On Monday, Michał Probierz announced the list of players called up for the October training camp of the Polish national team, during which the team will play Nations League matches with Portugal and Croatia. There are many well-known names on the list, although the coach would not be himself if he did not make some rather surprising moves.
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Sensational call-up of Michał Probierz to the Polish national team. Who is Maxi Oyedele?
One of the biggest, if not the biggest, surprises is the appointment of Maxi Oyedele. Some fans may not recognize this very young, 19-year-old player (born November 7, 2004), who is only just introducing himself to the Polish audience.
Oyedele was born in Salford, England, his mother comes from Poland and his father is Nigerian. From an early age, he showed talent for football, which led to his joining the Manchester United academy at the age of eight. He developed harmoniously there, thanks to which he played in several friendly matches for the first team last summer (he even provided an assist) and went to a training camp in the United States.
Despite a promising summer, the 19-year-old had little chance of breaking into the senior Manchester United team. So he decided to leave the giant’s academy and joined Legia Warszawa, which was looking for a defensive midfielder. Fabrizio Romano, a very well-known journalist, wrote about this move, and when the transfer was confirmed, other United players reacted to it on social media, including: Kobbie Mainoo or Anthony Elanga.
Maxi Oyedele introduces himself to Polish fans. What a debut in the first team of Legia Warszawa
However, the talented Oyedele did not immediately join Legia’s squad. He received his first chance only after the September international break, when Goncalo Feio let him in for the last 22 minutes of the match against Pogoń Szczecin (0:1). There, the defensive midfielder didn’t have much time to show his strengths, but he quickly got an opportunity to do so.
The 19-year-old started Saturday’s match against Górnik Zabrze (1:1). And he performed really well, bringing calm and quality to the Warsaw team’s midfield – he impressed with ball control, field overview and precision of passing. Several-minute compilations of his best moves circulated on social media. And in the official vote, Legia fans chose him as the best player in their team in this match.
Many Polish fans are just now discovering the great capabilities of a player who could previously be followed in youth matches. Oyedele played for national teams from U-18 to U-21 level (14 games in total). He was called up to the latter by the then coach Probierz, who gave him a chance in matches against Kosovo (3-0, nine minutes) and Estonia (1-0, sixteen minutes and an assist). A month later, the midfielder played in the U-21 match against Slovakia (2:2), and this year he played for the U-20 team in the September Elite League match against Portugal (1:2).
It so happened that the Manchester United graduate will be able to play his next international match against the same rival. It is difficult to say whether Probierz will send the debutant onto the pitch against the star-studded teams of Portugal (October 12) or Croatia (October 15). It seems risky, but the coach showed that he is capable of making bold and unconventional decisions – sending a 19-year-old and not very experienced, but good with the ball defensive midfielder, who was missing in the squad, would have been the case anyway. And with this appointment, the coach certainly showed that he believed in the player he had bet on in the past and wanted to motivate him to work even harder.
