Press conference before the FORTUNA Polish Cup final

Wednesday was a day of media activity for Wisła Kraków. An official press conference was held at the PGE National Stadium with representatives of both teams. The White Star was represented by coach Albert Rudé, captain Alan Uryga and striker Angel Rodado.

Squad situation before the final:
- Bartosz Talar – is rehabilitating after knee surgery.

Albert Rudé – Wisla Kraków
"We have three players who are questionable. We have one more training session and then we'll decide if they're fit to play," the coach began.

In the last league match, Anton Chichkan played between the posts for Wisła. Will that be the case this time too? "The fact is, three players are competing in this position, but we've also got five goalkeepers, as we also have Jakub Stępak and Kacper Szewczyk. We'll only decide which of them will start," he noted.

Staying with the personalities, Patryk Gogół scored against Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała. Where does the coach see this player? "Patryk is a player who can play in several positions: as a false winger, as a number 10, or as an eight. In the last match, for example, he played as a number 10. He made the difference, he scored a goal, so I'm happy that we can use him in different positions," he replied.

The final is accompanied by a unique setting. Is this the most important match Albert Rude has coached in so far? "As an assistant, I played in the CONCACAF Cup final and the Club World Cup semifinal, but if I consider my job as head coach, I can say this is the most important match for me. I feel a responsibility and I will enjoy it," he said.

When asked if this was the coach's first visit to the PGE National Stadium, "You could say this stadium is charming. I first saw it when we were traveling to Gdynia for a match. I said it was our first time seeing it, but perhaps not our last," he explained.

Wisła has accustomed everyone to its preference for attacking football. Will it be the same this time? "The final is a moment when you simply have to be yourself. I don't believe that, while practicing various daily skills in training, we forget about all of that in the final. That's not the point," he continued. "The setting of this match, the fact that it's a big one, will mean that the details will be decisive. We're facing a team that has greater potential than us," he noted.

The team from Szczecin still has a chance to finish on top of the Ekstraklasa. What kind of opponent does the coach expect? "Considering the whole atmosphere and the importance of this match, this is the biggest challenge. They are very strong offensively, they are excellent at counterattacking. They attack with a large number of players. It will be a big challenge for us. It will be a good match," he expressed hope. "If they have the ball and attack us, we will have a problem. The solution to this situation is to have more of the ball than them. It won't be easy, but we have to play compactly, together," he said.

So how does the White Star intend to stop the Portowcy's driving force, Kamil Grosicki? "It has to be teamwork. That's the only way," concluded coach Albert Rude.

Alan Uryga – captain of Wisła Kraków

When asked about his collaboration with Angel Chichkan in the last league match, the White Star captain replied: "I can only speak highly of Anton. The communication is top-notch, and Anton also speaks Polish. Everything is fine. The football-wise collaboration is also good, as we've already practiced many things during training."

Alan Uryga waited a long time to play for Wisła because of an injury. What was the turning point? "The comeback itself. It was indeed a long road, one injury, then another. Needless to say, it was a lot of struggle and sweat. Once I knew I was 100% ready and healthy, I jumped into the lineup and knew I could truly help the team on the pitch, not just in the locker room. There wasn't a specific turning point. It was just hard work on the pitch. I'm glad that—touch wood—my health is good and everything is fine," he said.

How does it feel to lead the 13-time Polish champions onto the pitch at the PGE National Stadium? "It's undoubtedly a big deal for me. I'm a homegrown player. I've always dreamed of achieving something more with this club than just playing for it, being captain, a leader. There were moments when it seemed like a blur, and I moved to Wisła Płock. Those successes seemed unrealistic at the time. However, the life of an athlete is such that something positive can come at any moment. And even though at some point dreams of a championship or the Polish Cup took a back seat, I'm incredibly happy that I still have the chance to make history with Wisła Kraków and bring joy to our fans again," he said. "Now is the first moment when the emotions started to kick in. When we arrived at the stadium, we started getting excited about this match. We'll be completely absorbed in training, and all we'll be thinking about is this match. As I said after the match against Podbeskidzie, we're going to savor it, because it's a big event for us and a break from the gray league competition. We've been trying to enjoy it more than usual at every training session this week. Now we're fully focused on the match, and I'm guessing the thrill will get stronger with each passing hour," he added.

When asked what to do to keep a clean sheet in the final this time, he replied: "Indeed, I wish there were fewer goals conceded. I'm not going to pretend here, I'm not going to blame anyone else. I'm the captain, I'm the leader of the defense, so I take full responsibility for that. I wish there were fewer goals conceded. We have to do our job, we have to be ourselves. We won't force any special tactics, we'll just play what we've been training for since the coach joined us. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be the second match with a zero at the back."

"As a player, this is my first time at the National Stadium, and it will be my first opportunity to play here. As a fan, I had the opportunity to be here for the historic match against Germany, which we won 2-0. I can't remember ever having a bigger match than the one ahead of us. This is definitely the biggest event of my career so far," he said.

On Thursday, Wisła Kraków fans will finally be in the stands, and we hope they will lead the team to victory. "This is a very, incredibly important issue for us. I'm glad that the away match will finally be played with our fans and on equal terms. Until now, this hasn't been the case, as other teams could count on the support of their fans in away matches, and as I've mentioned several times, even if it's a one, two, or five percent increase in the team's chances on the road, it's still a few percent. We're glad that the playing field will now be level, and hopefully this will be the beginning of a return to normalcy, for which I'm keeping my fingers crossed," he announced.

Ángel Rodado – striker of Wisła Kraków

“It’s a big match for all the players in our locker room, but we are preparing for it as we always do, like for every game,” he said.

The Spanish striker quickly returned to action after a shoulder injury. How was the process? "Right after the tests, we said a quick return would be quite risky. During the first match, I was a bit scared and stressed, but that quickly passed, and today I'm ready to help the team," he assured.