Poland coach Michał Probierz on Robert Lewandowski, a tough EURO group and a bright future – interview
Monday, June 10, 2024
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"Anything is possible in football," says Michał Probierz as his Poland side prepare to face the Netherlands, Austria and France in Group D at UEFA EURO 2024.
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When Michał Probierz replaced Fernando Santos as Poland head coach in September 2023, the Biało-czerwoni were facing an uphill task to qualify for UEFA EURO 2024. A 2-0 defeat by Albania in the Portuguese's final game in charge – Poland's third straight defeat on the road – left them second bottom in Group E with three games remaining.
Probierz succeeded in steadying the ship, collecting five points from the final three qualifiers before play-off triumphs over Estonia and Wales, the latter on penalties, confirmed Poland's place at their fifth successive EURO. In an interview with UEFA.com, the 51-year-old shared his thoughts on his time in charge so far, star striker Robert Lewandowski and his hopes for the tournament in Germany.
On Poland's qualifying campaign
To be honest, we had a lot of work to do. During the matches against Faroe Islands and Moldova [his first two games in charge] we had a lot of injured players, many of whom had never played for the national team before. We had to call up players who had been playing regularly [for their club] or who were 100% fit. That's what we did. It's a shame we didn't win against Moldova because that was the key to the whole thing, but it's important that we won our sixth match together as a team [against Wales].
On Poland's EURO 2024 group
Everyone will head into the EURO looking to win it. When you coach a team, anything is possible in football, so this is not [just] a statement. We just want to go and play well in the tournament. That is the most important thing for us. We're in a competitive group, which will be particularly enjoyable for the fans because our opponents are good teams. We will do everything we can to play well.
On the Polish supporters
The most important thing is that the fans in Poland are happy. They will be able to go to the EURO. We know there are a lot of Poles in Germany. It's also nice for me, personally, because I used to play in Germany myself [for Bayer Uerdingen and Wattenscheid] and now I go there as a coach.
I hope this qualification will give a boost to the team and our football, and that there will be a big crowd at the matches in Germany. I know our fans are demanding, and I hope there are as many of them in Germany as possible. I'm happy we made it and that we're going to this championship.
On coaching Robert Lewandowski
He's an outstanding player, someone who has scored 644 goals in his career. It's a great pleasure to coach him, and you can see how much he has given to the team and how he helped in every way [against Wales], working both defensively and offensively. He's a professional. He knows what he wants, he has been a professional for years, and I hope this collaboration will be good for him. Every player can grow, every coach grows.
On the future of Polish football
I think Polish football is changing rapidly. There are many young coaches who have a lot to offer. There is also a group of people who are creating the [necessary] conditions for them, because the Polish Football Association has created numerous courses. Everything is developing.
We have many players, we watch them closely. I talk to them myself on a regular basis because sometimes I attend Talent PRO workshops, which we have in Poland. We still need to improve a few elements in terms of the foundations, to have more of them and a better organisational structure in many clubs. But we're moving in the right direction.
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