After 28 years, the famous Wisla Kraków football club came down from Ekstraklasa, Poland. The trio of Czech legionnaires – Michal Frydrych, Jan Kliment and Matěj Hanousek – will not play the second league, they are heading for other engagements. “It is a supportive agreement between both parties,” says Polish journalist Dariusz Kurowski. On the other hand, forward Zdeněk Ondrášek remains.
It was a shock for the Polish football scene. The famous Wisla, the holder of thirteen championship titles (the last in 2011), fell from the highest competition together with two newcomers. “A small disaster,” admits Kurowski.
However, he does not take the departure of the three Czech legionnaires as an escape, but a reasonable agreement. “No one wants to play in the second league, moreover the new management of the club led by the owner, former international Jakub Blaszczykowski, has made it clear that he wants to reduce spending on players’ salaries and start building a new staff of talented young men,” the journalist explains the club’s policy. “So there has been a mutual agreement that is welcomed by both parties,” he continues.
Other players have already found new engagements. Serbian midfielder Marko Poletanovic has left for Zaglebie Lubin, Georgian hope Giorgi Citayshvili is returning to Dynamo Kyiv, a Dutch employer with Ghanaian roots Elvis Manu is looking for a new employer, the Polish representative Maciej Sadlok has terminated the contract.
The Czech legionaries also solved the situation. Former team captain Michal Frydrych is returning to Baník Ostrava, where he grew up, and fans welcome him with open arms.
Master Viktoria Plzeň gained forward Jan Kliment, who, however, did not gain much reputation among Polish fans when he scored only two goals and did not help the team in a difficult situation much.
Defender Matěj Hanousek is also returning from a guest appearance in Sparta, but he will probably stay in Poland, Slask Vratislav has shown interest in him. It depends on how the severance pay is agreed with the Letna club.
However, the Czech footprint will not disappear from Wisła. The darling of the local kibicow (fans), the 33-year-old forward Zdeněk Ondrášek called “Kobra” remains. He wore the jersey of the Polish team from 2015 to 2019, and with his performances at the time he won a nomination for the Czech national team.
In the winter, he was lured back to the scene from Tromsö, Norway, by Slovak coach Adrián Guĺa, who, however, finished after two spring matches.
Ondrášek experienced the failure very emotionally. “It’s a disaster for us and the fans who have been with us the whole time,” he said after the descent.
“We have the best fans, but the reality is. Now everything needs to be done to get Wisla back to Ekstraklasa,” he said immediately. “I’m not going anywhere,” he continued to pledge allegiance.
Coach Jerzy Brzeczek, a silver medalist from the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, who signed a contract until June 2023 with an annual automatic extension in the event of a return to the top competition, firmly counts on the Czech Cobra.
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