Fuente: © Arsenal
http://www.arsenal.com/

ARSENAL: Euro 2008: 'Fabianski faces tough competition'

/noticias.info/ Lukasz Fabianski (Poland)
Euro 2008 - Group B
(P'land, G'many, Austria, Croatia)

Arsenal.com is turning its attention to Euro 2008. Seven of Arsène Wenger’s squad are in Austria and Switzerland and we asked a reporter from each country to assess the fortunes of each representative.

Here’s Jonathan Wilson, author of Travels in Eastern European Football, on Lukasz Fabianski and Poland.

Fabianski is one of many top-class Polish goalkeepers isn't he?
"Yes. For some reason they've got this great glut of good goalkeepers - Boruc, Fabianski, Kuszcak and Dudek - and I'm not sure quite why that is. There's a theory that become [Polish keeper] Tomascewski was such a big figure throughout the 1970s, a lot of kids who were athletic chose to be a goalkeeper. There might be a measure of truth to that. It's certainly true that Eastern Europeans privilege goalkeepers rather more than we do, and that goes back years. In the Soviet Union, certainly, a kid in a playground wanted to be a goalkeeper more than a centre forward. A film came out in 1936 called Vratar - which means 'keeper' in Russian - and in the film this teenager's job was to stack watermelons on a cart. Now the melons tended to roll off the cart so he became very adept at catching them. While he is doing that a scout walks by and decides he's exactly what they need to win the big game. Of course in the game he performs heroically. It's propaganda but quite good fun, and it was so popular it boosted the image of the goalkeeper. Either way, 30 years after Tomascewski we are now seeing this glut of top-class Polish goalkeepers."

What are Poland's prospects at Euro 2008?
"They qualified for the last two World Cups very impressively but then flopped when they got there. There are significant fears in Poland that they might do the same again. Leo Beenhakker came in after the last World Cup and, after they lost at Finland in the qualifiers, there was general depression about how things were going. But as we saw when he coached Trinidad and Tobago, Beenhakker is very good at organising mediocre players. He made a point of picking players from the Polish league rather than overseas players and that means you get players in form. If he sees a right back playing well in Poland, for example, he puts him in the team. Under Beenhakker you get a large turnover of players as a result. The Polish league has a little bit more self-confidence now whereas before the players picked for the national squad were on the books of foreign teams but weren't necessarily getting a game. That was a big change."

What else can you tell us about Beenhakker?
"One of the things Beehakker has done which hasn't been so popular is naturalising the Brazilian, Roger. He has been at Legia for two years and some people saw it as a bit of a joke. They did this with the Nigerian, Emmanuel Olisadebe, who went to Portsmouth eventually. There's a sense that Poland can't keep doing this. Equally there is frustration that it happens the other way around. If you look at the Germany team, they have three players who could play for Poland - Podolski, Klose and Trochowski. There is a sense in Poland that this isn't the right way to do things. Morale is low too after they lost 3-0 against the United States in a friendly after the qualifying campaign. That has concerned people too."

Do you expect them to qualify from their group?
"I think there is a natural feeling that Poland's level is such that qualification for a major tournament is a good achievement and so there isn't necessarily that drive to kick on from simply being there. But their qualifying campaign was a bit odd. They had some great results, they beat Portugal at home and drew in Portugal. The right back, Pawel Golanski, he marked Ronaldo out of the game in Poland and was hailed as a hero. It was one of his first games for the country but his form has disappeared - he's a classic example of a Beenhakker player who gets called up because his form is good but gets shipped on when his form dips."

So the Quarter-Finals would be seen as a true achievement?
"They would be delighted with a Quarter-Final place. They have Austria in their group and it's never easy playing the host nation in their home city. Croatia are there too, I thought they had a great chance of winning it until Eduardo's injury, but they still have a very good side. As for Germany, they are the bookmakers' favourite to win the tournament. It's not the hardest group but it's not the easiest either." notas_de_prensa_archivo