Image via Mikolaj Barbanell/Shutterstock
Yesterday morning, Grzegorz Krychowiak revealed that he would no longer be making himself eligible for the Polish national team, retiring from international football and bringing the curtain down on what has been a generally solid career in a Poland shirt. Having spoken with new Selekcjoner Michał Probierz, who reportedly made it clear he did not see Krychowiak as a part of his call-ups for October, Krychowiak announced the decision on his Instagram.
This isn’t necessarily going to be a long retrospective on Krychowiak’s career, but merely his international career, which obviously had ups and downs largely in synchronicity with his club career.
Having featured intermittently for Poland prior to 2012, he really starting earning his place in the senior national set-up in 2013, whilst he was still in France with Reims. For most people in the wider footballing community, Krychowiak only really became a stand-out midfielder during his time with Sevilla, between 2014 and 2016. It was during this period Krychowiak was a genuinely world-class defensive midfield player, and this culminated in a series of fantastic performances for Poland both qualifying for and competing in Euro 2016.
Unfortunately, after that glorious summer in France, things went downhill for Krychowiak in terms of his club football, although he was still an important member of the national side. The last few years in particular have seen Krychowiak’s standing for Poland be completely at odds to his standing in club football, but sometimes that is to be expected.
It’s also fair to say Krychowiak hasn’t endeared himself much these last few years. He’s always had a self-important nature, which was perfectly fine when he was a top player, but it’s been grating since his career started going on a more downwards slope. Really Krychowiak should’ve retired from international duty some time ago, but you can understand him wanting to reach 100 caps, which he managed to achieve during this last international break.
Perhaps it’s difficult to eulogise over Krychowiak’s time representing Poland, although many are doing just that. The last few years have left a bitterness that won’t heal for some, at least not for a while. On the other hand, it would be remiss of me not to finish on the positive notes of that Euro 2016 campaign of which he was absolutely integral, and those videos showcasing just how good a pair of friends he and Wojciech Szczęsny are.
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