Pre-#WISSPA Conference | Part 2

Wednesday was a day of media activity ahead of the #WISSPA return match. Coach Kazimierz Moskal and player Wiktor Biedrzycki met with journalists at the press conference.

Kazimierz Moskal - coach of Wisła Kraków

How should Wisła play in the return match against Spartak? Boldly, attacking, or cautiously, waiting for their opponent to make a move? "Let's not talk about Rapid... But when it comes to Ruch, you play only as well as your opponent allows you to. I think these First League matches will be like this. It's great if someone wants to attack hard or press high from the start, but it's not always possible. And we have to be aware of that, because we also have eleven healthy players on the other side, who also have their own plan. As for tomorrow's match, we have to make up for lost time. We're playing at home, but above all, we have to focus on not making the kinds of mistakes we made in Trnava. Because of that, we conceded easy goals. The match lasts 90 minutes, and just like in the match against Ruch, we scored in the 45th and 90th minutes. These were goals that gave us the lead or a sure victory. I think you have to stay focused on your work for 90 minutes and believe that at any moment, at any moment, a key moment in the match could come, and we'll have to capitalize on it," the coach began.

The question about Wisła's goalkeeping lineup was bound to arise. Will we see Anton Chichkan, or perhaps Kamil Broda? "I know everyone wants to know the lineup as best as possible, but that also makes the opponent's job easier, so I'm not going to reveal it. As I mentioned, it largely depends on the goalkeeping coach. On the relationships that exist there and his choices. Who will be in goal tomorrow...? Everything matters, but there have been situations in matches where substitutions were made solely for penalty kicks, so that's also a possibility," he said.

International matches are invaluable experience for young players. Does the coach believe this will help them develop their skills? "I'm convinced it will. Only high-profile matches like these can build a player, and I think this must be beneficial for these young players. I can't imagine it being any other way," he noted.

"We have very little time. Before this match, we had absolutely no time for anything. What would I like to work on? Primarily pressing and positional attacking. That's what interests me most, and I think it requires a lot of work," he said.

What kind of Spartak does Kazimierz Moskal expect? "I think they'll be a team that will play very aggressively. I don't think they'll come here just to defend. I think they have players in their squad who like to attack, like to play offensively, and I think they won't stray from that," he continued.

The Trnava team had more room to prepare for the match due to the postponement of the league match, something the Slovak coach also commented on. "First of all, I think he'd be contradicting himself if he said otherwise. He postponed the match so the team would be in better shape than they would be playing a league match. I guess it's normal that he expects them to be fresher. However, we played on Monday and actually had a day less than usual to prepare, but we won't complain. Can the first goal be crucial? Of course it can be, because we know what a goal in home matches brings. You could see that last week in Trnava, when they scored the first goal to make it 1-1, they really followed through, and the crowd was blown away. A goal like that gives a team something to really spur them on," he explained. "The game plan is simple – we want to win. I wouldn't say we won't want the ball. If you have the ball, you have control of the match and can decide what happens on the pitch. It's important that we have the ball as long as possible, and when we lose it, we win it back quickly," he analyzed.

Against Ruch, the Kraków team had the upper hand, but despite this, they weren't able to score goals. Did the coach point this out to his players? "We talked about how, in situations like this, when we're playing at home, leading 1-0 and have one man down, we should avoid conceding a goal. However, I think at least half of the people didn't expect that player – Szymański – to even attempt that shot. He scored an incredible, powerful, and accurate shot. That's how it turned out. Sometimes there are moments like that when a team playing with ten men seems to be on par with a team playing with a full complement. I remember playing a match in my career where we were booked in the 20th minute of the first half when the score was 0-0, and we won the match 4-0, which was incredible because we were playing against a title contender in Israel. Things like that happen. It's rare, but it's football, and nothing is certain," he said.

James Igbekeme will be undergoing medical tests with the R22 team. Does the coach remember this player from the match he coached at the time, ŁKS, against the White Star? "Yes, we paid attention to him back then, because he was a player who played the way I like, aggressive. He wanted to constantly have the ball. He was active when the team had possession, but I also thought he looked good defensively when it came to winning the ball back or pressing. For me, he was a really interesting player back then," he said. "Let's wait, because this is another situation where we're trying to get someone to join us and we know that where he is right now, in terms of preparation, isn't where we all would like. And there's no telling how long it will take to get James into the team once everything is finalized. It's a headache before every game, and there are so many of them right now that I'll try not to think about it for now. When it's close to James joining the squad, then we'll think about it," he continued.

The coach also has many memories from European matches, when he represented the R22 club. The match against Real Zaragoza, where he scored the third goal for the Krakow team, is particularly close to his heart. Did he play that match to his players? "No, I don't really like talking about myself as a player or what happened during my coaching career. Before the match against Rapid, I mentioned that there was a match like that a few years ago and that this is what happens in football. I don't like to talk about such things because I had a bad experience as an assistant coach, when one of the coaches talked about his achievements, it wasn't received very well. Or, to put it another way, maybe the coach's message was unacceptable to the players," he recalled.

Wiktor Biedrzycki - Wisła Kraków player

The first question concerned the difference between Bruk-Bet Termalica and Wisła – is there one? "I don't think there's a big difference. At Nieciecza, we also wanted to play attacking football. We wanted to launch our attacks from the back. We also have a plan for every match: to play attacking, to drive each other, and to distribute attacks from the back. I don't think there's a big difference," he began.

In the Slovakian clash, Wisła Kraków's defense wasn't immune to mistakes. Has the White Star defense analyzed the match and will do everything in their power to avoid repeating them? "Yes, we all realize that we could have avoided each of those goals. I think they were easy goals, which we shouldn't concede at this level. We've definitely learned our lesson. We've analyzed it with the entire team and I hope it won't happen again. I think we definitely showed better defense against Ruch. We definitely need to cultivate that," he noted.

What elements is Wiktor Biedrzycki working on? Is moving the ball one of them? "That's a strange question, because I've always been told I have a pretty good moving ball. I work on every element, not just moving the ball. No one is perfect, and I think everyone has to work on their weaknesses every day, and I think everyone in the locker room leaves with that in mind," he noted.

At Bruk-Bet Termalica, Wiktor Biedrzycki was one of the penalty takers. It's a different story at Wisła Kraków, although according to one journalist, the ball barely found the back of the net after Angel Rodado's penalty against Ruch. "It doesn't matter how, the important thing is that it landed. I know from experience that when VAR is in place and it takes a long time, there are nerves, and Angel probably had a few thoughts about how to strike the ball. And it's hard to decide on that one decision. The most important thing is not to change it. We're happy that the ball found the back of the net. As I said earlier – it doesn't matter how, the important thing is that it landed. I'm not high up in the pecking order yet, and I need to know my place in the pecking order. This was definitely my strength at my previous club, but there are very good penalty takers in this team," concluded Wiktor Biedrzycki.