Sydney FC star Adrian Mierzejewski chasing World Cup comeback with Poland

SYDNEY FC star Adrian Mierzejewski is hoping to turn his dazzling form with the Sky Blues into a World Cup comeback for his native Poland.

Sydney star Adrian Mierzejewski is chasing a World Cup dream. Picture. Phil Hillyard

• Wanderers striker Mark Bridge admits transition to Gombau painful
• Sydney FC star insists there is more improvement to come

ON the pitch, he plays with a smile, and calls what he does for a living his “hobby”.

But don’t be fooled by the relaxed demeanour of Adrian Mierzejewski, as he sets about Sydney FC’s opponents week after week.

There’s a target beyond winning the A-League, and adding to the personal accolades he is starting to rack up almost weekly. Almost 50 months since his last appearance for Poland, Mierzejewski is holding onto the dream of playing at the World Cup, with his form for Sydney as the launch pad.

Frustrated by the injury on arrival that sidelined him for weeks, the 31-year-old is in a hurry to make up for lost time and build the nascent understanding with his attacking teammates that threatens to be something quite spectacular.

Adrian Mierzejewski is chasing a World Cup dream. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Sadly the A-League’s global broadcast net doesn’t take in Poland, but social media is keeping him in touch with the national teammates alongside whom he procured 40 caps and played at the 2012 European Championships.

None of the messages in the past few days since his performance in the derby have come from the staff of Poland coach Adam Nawalka, and Mierzejewski is honest enough to admit he needs to mount a rather longer-term case.

“I think I have to play many games like the last one, and then maybe we can start to think about this,” he said.

“It was only one game, though of course in the FFA Cup final they chose me as man of the game so the Polish media wrote about it. But I think I need many more games like that.”

But that shouldn’t disguise the ambition that still fills him as a proud patriot, especially in the wake of Poland’s rise to seventh in the world.

“I’m 31 and we have a few players older than me,” he said. “I feel well and the most importantly I have no injuries. I try to play good every game.

“Of course I can come back but everything depends on the coach, and my performance. I’m just waiting and trying to prove to everyone I can help my teammates. The World Cup is a dream. I had this experience with the Euros, but this is much bigger.

“I played 40 games in the Polish team, for maybe four years. I know all the players. The team plays well now, they played well in France in 2016, so there is no reason to change anything.

“The first XI is really strong, the players play in the top five league. But at the World Cup, 23 players can go. There is a long bench, and I think I can help there.”

Mierzejewski scores the opener against the Wanderers. Picture. Phil Hillyard

It’s not a coincidence that playing for Sydney could be a catalyst; Mierzejewski sees the A-League as a substantial step up from the Saudi and UAE leagues he was in previously, and on a par with Poland’s Ekstraklasa where a significant number of the Polish squad plays.

Not all of them, of course, and you can see from the instant smile how much Mierzejewski enjoyed — and would enjoy again — playing behind the brilliance of Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski.

“He was top scorer in the third league, second league, top league,” he said. “When he moved to Dortmund he got stronger, went to the gym every day. Everyone can see his hard work.

“We could see he was a big talent from the first game; I think he scored on his debut in the Polish league, the national team. Top, top class.”