Images via @HerthaBSC & @Rote_Teufel on Twitter
It’s taking break this week, but the 2. Bundesliga is arguably the best second-division league in Europe bar the English Championship, and in the past 12 months those of us who enjoy Polish football have been keeping a particular eye on it.
Last season, Fortuna Düsseldorf had Dawid Kownacki in the form of his life and they also had a resurgent Michał Karbownik on loan, with him regularly grabbing assists from left-back. This season, Kownacki has moved on to Werder Bremen in the top flight, and Karbownik has remained in the 2.Bundesliga with Hertha Berlin.
Reportedly, Fortuna were very keen on making their loan deal permanent, but were unable to meet Brighton’s asking price. Hertha, freshly relegated and looking to bounce back, did not hesitate paying the alleged €2.5m. Furthermore, it is reported that Karbownik had his choice of 2. Bundesliga clubs, with both Schalke and Hannover also making offers for the 22 year-old. According to Tomasz Włodarczyk, both these clubs were giving Karbownik assurances that he would be playing in his preferred central midfield position, whereas Hertha will look to utilise him in full-back roles as well.
Given Hertha ended up relegated to the 2. Bundesliga by over-paying for decent players who didn’t fit (Krzysztof Piątek, for example), I can only assume a sensible transfer like the deal for Karbownik is indicative of a sea-change at the club. Whilst Schalke seem to have become something of a yo-yo club, Hertha supposedly see themselves as having the capability to bounce back and secure a strong finish once back in the top flight of German football. This end goal is still 24 months away, but I for one see this whole deal as having the potential to be fruitful for both player and club.
Another young Polish left-back, making his 2. Bundesliga debut this season for Kaiserslautern, is Tymoteusz Puchacz. I’ve written fairly often about Puchacz, as despite obvious talent he never seems to get the chances to prove it on the pitch since leaving Lech Poznań. Union Berlin keep farming him out on loan, with his last spell at Panathinaikos in Greece not really resulting in the playing time either he or Union would’ve liked.
It may only have been two games into his spell at Kaiserslautern, but I hope they are not indicative of what his time there will consist of. In their first game of the season, Puchacz came on as a substitute for the last half hour in a 2-1 loss to St. Pauli. He played well enough to earn a start away at Schalke, and was playing well up until the point he was sacrificed after a sending off for Kaiserslautern’s goalkeeper saw the need to replace an outfield player with their substitute keeper.
Despite the overwhelming negativity of the last paragraph, I am of the belief that Puchacz will flourish at Kaiserslautern, given it’s likely he will finally get the playing time he so richly needs to prove his quality.
Fernando Santos might have veered away from using “traditional” left-backs after Poland’s 3-1 defeat to Czechia in his first match, but considering the minor turmoil currently occurring within the national team set-up, there is no guarantee he won’t try a back four again. Either way, this is likely to benefit both Karbownik and Puchacz. Karbownik, of course, started that game in Prague before being substituted at half-time. In my opinion, he definitely deserves the chance to try prove himself with Poland again in that position, hopefully not before long either.
Puchacz, whilst capable of playing the left-back role, is often deployed as a wing-back. This is true of his games with Kaiserslautern so far and the occasions when both Paulo Sousa and Czesław Michniewicz called upon him for Poland.
Considering how concerned we all were this time last year about the left-back position for the national side, we should all feel far more relieved that there are two decent young options certain to get the time on the pitch needed to develop further.
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