Coaching duo: #KATWIS

Saturday wasn't supposed to be like this for Wisła Kraków. The R22 team had to concede a significant victory over GKS Katowice, who defeated the White Star 5-2. The coaches of both teams shared their conclusions after the match.

Albert Rudé - Wisla Kraków

"As I said at the previous press conference, when you don't play with eleven players in such important matches and against such a difficult opponent, it's even more difficult. And today it happened again. We played against a very, very good opponent who took advantage of this, who played very well, and we didn't achieve what we wanted. Despite this, I must say that I am very proud of my dressing room, of what they did despite the inconveniences we had. They kept moving forward. This is a difficult moment for us, a difficult moment for Wisła, but as always, we will not give up," he said.

From the 5th minute, the White Star had to play with ten men after Eneko Satrustegui received a red card. "All I can say is that these things happen. In the 5th minute, we get a red card and we have to deal with it. We did literally everything we could. We scored one goal, but then we struggled a lot in the rest of the match because the opponent played so well," he continued.

The Katowice team performed significantly better in every aspect of the game. Was this due to the fact that the visitors were forced to modify their plans after a red card and injuries? "Playing with one less player is difficult to cope with. Especially when it comes to pressing. We had more space to cover, more space to run, considering how we played in terms of keeping the ball. We had to cover more meters. It was getting worse by the minute, we were getting more tired, so we had to make some changes that helped us score another goal, but it was very difficult for us in this match," he added.

Even before the match started, Dawid Szot's injury forced the coach to make changes to his lineup. Meanwhile, Wisła lost Igor Łasicki during the match. "We don't know exactly what happened at this point. We need to conduct tests. I can confirm that the defense that was supposed to take the field from the start looked like this: Szot on the right, Eneko on the left, and two center-backs – Alan and Igor. Because of this injury, we had to change our formation in the warm-up, and then during the match, because of Igor's injury, we had to make further changes," he explained.

So what was the Krakow team's plan for playing with a man down? "It was clear to us that with one man down, we would have two-on-one situations on the flanks. From these situations, they would try to create opportunities through crosses. And what we wanted to achieve was a mirror formation: five-on-five at the back, three players in the middle, creating a two-on-three situation, and one player up front. And then, when we had a two-plus-one formation up front, we wanted to use counterattacks. We played like that until we made a few changes in the second half. Before and after these changes, it was even more difficult for us because of the workload the players had and the spaces they had to cover. It was difficult for us to cope with the opponent's intensity in this match," concluded the White Star coach.

Rafał Górak - GKS Katowice

"Yes, I'm extremely happy with the victory and the three points. It's a big deal for us, because it was also an exceptional day in terms of attendance. I'm incredibly proud and happy about that. Undoubtedly, when we're in this form, anyone who follows knows that a one-man advantage is a lot, and I realize that the red card somehow orchestrated this result. However, Wisła is such a good team that you have to be careful, especially in attacking actions, and we didn't avoid mistakes, as we conceded two goals. There's definitely room for improvement here. However, as I said, we're maintaining a high level of performance. We know what we want to play, and this one-man advantage certainly didn't change the way we play, we just kept playing our own way. As if we were playing against a full Wisła squad. And absolutely nothing was going to change here. That's also why I'm very pleased with the implementation of many things the team has done. And well, now it's very important to 34 We need to play this season's match in Gdynia in such a way that we can be truly satisfied. We need to prepare for this match as usual. We won't change anything in terms of preparations, but we'll keep our heads cool and enjoy this moment in Katowice as much as possible. So, once again, congratulations to the team, and we're moving on," he said. "I'm a very small part of the history of these clubs' rivalry, and if we were down, and we've been down in the history of these matches, I'm glad we secured the victory and it's now ours. It's history, and this match will certainly be marked off in the annals in some way, but other than that, it's a normal match, and we have to realize that these three points are just three points and nothing more. Besides, this match certainly has some annals value," he added.

Despite the home team's victory, the visitors were leading 1-0. Was the coach nervous then? "I certainly wasn't sure it would end this way, because that was the moment we conceded the goal. Obviously, the ball went through Dawid's legs, the ricochet went under his collar. I didn't even think for a moment that they would lower their heads and get out of control. I knew they had a huge desire for this season, for this match, and I knew everything was still ahead of us. It wasn't a moment that would have upset me more. I was perhaps more upset by the final moments of the match, and that's where the words came to my lips, but that's how people are. Because when I was perhaps more angry, of course, they scored the fifth goal, and it was as if they were saying: 'Coach, calm down, everything's under control, so OK,'" he said.

When asked if the coach felt satisfied after his team's recent loss to Wisła Kraków, he replied: "No. Honestly, I don't have it in me to want revenge. It's never been in my character. I don't want to return the favor. I never looked at it that way. I simply lost the match in Kraków. We could have won it there. In some way, it was our own fault. Here, we played a new competition, and this is a new story, a new match, and a new era. I didn't look at it as a rematch, but as a match between GKS Katowice and Wisła Kraków at Bukowa in Katowice, and that was the most important thing to me."