POLAND STUNNED WORLD CHAMPIONS GERMANY WITH A 2:0 VICTORY

National team of Poland finally managed to beat Germany on a football pitch. Saturday's 2:0 win at the beautiful National Stadium in Warsaw, in the qualifications to EURO 2016, was long overdue. Poland played Germany 18 times before, and never was able to record a win, even though all the football matches played between these two nations, except for one or two, were always evenly fought ferocious battles. Because of the history of German invasions of Poland and infliction of death and destructions of Polish cities and towns throughout the centuries, any encounter between the national teams from these nations always brings Poland to a stop during the game (same story as with respect to matches against Russia, another of our invading tormentors).
The most famous match between Germany (then West Germany) and Poland was played in Stuttgart, during the 1974 World Cup. Poland was the sensation of the tournament, to which they qualified by beating England 2:0 and then drawing at Wembley 1:1. During the World Cup itself, Poland was unstoppable by beating Argentina, Haiti, Italy, Sweden and Yugoslavia. The match in Stuttgart was to decide who would meet Holland in the big final in Munich. The Poles were the highest scoring team of the tournament, with Grzegorz Lato (7) and Andrzej Szarmach (5) being two leading scorers in the World Cup 1974. The unstoppable in his dribblings winger Robert Gadocha created 9 goals himself, whereas legendary playmaker Kazimierz Deyna, was voted one of the top 3 players of that world cup, together with such greats of the game as Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer. Germans, on the other hand, boasted - besides Beckenbauer - such stars as Meier, Breitner, Overath, Netzer and Gerd Muller. Had the match been played on a normal pitch, Poland would have likely won with their brand of quick-lightning football, and deadly forwards. Unfortunately, an hour before the match the pitch was flooded by heavy rains, and in current football the match would have to be postponed. However, the Germans pressed the officials to play the game as they realized that speed of Polish players would be neutralized by the puddles of water on the pitch. Since Poland then was subjugated by the Soviets and had no clout whatsoever with FIFA, the officials sided with West Germany, and the game was allowed to proceed. Notwithstanding the conditions, the match was dominated by Poland who created multitude of scoring opportunities, yet the ball would not cross the line, either because it would stop in the puddles of water, or in the arms of Sepp Meier, German goalkeeper playing the match of his life. On the other end, Jan Tomaszewski palmed away Uli Hoeness's penalty shot, but he was unable to stop a low shot by Gerd Muller. In the next match, the final against Holland, Germany beat the latter 2:1 and bagged their second world championship, whereas Poland went on to beat Brazil for the 3rd place in the world.
The German approach to the matches against Poland was summarized by coach Jurgen Klinsmann who in 2006 World Cup famously motivated the German national team ahead of the match against Poland, by saying something to the effect: "We can lose against anybody, but never can we allow to be beaten by Poland, never...". That game was also ferociously fought and the score stood at 0:0 until the last minute, when Oliver Neuville managed to somehow beat Artur Boruc, by sliding his body to push the ball through the goal line.
In 2011, in a friendly preparation game to Euro 2012, Poland was leading 2:1 in the last minute, yet the Germans equalized in the last gasp of the match through naturalized Brazilian, Cacau, and denied the Poles the elusive victory. Before Saturday's match, theses teams met the last time in May, 2014 in Hamburg, both in depleted squads, and the game ended again in a 0:0 draw, exactly as in 1971 in the same Hamburg stadium, during qualifications to EURO 1972, incidentally won by West Germany.
Last Saturday, the conditions were favorable to Poland, as Germany is currently in transition, after retirement of Lahm, Klose and Mertesaker, and injuries of Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Ozil and Reuss
had an impact on the Germans. Poland was also missing its best technical and creative player, Jakub Blaszczykowski, known by fans all over the world as Kuba. Yet Adam Nawalka, one of the young stars of 1978 World Cup, whose career was quickly finished by injuries, is rather a smart coach, and he knows Germany as he played against them himself. He improved dramatically Polish defense, and decided to surrender the midfield whereas he concentrated on quick transition from defense to attack. Poland did not have many breaks, perhaps 5 or 6, and ended up with 3 shots on target, yet 2 of them reached home. Clinical! Our best centre-half, Kamil Glik, finally showed why in Serie A he is known as the Wall, and whatever he could not stop, was stopped but our young goalkeeper Wojtek Szczesny (he earns his living at Arsenal London)  who smartly positioned himself on all German scoring opportunities, and probably had a better game than Jan Tomaszewski had at Wembley in 1973. The most decisive was though the role of Robert Lewandowski, who played huge role in diverting the attention of German defenders from Arkadiusz Milik and, after his substitution, from Sebastian Mila. On the first goal, Piszczek crossed toward Lewandowski and Milik, however, German defenders paid attention only to deeper placed Lewandowski, what allowed Milik to attack the ball freely, ahead of Neuer, the German goalkeeper, who attempted to correct his defenders' mistake, and Milik's glancing header ended up in the German's net. On the second goal, the ball was thrown to Lewandowski, who controlled it in the right corner of German penalty area, and cleverly shook off Durm, then seeing the other German defenders converging on him, Lewandowski passed the ball calmly to arriving in Sebastian Mila, who struck it immediately home with his left foot. Apparently, Neuer did not know that Mila is a left-footed player, for he expected Mila to control the ball with left foot and to strike it with his right foot.  Immediately, the National Stadium went in delirium for it became apparent that the first victory over Germany in football was in the bag. The vodka must have been streaming in Poland all night, as online readers of Guardian commented on. So, finally we took that monkey of our back, and future matches against the Germans would be from now on a less tense affair for the Poles.
The Warsaw victory is one of the string of recent successes by Polish sport, which is somehow catching up with Poland's economic success and is the next sign of normalcy of life in Poland. Three weeks ago, Poland's volleyball team won the men world championships and two weeks ago young Michal Kwiatkowski won the world championship in road cycling, whereas another young cyclist, Rafal Majka was the revelation in Tour de France, where he won the best climber jersey. Poland was recently also successful in track and field, speedway, team handball and tennis, and improved considerably in basketball, in addition to recording best ever medal catch in the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
Tomorrow comes match against Scotland, even more difficult than the one against Germany, as Scotland will likely "park the bus", leaving the attacking to Poland, who is not used to positional football, particularly without injured Kuba Blaszczykowski, the most creative Polish midfielder. As I am certain that counterattacking Polish team will handily beat Scotland in Glasgow, I am not so sure about the game played in Warsaw, notwithstanding the higher technical level of Polish team. The Scots are technically limited and although they can play quick physical football, they are predictable in their usual automatic schemes of play. I believe, though, thanks to the huge motivational kick in the form of victory over Germany, that we will prevail over Scotland, after all.  Godspeed, Poland! Naprzod, Polska!

Janusz Andrzejewski, a New York City based attorney, writes on legal and other important community topics. You can reach him by telephone (212-634-4250), 

 or, through e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

SIR ALEX FERGUSON PUSHED OUT FROM MANCHESTER UNITED?

When last Tuesday evening a news appeared, claiming Manchester United is about to issue an important statement, and that it might pertain to Alex Ferguson, I could only think that the Glazers, a family from the United States, who took over ownership of the club several years ago, must be pushing him out, unhappy with United's another failure in the Champions League. All the news coming out of Manchester on Wednesday said that Sir Alex decided to leave now, supposedly at the best of times, when United was assured of winning the 20th domestic title and when the team's future was secured financially as well as on a sporting level. It was so strange to me that nobody  seemed to doubt the official story. Yet, last Sunday Sir Alex claimed that he feels great and is already thinking of another campaign, he was in fact actively involved in attempts to bring back Cristiano Ronaldo and to acquire Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund. What could have happened that caused such an immediate turn around in the space of two days? Illness of Sir Alex or his wife? There was no such a news coming out of his inner circle, instead there was a news of a conference of the top people in the club with the Glazers. Must be the Glazers, I formulated quickly an opinion, and here is why: the Glazers must be unhappy with Manchester United's recently perennial failure in the most prestigious of competitions, the UEFA Champions League, why they still are paying off the huge loan which they took to finance Manchester United takeover and then burdened the club with it. In this season, the team did not make the quarterfinals; the season before was even worse as United were eliminated in the group stages of the Champions League and were banished to Europa League, from which they were eventually kicked out by lowly but stylish Athletic Bilbao, the same team which is holding for dear life in current La Liga season. Sir Alex was a great coach who had a blue print for successfully competing in Premier League, the English domestic competition. However, in the Champions League, where he had to deal with teams consisting of players on a higher technical and tactical levels, he was able to convert the 13 Premiership titles to only 2 Champions League trophies. Apparently, he had too many English, physical players in his team, who were and still are unable to compete with the more sophisticated European or South American players of top European teams. Clearly, Manchester United recent failures in Europe were treated by the Glazer family as one bridge too far, particularly when they realized how much profits were lost in the recent Champions League campaigns. Someone had to pay for it. It appears that that someone is Sir Alex Ferguson, the man who secured for Manchester United 13 Premier League titles, but only 2 Champions League trophies. The world of business nowadays is still cruel and the credo "greed is good" still rules; the owners and corporate executives do not dwell on the past, either you win and are profitable or you are gone. Such is the news to world of football (or soccer) from corporate America.

Janusz Andrzejewski is a New York City based attorney, writing on legal and other important community subjects. You can contact him at (212) 634-4250 or by e-mail at janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

EURO 2012: NO MAJOR SURPRISES

Euro 2012 reached the decisive stages. Ahead of us the semi-finals between Spain and Portugal in the first pair, and Italy and Germany in the second. I will go with Spain-Germany final (Spain will win it all), although I think Italy migh still go all the way to the final. A couple of weeks ago, I predicted as my semifinalists Spain, Germany, Italy and France. Unfortunately, the French self-destructed in the game against Sweden, and then had to go against the artists of Spain. Tough luck! They were not ready yet for such a tremendous task, notwithstanding that Laurent Blanc did a very good job with this French team. The biggest disappointment of Euro 2012 turned out to be Holland, but they never could be consistent in two major tournaments in a row, particularly that they always have to deal with inner conflicts in their team. The closest they have come to be consistent were the World Cups in 1974 and in 1978, when they ended as runner-ups, but they self-destructed between those two tournaments, in Euro 1976, despite having then the best team on the planet.
England, as always, were a joke. When will the English media realize that English players are not good enough to win anything? In fact, they are mediocre when they have to play without the creative foreigners, who raise the level of play in English Premier League. How anyone can dream of winning a major tournament in international football (or soccer, as it is called in North America), relying only on players who can play good defense, but they are unable to keep possession of the ball and properly pass? The statistics told the whole story of this English team, in each of the four games England was outpassed, outshot, and chased their opponents for 60%-70% of the play time. I will tell them again, get proper coaches for your kids at the ages of 7 or 8 and teach them the basics of controlling the ball and passing it properly around. However, you have to get coaches for your kids from Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Netherlands or Italy, as English coaches themeselves never aquired the proper technical skills. Only then, in 14-16 years from now, the English might have a shot of winning it all. Until then, dream on England, while neutrals are having a laugh, again at your cost. Poland? Well, it was the second youngest team in Euro 2012, only older than Germany. However, without playing any competitive games in almost three years, they were not able yet to mix it up with the best. They need some more competitive games, and the nearest World Cup qualifications against England, Ukraine, Montenegro, et al. will show what they are built off. Provided, they will get an able coach (like talented but inexperienced Fornalik, or veterans: Lenczyk or Kasperczak). The talents of Lewandowski, Blaszczykowski, Piszczek, Wolski, Szczesny or Tyton should blossom at 2014 World Cup. If they qualify, that is!

Janusz Andrzejewski is a new York based attorney, writing on this blog on legal and community important subjects. You can contact him by telephone at (732) 527-2195, or through his website: www.adwokatandrzejewski.com

POLAND V. RUSSIA, BATTLES ON AND OFF THE FOOTBALL PITCH

Fifth day of Euro 2012, the football tournament (or soccer, should you prefer the American terminology) being played at present in Poland and Ukraine, was very eventful, to say the least. Both, on the streets and at the stadiums. Unfortunately, the loaded with history and emotions match between two long enemies, Poland and Russia, was scheduled by UEFA unwittingly on the Russia Day. The worst mistake however, committed the Mayor of Warsaw, Ms. Gronkiewicz-Waltz, by issuing a permission for the Russians to march from the centre of Warsaw to the National Stadium, accross Vistula River. As if the long history of Russian persecution of the Polish nation was not enough to provoke Polish ultras? Let us see what made the atmosphere so tense: the Russian partition of Poland (with Prussian and Habbsburg Empire) at the end of 18th century; 123 years occupation of Poland from 1795 to 1918; ruthless crushing of Polish uprisings throughout 19th century and deportations of millions to Siberia; invasion of Poland by bolsheviks and war of 1919-1921; secret clause to the Ribbentrop - Molotov Pact and back-stabbing Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939, when the Poles were in the middle of defensive war against nazi Germany; repressions, deportation to Siberia of millions and murder of 22,000 of elite of Polish nation at Katyn, Kozielsk, etc.; the post World War II Soviet domination of Poland (after FDR sold Poland out to Stalin) and, still unexplained (to the conservative Poles, at least) catastrophe of Polish presidential plane at Smolensk, two years ago. In addition, violence of the Russian ultras at Wroclaw Stadium during Russia - Czech Republic game and severe beatings of defenseless stewards. It appears that Polish police, in force of over 6,000 men did a sensible job in Warsaw, after all. It appears also, that the march was marred by a 100 or so of ultras, both Polish and Russian, who were provoking and attacking each other, apparently having contracted the fights online. The final provocation and insult occured at the National Stadium, where the Russians posted enormous flag with a picture of Russian hero of fight against the Poles in XVII century, bearing a huge sign: THIS IS RUSSIA. As if they had to remind the Poles that Warsaw was 123 years under the czarist Russia occupation. Luckilly, it was decided that heavy police presence was necessary at National Stadium, and strong anti-riot police forces were placed in front of the Russian sector.
Regarding the match itself, crdit to players, they outdid themseves and produced a memorable spectacle on the pitch and the best match in Euro 2012 so far, with the goal of tournament scored by Polish captain, Jakub Blaszczykowski, known also as Kuba, one of the three Polish stars of Borussia Dortmund (the creative trio which gave Borussia Dortmund second consecutive championship of Bundesliga and the German Cup trophy). Even though Russia enjoyed majority of possession, the Poles had the edge when it mattered as they had more shots, both on and off target and were more dangerous when it mattered. If not for the Russian goalkeeper and the Russian luck, the Poles could have ended up with a win. In any case, the second youngest team in Euro 2012 is bursting now with confidence, and having much better defense than the Czechs, and more dangerous attack with the hugely talented and versatile Robert Lewandowski, is considered now to be the favorite in confrontation with the Czechs.

Janusz Andrzejewski
The author is a New York based lawyer, publishing a blog on legal and other community subjects. You can contact him by telephone (732-527-2195) or at www.adwokatandrzejewski,com

POLSKA - ROSJA, WIECEJ NIZ MECZ, I TYLKO MECZ

Dzisiaj o 14:45, jak Polska dluga i szeroka, czy tez gdziekolwiek Polacy sa porozrzucani po swiecie, wszyscy zasiada przed telewizorami w domach, barach czy tez na placach w strefach kibica, jezeli nie na samym Stadione Narodowym. Polska reprezentacja pilki noznej gra z Rosja w ramach Euro 2012. Czy to wydarzenie jest czyms wiecej niz mecz pilkarski? Czy tez to tylko mecz?W roznych aspektach mozna probowac odpowiadac na te pytania, jednakze na pewno nie uda sie uniknac podtekstu politycznego, niezaleznie od tego ze jest to przeciez wydarzenie na polu rywalizacji sportowej. Jak siegniemy pamiecia w przeszlosc, od 1945 roku wszystkie mecze pilki noznej, i nie tylko, pomiedzy Polska i ZSRR, a pozniej z Rosja, wnosily jakis bagaz emocji. Pamietny mecz w Chorzowie w 1957, kiedy wielki faworyt ZSRR z Lwem Jaszynem pojawil sie na Slasku, sciagnal ponad 100 tysiecy ludzi na nowym wowczas obiekcie. I nasi pilkarze, i kibice na Slaskim, i cala Polska przy radiach, potrakowali tamten mecz w kategoriach, jezeli nie wojny, wielkiego wydarzenia politycznego, dajacego mozliwosc odkucia sie za Katyn, za wywozki na Syberie, za narzucony komunizm. Bramki Cieslika i zwyciestwo przyniosly radosna euforie oczyszczajaca zbiorowa dusze narodu po wielkich katastrofach ktore przyniosla w rezultacie II wojna swiatowa. Czy dzisiaj bedzie tak samo, czy tez po ostatnich sukcesach ekonomicznych Polacy beda wreszcie w stanie potraktowac ten mecz jako rywalizacje sportowa, jako mozliwosc zabawienia sie na otwartym stadionie i przekomarzania sie z Rosjanami na temat wyzszosci pilkarskiej? Jakos nie moge uwierzyc, ze przy poziomie i glupim sensacjonalizmie naszych mediow jest to mozliwe. Zwlaszcza ze pewne srodowiska polityczne, i ultra prawicowi kibole, nie sa w stanie przepuscic okazji zadymy. Fakt pozwolenia przez Ratusz warszawski na zbiorowy marsz Rosjan z centrum miasta do Stadionu Narodowego na Pradze jest ukazywany jako uszczuplenie naszej suwerennosci, jako obraza. Nie jestesmy w stanie uwolnic sie od naszych uprzedzen. Tak samo jak potraktowalismy amerykanska publicystke Debbie Schlussel, wywodzaca sie z rodziny Polskich Zydow, skadinad skandalizujaco wyrazajacej swoje poglady na temat polskiej wspolpracy z faszystami w mordowaniu Zydow, niemniej, nie bylismy w stanie polemizowac z nia z klasa, a ucieklismy sie do inwektyw i wyzwisk. Kiedyz wreszcie nabierzemy zaufania do pozycji Polski w swiecie, zdobytej dzieki gospodarczym sukcesom i wywazonej polityce w ostatnich latach. Czy zawsze musimy wyciagac trabke i wzywac husarie do boju? Wiecej pewnosci siebie. Bawmy sie bo takiego swieta jak Euro 2012 nie bedziemy mieli dosc dlugo. Kto jest Lepszy? Lewandowski czy Pavlyuchenko, Arshavin czy Kuba Blaszczykowski, Tyton czy Malafeev? Zycze powodzenia polskiej ekipie. A po zabawie, wracjamy do pracy. Tylko wzrost gospodarczy zapewni nam lepsza pozycje w swiecie, i zaufanie do nas samych.

Janusz Andrzejewski

Autor jest adwokatem w Nowym Jorku, wypowiadajacym sie tutaj na tematy prawne i spoleczne. Kontakt z autorem przez telefon 732-527-2195 albo przez nastepujace strone internetowa: www.adwokatandrzejewski.com

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION SHOULD APPLY TO US ALL, EVEN TO DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL

Debbie Schlussel, a free lance journalist and an attorney, known for her racist, anti-islamist and now anti-Polish views, encountered wrath of Polish surfers online for publishing on May 30, 2012, a post entitled: "Poles Were Complicit in Holocaust: Outrage over Obama 'Gaffe' is Fraudulent, Ignorant". She claimed in the post that president Obama should not apologize for his gaffe ("Polish death camp") . Incidentally, president Obama apologized, sort of, for the erroneous use of the phrase and acknowledged that there were no "Polish death camps", paid tribute to  Polish resistance and victims. Ms. Schlussel wrote that the Poles murdered majority of her family in Holocaust, that there were in fact Polish death camps in World War II, built and ran by the Poles, that Poland collaborated with nazi Germany, that Poles formed several SS divisions, etc. All of the above claims, except relating to her family (which I could not verify), were either outright lies or distortions. I have engaged into discourse with Ms. Schlussel's followers on her blog, and notwithstanding that I have admited anti-semitism of certain parts of Polish society in pre-World War II Poland and during German and Soviet occupation of Poland, and certain incidents of pogroms (like Jedwabne or Kielce), I have rejected the claims of Poland's collaboration with nazi Germany, of Polish death camps, of Polish SS divisions and of Polish complicity in Holocaust, and supported my rejections with quotes and citations from reputable historians. I have also supplied information about the scale of Polish sacrifices and of Polish resistance and fight against German nazis as well as about history of Jewish population in Poland from 14th century (when Polish king Casimir the Great granted them various privileges and refuge in Poland from pogroms in Spain, Portugal, England, France and German Roman Empire) until the partitions of Poland at the end of 18th century. Then, through 19th century when the Poles fought for independence until 1918, when they regained statehood, and through the Second Republic until World War II. Alas, none of my arguments changed the views of ardent followers of Ms. Schlussel. Then, certain Polish media online mentioned Ms. Schlussel's post and suddenly wave of Polish online surfers started to submit hundreds of comments to Ms. Schlussel's blog. I have published a post on my own blog, asking the Poles to disregard Ms. Schlussel's provocative claims as she was apparently selling more ads thanks to the sudden rush of visitors to her website. It appears that Ms. Schlussel's website has been overran by the Polish surfers approximately three days ago, most of them disputing her outrageous claims. However, there were also those who insulted her in reverse and made threats. Apparently, the freedom of expression as known in the United States, has certain limits in Poland. For example, Poland has strict laws against denying Holocaust and people doing so must be prosecuted by Polish authorities. A great number of Polish surfers even used the threat of reporting Ms. Schlussel to authorities for denying that German nazis were responsible for Holocaust. However, majority of the surfers were not familiar with American concept of freedom of expression which allows anybody to express freely their own views, particularly, if those views, or opinions, are based on colorable facts. Were the facts on which Ms. Schlussel based her opinions colorable? Majority of them, not. Particularly, that she utilized anti-semitic incidents, either to come to conclusion or imply that Poland was complicit in Holocaust, that Poland collaborated with nazi Germany, that Poland organized and ran death camps, that Poland formed several SS divisions. In truth, Poland was an occupied country, its population was to be in majority eliminated, its government fled to London, UK where it organized Polish armies in the West and resistance inside of occupied Poland, and there was no Polish collaboration except for the Volksdeutches (Polish citizens of German descent). Still, we cannot deny freedom of expression to anybody in the US, even to Debbie Schlussel while she spreads hatred, without a court order. Therefore, let her speak, but find other avenues of reaching the US audience and making that audience realize what Debbie Schlussel in fact does. And moreover, make the Americans realize that their history programs are not up to the world standards, particularly that they differ so much from state to state and tend to confuse people. Particularly, when various newspapers, or speach-writers for the president of the United States, themselves create confusion.

Janusz Andrzejewski
The author of this post is a New York based attorney and a publisher of his own blog on legal and various community subjects. You can reach him at (732-527-2195), or through his website: www.adwokatandrzejewski.com

POLAND JOINS BIG LEAGUES WITH EURO 2012

Finally, after years of preparations, Euro 2012 in soccer is about to kick off tomorrow at Poland's National Stadium in Warsaw. The new stadium, one of the most impressive venues in the world of soccer, with a retractable roof, has over 58,000 seats and rather does not belong to the biggest arenas. But, its design inside and state of the art amenities make it impressive and imposing venue, indeed. Even more beautiful is a bit smaller PGE Arena in Gdansk, in various shades of amber color, with a light design of the outside walls and of the roof. The City Stadium in Poznan characterizes futuristic design of the roof construction (as seen from inside of the stadium) whereas Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw boasts with great visibility from each of its traditional one-tier level seats. The roads in Poland have been considerably improved, new highways were added, although not all of them are finished. The hotel industry, quite impressive in recent years, has been made even better. Warsaw Airport, already modern, opened additional terminal whereas majority of local airports were either modernized or rebuilt. Polish economy, which as the only one in Europe has not known recession in recent years, is still advancing ahead with 3,5 % growth, made even more impressive by the troubles of Greece, Portugal, Spain or Italy. Krakow, one of the most picturesque cities in the world does not stage any games, but it hosts teams from England, Holland and Italy and is already crowded with tourists from all over the world. Well done, Poland! Enjoy, for your time has finally arrived. Let's hope, that none of the racial incidents, predicted by BBC's sensational Panorama program, will take place for we cannot allow those few yobs to spoil our soccer holidays. Let us rather show the world our traditional Polish hospitality!

Janusz Andrzejewski