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TagsIf it hadn’t been for a shaky performance by a suspect defense, Poland could quite easily have had a comfortable win against Germany in Gdansk.
And the man who has been singled out by many critics as the weak link in that last line was central defender Arkadiusz Glowacki. Despite his age and experience, the 32-year-old showed poor judgment, his late clumsy tackle on Thomas Muller led to Germany’s first equalizing goal. As well as giving away that penalty Glowacki received a red card and had he been on the pitch in the last few seconds, Cacau may not have been left unmarked in the middle to tap in that late, second equalizer.Among the many critical comments that appeared in the media after the match was that: “Glowacki was saved by Szczesny,” referring to at least two cert goals which the Arsenal keeper stopped, following mistakes by the Transonspor defender.
When it was suggested to Franciszek Smuda: “In the performance we saw from Arkadiusz Glowacki, we won’t go very far in the tournament (UEFA EURO 2012)” the Selekcjoner agreed, saying: “Arek had a poor game. He is aware of that.”
Everyone is entitled to a poor game but Glowacki has some history of making critical mistakes, back in 2004 he was universally blamed for both of England’s goals which lost an important Euro qualifier match for Poland, one was an own goal.
On last Tuesday’s evidence Poland may at last have a good team in the making, based around the Borussia Dortmund pair Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Blaszykowski. As well as goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, whose performance was described as ‘world-class’ by no less than Oliver Kahn, the former German great. But the central defense remains a problem and although French-born Damien Perquis showed promise in his debut match, he needs a solid partner.
That man could be KKS Lech Poznan’s Manuel Arboleda who has, like Perquis, recently taken out Polish citizenship. But unlike the Sauchaux player the Colombian knows Polish football and the home-based players’ style very well, as well as Lewandowski’s who played with him at the Bulgarska.
The only problem is his aggressive style both on and off the field which has made him unpopular with some players and fans alike. Smuda himself appears to belong to that group, but a tough, aggressive defender could be the very thing to bolster a shaky last line of defense. In last season’s UEFA Europa League Arboleda not only put up some fine performances for Kolejorz, he also showed he can score goals too.
Blind loyalty to players who have been showing poor form has always been one of the great downfalls of many managers and coaches. Failing to admit mistakes is another and this could also become the great test of Smuda’s stewardship.
