Blaszczykowski issues Poland rallying cry
Reuters - Thursday 07 June 2012, 15:38
Poland captain Jakub
Blaszczykowski issued a rallying cry ahead of the co-hosts' Euro
2012 opener against Greece on Friday, calling on his team-mates
to stand up and be counted in front of a 60,000 home crowd.
"We are up to this task. For sure one thing that will not be
lacking in us is determination and will for the fight,"
Blaszczykowski told a news conference at the new national
stadium on Thursday.
"We can talk about all sorts of things today, but tomorrow
we have to go out and show what we have in our shorts."
Speaking in a quiet and determined tone, the Borussia
Dortmund winger thanked media and the coaching team for two-and-a-half-years work that he said had produced a team that would
now bear fruit.
He promised that the side would "give everything" to improve
on poor Polish performances at the last European Championship in
Austria and Switzerland in 2008 and 2006 World Cup in Germany.
"We can say with no doubt that this is the game of our
lives," he said.
Coach Franciszek Smuda told the conference his team, which
is undefeated in six games but has not played competitively in
more than two years, was capable of reaching the tournament's
quarter-finals.
"We say that this is a team for the 21st century, it plays
excellent football. A team with a future has been born, and for
sure we can look to a future of good results and good play."