Zibi Bartman: “No way I’ll tell you about our weaknesses”

Confidence is the key for the Polish players

“Our main strength is that we have 14 high level players. The guys from the bench can be subbed in and keep the level, so we are capable of beating any team in the world”, says Zbigniew Bartman. The confidence shown by the Polish opposite reflects the momentum in Team Poland. So far, Poland leads pool B at World League, having beaten Brazil twice in the tournament, when the last victory over the number-one team in world had been reached in 2002. If some favourites struggle, Poland keeps the pace.

“First, Sofia. Then we’ll think about London”, remarks Bartman, emphasizing they’re taking one step at a time. He gets excited when he says the Polish team is targeting the top. “Sometimes we want to do our best so much that we show some frustration when we make mistakes”, tells the opposite, explaining why the coach Andrea Anastasi had told him to keep going after he got really pissed off for missing a serve during a training session. “Just keep focused and forget about it”, yelled Anastasi.

“This is definitely a great team, we have a great group of guys”, remarks Michal Kubiak, a short left side for Eastern European standards, but certainly a giant on the court who compensates the short height with intelligence. “I’m not so tall, so I got to be smarter, to be better in many aspects, I always have to do something extra, but I believe I’m doing good so far”, he stresses.



Kubiak is also confident. “We feel we can beat anyone”, he comments, following Bartman’s train of thought. So maybe Poland is no longer that team known for having talented players that choke in crucial moments. “We don’t think too much about the other teams, we need to focus on ourselves”.

How does it feel beating Brazil after ten years? “Great”, says Kubiak, who joined the adult national team last year. He knows the team commanded by Bernardo Rezende is struggling with some problems and hasn’t reached their best level. “I hope they’re gonna stay that way, they don’t wake up, so we keep winning”, jokes the left side, who has the Brazilian Dante Amaral as his idol.

Bartman tells he has a huge respect for Brazil, as they’re a really tough opponent. “It’s good to beat them, really good, something we wanted”.

Although thinking mainly about the World League final six in Sofia, Bartman share his thoughts on the favourite squads for the London Games. “We’ll see a huge battle. Poland, Russia, Brazil will be ready. Italy is very strong, they almost qualified at the World Cup. If Team USA fix some problems, they’ll be fighting for the gold, too. Teams like Serbia and Bulgaria, if they confirm their spots, are tough contenders, so is Argentina, with a young but very talented squad”.

When questioned about Team Poland’s main weakness, it’s time for Bartman, a killer on the court, to get a little defensive. “No way I’ll tell you about our weaknesses”, he says and then laughs.



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