PZPN

About work in Poland

First of all, I would like to thank the president for his confidence in me and my colleagues. It is a huge honour for us because we are talking about a great country with an extremely rich history and culture. Polish football, too, has a history that has marked my generation. I have been following it for years. Matches against Poland were always very difficult. The national team has a number of players of enormous quality and is one of the world's top teams. It is an honour for me to continue my career in such a great country. From now on I am a Pole, I am one of you. And we will do everything we can to ensure that the Poles have plenty of joy. It will take a lot of work, but we are ready for it. I will be living in Warsaw, I want to get to know the country, the culture and the mentality of the Polish people well. For me, contact with people is very important.

I would like to thank you for the form in which we were welcomed. We feel at home and start work straight away. We need to create the conditions, the habits to work together and this is my project. I give my word that I will work ambitiously, with confidence. I do not like the word 'I'. I like the 'we'. Without a coach there are no players, without players there is no coach. I count on the support of all Poles and the media. We will work hard to bring lots of joy. Happiness does not fall from the sky, it has to be earned. I have confidence that we will achieve our goal, for the national team and all Poles.

On working with superstars, including Cristiano Ronaldo

Fortunately for me, I have always led the great players. The most important thing is to be a 'we' so that the 'I' stays out of the team. Everyone is part of the team, everyone has their own personality, mentality. The head coach needs to bring it all together and create the 'we'. Everyone is important, including the staff. It is important to define the difference between being a coach and being a human being. During training sessions I am in charge, the players have to respect that and it has always been that way. The second aspect is everyone's personality. I have my ideas, we have already started work. I will be in Poland from February, the rest of the staff are already staying here. It will be important to get to know each player, we are all different, I plan to build relationships. It is a difficult job.

On acquaintance with Paulo Sousa

We are friends, I have had a good relationship with him since his days as a youth player, although I never guided Paulo as a player. I do not analyse the work of my colleagues, out of respect for them. We are different people, but differences do not make us better or worse. I do not want to think like that, I do not want to make such a mistake.

On his philosophy of work

In my work with the national team, I am guided by two words: "we" and "win". The players will hear this at the first national team training camp. We have to get used to it, the Polish national team has the necessary conditions to compete with anyone in the world. We cannot think that the names are playing. This very often leads to the way matches look. I have full respect for every team in the world. It is not the ranking that determines the results. Respect yes, but not fear. We want to have the ambition to win every match. Football is a very simple game. The most important thing is to score goals and not lose them. In the first instance, we need to lay the foundations. We need to be solid defensively, but in order to win we also need to score goals. We have little time, but we have players from the strongest leagues who are used to competing at the highest level. They will have no problem understanding.

On the style of play and the idea of using the players

This is the work that is commencing at the moment. I had the opportunity to watch four matches of the Polish national team at the World Cup, and I have faced your team as a coach in the past. Poland played in different ways. For now, we want to analyse these matches, then we will make decisions. I do not like to talk about settings, formations. The match has to be dynamic and we have to adapt to these dynamics. This is more important than numbers and settings. We only see the setting at the beginning of the match, then everything changes, the structure is dynamic. And that is how we will try to play. The goal is to advance to the UEFA Euro 2024, but it is more important to just go on and win.

On ambition while working in Poland

I want to win everything, that has always been my ambition. I did not come here to lose. I do not accept the word loss. To achieve this, we need to know our opponents well. The Federation has proposed a new project to me and for me it is very important to do in Poland what I have done in the past. I want to leave a legacy here, something for the future. The world of football changes, some people come and others go, but you have to leave something behind. One of the tasks is to help build the future. I want to go to stadiums, see the players play, get to know the coaches. I hope that together we can lay the foundations for a better future and find more young players. I am not planning a revolution. Revolution is not a good idea. I do not look into the players' IDs. They can be both 18 and 38 years old. It is important that they are good and talented.

About PKO BP Ekstraklasa

You should get used to seeing me in stadiums. I do not know the Polish league well, apart from the teams that play in the cups. From February I will be in Poland permanently, we will be visiting stadiums but also going abroad. We have a lot of players in different competitions.

About the staff

I want to have a Polish colleague, this is very important especially in the initial phase of my work. A Pole knows the Polish mentality. I spoke to Łukasz Piszczek and Tomasz Kaczmarek, listened to their ideas and perspective on the staff. I will reflect on what I have heard and give my feedback to president Cezary Kulesza in 15 days' time. You cannot suddenly involve too many colleagues, but there will certainly be a Polish element among the staff. The entire staff is willing to cooperate. Today we met PGE National Stadium, home of the national team. In a few days, my colleagues will return to Portugal and give me their first insights.

About talks with members of the Polish national team

By the middle of next month we will have a detailed action plan - who we are playing with, where we are having the national team training camp, what the work will look like. I would like to talk or meet all the players, I do not know yet if these will be the ones who were at the World Cup or if I will use an alternative method. There is no time to meet everyone and there is other work to be done. I would like to talk to as many players as possible before the national team training camp. I want to get to know the players, their visions of the game, how they feel about each position. Now the players have to concentrate on their club work. I very often tell players that at clubs their coach makes decisions.

On the conclusions after Poland's performance at the World Cup in Qatar

This is a state secret. I understand the purpose of the question. At this point I should not answer it. My predecessor did a very good job. I have seen all the matches, I understand the question, I have my opinion. I will, however, wait before expressing it. Only after discussions with the players and analysis can I answer.

About communication with the team

On the pitch, during training, at briefings, we will speak English. I managed to learn a few words in Polish, I hope to learn more in the future. Speaking in a non-native language is difficult, especially at a conference such as this one today, and this is how we will talk in a larger, journalistic setting.

On Robert Lewandowski's enjoyment of the game

There must be joy. Without it, it is impossible to win. It is difficult to win if the team is not happy. The group must be a family. I want the players to be happy to represent the country. Passion and love for one's country are key. Playing for the national team is different from performing at a club, where cool professionalism rules. More important than the physical issue is the mentality, the mental issue. Especially in the national team. They work on their physical form in clubs. There is no time for this in the national team. We have to work on making them happy and enjoying playing for the national team.

On the opinion of a pragmatist

If you think victories are pragmatic, then yes - you can consider me as such. In Portugal, we scored more than 230 goals and lost more than 80. There was a balance. Without balance, nobody wins. To win, you just have to play very well. And this is what we will strive for. Everyone wants to provide a good show, have the fans on their side and get more support from them. This also applies to me.

On the role of Robert Lewandowski

We will not limit anyone's talent. I do not know a coach who does this. The important thing is to make it work as a team. The only stars are in the sky and I have never seen a lone star in the sky. The team is a team of stars.