Ekstraklasa has finished the game. So it’s time to sum up the season. The Poznań News may not have impressed in the spring, but the results throughout the season have to be judged positively. Although the feeling of disappointment is still there.

When the Eksklasa season started in July last year, Dawid Szulczek was the youngest among all the coaches working at the highest level in our country. He is exactly 32 years and 169 days old, and has been the coach of Warta Poznań for 248 days. Currently, he has performed his functions for one year and 215 days, becoming the third – after Marek Papszun and Janusz Niedźwiedz – the longest-serving coach of one of the Eksporlasa clubs.

Season summary – Poznań Warta with a weaker spring

Although at the end of the season he was no longer the youngest of them, because Adrian Siemieniec was two years younger than Szulczek who took charge of Jagiellonia Białystok. There is no doubt now that the decision to entrust the young coach to run Warta was right on target. The “Greens” confidently remain in the elite, and next season will be the fourth in a row in the league for this team. Such a situation, when it comes to this team, happened for the first time after … World War II! Although in 1946-50 Warta played for the Polish championship in 5 consecutive seasons, the first 2 seasons were not played in the league formula.

Was Warta Poznań’s eighth place a result beyond his means? Maybe there are people who think so. Teams from Wielkopolska finished the season higher than clubs with greater organizational and financial capabilities or fan potential, such as Zagłębie Lubin, Lechia Gdańsk, Jagiellonia Białystok, Widzew Łódź or Śląsk Wrocław.

According to pre-season calculations, Warta can count on a budget of around PLN 10 million and that – note – is the lowest estimate in the Extractlasa. The declining Lechia have more than quadrupled their numbers, but they only won 30 points and left the league. Warta scored 45 points, playing – like the previous season – all home games at Grodzisk Wielkopolski.

The “Greens” recorded the lowest attendance of the season among all the clubs in the Eksporlasa. The matches of the Poznań team in “its” stadium are watched by more than 47,000 fans, which means an average of 2,782 fans per game. Radomiak Radom ranks second from bottom in this ranking, whose matches are watched by an average of over 1,000 fans.

On the plus side…

Tight defense

The team from Poznań at the end of the season – together with Cracovia – can boast the fourth most effective defense in the Eksporlasa. Dawid Szulczek’s men managed to keep clean sheets 12 times. In just 3 matches the “Greens” lost more than 2 goals, and it must be admitted that the team’s main goalkeeper, Adrian Lis, had a different moment. There were times when he made some mistakes, although the overall season assessment of this player must be positive.

Weakness…

No enforcement

Even though Adam Zrelak has scored 8 goals and 4 assists this season, it is certain that the classic executor of Warta must be absent. Thirteen of the 17 league rivals include at least one player who has scored more goals than the Slovakian. Dawid Szulczek’s side owe a lot of points to Zrelak. Nevertheless, it often happened that he had no support in the attack. For practically the entire season, the Poznań team operated with only one striker. On loan from Trabzonspor, Enis Destan made 21 appearances, scoring just one goal.

SHORT(37):

8 – Relax,

4 – Żurawski, Szczepanski,

3 – Grzesik, Luis, Savic, Szmyt,

2 – Stavropoulos,

1 – Corryn, Destan, Ivanov, Kopczyński, Szymonowicz, [samobójcze:] Rundic (Cancer), Szykawka (Crown).

In the photo: By reckoning, Dawid Szulczek had the lowest budget in the Eksporlasa he had, but his Warta ended the season in the top half of the standings.

Photo. Pawel Jaskółka/PressFocus

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