The Polish national football team arrived at its hotel in Hanover, and was received by more than two hundred fans. On Wednesday afternoon, the Polish national team will conduct its first training session, and its participation in the 2024 European Championship will begin on June 16 with a match against the Netherlands in Hamburg.
Michel Proppers’ team arrived at Hannover Airport at around 7:15 p.m., and more than half an hour later they arrived at the hotel where they will stay during the tournament.
The hosts of the facility prepared a surprise for the Polish national team. A red and white sign appeared on several flights of stairs in front of the building’s entrance: “Welcome to the Polish team at the Sheraton Hannover Pelican Hotel.”
Fans gathered in front of the hotel long before the national team arrived. Special tape was installed on both sides of the street to separate them from the employees when the bus arrived.
Soon police officers also arrived to maintain order. There were no violations, but the fans could not be accommodated on the sidewalks and the police had to do some work.
The crowd was getting denser by the minute, and some even climbed a nearby tree to get a better view.
“I was at the airport. Some of the national team arrived, with similar colors, but they were not ours.” – one fan complained.
It was about the Turkish national team, which the day before lost to the Probers at the PGE National Stadium in Warsaw 1:2, and arrived in Hannover… just ahead of the Polish players.
Most of those waiting outside the hotel were Poles, as were the journalists, although representatives of foreign media also appeared.
The players were welcomed by, among others, a Polish family from Hanover. As the couple with their child admitted, they would like to watch at least one match from the stands, but they will not be able to because “it was very difficult to get tickets.” They probably won’t even watch Wednesday’s open practice, because tickets have already been distributed to fans.
The coach was the first to leave the bus, followed by the players, including the currently injured Robert Lewandowski, who signed more than a dozen autographs. It was clear that the Barcelona striker, who received a huge welcome, was walking up the stairs with great caution.
His injury was one of the dominant topics of conversation among the waiting fans long before the bus arrived. Some expressed hope that the captain would return even for the match against the Netherlands, although there were pessimists as well.
“They say Lewy’s injury will last for a few days. I recently tore my quadriceps muscle and it wasn’t easy.” – sighed one of the fans.
Cesare Colizza entered the hotel almost at the end. The head of the Polish Football Association, who was wearing distinctive dark glasses, headed towards the fans and began taking pictures with his phone. Seeing such a crowd gave him great satisfaction.
“Caesar, Jagiellonia!” – shouted one of the adult fans, referring to the fact that Kuleza was for many years the president of the Białystok club, which has now won the Polish championship for the first time in history.
National team training will be held at the local FC Hannover 96 academy stadium complex, four kilometers away.
In addition to the Netherlands, the Touchstone players’ opponents in Group D will be Austria (June 21 in Berlin) and France (June 25 in Dortmund).
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