Important on and off the pitch

In the 76th minute of the friendly game Lukasz Tralka came off the pitch. However, before he sat on the bench, the captain gave the armband to Jan Bednarek. Neither Tomasz Kedziora nor Szymon Pawlowski were on the field, and so the young defender was named the captain.

“We have a couple of captains in our team and Jan can take this position as well. What’s more important is that we have a number of players on the pitch who have an influence on the team and the way it behaves. You do not need the captain’s armband to be an important part of the team and Janek is a good example,” explained Nenad Bjelica, Lech’s coach.

The Croatian coach has been praising the young defender on multiple occasions. The fact that the 20-year-old missed only one match since Bjelica joined Lech says a lot about the defender. Moreover, the one absence was due to yellow cards. “Bednarek is an important persona on and off the pitch. During the match he talks with his teammates and gives them advice. This is how a modern defender should behave,” emphasised the coach.

Bednarek seemed proud to have been given the captain’s armband. “It is a great recognition and an honour. However, the armband doesn’t change how I feel. I play on a position which gives me a wide perspective and which forces me to communicate with the rest of the team all the time, no matter if I am the captain, or someone else is. My task in the closing minutes of the game did not change. I still kept on talking to my teammates and gave them advice,” explained Bednarek.