Interview with Weronika Zawistowska - a football player for Czarni Sosnowiec and the Polish national team, who will move to Bayern Munich this summer.
Weronika Zawistowska is one of the best football players of the young generation in Poland. The 21-year-old footballer can boast of successes in the domestic backyard. The winger, regularly appointed to the senior national team of Poland, is a two-time national champion and winner of the Polish Cup. In recent weeks, her name has been on the lips of many people interested in women's football in Poland, all thanks to her high-profile transfer to Bayern Munich. Her three-year contract signed with the current leader of the German Frauen Bundesliga is expected to enter into force in July.
Weronika spoke honestly about how she copes with the pressure associated with moving to the capital of Bavaria and where she gets her motivation to play football. The Polish international also revealed her dreams and pointed out the name of the best female footballer she has ever faced on the pitch.
W.K.: Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on your transfer to Bayern, and also ask how’s your recovery after an injury going?
W.Z.: Thank you very much! I'm back on the pitch, I have even played 10 minutes in a match recently, so it's really good now. The physiotherapist is still working on my leg manually and preparing me to be in 100% shape.
W.K.: You have faced several injuries in your career. How do you cope with difficult times when things don't go your way? Is the glass always half-full or half-empty for you?
W.Z.: Yes, I had many injuries, so I've already learned that there is nothing to break down, you just have to act. I always try to look for positives even in these difficult situations and I think this is my key to happiness.
W.K.: In January, you were on tests in Munich for a few days. After this short time, what can you tell us about the quality and intensity of the training in Germany? And how does our domestic Ekstraliga fare against this background?
W.Z.: When it comes to trainings, they are really similar to those here in Poland, but when it comes to the quality and intensity of these trainings, there is really a big difference. Therefore, I am all the more happy that I was able to show my good side in the tests.
W.K.: We know that at the beginning of your experience with Bayern you will be on a one-year loan to another club, and then you are about to join the ranks of Bayern's first team. Which player from the current squad are you looking forward to most to be playing with?
W.Z.: I think that each one, because each of the players is really good there. I think I can learn a lot from them.
W.K.: Why the German league? What factors influenced the choice of the Frauen Bundesliga, and not, for example, the English FA WSL, which has been dynamically developing in recent years?
W.Z.: It has always been my dream to play in the Frauen Bundesliga, maybe because Germany is not that far away from Poland and I am very family-oriented, but also because the German league is the strongest league in the world. Of course, I'm not just closing myself to the Bundesliga.
W.K.: Bayern Munich, the big brand in women's football - the champion and runner-up in Germany, the semi-finalist of the UEFA Women's Champions League - the move to the club from the European top is usually connected with more or less pressure. How do you deal with it?
W.Z.: Very well, for now I am focusing on what is here and now. I would like to win the Double with my current team. The stress will certainly arise when I leave, because it will not be 300 km from home anymore, but 1300 km, so the difference is there. I'm prepared for it and I want to make my dreams come true, so I'm looking forward to it.
W.K.: How are things going with learning German? ;)
W.Z.: I have tutoring in German, I would like to learn this language because I am a communicative person and it would be great if I could talk to my teammates, trainers or other people.
W.K.: You are set to join a few teammates from the Polish national team who already play in the German league. In addition to purely sports and media issues, do you also look at your transfer in terms of paving the way for young Polish footballers who dream of playing football abroad? What advice would you give to young promising footballers?
W.Z.: I think that the departure of both Kasia Kiedrzynek and Ewa Pajor started the fact that more and more footballers go abroad. It is a big positive that we have so many girls in foreign clubs. Young girls who want to play football definitely dream of going abroad and playing in the best club possible. At least I had a dream that just came true, so if I could tell something to a young footballer, I would say that she should not be afraid and act, because dreams are meant to be fulfilled.
W.K.: You made your debut with the Polish national team on August 31, 2018. After those three years, does playing with an eagle on your chest still evoke the same emotions in you as in your debut in the match against Belarus?
W.Z.: Each time they are the same emotions that are indescribable. It is a great pride to wear the coat of arms of Poland on your chest and play for our nation.
W.K.: Less than three years have passed, and today it's impossible to imagine the Polish national team without Weronika Zawistowska. Did you, as a young girl who is just starting her adventure with football, have the thought somewhere in the back of your head that in the future you will be the strength of the national team?
W.Z.: Honestly, no. When I was younger, I didn't believe in myself at all, so I couldn't imagine that I could play in the national team with the best Polish players. I am glad that my work on myself brings results, but I want and demand more of myself.
W.K.: Despite your young age, you already have a lot of experience on Ekstraliga pitches and you are regularly appointed to the national team. Where do you get your motivation to play?
W.Z.: I do what I love and that's what motivates me. Every day I want to be better than I was yesterday. In the past, many people did not believe in me and I did not believe in myself either. I am glad that there are such people, because they give me even more motivation to work on myself.
W.K.: I've been asked to find out about your eating habits, more specifically what your favorite pre-match meal looks like?
W.Z.: If we play the game in the morning, there are pancakes with jam or Nutella and banana, while if we play later, it is usually pasta with chicken and vegetables.
W.K.: What are your dreams? What are your goals in both the short and long-term?
W.Z.: I want to play regularly for the best team in the world, score goals, assist and, above all, be healthy. When it comes to the distant future, I want to open my own beauty salon and of course stay within football, I don't know in what role yet, but I can't imagine life outside the football at this point.
W.K.: The best player you have ever faced/played against.
W.Z.: I think there were a lot of players like that, but if I had to choose one, I think that would be Lieke Martens.
W.K.: Your biggest football role model is ...
W.Z.: You don't have to look too far - Robert Lewandowski. Regarding foreign players, Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe.
W.K.: People say there's a life beyond football. So I would like to ask what do you like to do in your spare time?
W.Z.: As mentioned above, I like to do makeup for myself and others, so I would like to continue in this direction.
W.K.: Thank you very much for your taking your time to answer my questions. Lots of health and good luck!
W.Z.: Thank you very much.