Lublin is not only Leon. The president of the Polish champion talks about the background of the victory in Plus Liga

Dariusz Ostafiński, Polsat Sport: Are you shocked? I ask because before the season, experts didn't even see you in the top four, and you finished the season as Polish champions.

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Krzysztof Skubiszewski, president of Bogdanka LUK Lublin: Experts believed that repeating the fifth place from last season would be a success for us. However, I saw us higher, I saw us in the top four. And was what happened a shock? When you advance to the semi-finals, you don't think about minimum plans. At this stage, medals are within reach, there is no calculation. Anyone who advances to the TOP 4 is equally worthy of the podium until the competition ends. If we had talked before the season, I wouldn't have said that we were the favorites and that we would win anything for sure. However, I believed in this team and I saw them in the top four.

All experts agree that you are in great shape for the most important part of the season.

Indeed, in the play-offs we were able to show our full potential, because we maintained our physical and volitional parameters at an optimal level. In particular, our mental resilience and will to fight were, in my opinion, impressive. The victory over Lube Civitanova in the Challenge Cup finals really edified us. It showed us that we can beat anyone, that there is no team we cannot beat. However, this was not the first impulse signaling that we were reaching the right mental level.

And what was that first impulse?

It was a win against Częstochowa in the quarter-finals of the Polish Cup. It was a test, because a loss eliminated us. Someone will say that we had such matches in the Challenge Cup, but there we played against teams that were not at our level. Częstochowa was a bigger challenge, we could have been eliminated. I saw that the volleyball players understood the importance of this match and its consequences, including those resulting from the loss, but if they felt stress at the time, they were able to draw from it courage and concentration. And that was that little impulse that showed that we were growing.

The experts would disagree with you. They all say that winning the Challenge Cup was the driving force.

Yes, it was more important, but the match against Częstochowa was the first spark, the impulse.

Let's move on. When I was talking about your phenomenon recently, I heard how important it was what your physical preparation coach did. You didn't have the health problems that your competition did.

I agree, which doesn't mean we didn't have any. In the play-offs we lost Alex Grozdanov, who sprained his ankle and didn't play against ZAKSA. He returned for the semi-final against Jastrzębski Węgiel, although he wasn't fully fit in the first match against them. We didn't talk about it, because we believe that injuries are part of sport and a limitation, but they shouldn't distract from what you can present on the court in certain circumstances. Besides, revealing your cards before the game, if it's not necessary, can only help your opponents, not us. The fans were often surprised by our approach, and that was our tactic.

I've heard somewhere that even if you had problems, you were able to hide them better than all the Plus Liga teams.

In the semi-final and final, one of our players was not at full fitness, but we did not mention it and now I will not say who it was. Nevertheless, we did not suffer any major injuries, which is the best proof of the skills, commitment and charisma of our motor preparation coach, Andrzej Zahorski. Big applause for him! The same applies to our physiotherapists: Maciek Biernacki and Justyna Pałka. In general, the merits of our entire staff cannot be overestimated!

What do you mean?

For example, the very sensible selection of Wilfredo Leon's workload. There were matches in which he did not play due to arrangements made before the start of the season. I understand that at first some might have thought that Wilfredo had only come to Lublin for treatment, but that was our long-term plan. As it turned out, it was the right one. We modified this tactic on an ongoing basis. However, we knew how to act to provide Wilfredo with maximum comfort in playing, knowing that then he would be able to give us his 120 percent until the very end of the season. And this responsible approach to his health paid off in the end. So once again, kudos to coach Zahorski for how he maintained the team's physical form until the very end of the season.

The key to gold, however, was Leon. He pulled others along with him, who became better players by playing with him.

I agree. Wilfredo fueled us in many ways: it wasn't just his form on the court that mattered. He kindled the fire in the team. Our potential was based on many pillars, but it's true that Wilfredo Leon was able to inspire the other volleyball players. They trained with him, they saw how he worked during training. They knew that although he had already achieved a lot, he was still hungry for success. When I talked to him about the contract, it was less about financial issues, but a lot about plans and what we could achieve together. That's when I noticed that he still had ambitions, that he wanted to win whatever he could. His winning mentality rubbed off on everyone and I'm glad that the whole team learned from Wilfredo to think in these categories. And that gave us gold, because even Wilfredo Leon wouldn't have won it alone. The team won. Kewin Sasak, Marcin Komenda, Mikołaj Sawicki, Alex Grozdanov, Thales Hoss, Fynn McCarthy... I could go on and on. Without Leon they wouldn't have been successful, but you can't take anything away from them because they became a team.

And before the season there were such comments that Bogdanka LUK Lublin is Leon and all the rest.

They were, I remember them. In the end, however, it turned out that they were misguided. Alex showed himself as a great middle blocker. He was one block short of winning this category. In addition, he was extremely flexible in attack and unpredictable in service. Thales was one of the best liberos, who also directed the team brilliantly in the defensive phase. Mikołaj Sawicki showed us by his example how to overcome adversity. He grew with each week, and his ending was already outstanding. I hope he repeats this in the national team. He has the potential to receive even better and additionally raise his level. Marcin Komenda showed the full extent of his skills. Although he had a very successful last season, he was impressive this season. He also has not yet shown the full scale of his talent. Fynn McCarthy was a revelation for most, but we knew what he was capable of.

However, I think what is most impressive is how Kevin Sasak's talent exploded.

He was already great in Gdańsk, but I was counting on him becoming an even better player with us. In his previous club, all responsibility rested on him. With Leon, with us, the responsibility for situational balls was distributed more evenly. He built his self-confidence brilliantly, also based on his effectiveness. Perhaps it is Kewin who is most benefited by Wilfredo's presence in the team. He is already a great attacker, but he is capable of much more. He has reserves in service and attack in the right directions. If he unleashes these reserves and maintains his form, he will have every argument in the fight for the "number one" in the national team. In any case, the examples of Kewin and the others confirm what I said: Lublin is not just Leon.

The team did their job on the court, but they also praise you and vice-president Maciej Krzaczek. For creating an atmosphere that allows you to fight for results.

I am glad that there are such opinions. We are young presidents. I used to hit the ball, Maciej played volleyball. We come from this environment. We know what it is like to be a player, a coach, and finally a president. This gives us a lot of knowledge and allows us to function in such a club. We both set goals for ourselves, we are optimistic and we infect others with this. Then it is definitely easier to work and achieve results.

What's next? What will this team be like in a year?

There are various reports in the media, but I wouldn't like to comment on that yet. We are building step by step, so now there will be cosmetic changes to the line-up. We have achieved great successes, so the challenge was to maintain the team that won them. The aforementioned cosmetics will also be added to this and I hope that this will allow us to play for something big again. Winning the league for the second time would be an even greater success than winning the first title. Next year there will be more of these goals, because there will be the Super Cup and the Champions League. It will be a challenge, but we will fight to enjoy ourselves and lift up more trophies. We still want to improve a few things. We also dream of a new hall, because tickets sell out in a few seconds. The demand is huge.

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