The top Polish league Ekstraklasa began play this week.
WAIT! Come back!
Before you leave in boredom, let me remind you, the Polish league isn’t actually the worst league in the world. Well, OK, it’s one of the worst in Europe, not even cracking the top 20, but the Ekstraklasa is good for something.
Awful football! Entertainingly miserable soccer that is sure to make you laugh.
Now, it takes a certain level of skill to create really great bloopers, and the Polish league hits that sweet spot perfectly. The players are good enough to get into the right positions, but bad enough to fuck it all up at the crucial moment.
The Polish league has a bit of a special place in the hearts of many r/soccer redditors, in the same way you might have a special place in your heart for an adorably dumb puppy who just can’t walk straight. So of course there was a Polish league hype video to get everyone pumped up for the new season, as you’ll see above.
The Ekstraklasa is currently ranked No. 21 in the UEFA coefficient to determine European competition spots. That puts Poland behind Cyprus, Israel and Romania. But hey, they’re ahead of Sweden and Scotland and the league produces magical moments like this:
Slawomir Peszko. Zadaniowiec. pic.twitter.com/hKjaLeDDqb
— Mateusz Miga (@MateuszMiga) July 20, 2018
This blooper real might be the real reason Poland was so awful at the 2018 World Cup despite a top 10 FIFA world ranking heading into it.
The one thing about the Polish league that is most gratifying: It makes you appreciate Major League Soccer. At least it's not this bad.
Oh and the video features more Seven Nation Army, in case you didn’t get sick of it during the World Cup.