ACTUALITE |
05.09.2001
Poland`s Nigerian hero: Olisadebe
Poland`s coach Jerzy Engel has admitted that Nigerian born striker Emmanuel Olisadebe is one of the major reasons his team has become the first side in Europe to qualify for Korea and Japan.
Engel spotted Olisadebe`s talent several years ago, and one of the first things he did when he became coach was to rush through the Nigeria`s citizenship procedure.
Their relationship goes back several years.
In the late 1990s, Engel helped the then-unknown Olisadebe sign with Polonia Warsaw.
The former Nigerian has quickly became Poland¿s most dangerous player, scoring seven times in six World Cup qualifiers.
"He is an excellent player, one of the best strikers in Europe, a great contribution to our game," said Engel.
"Trying to evaluate the Polish team without Oli would be like trying to assess Ukraine without (AC Milan striker Andriy) Shevchenko - it would be a different team," Engel added.
Poland re-born
In just 12 months Poland`s coach Jerzy Engel has transformed his squad from no-hopers into a class act.
Poland failed to score a single goal in 10 straight matches until he took over.
Will Poland face Nigeria in the finals?
Now they have become the first European team to win their World Cup qualifying group.
Poland are looking more like the side that took third place in the 1974 and 1982 World Cups.
After more than a decade of disappointment, Poland`s return to the World Cup sparked a media frenzy not seen for a generation.
Leading newspapers led with headlines "We`re back" and "First in Europe".
"The Polish team no longer aims to avoid defeat, but goes out to win and score twice or more - no wonder the crowd enjoys it so much," said Engel.
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