2023-06-16 14:37:00
We remind you of fragments of the conversation with Dawid Błaszczykowski, brother of Jakub Błaszczykowski, which we conducted in 2018 before the midfielder’s 103rd match in the national team. Then Błaszczykowski went down in the history of Polish football as the player who made the most appearances in the national team. Then he was overtaken by Robert Lewandowski, who now has 140 appearances. Błaszczykowski will say goodbye to the national team in the 109th match in a white and red shirt. He will play against Germany at the National Stadium.
Kacper Sosnowski: Do you remember how this white and red adventure of your brother began?
David Blaszczykowski: I remember very well. I was standing at the checkout in the store. Kuba called and said that there is a good chance that he will be among those called up for the match against Saudi Arabia. It was March 2006. He had talked to someone from Paweł Janas’ staff. This is one of those moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.
photo. Wojciech Surdziel / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
He joined the team a year after he started playing in the Ekstraklasa. Quick?
“His career was going at a rapid pace. You can say that in two years he reached the top, looking at where he was – and he played in the IV league – and from there he joined the Polish champion team. In Wisła Kraków, after half a year, he won a place in the squad. I remember that when he went to Wisła, the media wondered what kind of fourth-league reinforcement it was? And quickly everyone was surprised. And then there was the national team, a trip to the West, European cups – all in a few years.
But first, right after joining the team, he listened with interest to Janas’ call-ups for the 2006 World Cup. Was he hoping to go to Germany?
It was one of those bitter pills to swallow for sure. Unfortunately, the coach did not call him due to injury. In any case, Kuba did not go to the championships yet.
photo. Mateusz Skwarczek / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
From the beginning, however, another selector, Leo Beenhakker, used his services.
– With whom Kuba had a slight false start. It’s about the match against Finland. I remember him perfectly. Meeting for a stake, him in the first team, a great experience for him and his loved ones. However, he did not show his skills then. He was angry with himself. I don’t know what was the reason. In any case, the coach did not put him out for the second half anymore. Kuba even called me from the locker room. In my opinion, these were all moments that built it. Such a learning that not everything is so simple does not happen all at once. The fact that he quickly climbed to the top did not mean that he would be downhill from now on. It was such a reminder that you have to face reality all the time.
You had a swing of moods, because after Finland and Serbia, Portugal quickly came, i.e. vice-champions of Europe. We won 2-1.
– For us it was still important what was before the match, i.e. the decision of the selector. His experience came out. He put in a man who didn’t go well with a recent meeting. Beenhakker said at the time that he knew the value of Cuba. He knew that past events were just an accident. Even though you’re only as good as your last match at football. Kuba knew in difficult moments that he could count on the coach.
Poles with Błaszczykowski in the line-up turned out to be one of our best matches in the 21st century.
– I remember it very well. I was sitting near the Portuguese fans in the fourth row behind the Polish goal. The crowd was such that I landed on the stairs. Visibility was poor. I almost didn’t see Smolarek’s goals. However, I remember the great joy of the fans and the uninterrupted fun in the stands. Something wonderful.
photo. Kuba Atys / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
The Portuguese were so angry at that time that they did not want to exchange shirts in the locker room. Kuba managed to do it on the pitch, probably as the only one.
– Simao Sabrosa’s black jersey is still on today.
Wasn’t it at the Silesian Stadium that Kuba had a hard time with security guards when he went to talk to you after one of the matches?
– It was definitely in Chorzów. Kuba came out to me and the rest of the family. He went behind the tape that separated bystanders from the footballers’ area. When he wanted to go back to the locker room, a security guard blocked his way and told him he couldn’t come in. Kuba replied that he had to get there and showed that he was a national team player. The marshal said he didn’t care that he had a national team jersey. He must have really taken the role. He wouldn’t even let him on the bus. Only after the manager’s intervention, Kuba joined the team. There was some laughter.
Kuba waited over a year for the first goal in the national team. Was it one of the most important?
– He won it in an away game against Russia. I remember because it was the first one, but his match against the Czech Republic, won 2:1, gave more emotions. Good match, goal and assist. I remember him telling me that he was planning what he would do if he was alone with the goalkeeper. This happened, and it turned out even better than he had planned. His most important matches, however, are probably those at the European Championships in France. I don’t remember Poland ever playing so well and effectively. It was a great experience and valuable goals. Although every goal in the national team is worth its weight in gold. It doesn’t matter against whom, it’s important that it’s for us.
After four years in the national team, Błaszczykowski became its captain. It’s a distinction, responsibility, and in the end, probably also pressure.
– Honor and responsibility for sure. The captain does not represent only 23 players who come to the team, but also millions of Poles. It was a positive stimulus for him. Appreciating what he did on and off the pitch. Proof that it made sense and worked.
And how did he stop being a captain during Nawałki?
– There was some controversy about it. But that’s history. I’m not here to comment on it. It was with Nawałka that Kuba achieved his greatest successes, he owes a lot to him. I think the coach himself feels the same way.
He has good and bad memories associated with each coach.
– It’s normal. At Beenhakker, at some point he experienced the fact that he did not always play in the first team. Smuda, who liked him very much, had a weak Euro and a problem with tickets. With Nawałka, history with the lost World Cup and the change in the last match.
However, it was never the case that he felt any reluctance from the coaches. Anyway, he is too smart a man to judge, draw some cases, or comment on various decisions of selectors. They are responsible for them.
You mentioned the ticket thing. He meant well, and harsh criticism fell on him.
– Maybe he spoke unnecessarily then, but as he normally has his ritual and proper preparation before the match – bath, three hours of sleep, coffee or tea, he couldn’t rest then. He walked around with a phone and dealt with things that he should not, so that the relatives of players who came to Wrocław from all over Poland were not left in the cold.
photo. Kuba Atys / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
It was one of Cuba’s worst personnel moments?
– The most difficult was probably before Euro 2016. Then he had a knife at his throat. Attacks on him from all sides. He was practically alone, he had no support. He was coming back from an injury. We had a meeting with Serbia. It is crucial to once again prove your suitability for the staff. He knew that if he failed, it would be bad. It was like a crowd waiting for a man to be beheaded. He only had one wish then. He wanted a chance in this game. He get. He scored a goal. Criticism of the media turned into praise, even admiration. This re-established him as a person and as a representative. Such was his football life. He had to prove something all the time.
During the last match of the 2018 World Cup, when Kuba waited a few minutes for a change to complete his 101st match in the national team, you commented on it clearly. “What did he do to deserve such disrespect?”
“In retrospect, I think it’s a good thing he didn’t come on the pitch then.” I think he’s too ambitious a man to force his meter up. It is probably better that this change was not planned at all. I don’t know what she was supposed to bring? You’d have to ask the trainer. I have marked my opinion that people who have been with this team and have devoted their hearts to it for over a dozen years should count on respect.
I wanted to end on a positive note…
We’ve been through so much in life that we know what’s important. You have to do what is consistent with yourself and always the best you can. Since we talked about different matches of Cuba, I will add one more thing. If we analyzed all these meetings, I don’t know if I would be able to cite those in which he did not show 200 percent. struggle and good intentions. He always tried and always gave his best. Even after Senegal, he told me that he could play longer (he got injured, he was substituted after the first half – editor). He didn’t really want to leave the field. He took it all hard.
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