Is Gurgul destined for the left defense?

Coach Mariusz Rumak had no doubts that Gurgul could be very useful when positioned by the sideline. The idea was discussed among the Sports Department staff. “Michał has incredible motoric abilities, and in terms of endurance, he has the best scores in the whole team. This proves that he is ready to play on the highest level. Of course, he still needs to work on his behaviour in the third tierce, i.e. the opponent’s penalty area. Everything is still ahead of him; he is hard-working, eager to learn, and he might end up bringing us a lot of joy,” explained Lech’s coach who, for the friendly against Shakhtar Donetsk (1:3), experimentally positioned the youngster on the wing.

“I talked to the coach, as well as director Tomasz Rząsa. Together we have decided to opt for the direction of the left defense. Of course, it doesn’t mean that I will never play as a centre-back again. However, the left flank might be where I can achieve the most if I continue working hard and developing,” added Gurgul who in the spring clash with Zagłębie Lubin (2:0) played 45 minutes as a centre-back. Meanwhile, in Białystok, the youngster spent 90 minutes on the pitch and a chunk of the time in the centre of the defensive line.

Gurgul got amazing reviews for his performance against the PKO BP Ekstraklasa leader, especially for one of his interventions at the beginning of the second half - his crucial slide tackle in Lech’s penalty area resulted in ball recovery. Kamil Kosowski from Canal+ joked that in five years, when the defender gathers more experience, he won’t opt for such a risky intervention. “It was a split of a second, an instinct decision. In the end, it was the right choice. Of course, I know that it was risky, but will I make a different decision in a few years? I don’t know. I was acting on instinct and might do the same in the future,” said the 18-year-old with a smile. When asked about the match, the player said, “The most important thing is that we won. Jagiellonia operated the ball well. In the second half, we lost control of the match a bit which gave me more to do in the defense. I think that we had too few opportunities to counterattack and build goal-scoring opportunities. However, in the defence, we stood up to the task because our opponent didn’t have many great scoring chances.”

Gurgul ended the interview with describing his experience when playing on the left flank of the defensive line. “With every training, match, and minutes spent on the pitch, I feel better and better. I observe my more experienced teammates a lot of the time. I want to make the most of it and every analysis. I am not new to the position but, of course, I played as a centre-back most of the time. I need to work on perfecting my positioning, that’s for sure.”