[quote author=peekay link=topic=29749.msg755950#msg755950 date=1229613876]
Sounds like a rafa player:
inteview courtesy of Bent Over in est1892
Kuba: You can never be perfect [Polish Soca]
Written by Chris Schuepp (
www.bvb.de)
Tuesday, 25 November 2008 16:12
Jakub Blaszczykowski, aka Kuba, is one of the shooting stars of the 2008/2009 season so far. The 22-year old often leaves his opponents dumbfounded and the BVB supporters cheering with his speedy attacks over the right wing. In the last few matches, BVB coach Jürgen Klopp has used the "pacy Pole", who was wearing a protective face mask for awhile, as a striker.
In an interview with BORUSSIA AKTUELL, Kuba talks about his new position on the pitch, his striking development this season, his successes with the German language and of course also about his broken nose.
Kuba, did you have to order a new passport?
Kuba: Why?
Well, your passport photo should be outdated. In the home match against Hertha you got hit on the nose and coach Jürgen Klopp said after the match that your nose "went in all directions".
(laughing) After the surgery everything is back to normal now. I don´t have any problems with my nose anymore.
You are the most fouled BVB player and many opponents´ yellow and red cards are issued for fouls against you. Is that a tribute to your speed?
It isn´t easy for me that I am fouled constantly. But I have to play this way, because it´s my style. I play fast at and with the ball. And when the defenders don´t see a chance to win the battle, they take you down. This is normal, it is football.
Despite the broken nose, the season is going really well for you. You are about to become "Player of the Month" on the bvb.de website and you are also the top-ranked BVB player with more than three Bundesliga appearances in "Kicker" sports magazine. What has changed?
I think that one of the reasons is the new coach. I get along great with Jürgen Klopp. I enjoy the speed and the system he lets us play with. But it´s not only me - the entire team is better than last season.
In your first season in Dortmund you had your ups and downs. Only one goal and four assists in twenty-four matches did not fulfill the high expectations the club had when they signed you.
I don´t know why I played so inconsistently last season. Maybe it was because
I was injured for a while and then had to play right outside defender for seven or eight matches, although that´s not really my position. But of course, I do what the coach tells me to do. Maybe it is also normal that you need some time in your first season. The Bundesliga is very different from the Polish league and I had to learn a lot. But now things are getting better and better.
What did you have to learn?
Of course, the pace is much higher here, as are the technical standards.
Poland´s national football hero Zbigniew Boniek used to call you "Little Figo". Do you still like that comparison?
I think I have heard it a hundred times now. When one of the best Polish players ever says that, it´s good and makes me proud. But I know that I still have a lot to learn. I want to develop and play to my full potential. I don´t want to stall.
Michael Zorc said before the start of the season: "Kuba will show his potential much more often now?" How did he know?
You have to ask him, not me. Before I came here, he did some scouting and watched me play several times. Maybe he knew that after the first year in Dortmund, there´s more to come. But I still have to live up to my potential much more. You always have to learn in football. You can never be the perfect player.
What potential you really have became obvious in the past few weeks. You have moved up from midfield into a very offensive position. Did Jürgen Klopp realize that you are actually a striker?
I don´t see myself as a striker, but rather as an offensive midfielder.
But it is not so important where you play, it is important that you play well. Of course I want to do more in offense, but I also have my defensive tasks. I have played pretty much every single position in Dortmund except for goalkeeper. The coach knows my strengths and he knows I am better in offense than on defense.
Sounds like offense is much closer to your heart than defense...
Sure thing! I think no player enjoys just running and playing without the ball. To play with the ball helps in football.
So in the next BVB yearbook you still want to be considered a midfielder?
Yes, but it´s also no problem for me to play some other position. I play wherever the coach tells me to play.
You also seem to have changed your attitude toward the media. You seem more open and communicative.
I was also communicative last season, that´s a misconception. It´s just that I didn´t speak German that well and didn´t want to say something after a match or a practice session that would then look completely different in the papers. That wasn´t easy for me. I wanted to learn German first, everything else would then follow. In general, I like talking to journalists.
You speak German pretty well now. How did you pick up up so quickly?
I have been here for a year and four months now and I only went to a teacher once for an hour. I also didn´t use a language book. I just talked with people, with my teammates, with the coaches. Of course I still have my problems with grammar and I also don´t write German that well, but I understand quite a lot now. Nelson Valdez also helps me a lot. He corrects my mistakes and tells me how to speak better German. But you have to make an effort after all, you don´t just learn a language like that.
And for the rest, how do you like in Dortmund?
I like it. My fiancee and I feel very well here. The stadium is always packed, that´s what counts in football. It is very important that so many people come to the games. If you only play in front of empty seats, it wouldn´t be so easy. But here, you know the stadium will always be full of supporters. And that´s super!
Do you still think a lot of the unlucky UEFA Cup run? Tamas Hajnal and you were the best Dortmund players and then you both missed your penalties in Udine that night...
Of course. That was the most important match this season. But that´s football. You play well and then you miss the penalty - first you are up and then you´re down. The missed penalty still hurts me and I am very sorry about it. However, we have to keep our heads high and ensure we reach the UEFA Cup again next season. Then we´ll have a better run.
You have already dropped a lot of points this season and have been quite unlucky in the process...
Unfortunately we have drawn too many matches at home and have won more points on the road. In nearly every match we were the better team, had more ball possession and more chances, but didn´t score enough goals to win. Also, the referee disallowed a good goal against Hannover. However, if we continue to play like this, we will win some matches and get ourselves into a good position for the second half of the season. The win against Frankfurt was a good start in that respect.
[/quote]
Sounds very Rafa!