Polish volleyball team 1st in the World!

Courtesy of pzps.pl

The good times just keep rolling in!  Just today, another success of Polish athletes: 2012 Volleyball FIVB World League Finals championship title after beating United States during the tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.  They are taking home a grand prize: $1,000,000.  That kind of money can buy a lot of volleyballs.

You can read more on the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball website:

“I am very happy, it is a historical moment for all of us,” Poland captain Marcin Mozdzonek said. “We won against one of the best team in the world, USA. I hope we will continue playing this way.”
The 2012 World League is Poland’s first international title since the 1976 Olympics, which adds to their 1974 World Championship crown. Since coach Andrea Anastasi came on board after a 13th place finish at the 2010 World Championships, Poland recorded their previous best ever World League result at last year’s edition finishing third, before claiming bronze at the European Championships and silver at the 2011 World Cup. Anastasi has now won five World League titles – two as a player for Italy (1990, 1991), two as a coach of Italy (1999, 2000) and now one with Poland.  

Some remarks from Polish team captain, Marcin Możdżonek, after the Semifinals win with Bulgaria.

It seems that the Polish Volleyball Federation or Polski Związek Piłki Siatkowej (PZPS) is doing much better job with the Polish team than the Polish Football Union (PZPN) during EURO 2012.

The one drawback about this tournament is the inability to watch the games on TV in the US.  One would think that ESPN or one of the major TV networks would have a live coverage of the Volleyball World League.  Especially, when the US team is playing.  We all know that beach volleyball rules but please, some compassion.  Well, once again, thank you Internet, thank you Al Gore!

Could anyone watch that tournament on TV in US?  
As for the Polish team: keep slamming that ball!

Wimbledon 2012 - Agnieszka Radwańska second

It's decided.  Today, at the Wimbledon Final, Serena Williams defeated Agnieszka Radwańska 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.  It wasn't easy for Williams to win her 5th Wimbledon Singles Title, especially after a surprising 2nd set won by Radwańska.  Luckly for Williams, her serves were just too much for the Polish player.  At the end, Williams was just her usual powerhouse of tennis.   

It was a great match and it paved the path for Agnieszka to reach for more.  She has shown a great deal of determination and mental power.  I wonder how being a second at Wimbledon will affect her rankings?  Thank you for all you hard work!

In the words of the Terminator: She'll be back! 

Agnieszka Radwańska in Wimbledon Finals!

Polish athlete is on the move at Wimbledon!  After beating Angelique Kerber in Semifinals today, Agnieszka  Radwańska will faceSerena Williams, who defeated Victoria Azarenka, at Finals on Saturday, July 7th, at 8:00 AM Central. 

The New York Times summarizes her success and advancement in today's article by Ben Shpigel:

The reaction offered by Radwanska after her tidy 70-minute, 6-3, 6-4, dismissal of Angelique Kerber — a few hops, none high enough to slide a legal pad underfoot — smacked of subtlety, much like her game, and belied the magnitude of her achievement: she is the first Polish woman to reach a Grand Slam final in 73 years, since Jadwiga Jedrzejowska at the 1939 French Championships.

Photo by jaz1111 on SXC

For Poland, any successful sporting event is a proud moment, but repeating success from before II World War has a special flavor.  Being ruled by an iron fist of the Soviet Union after the war, Radwańska's achievement is a proof that Poland is finally getting off its knees brushing off years of post-Communist baggage and neglect to at last show off talented athletes.  

Agnieszka, known as Isia, and and her year younger sister, Urszula Radwańska, together make the most famous Polish tennis team - Radwanska Team.  In Poland, they are also known as Polish Williams sisters.  Thanks to their father, Robert Radwański, both sisters were given a chance to excel in tennis since the early age:

Although the Krakow sisters haven’t achieved a tenth of what the California sisters have, there are similarities in their backgrounds. The most important perhaps is that their coach is also their father. Robert Radwanski has developed his daughters’ talent the way that Richard Williams did for Venus and Serena. He earned his living for several years as a tennis coach in Germany, where the 2007 junior Wimbledon winner was born. The sisters don’t complain about their training being too hard but their father admits that on the court there’s little room for negotiation. They do what he says, the same way the Williams sisters do with their father.

You can follow Agnieszka on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/radwanskatennis/isia

Hopefully, Polish sporting officials finally woke up to the fact that local talent, if recognized early, can turn into a worldwide gold medalists.  Some of the known names in sport today, are Polish or of Polish-decent, playing for other countries.  Some examples: 

Miroslav Klose - born in Poland, Polish wife, plays for German football team

Lukas Podolski - born in Poland, plays for German football team

Angelique Kerber -  born in Germany, Polish parents, eligible for Polish citizenship, tennis player, trains in Poland

Caroline Wozniacki - born in Denmark, Polish parents, can receive Polish citizenship, plays tennis for Denmark

There are plenty of talented young people in Poland.  Shape up Poland!  Better recognize!

Thank you Poland! Thank you Ukraine!

After more than three weeks of excitement, the EURO 2012 is over.  Poland and Ukraine stepped up their "game" and delivered awesome stadiums, fan zones, infrastructure, and welcoming people.  In your face BBC, Sol Campbell should publicly apologize for his nasty remarks.  Thank you Poland!  Thank you Ukraine!

The Spaniards are champions again, second time in a row, after completely destroying Italians 4-0 in Kiev during the final today.  

The Barcelona school of football paid off again.  Italy had some moments during the game but for the most part Spain ruled the pitch.  First half ended with 2-0 score with goals by David Silva - 14" and Jordi Alba - 41".  To add to the drama, in 62 minute, after loosing Thiago Motta due to a hamstring injury, Italy had to play with only 10 players having no more substitutions left.  In 84 minute Fernando Torres scored again for Spain only to assist Juan Mata in 88 minute with another goal.  

If Europe was looking for a grand finale, this game fit the bill.  Congrats Spain!

Germany slams Greece 4:2 at EURO 2012 Quarter Finals

Today in Gdansk, Poland, Germans rolled over Greece with a slam win 4:2 at the EURO 2012 Quarter Finals.  No surprise here. Germans have shown their skills in all games of this tournament. They came out from Group B as a winner.

June 9th, 2012 Germany 1-0 Portugal 

June 13th, 2012 Netherlands 1-2 Germany 

June 17th, 2012 Denmark 1-2 Germany 

June 22nd, 2012 Germany 4-2 Greece 

What a game it was!  Germans have wasted so many chances to score, that it seems Greeks should be actually happy about the outcome. What surprised everyone, was the Greek will of fight. They never gave up and pressed Germans till the final whistle.  If you have missed any of the games, you can still catch up on ESPN3 online.

Tomorrow, June 23rd, watch next exciting game: Spain vs. France.  Game starts at 2:45 ET.

Polish team is out of EURO 2012

The pride.  The white and red flags.  The anticipation.  The reality.  The sad faces.

After a decent roll, Polish national soccer team is out of the EURO 2012 tournament beaten 1:0 by the Czech team.  The first 25 minutes of the first half, Poles ruled the pitch at the brand new Stadion Miejski in Wroclaw.  Several shots on the goal and fast paced game looked very promising.  Then, the Poles lost their steam.  Robert Lewandowski's commitment was futile with lack of the team effort.  Even the overwhelming support of the Polish fans could not revive the team.  It was painful to watch how Czechs were slowly gaining more and more advantage.  Finally, in 72nd minute, Petr Jiracek scored for Czechs.  Poles could not recover and after the final whistle, the host nation was out of EURO 2012.

For Poland, the true hero of the tournament is substitute goalie, Przemysław Tytoń, who took over during the game with Greece after a red card for Wojciech Szczesny.  Tytoń denied the penalty kick saving the 1:1 score with Greece.  During the matches with Russia and Czech Republic, Tytoń have also shown a great skill.  Interestingly, Tytoń means tobacco in Polish, and yes, he was "smoking" at those games.

Logo PZPN (fot. PZPN)

The tournament is still on.  There are many more fantastic games to see.  I'm watching Denmark vs Germany as I write this post.  Germany just scored a second goal in the 80th minute.  Great game.

Perhaps, the Polish Football Union (Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej, PZPN) will finally learn from this failure.  Soccer in Poland is a giant source of entertainment, pride, and, of course, money.  Rebuilding the PZPN structure and strategy is mandatory.  I would go as far as abolishing this dinosaur in order to build a brand new, modern, flexible, transparent, professionally ran organization.

Poland has great soccer traditions.  Lets revert the transition from the powerhouse to powerless before it becomes permanent. 

Poland vs Russia: hooligans fight, teams draw 1-1

Is it hot in here or is it the Polish police sweating their bottoms off to diffuse Polish and Russian pseudo-fans (Polish: kibole) before the hotly anticipated EURO 2012 match today?

As reported by BBC, about 1,000 Russians marched thorough the town center, over the Poniatowski bridge on the way to the National Stadium.  The march was planned and authorized by Warsaw city council wanting to display the true democracy in real life dismissing any talk about a provocation.  Not coincidentally, the Polish police was anticipating some disturbances since the football march coincided with the Russian independence day celebrated on June 12th.  After 44 years under Russian rule, display of any Soviet Union memorabilia or flags would just stir up Polish people who still remember the oppressive regime.  

Poles met Russians on the bridge to show their angry disapproval but the swift riot Police action averted any major fights.  15 people were injured and about 100 hooligans were quickly taken out of the game, yes I'm being sarcastic here, and arrested.  

Hopefully, this stupidity won't spill over the town after the game.  Check out some videos taken during the march.

Fortunately, the match itself was an exciting show of sportsmanship by both teams.  Russian team, ranked as 13th in the world by FIFA, could not defeat Polish team, ranked as 62nd.  In 37th minute, Alan Dzagoev scored a goal for Russia.  Poles were devastated but they picked up the game in the 2nd half.  In 57th minute, Jakub Błaszczykowski scored an equalizer.  Both teams tried to change that score but 1:1 was the final outcome.

Now all the Polish team has to do to advance from the group is to win with Czech Republic on June 16th at Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw.  Goooooooooo Pooooooooland!!!