Poland hungry for success

14/02/2002

POLAND arrived in Malaysia yesterday and they were naturally tired after a
long flight from Barcelona, but the hunger in skipper Robert Grzeszczak
eyes was evident.
Troubled by the lack of sponsors and poor government backing for the
sport, Poland only brought 17 players to Malaysia because "We could not
afford to bring another on our budget," said team manager Tomasz Felman.
The FIH ruling allows teams to field 18 players for the Kuala Lumpur
World Cup because of the humid conditions, so Poland arrived handicapped.
Felman, 27, looks more like a 22-year-old and nine players in his team
are older than him.
The skipper, Grzeszczak is 31-years-old and has the second highest caps
in his team, 170. They dropped three key players, because of money
disputes.
Piotr Mikula, one of the FIH's six top players in 2000, Polish defence
leader Tomasz Szmidt and Marcin Nyckowiak, all players from Bundesliga's
Rheydter Moenchengladbach were dropped because they asked for more
allocations.
All three players left the team in the last phase of preparations after
a disagreement with the national trainer Jerzy Joskowiak over financial
issues.
The lack of Mikula, one of the best scorers and Szmidt who proved last
year to be one of the most experienced defender of pen corners (in
Edinburgh qualifyer Poland lost just four penalty corner goals against 65
corners) will surely have a tremendous impact on the team's performance in
Malaysia.
But the manager disagrees, saying that they have brought the best in the
country.
"We decide on the best and even Miroslaw Juszczak, who has never played
an international game before, is a utility player. I have confidence that
we will do well in the World Cup," said Felman.
When pushed on the `do well' Felman said: "Most of the teams in the
World Cup are title contenders but not Poland, we are only preparing a
young side for the 2004 Athens Olympics."
Poland only played indoor hockey in November and December because of bad
weather and were hammered in the King's Cup Three-Nation in January by
England and Spain. Before arriving in Malaysia, they underwent a 10-day
stint in Barcelona but the climate was not kind and they did not clock the
hockey they desired.
They played four matches in Spain and lost three - 3-0 and 4-1 aginst
Spain and drew 2-2 with Belgium and lost the second match 3-2.
But even then, they are a dangerous side because their hunger and the
troubled road they took to reach Malaysia might just do the trick.
When asked about how they rate Malaysia whom they will meet on March 5
skipper Grzeszczak, after a long pause, said: "I have played against
Malaysia in the Sydney 2000 Olympics and they are a very disciplined side
and their strength is teamwork. And as hosts, it will be a very important
match for them and Poland will find it difficult to win the match."
Malaysia are banking on that, wins against Japan, Poland and Cuba is a
must for the hosts if they want to finish among the top-eight bracket.
But the hunger in Poland might just be too great to handle, and the
early indications are that the last pool match for Malaysia will be touch-
and-go.
jugjet@nstp.com.my FACTFILE: POLAND
World Cup achievements: 1975 (K Lumpur) - 10th
1978 (Buenos Aires) - 9th
1982 (Bombay) - 8th
1986 (London) - 8th
World Cup appearance: Fifth time
Player to watch: Robert Grzeszczak, (skipper)
Qualified: Finished third on the World Cup Qualifiers in Edinburgh
The Squad:
Marcin Pobuta (gk, caps 95), Eugeniusz Gaczkowski 490, Dariusz Malecki
(97), Tomasz Choczaj (97), Robert Grzeszczak (kipper, 110), Zbigniew
Juszczak (119), Robert Grotowski (177), Marcin Strykowski (20), Mariusz
Chyla (gk, 16), Slawomir Choczaj (94), Tomasz Choczaj (74), Artur Mikula
(37), Marcin Wichlacz (10), Krzysztof Witczak (10), Krzysztof Witczak
(10), Lukasz Wybieralski (66), Miroslaw Juszczak (0).
Coach: Jerzy Joskowiak
Manager: Tomasz Felman
(END)