Poland puts faith in no-nonsense Smuda

Poland

Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland have put its hopes of advancing beyond the group stage in the hands of grey-haired, no-nonsense coach Franciszek Smuda.

Its worry, however, is that the strict disciplinarian's zero-tolerance policy might ultimately weaken, not strengthen, its bid for glory.

Smuda, who took the post in 2009 after its failure to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa, has already banned some high-profile players from the squad over alcohol-related incidents, including goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

Most recently, he dropped Slawomir Peszko and Marcin Wasilewski after a night out ended with the former in police custody, though local media reports said their teammates would welcome a change in stance in this particular case.

Some critics feel the coach could end up hurting Poland's chances in front of their home crowd by taking his anti-alcohol crusade too far. Others believe he must defend his authority by allowing no exceptions.

Smuda's disciplinarian ways, which have their roots in his time coaching in Germany's lower leagues, helped him lead Widzew Lodz to two league titles and the Champions League quarterfinals in 1996 - the last significant appearance in the competition by a Polish team.

Smuda then won another Polish championship with Wisla Krakow.

He was born in 1948 in a village in Poland's southern Silesia region with strong historic links to Germany and has spent a large part of his life abroad - which may help explain why he can often appear at odds with the Polish language.

His foreign experiences have not all been happy. Smuda lost his life savings to a dishonest businessman along with Kazimierz Deyna, perhaps Poland's greatest player of all time, when the pair was trying to settle in the United States in the 1970s.

He subsequently spent time playing in the old NASL (North American Soccer League) for Hartford Bi-Centennials, the Oakland Stompers and the Los Angeles Aztecs, among others, and while in LA played alongside the flamboyant, brilliant George Best.

It would be hard to imagine two team mates more dissimilar.

Reuters