Jop before #STWWIS: An interesting match ahead of us

The 16th round of the Betclic 1 League will take Wisła Kraków to Stalowa Wola, where they will face local side Stal. Before the match against the newly promoted side, coach Mariusz Jop answered questions from journalists.

Due to health reasons the following players will not be considered: Bartosz Talar, Marc Carbó, Jakub Stępak, Joseph Colley, Enis Fazlagić.

Bartosz Jaroch is back after a yellow card. Does this mean he'll be playing at fullback again? "That means he's being considered when forming the starting eleven. Of course, that gives us more room to maneuver, because "Miki" can also play as a right-back. Jaroch can play as a right-back, and Szot can play as a right-back. I'm glad he's with us because it gives us more room to maneuver," said the coach.

The White Star's wingers have had a weaker performance, and the press also asked about changes in this regard: "We definitely need to approach this matter calmly. Our problem was too much nervousness. Too much direct play that we didn't want and too many easy losses. We won too few duels. Individually, several players weren't at their best. Matches like this happen, and I'm counting on such a good and positive response from the team in the upcoming matches."

So how can you improve your wingers' numbers? "There's only one way—through training, repetition, and perfecting certain things. That's the only way to be effective," he added.

Wisła hasn't been playing consistently lately, which is reflected in its results. "Of course, it's not easy. Not just Wisła Kraków, but many European clubs have this kind of trouble. There's a sinusoidal pattern in football where sometimes the matches are very good, and sometimes the performance is worse. I wouldn't say it's a major problem for us right now, because of the last six matches, we've won four, drawn one, and lost only one. So, I think these statistics are still very good. Of course, we want to be in top form in every match. But sometimes matches like last time happen," he replied.

Igor Sapała has left the club. When asked about the reasons behind the departure, the coach replied: "It was a mutual decision between the club and Sapi. His life center moved near Warsaw, so this solution suited him. And lately, there have been few opportunities to use it, so this solution satisfied both parties."

There was also a question about their nearest rival and their strengths. "It's true that the start was rough for them. They were getting to know the league and dropping a lot of points. However, if we looked at the table from their last five matches, they'd be in fifth place, so they're a team that hasn't lost in recent matches and hasn't conceded many goals. But they're also a team that's brave. Statistically, in terms of duel attempts, they're very high, right behind us. They're a brave team with the ball, capable of defending low in a 1-5-4-1 formation and do so often, but also capable of aggressive pressing and playing one-on-one, so I think we have an interesting match ahead of us," he described his opponent.

Olivier Sukiennicki has just joined Kraków from Stalowa Wola. Did the player advise the coaching staff on how Stal will play? "Of course, I spoke with Olivier, but these conversations are more of a confirmation of what we're seeing from our analyses. He didn't add anything new, but he confirmed some things we saw in the video," he continued.

The Kraków team created few scoring opportunities in their last match against GKS Tychy. How does the coach approach this? "It's what I said at the beginning. I'll repeat again that we had too many direct plays behind the defense. We had too many easy turnovers and lost duels, which was also a result of, and had a bearing on, the opponent's form. As I said before that match, this is a team that, compared to how they play, has very few points. I think this is a team that will score points. They're playing with a lot of quality now. I'm curious to see what results they'll achieve, but you can see the coach's good work there, and you can see that this team is making progress," he complimented.

Kacper Duda, who only just returned from injury, has been called up to the Polish U-21 squad. Isn't it too soon? "From both the player's and the club's perspective, playing for the national team is fantastic. It's a great honor for Kacper, and for the club as well, to have a player who will play for the youth national team. This national team will be playing at Euro 2020, so I think it's great for Kacper, and we have other players who can also play in this position," he noted.

Recently, the topic of the Super Cup has resurfaced. When asked for a comment, the coach said: "There have been so many dates that I don't want to speculate. If there is a date, we'll be ready for the match, and that's it."