The future is bright

The league is having a winter break and the weather outside is rather gloomy here in Poland, what does not bring much vein. So, it seems as it is not the best moment to start a blog about Polish soccer. But only half. The end of a round is a good opportunity to try and make some summaries, to look at Polish soccer from wide perspective. Matters of Euro 2008 already have been spoken of widely across the web, so it makes no point referring to them. I’d rather focus on some other issues.

In general, my attitude towards situation in Polish football is rather positive in spite of some events. On one hand, we had an opportunity to play at European Championship. On the other – the tournament itself was disappointing from the perspective of Polish fans. Oh, wait… I intended not to mention Euro’08. Looks like I couldn’t ran away from it. But I promise to drop it now and concentrate on other issues. Issues that are, in my opinion, much more important in terms of future of Polish football.

An important matter which I would like to refer to is, sadly and obviously, corruption scandal. My view of it is also ambivalent. Friend of mine told me some time ago about an embarrassment brought by whole swindle. Brought to us by referees, players and chairmans. He was nailed down as, probably, most of Polish fans. However, let’s look at it in a positive way. Yes, it is possible that scandal will edify in a long term. The prosecutors are acting decidedly and the cases are growing in numbers. One suspect is giving away other involved figures, and the breeze of purgation is spreading at growing rate. It seems that a brickwall of corruption looks like a solid structure, but when you look closer, you might notice that it does not have a mortar. A solid hammer of justice administration is just enough to bring it down. And let’s hope it does. Surely, it is going to last some time and bounce back on occasions. We will smell its’ stench couple of times. But, finally, the fresh breeze will come. There will be Euro 2012, there will be modern stadiums, and (let’s hope) there will be honest soccer without frauds.

What makes me more optimistic is that we finally have some young guns that could step into a pivotal role at Polish NT. Not one or two questionable and unsure prospects, but a bunch of potential stars extracted from the mists of Ekstraklasa by Leo. With the likes of Kuba Blaszczykowski, Robert Lewandowski or Rafal Boguski we can look into the future of our soccer with positive attitude. The young players were previously usually walking in a shadow of senior NT members. They seemed unable to become convinced of their skills. Now it reversed. They often radiate with self-assurance and make true competition for older players. This is what we needed all those years. And this is what will bring us joy of successes. The small ones, maybe a big one too?

I say, the future is bright. Brighter than ever in terms of last two decades. It is because of our young guns and determination to clean the environment of Polish soccer. People might point my optimism is way too high, maybe they will be right on that. No sugar coating here though. But this year, in my opinion, was a very good period. Lech Poznan helped me stay optimistic. They’ve just won with Feyenoord at De Kuip and advanced further from the UEFA Cup group. Have a look at their joyful faces and stay positive.

Cheers, maniacs!