Rudé: We expect to face a very good team

On Wednesday evening, Wisła Kraków and Piast Gliwice will face off in the semifinals of the FORTUNA Polish Cup, played at R22. Coach Albert Rudé met with journalists ahead of this important match.

Medical report update:
- Kamil Broda has increased loads to bring him back to full fitness;
- Angel Rodado - the player has undergone rehabilitation and is also participating in individual training;
- Jakub Stępak - will undergo check-ups and after them a decision will be made regarding his inclusion in training;
- Patryk Gogół - trains individually and has increased loads;
- Bartosz Talar - is rehabilitating after surgery;

- Anton Chiczkan - the situation has not changed, formal matters are ongoing.

Igor Łasicki is paged.

The image of Wisła's match against Chroby Głogłów still lingers in journalists' minds. Has the coach answered the questions about his players' performance in that match? "We analyzed the match very carefully and understood a few things. Perhaps unconsciously, we weren't 100% in most of the action, wanting to conserve energy for the Polish Cup. The fact that we weren't 100% and were still winning at halftime was even worse for us. Our opponents showed us in the first twenty minutes of the second half that if you don't compete 100% in this league, you don't win. Everything was based on competition, on participating 100%. It's very simple for me: if you don't compete 100%, you have no foundation to build on. That's my conclusion after the match against Chrobry," he began.

Wisła is finding it difficult to record a winning streak. So far, it has only happened once. "It's a very interesting analysis. We also did similar analyses, looking at how many games in a row we've won, how many games in a row we've lost, how many away and home wins we've won. This showed us that Wisła isn't stable. Before taking the job here, I suspected that the mental and emotional aspects would be important. Because there are good players here, a lot of fans, a big budget, but similar things happen in other places. Similarly, you could ask why Deportivo La Coruna in Spain or Sunderland in the UK can't achieve promotion, where they have similar conditions. After a few weeks here, I can say that attitude is the most important thing. That's why we have to work on it step by step, experience by experience. The one in Głogów was very important for us. If we can solve that, we can deal with this problem," he added.

"There's something very important: if we look at our game model, at the competition – especially in the first half against Arka, throughout the match against Chrobry, and in some moments against Stal – the level of competition in those moments was low. The style can be better or worse, it depends on how you look at football. But we have numbers to rely on. They can confirm whether we competed well or not. In every match, regardless of the result, we created more chances than our opponents, except for the last one. I was angry after the last match, and coming to the press conference, I knew without looking at the numbers that the opponent was better. Despite how we looked in Rzeszów or in the first half in Gdynia, we had more chances than our opponents to win those matches. The last match is an exception. That's obvious. Of course, we talk to the players. We listen to what they have to say. We do everything to constantly improve. It's like putting together a puzzle, experience after experience, step by step," he analyzed.

When asked what lineup to expect on Wednesday, the coach replied: "Our starting eleven is always the best we have for a given match. The opponent's characteristics are important; we choose what we need for a given match."

The opponent from Gliwice was analyzed by the White Star's coaching staff, as coach Rudé commented: "First and foremost, it's a semi-final, and semi-finals are never easy. Looking at their opponent's characteristics, they have a lot of quality both offensively and defensively. They have very quick attacks, they have a lot of players in the penalty area – three, four, five. They use transition phases very well, which we will have to be very careful about. In defense, they play very aggressively. They are well organized when pressing, and when defending, there are many of them outside the penalty area, and of course, they are dangerous from set pieces, which is why they are in the semi-final. However, we did a great thing against Widzew, so why can't we repeat that against Piast? We will play for our dreams of reaching the final. Wisła hasn't played in a final for a long time. This shows how difficult it is to get there. We are excited and will fight for it," he explained.

Media reports suggested the R22 team needed a shake-up, to which the coach responded: "Yes, that's one of the things we understood after talking to the players this week. We agreed on some immediate solutions. Why? Because everyone knows we can't look as bad as we did in the last match."

Since the Krakow team is creating more scoring opportunities, isn't the problem with the finishing of the action? "The numbers show us—and these are the numbers most clubs use in professional football—that in every match we were closer to winning than our opponents. Except, of course, for the match against Chrobry. It's a matter of the quality of finishing, the chances we create. Our training method, our playing model, is based on having more chances than the opponent and preventing them from creating those chances. I want everyone to understand, for example, why we press high. Because we want to win the ball as high as possible, so the opponent doesn't get close to our goal. Why do we play short passes instead of long ones? Because we understand that if you draw an opponent out of a certain zone, you draw them into your own half and create space behind them, which means you can create more chances for yourself. Some opponents try to press low, and then we have to look for other solutions. We're trying to find them. If we stick to our ways, start taking advantage of opportunities, and compete better than last time, we can be successful," he continued.

"We have different opinions from different experts. We're trying to understand his situation. By gathering these opinions, we'll choose the best path for him and the club," he said of Angel Rodado's injury, adding that Angel Baena will be included in the squad.

They're sticking to individual issues – Jakub Krzyżanowski and his performance in Głogów also came up. Did the coach have a chance to discuss the match with him? "I spoke with him. Kuba is young and will make mistakes. If we're looking at a young player and he makes mistakes, we need to support him. Of course, the coaching staff will decide whether to use him or another player. However, I told him straight out that I support him. I allow him to make mistakes, but I won't allow him, like the entire team, not to compete or to give up after a mistake," he emphasized.

A packed stadium is a sign of a great atmosphere. Has the coach ever been to a similar match? "I think it will be a fantastic atmosphere. I remember playing in the play-off semifinal against Deportivo La Coruna. There were 30,000 spectators in the stadium. Even though we were away, we could still enjoy playing in such a stadium. Despite the heavy responsibility, we have to enjoy this match. What we expect is to face a very good team. We expect to give 100% and we feel we will have our chances in this match. I will repeat once again, if we eliminated Widzew from the Ekstraklasa, why can't we beat another team from the top division?" concluded coach Albert Rudé.