Image via @NACnl/Maurice van Steen on Twitter
Whenever I write about Polish strikers, it’s usually the same big-name four or five, very rarely is it those who are on the younger end of the spectrum. In fact, as far as I can recall I’ve only written once about other Polish strikers collectively, and that was over 18 months ago when several of those players were still at other clubs and the majority mentioned have had a rough time of it since.
Kacper Kostorz has not had a huge amount of time on the pitch in this current Eredivisie campaign yet with NAC Breda. Kostorz was one of the main men for FC Den Bosch last season, scoring 16 goals and grabbing six assists in 38 league games in the Dutch second division. Still technically a Pogoń Szczecin player, Kostorz has made a real impact playing in Holland and NAC Breda is a club with Polish connections thanks to the Second World War.
Having just turned 25, many of us who are invested in football tend to think therefore that Kostorz is too old to have any real impact at the top level. The fact is players do develop at different rates and there is no singular way that professional footballers reach the top, although it is worth saying that unless something meteoric happens Kostorz probably isn’t troubling Poland’s national set-up any time soon.
Rather, his winning goal at the weekend against Fortuna Sittard is a better reflection of something we’re starting to see more and more, particularly with strikers at all levels of the game. If you don’t get time on the pitch, you’re probably not going to get as many opportunities to score goals, and that after all is what strikers are primarily judged on.
It’s worth keeping in mind that this time last year we all thought Szymon Włodarczyk was sure to be hitting some considerable heights after his great start to life in Austria with Sturm Graz. Yes he ended up a league champion, but he barely played from Christmas onwards and his goals drying up as the campaign went on was a very similar turn of events to his time at Górnik Zabrze in the Ekstraklasa.
Now on loan at Salernitana in Serie B, Włodarczyk should be able to find more playing time. He started for the Italian side on Sunday afternoon in a 3-2 loss to Pisa, and he did get himself an assist in that game before he was withdrawn at half time.
Personally I’m hoping that Włodarczyk can have an explosive goal-scoring season in a European second division like Kostorz did, and move up to the top league in that country, again like Kostorz. Włodarczyk is four years younger than Kostorz, so has plenty more time on his side and if we’re being honest is probably a more talented forward.
Worryingly this wasn’t the case for Dawid Kownacki, who at the age of 27 should be in his prime, but has retreated to the 2. Bundesliga after a disastrous time of it with Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga last season. Having a blistering record with Fortuna Düsselforf, a move up a level was expected last summer, although Kownacki was rarely used and was disappointing when he did get game time. Back in familiar surrounding at Fortuna, Kownacki is scoring again and if we’re honest has found out that is the level he belongs at.
You also hope that Kostorz and Włodarczyk do not have loan experiences like Bartosz Białek has had these past few years. Loaned out to Vitesse, where he scored a rather disappointing six in 26 games, he followed that up with a spell at Belgian side KAS Eupen. Immediately after arriving Białek suffered a serious knee injury that kept him out until the season was practically over, although he still ended up seeing time on the pitch in six games and did score one goal.
Białek himself is still just 22, but it’s hard to see where he goes from here. That loan to Vitesse has some parallels with Włodarczyk and Kostorz, being that Kostorz is in the same country and Salernitana like Vitesse are suffering financial problems, although the Italian club’s money worries are nothing like what Vitesse faced.
All of this has been a fairly roundabout way of saying what was in the headline; if strikers don’t get the playing time, don’t be surprised if they don’t score when they do get on the pitch. Kostorz helpfully bucked that notion on Saturday evening, but with more and more competition for Polish strikers both domestically and across Europe, it’s hard to see where even the next Krzysztof Piątek or Karol Świderski will come from, nevermind the next Lewandowski.
For more, follow @ekstraklasaexp on Twitter and @ekstraklasaexports on Instagram to know when new posts go live.
Comments