Piotr Zielinski says he doesn’t regret his selfie with Cristiano Ronaldo – as Poland’s pre-Scotland camp descended into chaos.
The Inter Milan midfielder, along with team-mates got a photo taken with the Portugal icon after losing 5-1 to Roberto Martinez’s side on Friday night. It has prompted uproar in Poland with legendary ex-players slating Zielinski and co for a lack of professionalism. That coincided with an admin error before the Portugal defeat which left coach Michal Probierz embarrassed as he tried to put on sub Karol Swiderski who hadn’t been included in their official team lines.
The Poles – who have lost five of their last eight games – are missing their skipper Robert Lewandowski who is injured. And now vice-captain Zielinski has been forced to defend himself in wake of the selfie storm. Ahead of Scotland’s visit to Warsaw in the Nations League, the 30-year-old said: “I am not interested in what’s going on in social media. For me, Ronaldo is one of the top players in the history of football.
“I felt like taking a picture and I did. That’s it. Why is it unbecoming? We lost the match but what should I do? Hide in a corner? I went up to him and asked him for a picture and that’s it. That’s what I felt like doing.”
After taking flak from former Poland defender Jacek Bak, Zielinski said: “He has the right to have his own opinion. But I don’t think there was anything wrong with it.”
Polish gaffer Probierz says his players should have got pictures taken with Ronaldo BEFORE the game – but has backed them to put things right against Steve Clarke’s men. He said: “In difficult situations, we’re all together.
“I told the players, if they feel like doing something before the match, take a picture then. The 90 minutes are of key importance. On Friday, we failed but we know what we have to do now. Every player is human, we sometimes forget about that.”
Zielinski believes Poland are ready to bounce back from the heavy loss to the Portuguese, as they look to avoid Nations League relegation. But against in-form Scotland, he warned his team-mates about fellow Serie A stars, Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay.
Zielinski played against the pair at the San Siro in a 1-1 draw last week and admits the Poles have to be wary of the Scottish stars. He said: “We want to show a response on Monday in the form of a victory.
“We will do our utmost to win in a good style and to finish this group as number three – before fighting in the play-offs to stay in this division.
“Gilmour and McTominay are great players – they have adapted to Serie A very nicely. We have already had an opportunity to play against one another and they are two key players.
“They are Scotland players that we have to be very careful about. McTominay has a very good physical condition and is great at entering the penalty area to look for goals. And so does Gilmour, so we have to be careful.”