While he was growing up in Poland in the 1970s, Peter Nowak had the opportunity to watch one of the best national teams in the world at that time.
Poland was one of the more feared and respected sides in that decade. In fact, during an astounding four-year span, the Poles earned gold and silver medals in consecutive Olympics and finished third in the World Cup -- a feat that will be difficult to duplicate in modern times.
That success certainly had an effect on a young Peter Nowak.
"I think as a young player in Poland at that time, we were all looking for heroes," he said. "I think there was a time when we realized that we had to find our identity. (They) inspired a new generation to follow in (their) footsteps."
Although he enjoyed a successful playing career -- captaining the Polish national team and playing a vital role in helping the expansion Chicago Fire to the 1998 MLS Cup crown -- Nowak never performed in the Olympics. But come August in Beijing, he will do the next best thing -- coach the United States in the Summer Games.
The USA reached that goal Thursday, recording a 3-0 win against Canada in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying semifinals.
For the 43-year-old Nowak, the triumph was sweet in a young coaching career that includes directing D.C. United to the 2004 MLS Cup championship.
"Everything is special," he said. "This is the biggest one in my short career as coach. Even though winning the MLS Cup with D.C. United was with a very special group of players, I feel the same way about this group. There's not a better feeling then going back to the locker room and having the guys waiting for you, waiting for direction and believing in what we're trying to accomplish. I'm very proud and pleased about this group of players."
Nowak recently reminisced about that talented Polish team that could do very little wrong.
That team won the gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics, finished third at the 1974 World Cup in Germany and took home the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal. Not only did it inspire a new generation of players but the team's success instilled pride and confidence in players whose country had not seen much international success prior to the '70s.
"The team played together for many years and knew each other very well," Nowak said. "It very much helped our national team program in the 1974 World Cup in Germany. I think it helped the players realize that they can compete with everyone else in the world. In 1972 they beat a great team from Hungary in the final and lost to (East) Germany in '76, which was a disappointment because everyone expected gold again.
"It was a very successful time for our national team program and I think that lit a fire under us young players. We watched the Olympics and the World Cup and realized that we could compete with anyone in the world. It gave us the motivation to be like those team. It's very important for our players now to realize that we can compete with anyone in the world and to be proud of who we are."
That Polish team included Kaz Deyna, Grzegorz Lato and Robert Gadocha, among other talented performers.
Nowak's favorite player was Gadocha, who eventually went on to play for the Chicago Sting in the old North American Soccer League (as it turns out, Gadocha resides with his family in Sarasota, Fla., a long free kick from where the U.S. Olympic team has trained in Bradenton).
"He was my favorite player because of his dribbling skills," he said. "He was a very dangerous player on the wing. Back when I was young and playing on the wing in a 4-3-3 system, and he was my biggest hero because he could do everything on the left or the right. He was very mobile and dangerous with the ball in a 1-v-1 situation; he could dribble past anybody. He also had the great crosses, free kicks and corner kicks. ... Later in my career he was one of my coaches with the Polish national team, and he was a great player even then."
Another former Polish great -- Deyna, the national team captain -- also played in the United States, with the San Diego Sockers. Deyna died well before his time as he was killed in a car accident at the age of 41 in San Diego in 1989.
"He was a very different player," Nowak said. "Sometimes coaches didn't like him because he wasn't a fast guy, but he had a great understanding of his teammates and could deliver a ball wherever he wanted. We could make a run and he would put the ball right where we wanted. He had a great personality and on the field he was a great leader. He was very vocal on the field but he was very calm. He was very confident, he could change the game by himself completely.
"He was not popular outside of our country because of his style -- they said he's too slow and slows the game down -- but watching him very closely and knowing soccer, he was one of the best players in the world at the time. Free kicks, corner kicks, he could really change the game by himself. He was one of those players who inspired generations. There were many jerseys in the stadiums with his name, and now the stadium in Warsaw is named after him. It was very sad for all of us when he was killed. ... At that time I wanted to be like him."
Nowak is looking forward to August. He will find out the U.S.'s opponents when the Olympic draw is held April 20.
"Besides the World Cup, the Olympics are the most important tournament in the soccer world," he said. "I think for every athlete and coach it's a special feeling to be a part of the Olympic Games. But, I'm not looking at it from a personal aspect. I'm looking to create the team who will compete at the Olympics at the highest level, and I'm looking for a team to develop our own style of play and our own system as well. It's about how the team carries themselves on and off the field. So for me personally all of these factors are important and I'm looking forward to the event."
Michael Lewis covers soccer for the New York Daily News and is editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He can be reached at SoccerWriter516@aol.com. Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
