11 hours ago
Robert Lewandowski lashes out at Poland coach: ‘I am hurt, was removed from captaincy in one-minute phone call'
The football controversy in Poland over their long-time captain Robert Lewandowski's quitting the team due to his fractured relationship with the coach has taken another dimension now. In a fresh interview, Lewandowski has said he took the decision because he didn't like the way the coach conveyed the decision to strip him of his captaincy over a one-minute phone call.
'I got a surprise call from coach Michał Probierz that he had decided to take away my armband (captaincy). I was not prepared for it at all, I was putting my children to sleep. The conversation lasted about a minute. I didn't even have time to inform my family or talk to anyone about what had happened, because a few moments later a message appeared on the PZPN website. The way in which this was communicated to me is really surprising to me,' Lewandowski told WP Sportive Fakty.
Lewandowski has been captain for 11 years now. 'I haven't been captain for a year or two. I've been wearing the armband for eleven years and I've been playing in the national team for seventeen. It seemed to me that such matters should be handled differently. Especially since there's a lot of time until the next training camp. In addition, we have an important match ahead of us and everything was communicated over the phone. It really shouldn't be like this. The coach betrayed my trust,' he said.
He did also go on to mention that the national team has 'always been the most important thing' to him. 'At the same time, I'm very hurt by what happened. It's not even about the decision about the armband, but about the way it was communicated to me,' he said. 'Probierz said that he saw my last interview and decided to give the armband to Piotr Zieliński to make it easier for me to function in the squad and to take the pressure off me. I really don't care about the armband itself. I believe in Piotr Zieliński and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for him.'
Grzegorz Lato, former Polish player, backed the coach and criticised Lewandowski in an interview with WP Sportowe Fakty. 'Who wouldn't be surprised? I can't imagine a player – no matter what his name is – choosing his coach and threatening the national team that he won't play as long as the coach is present. This is unacceptable to me. I thought someone was making a joke on the internet,' Lato said.
Several Polish media outlets have also claimed that the players gave a standing ovation when the coach announced that he had taken the decision to remove Lewandowski as the captain.
