Legia fanatic Boruc forms part of Blues’ daunting challenge
LINFIELD will come up against at least one familiar face when their Champions League campaign continues against Polish champions Legia Warsaw this evening.
The first qualifying round tie sees the sides play for the right to host either Armenian side Ararat-armenia or Cypriots Omonia in the next round. The beaten side, meanwhile, will drop into the Europa League.
So, just what do we know about Legia Warsaw?
Domestic dominance:
Legia Warsaw’s 19/20 Ekstraklasa league title saw the club tie with both Gornik Zabrze and Wisla Krakow as the most successful domestic club in Polish league history. All three now have 14 crowns, with Warsaw the undisputed current powerhouse having won the division in six of the last eight seasons.
Rich European history:
Legia also have a record of significant performances in Uefa competition. Their best to date is a run to the European Cup semi-finals way back in 1970. More recently, they reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 1996 thanks to an impressive group campaign that included a win over English champions Blackburn Rovers. The last decade has brought four appearances in the Europa League group stages and one in the Champions League proper, when they held Real Madrid to a 3-3 draw in 2016. Last season, they were edged out by Rangers 1-0 on aggregate for a place in the Europa League groups.
The Holy Goalie:
Among five arrivals this summer is a man who will be no stranger to Linfield supporters. Artur Boruc returned to his boyhood club earlier this month and, at the age of 40, is set to start against the Blues. He played for the club for six years before moving to become Celtic’s No.1 in 2005. He held that role until 2010 and also played for both Southampton and Bournemouth in the Premier League. Boruc has never made his love for the club a secret and was part of the away support for their Euro tie at Ibrox last summer, which earned him a slapped wrist from Bournemouth boss
Eddie Howe. He will, at least, be glad this game is not at Windsor Park. That would only have brought back memories of his 2009 horror show for Poland as his now infamous gaffe helped Northern Ireland to a 3-1 win. Also among this summer’s arrivals at
Legia, and in contention to face Linfield, are Serbian international left-back Filip Mladenovic and twicecapped Croatian defender Josip Juranovic.
Successful start to the season:
Boruc, Mladenovic and Juranovic all made their debuts on Friday in Warsaw’s first game since concluding the league campaign last month. It couldn’t have gone much better — a 6-1 cup win over second tier side Belchatow. Mladenovic made a scoring start to life at his new club, while there was a hat-trick for 18-year-old winger Maciej Rosolek, matching his goal tally for the entirety of last season.
Wonderkid of European football:
Warsaw will also showcase one of European football’s most sought-after teenage players. That’s full-back Michal Karbownik (left), who is being targeted by the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Tottenham and Napoli, with Legia keen to bring in €10m for his signature. Right-footed, he has so far played most of his club career on the left side of defence and is very much in the mould of a modern full-back. He is known more for his attacking exploits and direct runs than his defensive work.
Playing
Injury to Jose Kante is likely to leave former Southampton striker Tomas Pekhart as the main man up top.
style:
He scored only five goals in his first season at Legia but Polish journalist Piotr Kamieniecki reckons his side’s gameplan will be made to get the best out of the 6’2 forward. “He’s a tall player and a killer in the box,” said Kamieniecki. “I’m curious about his fight for the ball in the air against Linfield. He is very dangerous when he receives passes from his colleagues. Legia often tries to cross in the box, mainly by side full-backs Mladenovic and Karbownik.” Aside from that, Linfield should expect to be confronted with a high-energy, high-pressing style as the hosts go on the offensive.
Key players:
Obviously, Boruc is one of Legia’s prized assets already and forms one part of the team’s spine, with striker Pekhart at the opposite end of it. “The defence leader is Artur Jedrzejczyk,” continued Kamieniecki. “He is a very strong footballer who successfully fights aerially. Central midfielder Domagoj Antolic (above) is a very important player — the brain of the team. He won the league’s best midfielder award and is very effective in picking up and playing the ball. It is also worth paying attention to Luquinhas. This is typical player from Brazil; good dribbling, speed, cleverness and wisdom. He is the most fouled footballer in Ekstraklasa.”
The coach:
In Aleksandar Vukovic, David Healy will be pitting his wits against the first foreign coach to win the Polish league as both a player and manager. The Serbian made over 150 appearances for the club between 2001 and 2008 and was named manager last year.
Expected line-up:
Boruc; Karbownik, Jedrzejczyk, Wieteska, Mladenovic; Wszolek, Antolic, Martins, Rosolek; Luquinhas; Pekhart.