14 – that's how many appearances for Polish national team Damien Perquis, who, despite being born in France, chose to play for our team. He even managed to score one goal. It took place on May 26, 2012 during a friendly match with Slovakia. A dozen or so days later, Perquis was the main defender Euro 2012 in matches against Greece (1:1), Russia (1:1) and the Czech Republic (0:1).
Damien Perquis remembers Franciszek Smuda. “I'm very sad”
The defender was called up for the first training camp by Franciszek Smuda, who was the national team coach in 2009-2012. The Polish coach saw him as a solid central defender, which is why he often played him in the starting line-up. Recently, Perquis gave an interview Ontet Sports Review, in which he talked about the unique relationship he had with Smuda. The coach's death shocked the 40-year-old.
– I cried when I found out he died. This is someone who bet on me, who influenced my career. He introduced me well to the team. I'm very sad that he died. I talked on the phone with Konrad (Paśniewski – editor's note), who was the team manager of the national team at that time – he said. The player of French origin even wanted to appear at the funeral, but due to personal reasons he was unable to come to Krakow.
– I wanted to come to the funeral, but I couldn't because of my work schedule. I couldn't attend the funeral, but I really wanted to say goodbye to him because he was someone important to me, he added. The last farewell to Franciszek Smuda took place on Thursday, August 22. The former coach of the Polish national team was buried at the Rakowice Cemetery. He died of leukemia at the age of 77.
President Andrzej Duda posthumously honored him with the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. How does Damien Perquis remember the European Championships, during which Smuda bet on him in every match? – It was definitely a big disappointment for me, because we didn't advance, but we could have won against the Czechs. We had a lot of chances, we could have scored at least two goals, but we didn't score any goals. Yes, it was a failure and a disappointment. But that tournament was the most important moment of my career. Then Poland she did something beautiful at Euro 2016 – he said.