Globisz keen for Polish progress

Poland coach Michał Globisz believes a successful UEFA European Under-19 Championship will depend on his side "playing good football" as they prepare to host the eight-team event.

Past glories
A vastly experienced trainer, the 59-year-old is taking part in a UEFA European Championship for the third time having guided his country to the U16 finals in 1999 and the U18 showpiece two years later. Globisz's current charges certainly have a lot to live up to. That U16 team reached their final, losing to Spain, yet went one better at the higher level in 2001, defeating the Czech Republic 3-1 in Finland to win the last-ever U18 tournament. The coach is therefore perfectly placed to assess the value of participating in these championships.

'Huge significance'
"The UEFA youth competitions have huge significance," Globisz told uefa.com. "Any tournament under the UEFA aegis has a great reputation and is very prestigious for the young players involved. These finals are very important to us in Poland from a sporting and an organisational point of view. For the players and coaches, they represent a big sporting challenge."

Powerful opposition
The Poles have been drawn alongside the Czechs, Belgium and Austria in Group A and Globisz acknowledges that, while his side had the security of automatic qualification, the competitive edge their opponents have honed this season could prove problematic. "We are well aware of the power of these teams," he said. "Our rivals have come through tough games in two qualifying rounds. The elimination of England is the best recommendation for Belgium, Austria are a very strong team who beat us 3-1 in Poland last year, and Czech football has been very successful in recent years and their sides always do very well. But, while respecting the quality of our rivals, we will try to play as their equals."

'New values'
Home advantage aside, another factor in Poland's favour is that both Globisz and his assistant Dariusz Wójtowicz have already worked at two European Championships, although the coach is not allowing complacency to creep in despite that invaluable experience. "We will have the opportunity to gain new coaching values by watching new teams - the way they warm up, the tactics they use and any innovations they implement. The benefits of participating at these finals will be even greater for our players, who have the chance to gain experience by facing strong opponents. This experience will help them in the future, whatever results they achieve now."

'Give our best'
Although keen for his men to impress and give the home supporters something to cheer, Globisz wants to maintain a realistic outlook, explaining: "First of all we want to play good football with every player giving his best. The result will depend on many factors and especially on the quality of our rivals. Of course, it is very important to finish among the top six teams and win a place in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. A trip to Canada and possible meetings with teams from South America and Africa would be a great adventure." For Globisz and company, that adventure begins against Austria in Poznan on 18 July.