Mariusz Jop before #PUNWIS: We’re ready for the battle — it will be a crucial part of the game

On Monday, to conclude Matchday 13 of the Betclic 1 Liga, the White Star will face Puszcza Niepołomice away from home. Wisła Kraków’s head coach, Mariusz Jop, spoke to the media ahead of the upcoming fixture.

“The players who featured for the second team yesterday – Joseph Colley, Olivier Sukiennicki, Wiktor Staszak, and Anton Chichkan – will be left out of the matchday squad for tomorrow’s game,” the coach began.

Several Wisła players recently received international call-ups. What’s their current status?
“Some of them had minor health issues, but nothing serious enough to exclude them from full training sessions. I think everyone’s in good spirits, especially those who represented the U21 team. They played great games and achieved excellent results. Both Mariusz Kutwa, Kacper Duda, and Maciej Kuziemka, who all got minutes on the pitch, can definitely consider that period a success. I’m happy to have them back with us, fit, healthy, and in a positive mood,” Jop commented.

Puszcza seem to be overcoming their early-season struggles.
“I think looking at Puszcza only through the lens of the league table can be a bit of a trap. If we take their last three or four matches, including the Polish Cup game, they’ve collected five points in the league and advanced further in the cup. The work of coach Tułacz and his staff is clearly visible. Of course, they had a tough start after relegation from the Ekstraklasa, mainly because of significant squad changes, the team simply needed time to gel again. Puszcza are in a completely different place now compared to one or two months ago. They’re a very combative and dangerous side, a team that doesn’t concede much but also doesn’t score many. Teams coached by Tułacz have a specific playing style: strong set pieces, lots of direct play, and plenty of physical duels. In fact, they rank very high in aerial and defensive duels in the league statistics. We know exactly what to expect,” Jop explained.

Can anything be taken from the recent friendly match against Puszcza?
“When it comes to that friendly, I wouldn’t draw far-reaching conclusions. In training games, coaches often experiment, try different setups, or take more risks in open play. The league is a different story. That friendly was part of our general preparation period, not a focused analysis of the opponent. The players were also under a heavier physical load at the time, and the lineup was heavily rotated. History is history, this is a new chapter, and tomorrow we’ll write the next one. We’re ready for a battle, which will surely be a key element in this game. Technically, I think we’re on a higher level, but of course, we’ll have to prove that on the pitch,” the coach assessed.

The pitch in Niepołomice is slightly narrower, was that taken into account during training?
“We narrowed the field during training in Myślenice (laughs). But seriously, the pitch is what it is. You can’t expect it to be as smooth as ours in Kraków. It’ll definitely be harder to build long, passing attacks. The conditions are the same for both teams, though. It’s a bit easier to defend there, but we’ll aim to impose our preferred style of play while respecting the opponent’s strengths,” Jop noted.

What’s the health status of Marko Bozić? “Marko trained with us this week, though not fully. He’s being gradually reintegrated into full football sessions with the team. Keep in mind, it’s been five, almost six weeks since he last played, so we need to be patient as he regains his physical and technical sharpness,” the coach reported.

Finally, has there been any particularly difficult stadium to play at in your coaching career? “I remember Odra Wodzisław, that was always a tough place for Wisła Kraków, and we often dropped points there. But as I said, I don’t dwell on history. Those were different coaches, different players, and different circumstances. We’re at a different stage now, and personally, I don’t think it matters much. This is just another game, a fight for three points. Of course, we take the opponent’s characteristics into account, but we’re heading to Niepołomice with full focus and determination,” concluded Mariusz Jop.