Youth in Belek: Kornel Lisman

The winger from Szczecin was born in 2006 and, before joining Lech, he represented the local clubs Pogoń and FASE. He moved to Poznań ahead of the current season as a reinforcement for Lech’s B team. The winger, who has experience playing on the U-17 Central Junior League level, seamlessly transitioned to senior football – he only missed 4 games as a result of health issues. In an interview summarizing the autumn round, Lech’s B team coach emphasized that Lisman is one of the most positive surprises of the past few months. The manager also revealed that initially, the winger was supposed to act as a regular reinforcement for the Older Juniors, but because of his importance to the higher-level squad, he only competed for the U-19 side once, in a UEFA Youth League match.

Lisman’s impressive performances did not go unnoticed, hence the A-team coaching staff invited the youth player to the November friendly against Warta Poznań. The winger ended up spending nearly 800 minutes on the third-league pitches. Then, in January, Lisman made another step in his career – he travelled with Mariusz Rumak’s players to Belek, Turkey, where the A-team in preparing for the second part of the season. What have the first few days of training been like from the youngster’s perspective?

“I feel great, all of the players are open to conversation and give me numerous valuable tips, as well as help me off the pitch, for instance with the adaption process. As a result, the youth players don’t just talk to each other, but can also count on the senior players. They tell us how to position ourselves on the pitch, how to function in the team on a day-to-day basis, and what we should pay attention to. It is invaluable to us, especially since the training sessions are very intense, which is down to the quality of the players. However, I am managing as I am used to it,” explained Lisman.

Apart from receiving valuable tips, the youngster also has the opportunity to watch some of the best wingers in the country. It is undoubtedly a great lesson for the player and he is trying to make the most of it. “Kris and Dino are amazing wingers. I like Kris’s style – the way he moves with and without the ball, and I want to make the most out of watching him. Dino is helping me a lot with aspects such as positioning without the ball and looking for open space in the box,” highlighted Lisman. “But they’re not the only players I learn from; I can also count on the support of Bartosz Salamon, Radosław Murawski, and Jesper. The great thing is that I could keep on naming people because everyone here wants the youth players to feel as good as possible. There is still a lot of work ahead of us and I am aiming to make the most of it, and to stay in the first team for longer,” added the talented winger.

Lisman made an appearance in the last 30 minutes of the Thursday friendly game against LASK Linz. The winger wasn’t afraid of making brave decisions and didn’t worry about the bar being set high. “It was a difficult match, especially because of the weather conditions. I gave my all and tried showing what I am capable of although, of course, in such a situation it is never easy,” said Lisman.