From shame to pride – inside Europe’s most exciting leagueImage source, BBC SportPublished1 hour agoWith eight games left the Ekstraklasa, the Polish league, remains the most intriguing and exciting in the whole of Europe.The table is so tight that the title race and the fight to survive relegation looks like going to the wire, with teams battling for Europe still also looking over their shoulder at the relegation zone.Just 15 points separate leaders Lech Poznan (44 points) from 17th-placed Widzew Lodz (29), who are one place off the bottom and in the drop zone with three teams facing relegation.Motor Lublin sum it up: seventh place, seven points off the top, but also just seven above relegation.Even beyond the league, the wonderful chaos remains – this season’s Polish Cup quarter-finals featured sides from the third and fourth tiers.How did this extraordinary competitiveness happen? Is there anything to learn for other leagues out of the top six in Europe, with financial difficulties to compete?While Poland’s national team missed out on World Cup qualification with defeat by Sweden in Tuesday’s play-offs, Guillem Balague looks at why their domestic football scene is flourishing again and whether it can last long term.
