Press conference before #WISKFL

Before the official training session as part of Thursday's meeting with KF Llapi, a traditional press conference was held, during which coach Kazimierz Moskal and captain Alan Uryga answered questions from the numerous journalists gathered.

Kazimierz Moskal - coach of Wisła Kraków

Wisła Kraków will be without the injured Kacper Duda. How does the coach intend to replace him? "Of course, this news isn't pleasant for us. As for our options for replacing Kacper, you also know perfectly well who will replace him? We already have a plan for tomorrow's match. I have a starting eleven in mind, anticipating any questions. If we're thinking about replacing Kacper Duda one-on-one, it will certainly be difficult, because he's a player with a unique approach to the ball. He likes to have the ball at his feet, he likes to dribble, he likes to feel pressure, so it's definitely a loss for us, but oh well... Sometimes life is like that, it's uphill and you have to deal with it," said the coach.

Wisła's coaching staff had just 25 days to prepare. Is that enough time to prepare the team for Thursday's match? "We already said at the first press conference that we don't have that time and that we certainly wish we had more. Unfortunately, the season starts tomorrow, with the Europa League qualifiers, and we have to be ready. How ready are we? I think we'll know the answer tomorrow at 10 p.m. Certainly for each of us: for me, for the players, for the fans, for you, the first match, whether in the league or, as it will be tomorrow, in the Europa League qualifiers, is a bit of an unknown. Especially after such a short preparation period. However, I think we've done everything to be as well prepared as possible for this match," he added.

Will Wisła's new signing Giannis Kiakos be ready to play? "He's not ready to play right away. Of course, we want to have him available and we might use him, but this last friendly showed that he needs more time to be properly prepared for the season. You also have to realize that if players arrive at different times, they're at different stages of preparation. If we throw them all into the same drum—I mean playing—then we'll soon find out there will be problems. Whether it's injuries or fatigue. We have to be careful with that," he continued.

The match against Standard Liège is Wisła's last European competition match. Does the White Star coach – who was in charge at the time – still have that match fresh in his mind? "I still remember those matches because I think they were special. First, the match that advanced us to the Round of 16 was exceptional. Then the one against Standard here – the preparations, the snow, the difficult conditions. We played the entire second half with ten men, and we lost 0-1 after a penalty. In Liège, we also finished with ten men. It ended 0-0, which, after the 1-1 draw in Krakow, was a plus for Standard. A few years have passed, but I remember those matches because I think playing in European competition is what everyone strives for. Players, coaches, and fans want to see teams in European competition. We can say it's a match like any other, but for me, it's still a somewhat special opportunity to showcase my skills in Europe," he recalled.

When asked what the coach thought of Thursday's opponent, he replied: "Generally, I'm afraid to compare and judge teams based on video if I haven't seen them live. If we haven't faced them, we don't know what their level is. However, this is a team that wants to play football. They play aggressively. We definitely have to be prepared for that. As for information about this opponent, it wasn't easy, but we managed to get material, and there was quite a bit of it. However, as I said earlier, we'll only know when we face them, when we get out on the pitch and see what their level is. They definitely play very aggressively, because that's even reflected in the league statistics. They had the most red cards out of all the teams in the league. This aggressiveness is definitely high on their part."

Does advancing the Kraków team to the next round seem like an obligation? "I think the fans and the football community in Kraków certainly share that opinion. We're in the second tier of the competition, but considering the kind of club we are, that's certainly how it's perceived. I think my players and I feel the same way. That's why we go out onto the pitch, to play and win. If everyone plays their part on the pitch 100 percent. If no one holds grudges after the match, the result is always open to question, but at the beginning, you always go out to win. No matter who you're facing in a given match. In a match like this, regardless of the fact that you're playing to win, you want to play what you train for. That's important," he emphasized. "I definitely want us to want to play football, to want to play offensively, to impose our style, to be aggressive when we lose the ball. As for general satisfaction after the match, it will be when we win," he emphasized.

Jakub Krzyżanowski is available to the coach, even though the player has been linked with an Italian club, where he could join. "We still have training ahead of us, and everyone who is available will train. After training, I'll announce who's staying and who's not. I don't want to reveal anything too early, because if something were to happen during training, it might be a bit awkward. We have an idea, as I said, but we still have training ahead of us," he said. "A player who trains always thinks he's ready. Everyone would certainly like to play in a match like this, but not only was this preseason short, but several of them missed time. Either through injuries or because they didn't participate in the training camp. This is a problem for me, because every day working with the team brings more benefits than any individual effort. We're talking about Kiakos, Krzyżanowski, and Goku, who are just starting training, and we have to make wise decisions," concluded coach Kazimierz Moskal.

Alan Uryga - captain of Wisła Kraków

"There's obviously a lot of excitement, and the topic has been coming up frequently practically since the end of last season. Everyone at my place, including family and friends, is talking about what our adventure in European competitions will look like. Let's hope it's as successful and long as possible, and let's hope it writes another page in Wisła Kraków's history, because we've all been waiting for it. Our fans deserve it, because we've been waiting a long time for matches like this," began Alan Uryga. "Of course, there's a lot of optimism. We all have a big thing coming up: playing in European competitions. I don't think I'm lying if I say that for most of our players, this will be their first time playing in such a competition. That's why everyone realizes it will be a big event. There's optimism, there's joy in being able to participate in such a big event. We're about to start a new season in the league. These cups are also a new beginning, so we have to forget about what happened last season. I'm talking about the negative emotions from the league and the ultra-positive emotions from the cup. We have to find a balance, a happy medium, and start with clear heads and focus on what's ahead. We'll remember what happened in a few, or a dozen, years, and now we need to focus all our energy and thoughts on achieving even more this season, this year," he continued.

Alan Uryga, who was just starting out in the senior squad, also remembers the match against Standard Liège. "I was in Spain for winter training, at a camp. That's with coach Moskal. I wasn't yet a permanent fixture in the first team, in terms of typical participation and training with the first team, but I was at the winter camp," he recalled.

When asked if Wisła's players had sought out information about their upcoming opponent, he replied: "As for us, I personally didn't seek out more information than what the coaching staff provided. As the coach said, we managed to find a lot of material, and the analysis of the opponent was no different from a classic analysis of a league opponent, in terms of the depth and detail. I think the coaching staff did a very good job here in preparing us for the opponent, although, as we mentioned, it wasn't easy to get this information," he added.

Journalists were curious whether the problem, which they believed was Wisła's defensive play, had been resolved before Thursday's match. "We'll probably be able to assess whether it worked in at least a few months, or at least after the next few matches. At least that's enough to determine if there's any sign of improvement. I personally hope that we won't have another season like this again, that we won't be in the bottom half of this shameful classification, but that we'll improve our defense as a whole. We've spent a lot of time improving the defensive play of our defenders and the entire team – in terms of pressing and its various forms. I hope and deeply believe that this will be the case," he expressed his hope. "As has already been mentioned here, the preparation period was short, but those three weeks and counting are not so short that some things can't be improved. I think we've done everything we can to make this progress. And yes, I think we're ready to start competing in the Europa League tomorrow, or in our league shortly," concluded Alan Uryga.