Poles plan tribute for tragic hero
Thursday, June 5, 2008
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Roger Guerreiro says Poland are determined to provide fitting tribute to volleyball heroine Agata Mróz-Olszewska when they launch their campaign against Germany.
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'Terrible news'
The country's two-time European volleyball champion died tragically yesterday aged 26 after developing an infection following a bone marrow transplant. It came just two months after Mróz-Olszewska gave birth to a healthy girl, and her passing has shocked the whole of Poland – including the footballers. "We were all praying for her and it's very sad news," said midfielder Jakub Błaszczykowski, summing up the mood at the team base in Bad Waltersdorf. No surprise then to hear playmaker Roger demand a suitable mark of respect on Sunday: "This is terrible news, but maybe if we win our first game against Germany, it will be a tribute to her and her family."
Germany respect
Mróz-Olszewska played a key part in a halcyon period for Polish volleyball, and coach Leo Beenhakker knows that for his players to emulate such success on a European scale they will need to overcome tough opposition. "Germany are one of the top five sides in the world, they always play like a team, they are real team players," Beenhakker said of his charges' first Group B rivals. "They have no problem working hard and they can all do the dirty jobs. Every player works on defending and they have a great mentality. People say Germany are lucky because they know how to win a game in the last minute – if you do it once it's luck, but if you do it all the time it is quality.
Weather restraints
"Germany never give up, they always go on, they never lose face. They are always able to do something extra at the end of a game to change things. That is a big quality and I respect that," added the Dutchman, who has also allayed fears of injury to Michał Żewłakow, the defender having been removed from Wednesday's training as a precaution. For now Beenhakker only has to worry about getting some good weather to work with his squad. "The conditions have not been great for training as we have had so much rain," he said. "We had sun on Tuesday and rain on Wednesday. I cannot change the conditions. Some things in life you cannot change – you have to manage them and work with them and that's what we did on Tuesday."
