England v Poland: Holy Goalie Artur Boruc is no clown, says he former boss Gordon Strachan

Michael Regan

‘Holy goalie’ Artur Boruc is blessed with more talent than Jan Tomaszewski, his former Celtic manager has warned.

And Gordon Strachan said can follow his Polish predecessor and .

Forty years ago this month, to hold Sir Alf Ramsey’s side and see Poland qualify for the 1974 World Cup.

Before the game, ITV pundit Brian Clough infamously labelled the long-haired keeper “a circus clown in gloves”.

But this time, have been well warned about an in-form keeper who has not conceded a Premier League goal since August.

“He can do a Tomaszewski at Wembley – there is absolutely no doubt about that,” said the Scotland manager. “I remember Tomaszewski – he just had the game of his life. Boruc is technically far better.

“He helped me and our team to win championships and get to the last 16 of Europeans Cups.

“He has the ability to win games for you. He has an incredible presence in goal. When you see him in there when he is at his best, you think: ‘How do I beat this man?’

“He has incredible confidence and he has all the ability in the world. And he has a great big-match temperament. Nothing bothers him, nothing fazes him.”

During his five years at Celtic Park, Boruc showed as much talent for attracting headlines for his colourful behaviour as his brilliant goalkeeper. The Pole earned the nickname the Holy Goalie for blessing himself in front of Rangers fans – and he was cautioned for a breach of the peace for making gestures at Ibrox in 2006. Two years later, he wore a T-shirt with the worlds ‘God Bless The Pope’ with a picture of the late Pope John Paul II.

His former Celtic team-mate Scott McDonald, now with Millwall, said: “He is such a character – he is a great fellow. I think all goalkeepers are eccentric at best – you need to have a screw loose to be a goalie in the first place. He is certainly out there with the best of them in that sense.

“I remember he had some strange tattoos. And he certainly played up to the fans with the Celtic-Rangers rivalry. One day he wore the picture of the Pope on his T-shirt after an Old Firm game which got heavily scrutinised afterwards. One side of Glasgow absolutely adored him and the other side absolutely wanted to kill him! That was the kind of guy he was – he wears his heart on his sleeve and doesn’t care who he upsets in that sense.”

Even Tomaszewski labelled Boruc “a madman” after he had a tattoo of a monkey’s backside around his belly button – and then wrote “Rangers” written across it. Strachan once fined him a fortnight’s wages after Boruc broke a booze ban at the team hotel shortly after the keeper was thrown out of the Poland squad for breaking a curfew.

“I think it is part of the Polish psyche that you must enjoy yourself,” Strachan laughed. “And he enjoyed life in Glasgow.

“There was never a dull moment with Artur – you have not got enough space to write the stories I could tell! “And sometimes with a special player, you have to treat them a wee bit differently. As long as they are special. When they become ordinary, then they can be no use to you. But Artur was special and I put with, let’s say his idiosyncrasies, for a while and then he moved on after I left. But it looks like he has got himself together again and for a goalkeeper, he still has many years.”

After signing on free from Fiorentina in September last year, Boruc was reprimanded for throwing a water bottle towards his own fans on his home debut against Tottenham.

But this season, he has let in only two Premier League goals in seven matches to lift Southampton up to fourth. Stevie Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge have already failed to score past him in Liverpool colours.

“I always felt that if he concentrated everything on the football, he could easily have been one of the top five goalkeepers in the world and played for Barcelona, Real Madrid or Milan,” said Strachan. “He could easily have done that.”

McDonald added: “We played in some massive games – especially in the Champions League and Old Firm games – and he always stood tall and did well for us. On the night, he could be the difference.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger admires Cristiano Ronaldo's 'fantastic physique'

Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken of his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo – but he’s not talking about his ability on the pitch.

has now turned his attention to football and is a big fan of the 28-year-old Portuguese.

While on a promotional trip to Madrid this week, took time out to praise Ronaldo’s physical attributes rather than his technical ones.

"He has a fantastic physique and great abs. He’s in amazing shape," said the 66-year-old. "That’s why he’s such a great footballer.

"I don’t think he’s interested in competing in Mr Olympia. Ronaldo wants to be the best player in the world and what I wanted was to win the Mr Olympia title.

"They’re two very different sports," he added.

England v Poland: Leighton Baines hoping to bounce back from 2010 World Cup snub by helping England secure Brazil place

Michael Regan – The FA

Leighton Baines is ready to show he’s bounced back from the biggest blow of his life tomorrow.

The Everton left-back gets the chance to help assure England’s .

Bainescan put more pressure on Ashley Cole for the starting berth next summerif he can demonstrate his growing maturity and conviction.

And knows that he has to grasp the opportunity from his bitter personal knowledge of how much it hurts to see that date with destiny slip away.

On June 1 2010, Baines was wondering whether his efforts at England’s training camp in the Austrian Alps had done enough to earn his place in Fabio Capello’s 23 for South Africa.

While Cole was a shoe-in, the other berth was between Baines and another native of the north-west, Aston Villa’s Stephen Warnock.

The expectation was that Baines would get the call. When he did, it was the one call he did not want.

"Iwas on my way to Toys R Us to buy a trampoline for the kids," recalled Baines. "I was on the Dock Road in Liverpool, in the car, when I took the call from Fabio.

"Yes, it was strange, just a phone-call to say ‘you are not coming with us this time’.

"Hedid ring me but it was a really brief conversation, to say ‘I just wanted to let you know that you are not coming with us. Hopefully we will work together again’."

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An interview which Baines appeared to speak of homesickness may not have helped and although the defender insisted that had never come up, he admitted: "I guess I will never know."

What Baines does know is that his stock, for club and country, has risen since.

Many believe he is a better attacking player than Cole, if perhaps not as reliable at the other end.

Bainesis even able to join in the trampoline jokes, laughing that he only caught bits of the 2010 World Cup – he was actually with his family in Dubai with the also-overlooked Joleon Lescott – because he was "in the garden, looking through the window, jumping up and down so I only caughtbits of it!"

In truth, the omission hurt. He added: "World Cups don’t come around very often in a player’s career.

"There are not too many more for me and I am desperate, although the desire is there across the board."

Of course, as Baines knows, getting into the 23 might be easier this time. Shifting Cole may not.

Getting two successive starts in big, , though, bolsters his cause.

Bainessaid: "When you know you’re playing in the games it does make it that bit more exciting. You can just focus on what needs to be done and there’s no uncertainty around it.

"These two games are a great opportunity for me to try to put a bit of a stamp on it.

"I get on really well with Ash but I think I have pushed him hard.

"Withregards to trying to overtake him, you just keep trying your best and then it’s the manager’s decision. If I were in his shoes, I’d probably think ‘if it’s not broke, you don’t fix it’

"I hope he feels he’s gottwo guys that he can depend on. I could never match Ash’s wealth of experience but hopefully the manager has got confidence in me as well."

Gareth Bale set to return from injury in time for Real Madrid's match against Malaga this weekend

Reuters

Gareth Bale will make his return for Real Madrid when they take on Malaga at the weekend, according to club president Florentino Perez.

Bale has only made one start since his from Tottenham Hotspur at the beginning of last month.

has struggled since picking up a back injury, and has been the subject of a dispute between the nine-time European Champions and the Spanish media.

Spanish publication Marca claimed over the weekend that , but Madrid refuted the claim.

Head of Sanitas-Real Madrid Medical Services, Carlos Diez, recently said that Bale would "120%" fit for the match against Barcelona on October 26, and Perez has said that their £86m star will be cleared for action in time for Saturday’s game against Malaga.

"[Bale is] calm and ready, waiting to play on Saturday," Perez told Punto Pelota.

"Everyone knows that, because he didn’t have a good pre-season [with Spurs], he suffered from muscle fatigue in the thigh.

"He is training well and wants to play and show that all this is just something over nothing.

"Bale is fit to play and wants to show that he is fine. All of the doctors have made it clear that a small disc bulge is relatively common in elite footballers.

"Not all athletes have scans, so not all of those that have these disc bulges know they have them. Elite athletes suffer more with the back and can handle it, but this is something normal.

"A big deal has been made out of something normal."

The Spaniard also suggested that the supposed inaccurate reports of Bale’s potential earnings in sponsorship deals were damaging his image and dignity.

Bale scored on his debut in the 2-2 draw away to Villarreal, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side are currently third in .

England v Poland: Roy Hodgson has "harsh" warning for his England team as he tells them not to get complacent

Michael Regan – The FA

Roy Hodgson has given his England players a stern World Cup warning after telling them: Don’t blow it now.

Hodgson revealed he was “harsh” with his players after Friday night’s win over Montenegro to make sure they did not celebrate with only half the job done.

has now warned his players against complacency before at Wembley with qualification for Brazil on the line.

Hodgson said: “The one thing that anyone would want to guard against, and I’ll be saying it now until I’m blue in the face, is complacency.

“But I don’t imagine it will be there, I don’t imagine there will be any complacency. Certainly after the things I said to them, I think they’ve got a pretty clear idea where I stand on that subject.”

England need a win over the Poles, whose own hopes of , and Hodgson added: “I told them to use their ‘day off’ wisely and then to come back on Sunday raring to go,which gave us two days of good preparation before Tuesday.

“I think they knew they’d done the job as they thought they should do it and that’s a great start but they also recognised it was only half the job.

“So it was a mood of quiet satisfaction but I was very keen to point out one or two things to them, so it wasn’t anything of a celebratory mood. I was probably quite harsh.

“Sometimes it’s easier to be harsh when people have done well and harder to be harsh when they haven’t done well.”

Hodgson will be forced into one change with Kyle Walker suspended, leaving Phil Jones and Chris Smalling vying for the slot.

England v Poland: There will be no repeat of 1973 tonight – Andy Dawson

Bob Thomas/Getty Images

Now is the time. The hour approacheth. In the slurred words of Michael Jackson, this is it.

England have a golden ticket in their sights and it’s a ticket to the sun, sand, samba and all the other clichés that are associated with World Cup Carnival Brazil 2014. 

Only the giants of Poland stand in their way – but there’s another set of clichés that need to be explored and treated as a .

Yes, we stand on the , and the probability of tumbling out in the second round as we wilt in next summer’s South American heat, but we’ve been here before.

We’re just a few days away from the 40th anniversary one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of the .

A match that signaled the end of what was arguably England’s last genuinely golden era.

The 1-1 draw with Poland at Wembley. The match that saw England’s World Cup qualification bid come to an end.

Popperfoto/Getty Images 

That night, as now, England were managed by a strange, distant, personality-free old man – the great Sir Alf Ramsey.

That night, as in 1966, we were captained by Bobby Moore – but the skipper’s best days had been and gone.

He was starting to look slightly doughy, and the mutton-chop sideburns he was sporting didn’t enhance his look either.

Was Moore the footballing equivalent of Elvis Presley in 1973? It’s an argument that still rages to this day. Or so I expect.

There shouldn’t have been any problems. A 2-0 defeat in Katowice should have been the wake up call that was needed.

A win was a necessity – but this was mighty England, and the opponents were the minnows of Poland. What could go wrong?

In the TV studio, Brian Clough crowed at the Polish goalkeeper, the towering figure of Jan Tomaszewski.

According to Clough, Tomaszewski was a clown, and we could all expect to see more of the Pole’s backside than his face as he picked the ball out of his own net countless times.

Popperfoto/Getty Images 

England would batter Poland, progression to the 1974 finals would be confirmed and there’d be nothing to worry about ever again.

He got it part right – England DID batter their opponents, with 36 shots to Poland’s two, 26 corners, a couple of shots hitting the woodwork twice and four efforts cleared off the line.

It was a massacre. A 1-1 massacre. Disastrous.

There would be no World Cup for England or for Moore, the man who had lifted the trophy a mere eight years beforehand.

The Ramsey era was at an end – the heroics of Tomaszewski hammering the final nail into Sir Alf’s footballing coffin.

There can be no repeat of 1973 tonight. Failure to win is unthinkable.

Clowns need to be restricted to Northampton where they can wander the streets and scare random children.

If we balls it up tonight, we could face the lottery of the play-offs and no one wants that.

England expects. 40 years of hurt. Love’s got the world in motion. And all that.

This time… we’ll get it right.

England v Poland: Robert Lewandowski warns England that down and out Poles will be no pushovers

Michael Steele / Getty

Robert Lewandowski has warned England they are determined to cause an upset – and put a smile back on the face of Polish supporters.

Borussia Dortmund superstar Lewandowski is Poland’s danger man and he insists that they will not be a pushover at Wembley.

Poland are expecting and Lewandowski says that means they will be playing for their pride even though .

Poland boss Waldemar Fornalik and Lewandowski says they must salvage a result – even if shatters England’s hopes.

Lewandowski said: “We are going to England where we have a lot of supporters. They are favorites, but we will do everything to make Polish people smile.

“We want to finish the campaign with a good image of the team. It’s necessary that we improve and have a good night at Wembley.

“England needs a win but this match isn’t a friendly for us. It’s about our pride and our country’s prestige. We must make it difficult for England and if that means they don’t qualify then so be it.

“Why is not possible to cause a surprise in London? England are expected to win but we can play with less pressure and great passion.

“England has a sensational squad. If we had got a result in Ukraine then it would have been a very different match. But we still believe we can do it.”

Lewandowski was guilty of missing a glorious late chance in Ukraine which would have earned them an equaliser and kept their slim hopes alive.

It was uncharacteristic for a world class striker and he admits he feels bad because it has left the coach in danger as well as also ending their qualification hopes.

But Lewandowski insists the problems go deeper and says they are paying a heavy price for not being more ruthless.

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“We can all look back at chances and missed opportunities and say we should have scored,” says the £40m-rated striker who is set to join Bayern Munich next summer in a free Bosman move.

“Sometimes I wonder exactly what we are missing. I am thinking in particular of a few draws in the matches we should be winning. There are moments when it seems that everything is going in the right direction.

“I don’t have the right word about what should be changed. Against Ukraine it seemed that we created more chances and we played well, but it is not important. In qualification, victories and points are the most important things, not the style of play.”

Lewandowski also praised England striker Wayne Rooney and says the Manchester United star is the player Poland must watch.

He added: “Rooney is a great striker. He works hard for the team and does a great job for England. He is an important player for England in every sense.

“You can see that he loves the shirt, always does well for England and will be a big threat. He is a top quality player.”

Under-pressure boss Fornalik is nearing the end of his contract and the Polish press have been reporting that former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat could take over.

It could be Fornalik’s last game in charge and he has urged his players to pull off a great result to make them proud.

Fornalik said: “This will be our main goal. We would like to cause a surprise. It is too early to talk about the future.”

Poland captain Jakub Blaszczykowski admitted that can inspire his nation especially as they are playing in front of such a huge support.           

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Blaszczykowski said: “It’s not important that it is only a game of honour for us. Wembley is special place and games there are always magnificent.

“There are sure to be many Polish fans there, and we want to thank them with a good game and the right result.

“You don’t have to motivate a player for such a game. We will do our best to make a good impression. The result in Ukraine was painful but we played a good game there and we will do the same in London.”

Grzegorz Wojtkowiak added: “I am sure that at Wembley we will be 100 per cent motivated. We are good enough to make a good result.”

It is clear that Poland are in the mood for an upset and repeat their 1973 heroics to thwart England’s World Cup qualification plans.

Poland centre half Gamil Glik also claimed that England will underestimate them – and come unstuck.

Torino defender Glik said: “The danger for England is to believe Poland only go there on their holidays. We want to finish with a surprise and defeat England.

“On the pitch, it is 11 against 11 and the names don’t mean anything. The Premier League is the best in the world but that doesn’t guarantee victory.”

Sunderland v Swansea: Gus Poyet says Swans have 'perfect approach'

Richard Sellers

has revealed his admiration for the way Swansea City are run, contrasting that with the situation he has inherited at the Stadium of Light.

Poyet will take charge of his first match with the Black Cats when they visit the Liberty Stadium on Saturday,

have earned plaudits over the last few years for the way they been run under the guidance of chairman Huw Jenkins.

Despite a relatively small outlay, the Welsh side have established themselves as a Premier League outfit and are currently top of their group in the Europa League – in the Mestalla last month.

Ahead of Poyet’s Premier League managerial bow he said: "I think [Swansea] have the perfect approach.

"The club is balanced. They’ve changed manager, but they’ve tried to maintain that philosophy.

"That’s a big advantage for any manager who goes there. What a difference with Swansea as a club now. There’s a team who’ve been playing for five or six years in the same way and they’re slowly getting better and better."

The Uruguayan added: "It’s a big contrast – we have a few problems. We have changed a manager and we have got a new group of players.

"But at 3pm, it’s 11 v 11, one referee, two linesmen. It’s about what you do in those two hours.

"It doesn’t matter what’s happened before. Swansea are in a better balanced position – yes they are, it’s true. But that doesn’t mean that they are going to win.

"We will go there to win. We need to win football games. We cannot go to places looking to get just one point."

England v Poland: Raheem Sterling is Roy Hodgson's 'get out of jail' card for crucial Poland clash

Getty

Raheem Sterling has been earmarked for an England World Cup ­international rescue mission tomorrow.

The teenage flier after Roy Hodgson lost Tom Cleverley and the suspended Kyle Walker.

Now Sterling is set to go from an Under-21 start in San Marino on Friday night to being Hodgson’s ‘get out of jail’ card if things are not working against Poland at .

England must with Ukraine certain to take three points off San Marino.

And while Hodgson will stick with Tottenham winger Andros Townsend on the right after his terrific , the England boss revealed Sterling was not brought in merely to make up the numbers.

Hodgson said: “You can’t use 22 players and we all know that. But with Tom Cleverley going down, so that we were one short on the players we could’ve used against Montenegro, and with Kyle Walker now being booked, if there’s any area in our squad of 23 where perhaps an extra type of player could be useful then I think it’s the wide areas.

“We have Danny Welbeck and Townsend but Cleverley, who could’ve played there, is gone. I think Raheem Sterling is the type of player who can, if we need him, do what Andros did on Friday.”

It was a clear and unequivocal vote of support for Sterling, whose only Premier League start this season was in the recent 3-1 win over Crystal Palace.

Hodgson demonstrated his faith in Sterling’s potential 13 months ago when he was added to the squad ahead of the home game with Ukraine, although he stayed on the bench.

Two months later, Sterling, now 18, started in the 4-2 defeat by Sweden in Stockholm, making a positive contribution as he kept coming back for more despite taking more than a few whacks and having a hand in both England goals.

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Hodgson said afterwards: “I half hoped to see some of the things we saw from him. He had a difficult start and I was a bit concerned how he’d react to that.

“But I thought his reaction was very good and he had a golden spell towards the end of the first half and the beginning of the second and that bodes very well for the future.”

Sterling had to be content with a return to the junior ranks for the rest of last season, winning in all six appearances for the Under-21s.

Although until he plays a competitive senior game, he could still be nabbed by Jamaica – he was born in Kingston and lived on the island to the age of five – making his potential ­appearance tomorrow a decisive day for the teenager.

Hodgson will hope that the call to Sterling can be made from a position of strength rather than weakness.

But the England boss ­genuinely believes the Liverpool winger can have a part to play in Brazil. And that he might, if required, be able to ensure the Three Lions get there too.

Former Senegal coach Bruno Metsu dies of cancer aged 59

GETTY

Former Senegal coach Bruno Metsu has died after an 18-month fight with colon cancer.

Metsu, who coached Senegal during their run to the quarter-finals in 2002, passed away in his home town of Coudekerque Village in northern France.

The Frenchman shot to fame in the summer of 2002 during the opening game of the Japanese tournament when his unfancied Senegal side beat the then reigning World Champions France 1-0.

They were eventually eliminated at the quarter-final stage by Turkey in extra time, after winning over many neutrals with their carefree approach.

Metsu also enjoyed success in the Gulf, lifting the 2007 Gulf Cup with the United Arab Emirates, as well as winning the Asian Champions League with Abu Dhabi outfit Al Ain in 2003.

During a managerial career that stretched from 1988-2012, he coached 14 different teams ranging from Lille and Nice in France, to African sides Guinea and Sedan, and Middle East outfits such as Qatar, Al-Gharafa and most recently Al Wasl, replacing at the helm.

Metsu also played for over half-a-dozen teams including Lille, Nice and Anderlecht, during a career that spanned 24 years.