“Following this line of thinking, we might just as well say that you can wrongly award ten penalties and let the teams deal with it, let the goalkeeper make the saves. If that throw-in didn’t matter - it did matter; we just need to say plainly that it was a mistake, and that’s it. As for the referee’s analysis of the situation, I think it’s worth reflecting on. If there are, let’s say, a hundred experts and three say the decision was correct while ninety-seven say it was wrong, then surely someone with such a drastically different opinion should consider whether they’re heading in the right direction. Many former referees and experts had a different view. I think, then, that post-match analysis needs to be more thorough and precise. It’s easier for people to accept the message, ‘I made a mistake,’ because that’s human and everyone makes mistakes, than to stubbornly insist on it, like saying, ‘If they caught you stealing, say it wasn’t your hand.’ I don’t think that’s the right approach,” said the coach of the White Star.

“I think a lot of things weren’t working the way we wanted them to. Of course, we also have to acknowledge that the opposition were good defensively. It’s no coincidence that Legia hadn’t lost a match until then. They’re a team that knows how to defend, especially in the defensive phase, and they’re dangerous on the counterattack and from set pieces. I wouldn’t want it to sound as though we’re blaming the referee. Absolutely not. We know what we should do better in matches like these. In the attacking phase, first of all, we needed more precision; secondly, we tended to keep the ball on one side, which made things easier for Legia’s low, compact 1-5-4-1 block. We didn’t switch sides enough or create enough time and space for the player on the ball, which is why there were so few chances. As I said at the post-match press conference, in matches this close - because in my view it was an even game - the details decide things. It comes down to whether you take your chance or not. And when you add in the details resulting from refereeing errors, you get the picture we have. We know we didn’t play a great match, but it wasn’t a very poor performance against a good opponent either. We tried. We’re unhappy with the result and know that several things didn’t work the way we wanted them to,” Mariusz Jop analyzed.

“You might think Widzew, playing at home, will want to dominate us from the start. They’re under a lot of pressure because they haven’t won at home and lost their last match. I still think this team has enormous potential. We also have to admit that they often concede simple goals and have problems with that - they sometimes make individual mistakes in situations that aren’t particularly difficult. That’s something we can take advantage of. This is definitely a team that isn’t showing its full potential. They’ll try to impose their style of play from the start. They’ve had a new coach for some time, one who prefers a more attacking, entertaining, forward-minded game. We have our own problems, but after a thorough analysis, we’ve identified areas in Widzew’s defensive play that we want to exploit. We’re prepared for several scenarios. One of them is a high press, as they tried in Gliwice when building from the back, going man to man and playing boldly. But the result is still up for grabs. I wouldn’t dwell too much on what happened two, three or four rounds ago - either in our case or Widzew’s. This is a fresh start, a new match, and everyone will be fighting for their own interests,” assessed the Wisła Kraków coach.

“The situation is still difficult because the players are dealing with various problems. However, we’re focusing on the players available to us. I’m not going to look for excuses, because we’re still a team. It’s typical in the autumn for a lot of injuries to crop up. We’ll do everything we can to get good results with the players we have,” the coach said.

“I completely agree - we want to pick up points away from home. Looking at the raw statistics, there isn’t much difference between our performances at home and away. Our finishing is one area that’s letting us down a little. We create more at home than away. Without the energy of our own fans at our stadium, and facing the opposition’s loud support, we have to get used to it and learn to play our own game. I’ll remind you that in the PKO BP Ekstraklasa we haven’t had many games in front of a full stadium, like in Warsaw or now in Łódź, and we have more such games ahead of us. We have to learn to play our own game under that added pressure and with the energy of the home crowd. It’s a process we’re going through. I hope tomorrow’s match will show us at our best and that we’ll return from Łódź with points. That’s our goal,” the Kraków team’s head coach emphasized.

“Of course. We have very fond memories of matches like these - last season we had a similar atmosphere in the games against Ruch and in Szczecin. It’s fantastic for the players and all the fans when we hear both teams being cheered on, without chants directed against the opposition. Above all, fans of both teams are there, which is essential. It’s great that both teams will be supported by their fans,” Mariusz Jop said.

“I’d like the match to end 3:2, but in Wisła’s favor. I remember that match well, as well as the whole year. Adam Piekutowski and I were on loan at Widzew at the time. It was a good period for me, because being on loan from Wisła gave me the chance to get experience at the highest level of the game. I remember Łódź and Widzew in particular for the fans’ support - the stands were always full, and the support was outstanding. So I know what we can expect as a team and what the atmosphere will be like. It will certainly be a football celebration,” recalled the White Star coach.

“We’re making greater use of players from the reserve team. These are players we’re counting on, but we know that genuine competition is the best thing for both the player and the team. I don’t want to say that someone who doesn’t feel a teammate breathing down their neck won’t train properly, because we as the coaching staff put pressure on the players ourselves. I have no concerns about the training process itself, because the team is doing well in that respect. However, footballing ability and understanding the playing model matter for the flow of the game. We’re managing as best we can, with support from players from the reserve team,” the Wisła coach explained.

“I think the stadium atmosphere and the fact that he conceded quite a few goals in his previous international match may have been on his mind. Fortunately, his mistakes when playing the ball out didn’t lead to any consequences, so you could say he got away with them. Still, it’s a message to Marcel himself that he needs to be more precise. We know he can do it brilliantly, and I hope this was just an off day for him,” Mariusz Jop noted.

“Time is on Mateusz’s side and on the side of the philosophy he wants to bring to the team, because these are processes that take time. You can see that the balance has shifted more toward attacking play than under coach Vuković - toward proactive rather than reactive play. That’s the main change, and it’s easy to see,” the coach added.

“I think it would be interesting and could settle highly controversial situations. The only question is this: in volleyball, it’s black and white - the ball was either in or out. In football, there’s room for interpretation. Who would make the decision and be the authority when a coach calls a challenge? In theory, challenges already exist, just not at the coach’s request but the referees’ - someone on VAR advises, but in the end the main referee still makes the decision. So I don’t know what it would look like or who would decide apart from the main referee. The idea itself is certainly worthwhile. It could be used for throw-ins. Perhaps the rules will move in that direction: since VAR can intervene on a corner kick, and a throw-in near the penalty area often involves a long throw and isn’t much different from a corner, logic suggests this could be the next step, with VAR providing information about the correct direction for the throw-in,” the Wisła Kraków coach concluded.

The full press conference recording is available on Wisła Kraków’s official YouTube channel - we encourage you to watch and subscribe to stay up to date with the club’s content.