retired_jgirl87

25th October 2003:

Ruch Chorzow are the visitors three days after our FA Cup victory. Mr Gorniak warns us to get our heads out of the clouds and back to the serious business of league football. The right side of midfield seem to be our hoodoo position as Balecki had strained his neck late in the cup match against Korona and was thus unavailable today. I moved to the right and Lato came in on the left. Tomasiak also got a start at the expense of Gawronski.

We quickly got into our stride and peppered the Ruch Chorzow goal with several efforts. Folc was twice denied by splendid saves from the opposition keeper, but I felt certain we would take the lead after 18 minutes when I headed Lato’s left wing cross back across the goal and Kowalczyk was standing unmarked only six yards out. However he somehow managed to smack his shot into the cross-bar and it rebounded to safety. A minute later and Klepczynski lay in agony on the ground after he was the victim of a late tackle. The stretcher was bought on and I knelt next to him, concerned that he was seriously injured. He’d taken a nasty knock to the ankle, but he told me it wasn’t too bad. Leszczynski came on in his place. Kowalczyk made up for his glaring miss after 22 minutes when he ran onto a superb long ball from Kurek and curled a shot past the keeper. At 41 minutes I got some space on the right and cut inside on my left foot. I was thinking of hitting a long shot when I saw Kowalczyk making a run across the last defender. I waited till I saw him turn and I pushed the pass through. It was timed perfectly and he was clear through, going on to dribble around the keeper and make it 2-0. However Kowalczyk wasn’t done yet and he completed a first half hat-trick 2 minutes later when he surged onto Folc’s flicked header and stabbed it past the advancing goalie to give us a commanding 3-0 lead at half-time. The second half was a much tamer affair and I think that the exertions of the mid-week cup match started to take their toll. Ruch Chorzow got a goal back from the penalty spot after 65 minutes when Kowalski was adjudged to have held back their centre-forward in the box. Despite that goal I didn’t feel we were in any real danger of losing the match and, in fact, that turned out to be the last significant moment of the game. We played out the remaining time to clinch a 3-1 win.

Polish Division 2 – Round 13
Radomsko 3-1 Ruch Chorzow
Kowalczyk 22, 41, 43

26th October 2003:

Before the last match I had mentioned that playing on the right of midfield was to play in the team’s hoodoo position. Well, today the curse struck me. We were just having a light run on Sunday morning to loosen up the legs and get out the stiffness from yesterday’s game when I somehow managed to trip over one of the orange cones that we used in training. I put my right arm out to break my fall, but I landed awkwardly and it jarred all the way up my arm to my shoulder. I felt a click and a sharp pain in my shoulder. The physio iced me up straight away, but it was throbbing terribly and there was no way that I could even raise my arm part of the way up without causing agony in my shoulder. My arm was put in a sling and the physio will take another look at it tomorrow.

27th October 2003:

The physio has diagnosed strained shoulder ligaments and suggested that I should miss the next two games to allow it to recover. I was really ****ed off as it had been my own stupid fault for falling over the cone, plus I was just feeling comfortable being back in the team following my three match suspension the previous month.

retired_jgirl87

29th October 2003:

As I was out of the squad for the Wednesday night match away to KSZO, I talked to Katerina and we decided to travel the 130 kilometres east to Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski in her car to see the game. It would be the first time that we had been to the football together as she normally worked on Saturdays and wasn’t able to get to our home matches. The KSZO stadium was recently built and very modern. We took our seats in the main stand right on the half-way line in the area that was reserved for officials and guests of the visiting club. Klep had remarkably recovered from his ankle knock, Smolinski was in at left-back for Kurek and Berensztajn was on the right of midfield in the hoodoo position that I had vacated.

We immediately went onto the attack and camped ourselves in the KSZO half. Tomasiak was having a good game up front, pulling his marker out of the centre and creating room for Kowalczyk to maraud through from midfield as he did so well. Folc went the closest to scoring when he headed against the post from Lato’s cross after 22 minutes. As usual it wasn’t enjoyable sitting in the stands watching the game instead of playing, but Katerina helped keep me relaxed by asking loads of questions in her basic English. I took my time trying to answer simply and clearly and that helped a bit. Down on the sidelines I saw the board come up to indicate two minutes of injury time. I was just explaining to Katerina what that meant when Klep rolled a short free kick to Smolinski who drove it low at goal from 25 yards. It flicked off a defender, completely wrong-footing the goalkeeper and nestled in the back of the net. I leapt to my feet to celebrate, although my sore shoulder stopped me from going too crazy. Katerina looked up at me and laughed. “You are most funny”, she said. “Yeah, and you women just don’t understand football, do you?” I replied.

There were several half-chances for Radomsko to double their lead early in the second half, but it took until the 60th minute for goal number two to arrive. Klep created it with a sweeping pass from right to left to find Lato who then went past the full-back and crossed to the far post where Kowalczyk arrived unmarked to head home with ease. That knocked the stuffing out of KSZO and I knew that we would take the three points from that moment. Our closest chance to add a third goal came in the final minute when Smolinski roamed forward yet again, this time to drive in a shot from 15 yards which rattled the cross-bar and rebounded clear.

Polish Division 2 – Round 14
KSZO 0-2 Radomsko
Smolinski 45, Kowalczyk 60

1st November 2003:

Klep informs me that this week’s opponents Belchatow are our traditional rivals. Situated just 30 kilometres to the north, they are the nearest based club to Radomsko. Belchatow is an industrial town, similar to Radomsko, and their supporters are fiercely loyal like our own. My shoulder is starting to heal and I can raise my right arm now, but there is still stiffness and some discomfort, so unfortunately I will miss out on the big derby match. Kowalczyk will also miss due to suspension after receiving four yellow cards, so Leszczynski comes in to the centre of midfield and Klep will push up in to the attacking midfield role. There is also a place on the bench for our young striker Stefanczyk who has been scoring regularly in the reserves.

It is a cold, wet day and winter is clearly coming along, but the stadium is packed with 5,500 fans and a local derby will definitely warm things up. Several crunching tackles highlight the first 5 minutes and then we have our first chance to apply some pressure with a corner. It is headed clear and the ball falls to the feet of a speedy Belchatow forward who makes dangerous ground down the right wing. They have got several players quickly forward in support and our midfielders are struggling to get back and cover. Before we can get the numbers back, the ball is crossed and a Belchatow midfielder slides in at the near post to give them the lead. Straight from the kick-off we move forward and Lato’s pass finds Folc free on the left. He dummies to cross deep, but instead drives it low across the area. Tomasiak has the jump on his defender and looks certain to score when he is pulled back. Penalty!! Our players are demanding a red card for the defender, but the ref only produces a yellow. I am the designated penalty taker, but today Folc is the deputy. He steps up and coolly places the ball into the bottom corner to make it 1-1 after 8 minutes. However, 5 minutes later Folc is forced to limp off and Stefanczyk comes on for his debut. We go to a 2-1 lead after 18 minutes when Klepczynski performs Kowalczyk’s role to perfection by ghosting in behind the defence to pick up Leszczynski’s through ball and drill a low shot past the helpless keeper. We hold our lead until the 36th minute when a right wing corner is headed in by their towering centre-half. It remains 2-2 until half-time and both the players and supporters take the opportunity to take a breather from this pulsating derby match.

Belchatow come out all charged up and we are pressed back in our own half of the pitch for much of the second half. Borkowski maintains the status quo with a superb double save in the 63rd minute, but from the resulting corner we concede again, this time when a near-post flick flies into our net via the far post. The home fans are drowning out our travelling band of supporters, but our guys do their best to be heard. This has been the loudest and rowdiest crowd of the season, surpassing even the noise of the cup game against Korona ten days ago. We claw our way back into the game, but with two minutes to go Belchatow hold onto their 3-2 lead. Our final fling of the dice is then made - a sweeping move down our left and a cross which is partially cleared to the edge of the box. The ball sits up invitingly to be hit and it is our left-back Smolinski, scorer of his first ever goal last week, who is in the right place. His first time shot rockets past the keeper, hits the cross-bar and thumps down onto the goal line. “Goal”, I scream from my seat in the stand. The Radomsko players surround the referee, who looks to his linesman and then waves play on. Today lady luck is on our opponent’s side. Our unbeaten start to the season is over after fifteen games and it is our bitter rivals Belchatow who have ended it.

Polish Division 2 – Round 15
Belchatow 3-2 Radomsko
Folc 8 (pen), Klepczynski 18

shannon2007

I'm still reading

retired_jgirl87

Thanks for the support. Merry Christmas to everyone.

retired_jgirl87

5th November 2003:

I completed a full training session tonight and my shoulder is probably about 90% healed. Afterwards the physio gave me a workout lifting some weights, then he told Mr Gorniak that he was convinced that I should be fully fit for Saturday.

8th November 2003:

Polar from the city of Wroclaw are our opponents at the Brzeznicka today and they have had a wretched start to the season. Only one win in their first fifteen matches and just the sort of opposition that we need to help get us back on the winning track. As well as myself in for Lato, there are other changes. Balecki starts for the injured Berensztajn (this week’s victim of the right wing hoodoo), Gawronski replaces Tomasiak and Kowalczyk returns from suspension.

As expected Polar have stacked their midfield and defence and they hope to stifle our creativity. The cold, windy and wet weather doesn’t make things easy for us either. There is not a single attempt on goal for the first 23 minutes, but then Kowalczyk intercepts a sloppy pass and puts Folc clean through on goal. Folc calmly sidesteps the keeper and rolls the ball home for a 1-0 lead. At 35 minutes we give Polar a lesson in the art of the quick counter attack. Borkowski bravely dives at the feet of a Polar striker to win the ball. He quickly gets to his feet and throws the ball to me out on the left. I run for a short distance and spot Kowalczyk haring through middle. I chip a pass in behind the centre-half and Kowalczyk traps the ball expertly and then fools the keeper by hitting an early shot with the outside of his right foot which skids along the wet grass and into the net. All in all, about six touches to go from one end to the other and Polar are gutted. It stays 2-0 until half-time.

The second half is littered with poor finishing by Radomsko. Folc, Kowalczyk and Klepczynski all contrive to miss open goals when it looked easier to score. With both Balecki and I having just returned from injury, we start to feel the pace of the game, so Mr Gorniak subs us off with just over 20 minutes to go. I take my seat in the dugout just in time to see Folc bought down for an obvious penalty. Folc himself takes the kick, but it is weak and straight at the keeper who gathers the ball without too much difficulty. It looks like we are fated not to score any further goals in this match. And just to jingle our nerves, Polar get a late breakaway and pull the score back to 2-1 with three minutes remaining. I sit huddled in the dugout, praying that we will hold on. Someone up above is listening and thankfully we finish up 2-1 winners.

Polish Division 2 – Round 16
Radomsko 2-1 Polar
Folc 23, Kowalczyk 35

15th November 2003:

We have the international break this weekend. Poland is in a play-off for a spot in the finals of Euro 2004 against Switzerland. The first leg is held in Chorzow and it is the Swiss who take the spoils with a 4-3 away victory despite goals from Olisadebe, Kaluzny and Zurawski.

19th November 2003:

The return leg of the Euro 2004 play-off game between Poland and Switzerland is held in Basel and the Poles pull off a stunning 4-2 win to progress to the finals 7-6 on aggregate. A hat-trick from Olisadebe and one from Kosowski completes a result that has my Polish team-mates in raptures.

22nd November 2003:

The week off for the internationals had given us the chance to recharge our batteries and I, for one, was raring to go. Our opponents today were Podbeskidzie who had taken over at the top of the table after our loss to Belchatow three weeks ago. Both teams had opened up a slight break on the rest of the clubs in Division 2, so this would be our chance to take back top spot and maintain that break. No changes to the starting line-up this week, but Jozwiak had returned from his shin injury to take a place on the bench.

Both sides take a few minutes to settle down, but Podbeskidzie have the first chance to do something when they are awarded a free-kick 25 yards out from our goal. However the two players over the ball totally stuff the routine up, allowing Folc to nip in and steal the ball. He races away down the left wing as our opponent’s defenders are caught out upfield for the free-kick. We have a three on two advantage as Folc reaches the goal-line, but he craftily plays a pass onto the edge of the box where Klep is the fourth Radomsko player arriving. He controls the ball, sidesteps a desperate lunging tackle and curls a beautiful shot high into the corner of the net to give us a 1-0 lead. Credit to Podbeskidzie, they are not phased by our goal. They launch wave after wave of attacks, only for our defensive quartet of Osinski, Nowak, Kowalski and Smolinski, plus keeper Borkowski, to deny them in a determined fashion. At 40 minutes Kowalczyk breaks up another attack deep in our half and sprays a long ball to the left. Folc does the hard yards again, working his way down the wing before whipping in a low cross to find Kowalczyk arriving at the near post to force it in. 2-0 at half-time and we are fortunate as Podbeskidzie have had the greater possession of the ball. Mr Gorniak praises our defensive work during his talk and singles out Folc for praise for his lead up work in both goals.

Mr Gorniak’s speech has raised our morale even higher and we charge into Podbeskidzie early in the second half. Folc and Kowalczyk work a lovely move on the edge of the box after 48 minutes and Folc’s neat cross is headed home by Kowalczyk for 3-0. Two minutes later and Smolinski’s long throw on the left lands at my feet. I race to the bye-line before crossing low to the feet of Folc who buries it first time in the net for a thoroughly deserved goal. That puts us 4-0 in front and our opponents have had the stuffing knocked out of them. It stays that way until we produce a late flourish to the game. Firstly Gawronski gets his name on the score sheet as he tucks away the rebound from Folc’s shot after 89 minutes and secondly Kowalczyk claims his hat-trick in the final minute as he runs onto Kowalski’s long pass to nutmeg the keeper with a sizzling low shot. That’s 6-0 to us, the top spot on the table has been recovered, and Folc is the unanimous man of the match.

Polish Division 2 – Round 17
Radomsko 6-0 Podbeskidzie
Klepczynski 6, Kowalczyk 40, 48, 90, Folc 50, Gawronski 89

retired_jgirl87

25th November 2003:

I’m looking ahead and making a few plans for the upcoming winter break in Polish football. After our game on 6th December we don’t have another official match until 21st February next year. That is an eleven week break and Mr Gorniak has given us seven weeks off with a return to training on 26th January. I have planned to head over to England to catch up with a couple of mates and take in a match or two with my favourite team Chelsea. Things have been going great between myself and Katerina and we have decided that she will join me in London after spending Christmas with her family. Apart from a brief trip to Berlin in Germany it will be her first visit outside of Poland and she is looking forward to it very much.

29th November 2003:

LKS Lodz are down in 15th place on the table and they must be fearing the worst after our 6-0 demolition of Podbeskidzie last weekend. There is only one change as Jozwiak replaces Balecki who drops to the bench.

We fly out of the blocks, quickly pushing LKS back into defence. Folc get the show started after 5 minutes, pushing away his own team-mate Kowalczyk, to latch on Klep’s pass and fire in from 12 yards. Gawronski heads in two minutes later, but it is ruled out for offside. Kowalczyk is given space after 12 minutes and the deadly finisher makes no mistake from close range for our second goal. Almost straight from the restart, Klep wins a 50-50 ball in midfield and knocks a through ball for Kowalczyk to run clear and emphatically finish taking us to 3-0. Just another couple of minutes and Folc heads in my cross, only for the referee to mysteriously rule it out for an offside that no-one can explain. Never mind, we just get on with business and Kowalczyk claims his second hat-trick in a row as he ghosts in behind the LKS defence to control Smolinski’s cross and thrash the ball home. So there are 18 minutes gone, we are 4-0 up and a further two goals have been ruled out for offside. I’m honestly thinking that this could be a double figure game for us at this rate. Then it all suddenly comes to a stop. We still have the majority of the possession, but our final pass never makes it to the intended target. Credit also goes to LKS for tightening up their defence and their marking, but it stays at 4-0 until half-time. The second half is devoid of chances until late on, with Folc hitting one straight at the keeper after 85 minutes and myself hitting the cross-bar from 20 yards in the last minute of the match.

Polish Division 2 – Round 18
Radomsko 4-0 LKS
Folc 5, Kowalczyk 12, 14, 18

5th December 2003:

Before training this evening Mr Gorniak calls Klep and I into his office. When Klep is called in as well, I always know that it is something that will require a major translation. There is already another guy in his office. He steps forward before anything is said and introduces himself. “G’day, I’m Tony Watson. How ya goin’, orright?” Ah, a fellow Australian. “G’day, I’m Gavin Mathieson and I’m goin’ great”, I reply. Mr Gorniak speaks, via Klep, and informs us that Tony is here as a scout for the Australian Under-21 team. He says that he sent out the video of the State Television sports show about me, plus a few other highlights that were privately filmed by the club, to friend in London who had passed them on to Tony. “We’ve got a couple of Under-21 games against club sides in Belgium in early February and I’m here to have a look at you”, says Tony. I’m a bit stunned, but it’s a great feeling to know I have been noticed. Tony goes to say that they will be naming a squad in mid January and that I will be notified then if they want to call me up. In the meantime, he will be at tomorrows match against Szczakowianka to watch me play.

6th December 2003:

It is the last game before the winter break and we are travelling 100 kilometres to the south to play Szczakowianka in Jaworzno. It is the usual game of musical chairs on the right of midfield. Today’s occupant is Balecki as Jozwiak has a thigh strain.

Szczakowianka kick off and we don’t even get to touch the ball before we are a goal down. Osinksi and Nowak both leave a pass for each other and the opposition striker is clean through to beat Borkowski at his near post after 22 seconds. After 8 minutes Kowalczyk’s tackle wins the ball and he quickly sends a pass my way. I use my speed to outpace the lumbering centre-half and find myself one-on-one with the keeper. As usual I prefer to shoot rather than attempt to dribble around the goalkeeper and my low shot creeps in at the near post to make it 1-1. Five minutes later and the same move occurs. This time the keeper blocks my shot, but it rolls free to Folc who strokes it into the unguarded net to give us the lead. There are 17 minutes gone when Balecki makes a surging run down the right and crosses into the box. The referee spots Folc having his shirt pulled and awards us a penalty. This is my first chance with a penalty-kick in an official match. I hit it low to my left, but the keeper dives full length to push it away, then a defender finishes the job by belting it out for a corner. I’m not happy with myself at all, but I can see Mr Gorniak on the sidelines urging me to carry on. Play moves to the other end and Szczakowianka earn a corner. Nowak rises to head clear, but his header strikes Klepczynski’s arm just inside the penalty area and the ref awards them a penalty. I stand on the edge of the box, whispering to myself that their player will save my embarrassment and miss, but he shows me how to score a penalty by thumping the ball high past Borkowski to make it 2-2 after just 19 minutes. Things settle into a quieter pattern for most of the remaining first half, but at 43 minutes our opponents take a 3-2 lead when the scorer of their first goal meets a left wing cross with a diving header that gives Borkowski no chance. It is a frustrating second half for us. Szczakowianka defend well and look to be happy with the 3-2 score line. There is one clear chance for us to equalise when substitute defender Kurek beats the keeper with a header from a corner, only to see the full-back head it off the line. At the end we trudge off in despair, although this is later tempered when we learn that Podbeskidzie could only draw and we will go into the break as winter champions.

Polish Division 2 – Round 19
Szczakowianka 3-2 Radomsko
Mathieson 8, Folc 13

retired_jgirl87

7th December 2003:

All the players meet at Brzeznicka for a loosening up session after yesterdays match. We are not happy that our last game before the winter break was a defeat and neither is Mr Gorniak. However we are still top of the table and there are two automatic promotion places up for grabs, so we are in a reasonably good position at this stage of the season. Mr Gorniak asks us to keep as fit as we can during the break, to watch what we eat and to take it easy on the vodka. After the team meeting we all wish each other the best for the holidays. Several of the players still have their day jobs to go to whilst some of the others have planned holidays. Klep, Folc and Balecki, the trio from the steelworks, are heading off to the Greek isles after Christmas and they beg me to come with them, but I am looking forward to my England trip and I have to say no.

12th December 2003:

Tonight is my last night in Radomsko before my holidays. I have dinner at Katerina’s house and meet her parents for the first time. Her father is a science teacher at the local secondary school and her mother gives piano lessons on a part-time basis. They both can speak English reasonably well, so our conversation is not too difficult. There is a little bit of a fuss when Katerina announces that her trip to England is with me and not a girlfriend as her parents has previously thought, but in the end they seem happy with me and our trip will proceed. After dinner we go down to “Sportz One” to meet our friends for one last big party before the holidays. I have a great night and it is the best way to farewell everyone for the next few weeks.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | *** | RADOMSKO | | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 47 | 17 | +30 | 41 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Podbeskidzie | | 19 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 37 | 22 | +15 | 40 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Zaglebie | | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 35 | 17 | +18 | 36 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Blekitni | | 19 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 42 | 25 | +17 | 35 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Jagiellonia | | 19 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 33 | 22 | +11 | 33 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Pogon | | 19 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 17 | +7 | 32 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Arka | | 19 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 21 | +5 | 32 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Stasiak Opoczno | | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 37 | 25 | +12 | 31 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Tloki | | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Belchatow | | 19 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 29 | 35 | -6 | 24 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Cracovia | | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 32 | 33 | -1 | 23 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Piast | | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 25 | -5 | 22 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Ruch Chorzow | | 19 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 26 | 35 | -9 | 20 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Szczakowianka | | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 25 | +1 | 20 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | LKS | | 19 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 18 | 35 | -17 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | KSZO | | 19 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 53 | -34 | 11 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Polar | | 19 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 35 | -23 | 10 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Aluminium | | 19 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 40 | -29 | 6 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_cortmyrick

I'm sure that I've seen this somewhere before...I'm not going to spoil it by telling everyone where the finished version is though.

retired_jgirl87

20th December 2003:

I’ve had fun catching up with my friend Nick and a few of his mates. I’ve been staying at Nick’s home in Essex and we’ve already had a couple of big nights at his local. He can’t believe that I went off backpacking in early June and that I am now playing football for a living in Poland. We’ve got a couple of tickets to the Boxing Day match at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Newcastle which I’m really looking forward to.

25th December 2003:

I spent Christmas Day with Nick at his parents place and his mum stuffed us full of a traditional English Christmas lunch. Late in the evening I called Australia and had a chat to my parents, wishing them a Merry Christmas. Dad said it was going to be 32 degrees in Sydney for Christmas Day and I must admit that I did miss the warm weather and a trip to the beach as we usually did back home at this particular time of year.

26th December 2003:

A great day at the Bridge as Chelsea beat Newcastle 3-1 to stay in second place two points behind Arsenal in the English Premier League. Damian Duff scored twice for Chelsea and I was very impressed with his form. Frank Lampard also put in an excellent display and was rewarded with the third goal late on.

29th December 2003:

I meet Katerina at Stansted airport and we headed into London to stay at the home of another mate of mine. Dean is a freelance journalist and part-time writer and he’s always full of ideas about where to go and what to do. We meet up with Dean and his Swedish girlfriend Claudia who is a part-time model and we have a top night hitting the clubs.

3rd January 2004:

After wiping ourselves out on New Years Eve and needing a couple of days to recover, a visit to Stamford Bridge is just the tonic for me. It’s the English FA Cup 3rd Round and Chelsea are playing Leicester. Dean and I take in the game and leave the girls to go shopping together (or whatever it is that girls do when guys are at the football). Chelsea wins 4-0 with Eidur Gudjohnsen bagging a hat-trick and skipper John Terry weighing in with a thumping header at the end.

12th January 2004:

On a whim I decide to blow the last of my savings on a pair of cheap airline tickets to Malta. Katerina and I head over to Malta for a week and stay in a lovely villa near the beach where we just relax and take in the sun during a spell of lovely fine weather. It’s a great way to end our holiday together.

20th January 2004:

We are in London for the day before getting our flight back to Warsaw. I give Tony Watson, the Australian Under-21 scout, a call on his mobile phone as I’m not sure who else to call. “I’m glad you called”, he said. “We’ve rang your club in Poland, but no-one was sure where you were. We’d like you to join the squad in Belgium on 8th February. What do you reckon?” A surge of adrenalin goes through me. “Yeah, I’d love to be there, count me in”, I reply. Life just keeps getting better every day.

retired_jgirl87

26th January 2004:

It’s the first training session since the winter break and it is great to catch up with everyone. Klep and the lads who went to the Greek isles are looking tanned and healthy. Gawronski insists on wearing the lederhosen that he picked up on his skiing holiday in the Austrian Alps. We have a light exercise session and a couple of five-a-side games indoors at the gymnasium.

1st February 2004:

The snow that has been lying around since mid-January has started to melt away and we have our first serious practice game in a seniors versus reserves match. It feels good to get outside and stretch my legs as I run up and down the wing.

4th February 2004:

Train tickets are waiting for me in the office at Brzeznicka for my trip from Warsaw to Brussels to join up with the training squad of the Australian Under-21 team. Mr Gorniak passes them on to me and wishes me the best of luck for the trip. I’m sure that he is happy that I will hopefully be getting some matches under my belt as well some additional coaching that can only benefit Radomsko.

8th February 2004:

I meet up with 21 other young Australians at a hotel in Brussels. The coach is Angie Postecoglou, a former Australian international. He outlines the schedule over the next 9 days which includes matches against Anderlecht reserves and the first teams of La Louviere and KRC Genk.

11th February 2004:

I sit on the sidelines as one of four unselected players as Anderlecht reserves beat the Australian Under-21’s by 3-1.

14th February 2004:

I am named as a substitute for the match against La Louviere which ends in a 1-1 draw, but I don’t get a chance to take the field.

17th February 2004:

Mr Postecoglou names me on the left wing for the match against KRC Genk. They have a combination of seniors and reserves in their team and I find the standard just above what I am used to at Radomsko. Genk score first, but we equalise before half-time. Genk retake the lead early in the second half and as the game comes to the final five minutes they are still leading 2-1, but then a loose ball drops in front of me and I score from close range. In injury time our right winger makes a break and fires over a hopeful cross. I have raced in from the left wing and arrive just in time to slide in at the far post and prod the ball home for the winner. Apart from the two goals, I am reasonably happy with my form during the match. I feel that I have made some sort of impression, but I am obviously only a back-up in Mr Postecoglou’s plans.

19th February 2004:

I arrive back in Radomsko after my trip to Belgium. Both Klep and Katerina are waiting at the apartment and they want to hear all the details about my adventure. We have half an hour to talk before Klep and I return to Brzeznicka for training. I put in a good session and Mr Gorniak tells me afterwards that I will be in the team to play Aluminium on Saturday.