it's possible”
It was then that we were able to use the circumstances to achieve a historic result. Fully consciously, because Adam NawaĆka, right after learning the schedule of qualifying matches, was happy that the match against Germany took place after the World Cup. He didn't know yet that Germany would win it, but he expected them to go far, so returning to the qualifying stage won't be particularly exciting for them. In addition, Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker, who already had gold medals around their necks, said goodbye to the team, and the injured Benedikt Hoewedes, Mario Gomez, Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil, Marco Reus and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger did not come to Warsaw. The Poles were still facing a very strong rival, but one that was undergoing renovation. And they used it perfectly.
We remember the 2-0 score after goals by Arkadiusz Milik and Sebastian Mili with pride, often with emotion. Especially since we haven't had any victories of this caliber since then. For years, we have not achieved results beyond our capabilities and we have not surprised the greatest. If we do cause a sensation, it will be the same as in Chisinau. Selectors and rivals change. There were English, Spanish, French, Belgians, Dutch, Argentinians, Italians – in different circumstances, with different playing styles and different approaches to matches against us. However, they consistently showed us our place in line. No moment of elation, no euphoria, no surprise. Even draws started to be enjoyable. It is clear that Poland will not win such matches regularly. It is completely normal that most of them will lose. But not winning one in ten years? The Scots, the Welsh, the Greeks, the Icelanders showed us during this time – hey, it can be done time and time again. Even if you don't have two players like Lewandowski and ZieliĆski.
No big surprises
MichaĆ Probierz's results so far are more or less in line with his potential. It loses to better rivals, such as the Netherlands, Austria and Croatia, defeats weaker and more or less equal rivals – the Faroe Islands, Estonia and Scotland, and draws with teams of similar strength, such as the Czech Republic and Wales (later, a series of penalty kicks resulted in promotion to the Euro). There were two departures from the norm – one positive, the other negative. However, a 1-1 draw with France did not allow the national team to avoid being eliminated from the Euro, and a 1-1 draw with Moldova occurred during his first training camp, which is a mitigating factor.
His national team is moving forward, but in small steps. It was not swept off the pitch by any of its rivals, which happened under Michniewicz and BrzÄczek, and it no longer clashes with clearly weaker teams, as it did under Santos in Chisinau and Tirana. For the last year, Touchstone has been working to make his players braver and more confident on the pitch. Progress is visible because the bar was very low, but even the last match against Croatia showed how much there is still room for improvement. A better opponent appeared opposite again, so the Poles gave him the initiative and avoided risky moves (this does not apply to Nicola Zalewski). They didn't show up to play, they weren't looking for the ball, they were static. The first goal they conceded broke them. Over the course of so many years, so many meetings and with various rivals, it is difficult to talk about a common denominator for Polish matches against the greats, but descending below their own potential instead of climbing to its heights to open the way to a surprise seems repetitive. .
The incredible power of one victory. “We woke up in a different, better reality”
Meanwhile, Touchstone and his team need nothing more today than a victory against a great rival, which will break this ten-year streak and will have the potential to turn out to be the founding myth of his team. Adam NawaĆka recently spoke on TVP Sport about the power that one victory can have.
– Those who didn't believe in us before the match against Germany started to believe in us after it. The boom for the Polish national team has begun. The next day after winning the National Championships, we woke up in a different, better and more beautiful reality. After winning, I experienced the deepest joy as a coach, I felt fulfillment, additional motivation and hunger for success at EURO 2016. I believed that we would go to France and there we would achieve a result that would meet the expectations of the fans and players. It was probably only after this match that the slogan “Ball connects us” reflected the mood and reality so well. I am most satisfied with the fact that football and national team matches became a celebration and united Poles regardless of their political or religious beliefs.
For obvious reasons, going far beyond football itself, defeating any of the great rivals – Spain, England, France or Portugal – will not be equal to defeating the Germans. But the victory described by NawaĆka sounds like something the Touchstone team needs today. Such a win can be an effective cure for complexes, an injection of self-confidence, a founding myth and a reference point for the future. It won't solve all the problems, but Touchstone will always be able to remind the players: “Look, you can do it.” This is what is at stake in the match against Portugal.