Wisła Kraków face another league challenge. The White Star will travel to Kielce, where they will take on Korona. Before the match, coach Mariusz Jop met with journalists and spoke, among other things, about the squad situation, the team’s reaction after being eliminated from the Polish Cup, the upcoming opponent, emotional control, and the form of individual players.

Squad situation

At the beginning of the press conference, the coach was asked about the team’s fitness situation after the cup match and about players who had already been dealing with injuries.

“Unfortunately, we have some problems after this cup match as well. As is traditionally the case, I would not like to name names or say how serious the injuries are, but we have what you usually have in football. It is practically never the case that everyone is available, and in this match too, we do not have all our players at our disposal,” coach Mariusz Jop informed the media.

Reaction after the Polish Cup

There was also a question about the team’s mental state after Tuesday’s match and the reaction the coach expects from his players in the upcoming league game.

“There is certainly no euphoria after every defeat; that is natural. There is footballing anger. I think there is an internal motivation to show ourselves in a positive light in the next match. I am counting on the team reacting positively to the events that took place on Tuesday. Of course, a difficult away match awaits us against a team that is on a roll and in good form, earning points in its recent games. They also progressed in the Polish Cup against a difficult opponent, Widzew. However, we are optimistic, we are well prepared, and we know what we have to do on the pitch,” said the White Star coach.

Marko Božic’s card

One of the conference topics was Marko Božic’s conduct in the cup match and the second yellow card after which Wisła had to play with fewer players. The coach was also asked about possible internal club consequences.

“Yes, internally there are consequences, but I would not like to discuss the details. Of course, as you said, he received a two-match suspension in the Polish Cup, which means he can play in the upcoming match against Korona in the PKO BP Ekstraklasa. It was irresponsible conduct, certainly also partly resulting from the fact that, in my opinion, the referee made a mistake there, and it was the effect of frustration after a situation in which there had clearly been a very aggressive challenge, which, in my view, was even worthy of a yellow card. But that is absolutely no excuse. You have to keep your emotions under control and keep a cool head in such situations. It is not easy, but it is something not only Božic, but footballers in general, have to work on. We certainly do not want to pick up cards for arguing, kicking the ball away, or that kind of red card, because everyone is needed. We do not want to weaken the team or accumulate a large number of cards over time, which can also mean that one of the players later becomes unavailable to the team,” Mariusz Jop replied.

Emotional control

The topic of Božic’s card also led to a question about working on emotional control. The coach explained that during training, the staff sometimes deliberately creates situations intended to force players to react appropriately.

“Yes, sometimes we provoke them a little by allowing such controversial situations, or even, I would say, clearly offside situations, so that the players play until the end, do not raise their hands, but react and wait for the whistle. Yes, it is a process. Sometimes you forget about it, especially in situations where frustration results primarily from a sense of injustice, because it is certainly difficult for any footballer to accept feeling wronged, and there are then a lot of emotions. However, you have to control them, and that is also something that can be developed,” the coach explained.

Korona Kielce

The next questions concerned the upcoming opponent. Korona had been in good form in its recent matches and eliminated Widzew Łódź from the Polish Cup. Mariusz Jop pointed out the elements his team would have to pay particular attention to.

“Indeed, recently they have won away from home and drawn at home, judging by the results I looked at. Every match is different. I think they are generally a team in decent form, a team that is good in individual duels, wins the ball back frequently, is very dangerous on the counterattack, and very dangerous from set pieces. These are the basic things that stand out, so it will certainly be a difficult match in terms of the level of competition and physicality. The two elements I mentioned earlier are definitely Korona’s strengths,” Wisła’s coach said of the upcoming opponent.

Atmosphere in Kielce

Matches between the two teams are also accompanied by a heated atmosphere in the stands. Mariusz Jop was therefore asked about preparing the players to play in an atmosphere in which most of the stadium would be against Wisła.

“We keep coming back to emotional control and emotional balance. I can only say from my own experience that such things motivated me. If the stadium was against us and the fans were against the team, that was something that motivated me internally. I think the solution is to focus on your own tasks and the team’s tasks. That certainly makes it easier to redirect all the stimuli coming from outside toward what you have to do on the pitch. I admit that once you are caught up in the emotions and focused on your tasks, you hear very little of what is happening in the stands,” coach Jop said.

Ángel Rodado

Journalists also asked about Ángel Rodado and his current role in the team. Recently, the Spaniard has more often appeared on the pitch as a substitute.

“Ángel is still one of the leaders and one of the captains; nothing has changed in that regard, and he remains a very important person in the team. Of course, it is something he is dealing with, but the most important thing for me is that I can see progress in what he shows in training and in matches. His form is improving, which makes me very happy,” the coach said.

The start of the match

One of the questions also concerned Wisła’s start to Saturday’s match and the importance of its opening minutes. The coach expects the hosts to try to attack the White Star with a high press from the outset.

“I think the entire match is important. Of course, the start of the match is important because sometimes it shapes what happens for the rest of the game. We certainly have to be prepared for the opponent to use a high press. We have an idea of how to deal with that. Naturally, we would like to be the side that takes the initiative at the start, but we know that is difficult away from home,” Mariusz Jop replied.

The hosts’ strengths

Asked about Korona players who, apart from the best-known names, could pose a major threat to Wisła, the coach identified other important players from the Kielce team.

“Fassbender has been in decent form recently, and I think Długosz is also a player who often determines this team’s strength, so there are several names. Their goalkeeper is certainly very solid; he was voted the best goalkeeper in the league last season. So Korona definitely have many more strengths than just the two names you mentioned,” the coach stressed.

Media noise

During the conference, there was also a question about how players can distance themselves from the large amount of information surrounding the team, both concerning matters outside sport and comments following the last match.

“Of course, there is one way: simply not to read it. Some people probably do that, others do not. However, in modern football, given the amount of information available, you have to filter it, and I think that is also something you learn through experience. Everyone approaches it individually and develops their own way of reacting. I think reading a large amount of negative information about yourself certainly does not build confidence, so you have to be able to filter it and focus on the information that is important and has value,” Mariusz Jop explained.

Competition in midfield and Víctor Meseguer

The large number of options in midfield means the coaching staff has several variants to choose from before every match. On this occasion, the coach was also asked about Víctor Meseguer and the new player’s stage of preparation for playing.

“A headache is something positive because it means there is strong competition and a battle for a place in the starting lineup. As for Víctor, he certainly needs a little more time because, as I said, he had a three-week break before joining us and trained individually, so that is quite a lot. He needs time to adapt and understand what we want to do on the pitch. However, he is an intelligent footballer, because you can see that he absorbs the information very quickly. Our style of play is also similar to what is often done in Spain, so I do not think he should have a problem in that respect. Of course, there is still the physical aspect, as well as the need to develop an understanding with his teammates, including in terms of communication,” the coach said of the Spaniard’s situation.

When asked about the language barrier and the presence of several Spanish-speaking players in the dressing room, the coach added:

“Yes, that certainly makes things easier for him, but Víctor also needs to work a little on his English, because that will make communication with him easier for us,” he said.

Injury information

At the end, Mariusz Jop was asked again about the fitness situation, this time specifically about Patryk Letkiewicz.

“I do not want to discuss it. We always wonder what the opponent’s lineup might be, who is injured and who is not. Such information is not easy to find. And we previously laid practically everything out for our opponents on a plate, making things very easy for them. I think there is no need to make their work easier. Let the opposing staff look for information and wonder who is available and who is not. That is why I do not want to discuss individual matters related to the players’ health and availability,” coach Mariusz Jop concluded.