Leo names squad for South Africa

Leo Beenhakker has named his squad for the latest summer fixtures against South Africa, Iraq and Greece. The game against South Africa will be played at the Orlando Stadium. It will be the final warm-up friendly for the Africans ahead of their opening Confederations Cup Group A clash at Ellis Park against Asian champions Iraq on June 14. However, There are a few squad changes that may cause upset in some – but there is one change which should not be a surprise to anyone.

The Irek Jelen Show

If you have not seen Jelen’s goal against Le Mans, you should do so. The video is below.  What you’ll see (if you’ll share my point of view of course) is nice technique, flair and composure (and a nice assist by Dariusz Dudka too!). Some of you might remember Irek’s performances at World Cup 2006 in Germany. He was, next to Boruc, our only player who represented Poland proudly enough to deserve call ups in future. Instead, he was somewhat forgotten and pushed to sit in the shade. Undeservedly in my humble opinion.

Jelen remains on fire

Ireneusz Jelen remained in great form for AJ Auxerre in the French Ligue1 on Saturday with a beautiful goal against Toulouse FC in a 1-1 draw. This was Jelen’s 6th goal of the season in just 15 games. He leads all Auxerre scorers and is tied for 17th in the French league. Jelen was subbed off in the 79th minute by Daniel George Niculae, to a standing ovation by his home fans. Polish international Dariusz Dudka played the full 90 for Auxerre in the tie.

Polish footy dodgeball, anyone?

Polish SOCA! LA sent me to Poland on Tuesday to report on the NT training session. I was lucky enough to get a lot closer to some of the real action then some other Polish journalists, and even got to chat up with some of the players. That being said, I have to be brutally honest, I wasn’t expecting much. I knew when I was told I’d be packing my bags for Wronki, Poland that it be nothing like a Brazilian NT training camp, or any of that sort. No it was… well different. Sometimes I was shocked, sometimes I was drunk, because well you have to be to appreciate the Polish NT.

Poor, poor Zoowafski

He never was much of a leader, more of a joker on and off the pitch. Now after his poor performance (If you can call it that) at EURO 2008 and with World Cup qualifications just starting, Maciej Zurawski has been quietly booted from the NT. Why? When? Where? You may ask. Well frankly, he himself doesn’t even know the answer to those questions. Now some people may call him a pussy, or dick after the EURO, but a bad player he is not.

Media crack Leo, Boruc come home?

So here we have it, after much abuse from the media, the old Dutchman finally cracked. A recent article tells us about a comment by a Polish reporter about Leo that he didn’t approve of very well; so its time to sue! I don’t blame him, I myself find it crazy how the Polish media has been recklessly attacking Beenhakker like mad ever since EURO 2008. It’s like they have nothing else to do or think about, just what new bashing should they come up about him, because the NT has been playing so awfully. Hey, here is a thought…