Stilić shoulders Poland's burden with Lech

'One favourite'
Having sat out the first round of fixtures, Franciszek Smuda's side know what they will be up against as they play host to Nancy, but midfielder Stilić is not overawed. "When a French team meets a Polish one, there can be only one favourite and that, of course, is Nancy," he told uefa.com. "But we like being underdogs and are ready to show our skills." Lech are now Poland's sole representatives in European club competition, and Stilić –capped twice by Bosnia-Herzegovina – knows that represents an additional responsibility for his side, announcing: "We are not just playing for Poznan."

Stock rising
A €500,000 summer signing from FK Željeznicar, Stilić's form since his move to the Ekstraklasa has led many to bemoan the fact that he was not able to play for his new home country, not least Smuda. "I'm really sorry Semir was not born in Poland," he said. "We would have a great playmaker for many years to come in our national team. Unfortunately, Stilić plays for Bosnia-Herzegovina." The 21-year-old's stock is certainly rising, with many saying his value has already trebled since arriving in Poznan, but the player is not paying heed to such talk. "I heard there are teams interested in me but it doesn't matter at the moment," he said. "I'm a Lech player and am 100 per cent focused on the game.

Star quality
"Nancy beat Feyenoord 3-0 in their first group-stage match so they are really dangerous," he added. "I'm hoping Lech can play as good a game as we did against Grasshopper-Club in the second qualifying round when we crushed them 6-0. If we play as well as that, we will please our fantastic supporters and get three points." Stilić, meanwhile, will look to show again that he has star quality written all over him – literally, with two stars tattooed on his elbows. "Why? That's simple," said Stilić with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm supposed to be a star in Polish league so I started getting stars on my body."