Sebastian Boenisch played to a draw in his debut with the Polish national team in a prestigious battle with Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine. Ireneusz Jelen gave Poland the lead in the...
Sebastian Boenisch played to a draw in his debut with the Polish national team in a prestigious battle with Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine. Ireneusz Jelen gave Poland the lead in the...
Sebastian Boenisch played to a draw in his debut with the Polish national team in a prestigious battle with Euro 2012 co-hosts Ukraine. Ireneusz Jelen gave Poland the lead in the 41st minute but Yevhen Seleznyov equalised shortly before the final whistle. Boenisch played the entire game in his first Polish appearance. The Werder defender only recently decided to play for his birthland Poland. In 2009, the 23-year-old played for Germany’s U21 European Championship team. New FIFA statues allow for such a change. Poland and Ukraine are Euro 2012 co-hosts and therefore already set as participants. WERDER.DE spoke with Sebastian Boenisch Monday afternoon, reaching him in Krakow where he is preparing for the Polish national team’s game against Australia Tuesday evening.
Hello Sebastian, there is a lot of commotion going on in the background. Where are you?
Actually I should be at a team meeting now but I was given off to finally pick up my real Polish passport and now I am at the registration area and got it.
Did the president personally welcome you as a Pole?
No, it was a normal occurrence. Until now I had only a provisional passport and now have the official document in my hands. But the official who gave it to me was happy and wished me good luck. The fact that I am playing for my birthplace is a topic here.
How has the team welcomed you?
I am not really totally unknown. There are a couple guys from the Bundesliga with "Kuba" and Pisczek from Dortmund and Matuschyk from Cologne, and the others I got to know really quickly. They are super guys who are all on the same wavelength.
How are things with the language?
That is all coming back. I speak Polish but with the speed these guys talk I really need to concentrate. I don’t understand everything and hold back a bit.
How do things go on from here?
We just arrived from Lodz with the bus and will train here in Krakow tonight at 6:30 p.m. Tomorrow we play against Australia and Wednesday afternoon I will be back in Bremen. Then there is the game against Bayern. It is a really exciting week.
