That's true, and we have players with experience in Europe's elite. We've added Melvyn Richardson, a multi-medal winner and MVP of the previous Champions League season. We secured a goal by signing the excellent goalkeeper Torbjörn Bergerud and the young Wojtek Borucki, and we've retained the fantastic Mirko Alilović. Furthermore, Sergei Kosorotov is returning. He's an absolute top scorer and can win matches on his own. He admitted he'll do his job when he gets the ball.
This is a sensible announcement. It's impossible to guarantee a spot in the Final Four. The playoffs and a potential quarterfinal will be like four finals for us. We'll be playing for everything in each of these matches, and the details will decide – the players' fitness and health on a given day. In the spring, we had several absences due to injuries, and we had a match against Paris Saint-Germain ahead of us. Despite these adversities, our players rose to the occasion and won.
In the next edition of the Champions League in the group stage, fate once again brought you together with the Parisian club…
Once again, PSG, when they host us, won't be certain of victory. The same applies to the clash with Barcelona, who will also be worried about the result when they come to Płock. With their excellent performances in the first half of this year, our team has proven its enormous potential. We need consistency in the near future. The new players will provide that.
The Wisła coach emphasized that we shouldn't forget the crucial role of the players who have remained with the team for years. They also need to feel valued to help new players quickly integrate into the team.
We made the transfers so that the players we brought in could improve our game in certain areas. We were lacking shots from nine or ten meters. We were suffering. We were playing one-on-one. Now we'll have strikers like Melvyn, Zoran Ilić – a rising star in Hungarian handball – and, above all, Kosorotov. Thanks to their long-range threat, our back-row player will have more space.
New tactical options will emerge, and that's exactly what our coach needed. We have excellent players in charge, representing various countries. Slovenian Miha Zarabec performed brilliantly last season. Young Hungarian Gergo Fazekas has enormous potential. I think he'll develop so well with us that in a few years he'll be among the five best playmakers in the world. Now our coach needs to put this puzzle together, and I'm confident he will. Equally important, Sabate has tough defenders at his disposal, thanks to Kirill Samoila, Leon Šušnja, Mirsad Terzić, and Abel Serdio's prowess on the pitch.
Melvyn Richardson is the new star of Orlen Wisła Płock (Photo: Baptiste Fernandez, ICON SPORT / newspix.pl) You have created a squad that is so broad and strong that even if there are injuries, you can be confident that you will maintain a high level of performance during a long and difficult season.
That's what we wanted. Wisła hasn't had such a strong right-back position before. We also have fire on the left, because in addition to the all-out Kosorotov, we have Zoltan Szita, who can play from the circle. Samoil, who returned to top form after injury, is a great defender, and remains a talented defender. Terzić remains with us, skillfully orchestrating the defense and constantly impressing with his physicality. He told me with a smile that Bosnian cuisine keeps him in good shape. Handball is changing, as matches are increasingly won by attack, but in the Champions League Final Four, defense is still the key.
The Final Four isn't mission impossible, as this spring, in addition to Barcelona, who finished fourth, the teams featured German teams from Magdeburg and Berlin, and French side Nantes, who only managed two playoff berths. Nothing but a role model!
Nantes, in particular, proved that without superstars, but with a strong team and a bit of luck, you can reach the top four. We beat them by three goals at home in the play-offs, but in the away second leg, the French came out with a no-win attitude. By halftime, the hosts were doing whatever they wanted to us, and we played worse than we're capable of. That's behind us now. Fortunately, I see in our players the hunger to succeed and achieve something significant in the Champions League. With a bit of luck, we'll go further and flood Cologne with blue!
Artur Stanowski (Photo: Adam Straszyński / newspix.pl) Have you already satisfied this hunger in our Orlen Superliga after the second consecutive gold medal in the Polish Championships?
Theoretically yes, but in the next season we want to win three trophies in the country.
However, it's in your best interest that your Super League rivals don't drop in quality. The strong Kielce club forces you to work harder. The Płock-Kielce "holy war" is known throughout Europe. Do your new players understand the intense emotions these matches generate?
No amount of storytelling can capture the incredible level of electricity that emanates from the stands during these famous clashes across Europe. Recently, while playing for Barcelona against Industria in the Champions League, Melvyn heard a chant from the Kielce fans about Wisła. It's too long to quote, but Blaž Janc translated it for him.
Orlen Wisła Płock CEO Artur Stanowski and its sports director Adam Wiśniewski (Photo: Kevin DOMAS, ICON SPORT / newspix.pl) Our young Mitja Janc, on the other hand, knew from Blaž what these matches were like, but when he actually participated, he was shocked. Our former goalkeeper Adam Morawski recently transferred to Kielce, so another twist has emerged in this rivalry. We absolutely don't want Industria to be weaker. Only leagues with a few high-class teams thrive. This is evident in the Bundesliga, where by the end of the season, even a 12th-place team can frighten the giants. I'd like to see teams from Ostrów Wielkopolski or Głogów raise their game, but that comes with money. We lack that in our sport.
In handball, you have to pay extra to compete in European competitions. Transfers also cost money. Are you struggling to meet your budget?
We received approximately one million złoty from the EHF for our Champions League appearances throughout the season, and we spend the same amount on match organization—flights and hotels. Some clubs choose to participate in European competitions thanks to the ministry's Poland Travel program, where they can receive reimbursement for international travel in exchange for promoting our country.
Meeting the budget is a year-long endeavor. Yes, we have a title sponsor, Orlen, with whom we have a three-year contract. The city of Płock continues to support us. Because we want to grow, we also need more money for marketing, as we want to create an unforgettable spectacle in our arena. When the lights go down and the music starts before Champions League or playoff games, fans should feel chills all over. Our goal is to create a show like the NBA. We also take Legia Warsaw football matches as an example. I dream, though I'm aware of the limitations, of something similar happening at our Orlen Arena.
What else do you dream about?
In a few years, half of our players will be Polish [currently Przemysław Krajewski, Michał Daszek, Dawid Dawydzik, Jakub Szyszko, Marcel Sroczyk, Krystian Szostak, Wiktor Szydlik, and Borucki are training], and they will be top players in our national team. Achieving this goal will require a decade of hard, grassroots work with children and young people. We need qualified coaches, modern equipment, and technology. Funding is also essential. The involvement of fans is also crucial, as they not only buy match tickets but also jerseys and club merchandise. It's not like I have a budget of €9 million and that's enough. New expenses are emerging, which is why the role of private sponsors is so important to us. The support of Mariusz Brudnicki and his company, Modular System, is invaluable. He loves handball. I dream of creating appropriate support tools for private businesses that invest in Polish sport.
