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Fabianski in awe of Germany No13
by Aidan Fitzmaurice from Bad Waltersdorf
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Lukasz Fabianski knows how dangerous Michael
Ballack can be (¿Getty Images)
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Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski sees fellow London resident
Michael Ballack as the main threat to Poland in their Group B opener against
Germany in Klagenfurt on Sunday.
Big-game player
Arsenal FC's Fabianski has yet to face Ballack in English club football,
having made only eight appearances for Arsene Wenger's side last season
and none against Chelsea FC, but he knows from Premier League experience
just how vital Ballack can be to the cause. "Ballack is a key player
for Germany," Fabianski told euro2008.com. "He's a great player
and he plays well in the big games. He is an opponent of real quality.
You see some players who only stand out in the easy matches for club or
country, but someone like Ballack proves over and over again how good
he is by playing well in the matches that really matter, whether that's
for Germany or Chelsea.
Broad base
"I think the secret for Germany is that they do not rely on one or
two big names and big stars. They have a very good squad and a very strong
team, but Ballack is probably the biggest name they have," added
the 23-year-old former Legia Warszawa keeper. "But we can't just
focus on him, or on any other Germany player, as we have to keep focused
on ourselves if we want to win this game. Everyone in Poland is talking
about the Germany team, who will play for them and who will be left out,
but we can't worry about that, we can only look to ourselves. We have
to play well for our own sakes. Whether Per Mertesacker or Christoph Metzelder
plays - that's up to the Germany coach."
Losing battle
Fabianski is resigned to losing his long-running battle with Artur Boruc
for a starting place. He was Boruc's understudy at Legia and has had to
make do with a slot on the national-team bench, though he has seemingly
leapfrogged Manchester United FC's Tomasz Kuszczak in the Poland pecking
order. "It is hard for me to play for Poland," Fabianski admitted.
"Artur has been playing in the UEFA Champions League, he won the
Scottish league with Celtic [FC], and he is one of the ten best keepers
in the word at the moment. By contrast I have not played that much for
my club, so Artur has a big advantage over me right now. But I will carry
on working hard to get into the team and into the manager's thoughts."
Euro2008.com,
6 June 2008
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