Coaching duo: #WISPIA

For 16 years, White Star fans have been waiting for the Polish Cup final. On Wednesday evening, Wisła Kraków defeated Piast Gliwice 2-1 in front of a packed house and will compete for the trophy in May.

Aleksandar Vuković – Piast Gliwice

"First of all, congratulations to Wisła Kraków on their promotion. I think it was a very good match, one that could have been very enjoyable. It had a fantastic atmosphere and good conditions. Unfortunately, it was unlucky for us, but I also want to congratulate my team on reaching the semi-finals of the Polish Cup, because I think it's not an easy thing either. The match started in the worst possible way for us. It's known that it rarely happens that a goal is scored after the first threat. Then we had a few chances in the first half, specifically Patryk Dziczek after a corner. Piasecki's header and one or two more mix-ups. Practically the second shot on goal, it's 2-0, and it's certainly not easy to turn it around then. Especially with such support from the stands, when the home team got into a positive mood. It was clear that this was an easier match for them than the league teams, which sometimes play weaker opponents, but that's normal. We tried in the second half and managed to score one goal. Then we took a lot of risks, and it could have been "We wanted to increase the score, but we also had a few upsets in front of Wisła's goal, which left us just short of doing something more. It didn't work out, and as I said, congratulations to everyone, to my players for reaching the semi-finals, and to Wisła for advancing to the final. More than just the final, I wish them promotion to the Ekstraklasa, because a club like that should be in the Ekstraklasa," said the Gliwice coach.

Albert Rudé – Wisla Kraków

"Today will be short. I think we deserve this final, we deserve it very much! At the last press conference, I asked you how long it's been since Wisła played in a final. About 15 years, right? So we have to respect and appreciate what we've achieved. I can't forget about coaches Sobolewski and Mariusz Jop. They won matches during this trip to the final, so this final is also thanks to them," said coach Albert Rude. "Yes, it's very clear – what will change this club's situation is promotion. We have a long time until the final and a lot of work to do in that period. There are plenty of matches, a lot of away matches, so it will be a big challenge for us this month. I said that when we played this one, how we competed. When moments of hesitation appear, we will have to return to that mentality and say clearly: this is what we want. This is the minimum we need to advance," he added.

When asked if the coach had to administer a shock after the match in Głogów to wake up his players, he said: "Well, we talked a lot about what happened in the match against Chrobry, that we didn't have the right mentality, and some of you weren't convinced. Did you see today's match? It was a 100 percent performance, not like the one against Chrobry. You can compare the two matches and it will show you that the only thing that changed is the mentality. I didn't have to change anything on my part. It was a semi-final. We were playing for the final, the stadium was full, a beautiful day for everyone to enjoy. Today, it was enough that the team was 100 percent ready to fight."

"What I told the team at halftime was that when the score is 2-0, if you sit back and wait for the opponent, an opponent from the Ekstraklasa, to do something, you're going to lose. You have to be proactive in moments like that, so we continued to play. When we conceded the goal, I have to say that the team's composure was incredible. I agree that in the last fifteen minutes they attacked with a lot of players, there was a lot of space behind them. I told the team we had to capitalize on counterattacks. We had maybe two clear chances to score a third goal. We didn't, but we didn't concede a goal to make it 2-2. I think the team did a great job," concluded coach Albert Rudé.