Kamil Sołoducha: Thanks to the team spirit and the atmosphere in theis the secret behind Poles’ success

In the recent World Cup national the team of Finland scored the best place of their career. This success was granted, in addition to the players and coaches themselves, by Kamil Soloducha, working daily as a scoutman of ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle. In an interview with our portal Kamil decomposes into prime factors the Finns’ show and also talks about his feelings about the gold medal of his countrymen. Enjoy!

Emilia Kotarska: Let’s begin with the recent World Cup – with the representation of Finland you’ve managed to reach the 9th place, which is the highest stake Finland has ever scored, up till today their best achievement was 11th place 64 years ago…

Kamil Sołoducha: It’s true that Finland’s best achievement so far was 11th place. First of all, to us the fact that we got to these championships, was a success itself, because Finland wasn’t a part of it for 32 years. Before the tournament, we’ve agreed that our optimum will be to get to the “TOP 10” and we ended up on the 9th position, achieving our goal. However, personally, I think that we could’ve fought for one or even two positions above the 9th stake. If we’ve won games with China and Canada – and there was a chance for it – we would score few more points on the way. Then it would have been even better. But just like you said, we made it to the 9th place, which is the best score in history, so we don’t complain.

In an interview before the World Cup for “Pod Siatka” you mentioned that your goal is to get to the top ten and promotion in FIVB ranking. Assumptions have been achieved; you moved nine positions up in the overall ranking, currently taking the 17th position.

In fact, the actual goal was the promotion in the ranking – in the sphere of possible dream was to get to the TOP 6 and the unreal – the medal. In general, we wanted to get to the TOP 10 just to be promoted in the rank. From what I’ve briefly analyzed, we’ve scored the biggest jump among all teams. In the European ranking, we’ve also managed to pull out what we’ve planned, so we’re really pleased with this result. I hope that we will continue going down this path.

Currently, the national coach is Tuomas Sammelvuo, previously you’ve collaborated with Daniel Castellani. It is known that every coach is different, has his own philosophy of building a team. Do you see similarities between both these characters, after all? Does Tuomas derive from the vision of Castellani?

It’s hard to compare coaches to each other. They are two different characters. Daniel is a very experienced coach, Argentine, has a lot of advantages. In contrast, Tuomas is still a novice trainer. What is important, however, is that it is Finnish, and it helps us. For many years he was the captain of his national team, and now has become the natural leader of this team, not on the pitch. I know that Tuomas draws a lot from Daniel’s work, as Mauro Berruto’s and other coaches with whom he worked.

How is your cooperation with Tuomas Sammelvuo going?

The first season of work with a new coach is tough, because you have to adapt to each other. However, now we are in the middle of our second season of cooperation. I have to admit that organization is great. I can say that the staff is kind of like a team within the team.

Two years spent actually in a foreign representation, you are the only Pole among Finns. How do you feel in this team?

I feel really good. From the very first day the reception of the team was very positive. I don’t know wether this is due to Daniel or just guys themselves. But I do know that they are really open towards other people, which may be hard to tell. We, Poles, we do not think this way about the Finns, and they are really open-minded. Maybe in the beginning they keep their distance, but very quickly you can break down this barrier.

Do you try to learn Finnish?

This is the most complicated language in the world. (laugh) I read once in a ranking that Finnish is even more difficult than Polish. I think that in ten years I will speak Finnish, but not just yet.

At this point, you’ve broken the stereotype regarding the behavior of the Finns. Usually they are considered to be people that try to stay in the shadow, do not smile, and you say that it’s completely different…

Indeed. Finns make such an impression as if they did not speak and tried to keep their distance. However, if they feel the bond – e.g. as it is in a team – then they become a completely different people. They are always helpful and willing to talk when you have a problem. It may not be visible to the naked eye, but it really is like this.

How would you rate the Finnish team on this year’s World Cup, on a scale from 1 to 5?

On a scale of 1-5 I would give an assessment of 3-4, with an indication on the 4. I would not give five, because we always want to achieve as much as possible.

Now let’s move on to our national team. What do you think is the secret behind this great success? We managed to beat Brazil in the important event and rematch for defeat in the final of the World Cup in 2006.

I think that really the team spirit is the main factor of this success. Stephane proved that it is not always about the best players, the best-known names or the biggest stars. Who would have bet on Mateusz Mika and not on Bartek Kurek? Maybe at the beginning of this tournament – to say it straightway – was set for the Poles, but this is quite normal when it comes to tournament organizer. It is hard to judge it from the statistical point of view, because I was unable to watch Poles in the beginning of the tournament. Later, I saw collectivity. If something went wrong on the court, somebody from the square was a great help to other players. Everyone was able to bring something to the game. I think that the team spirit and the atmosphere in the team is the secret behind Poles’ success.

You’ve mentioned Mateusz Mika, many experts refer to him as the revelation of the tournament. We know that Mateusz has already played with the Polish representation before. However, he lost some seasons of his career, whether in Rzeszow or Trefl. After he moved to France, he came back in great shape and has become a completely different player.

In my opinion, Mateusz really is the revelation of the tournament. To be honest, in Poland for years there was no place for him. He was in Rzeszow, but he did not play. It was hard for him to find a team. Finally, he went to Gdansk but the season wasn’t successful. So he emigrated to France and under the supervision of Philippe Blain made ​​great progress. The French duo trusted Mateusz, appointed him to the national team and gave a chance to develop. I hope he will continue to grow in this direction.

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