Euro 2012

Coach: Leo Beenhakker
Group B: Germany, Croatia, Austria, and Poland

Introduction

Cause For Optimism

There has never been a better time to be a Polish football fan. A burgeoning squad developing in self belief under the guidance of one of the shrewdest managers around, the time is right for Poland to shake off their tags as international under achievers at Euro 2008.

Qualification for the tournament already indicated that Poland are becoming a force to be reckoned with. Drawn into Group A, with 8 teams, it was always going to be a long haul and their opponents, which included both Portugal and Serbia (both of whom had qualified for the World Cup) as well as Finland and Belgium, looked close. However, the Poles managed to top Group A after a shaky start which saw them loose to Finland, thanks to a 6 match winning streak stretching between matchdays 3 and 9.

The campaign has been overseen by canny Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker, who was last seen on the international stage guiding Trinidad and Tobago to their first ever qualification in the World Cup in 2006. The Polish FA managed to persuade the former Feyenoord and Real Madrid coach to come to the Polish national team to try and help turn around their fortunes.

Despite qualifying well for the World Cup in 2006 once at Germany, the Poles flopped badly after starting the tournament with a defeat to Ecuador. They never recovered from that loss and managed only one win in their final game against Costa Rica after already being knocked out of the tournament.

The arrival of Beenhakker couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment with confidence from the fans and media alike low: morale might have been at rock-bottom, but so were prospects for a turnaround. Thus since his arrival the promising results in qualification have unleashed a fresh new wave of optimism surrounding the team and the Dutchman is determined to tap into that with Poland in their first ever European Championships.

A strong Euro 2008 is seen as vital as in 2012 Poland will be co-hosting the tournament with Ukraine. A fresh interest in Polish football is therefore certain to happen, and a strong performance this time around will only boost that.
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