Polish football history produce the good goalkeepers like Krzysztof Kamiński (2ページ目)

"In Poland, many people complain about falling behind in terms of youth development," Kamiński said. "So I guess those conditions are not the reason. Additionally, in recent years most young players admire Robert Lewandowski and goalkeeper is not a popular role. But I think goalkeeper is an individual position, and if there are good coaches, good keepers can be produced. In comparison to outfield players, goalkeepers can be improved by individual training, perhaps a lot."

A nice coincidence occurred at this point.

Poland has a great football history. The national team took third place at the World Cup in 1974 and 1982, as well as winning gold and silver at 1972 and 1976 Olympics, respectively. I wondered if the legendary goalkeepers who starred for the national team during the 'Polish Golden Era' might have inspired the following generations, and included this question in my list. Kamiński delightedly revealed that he was coached by one of them - Józef Młynarczyk, who shone at the World Cup in 1982.

"When I was called up to the U21 national team, Młynarczyk was the goalkeeper coach," Kamiński said. "In my country, he is acknowledged as one of the two greatest goalkeepers along with Jan Tomaszewski, who played at the World Cup in 1974. In club football, Młynarczyk won the European Cup with FC Porto in 1987 so he is admired not only in Poland but also in Portugal.

"He was a great coach too. His demands on the players were extremely high, and we had to work very intensely. But thanks to that, despite the training camp only being two weeks long, I improved a lot. His instructions are still alive in me. Although he taught me goalkeeping, what I remember most from his teaching is how to use my brain - anticipating the flow of the game and the direction of the ball, keeping my concentration at all times. For goalkeepers, that is very, very important."