Jagiellonia Białystok return to the UEFA Conference League, determined to build on last season’s impressive run, where they reached the quarter-finals before falling to eventual finalists Real Betis.
Their opening challenge this time comes against Ħamrun Spartans, who are set to make history as the first Maltese club to feature in the main stage of a European competition.
“Jagiellonia, as the quarter-finalists from the last edition of the UEFA Conference League, has big aspirations this year,” Polish journalist Piotr Przyborowski told the Times of Malta.
“The team was rebuilt during the summer, a lot of important players left, but at the same time, many interesting players came to the club. Although coach Adrian Siemieniec needed to rebuild a new team, he managed this transition period quite smoothly. Jagiellonia is in the upper part of the league table (4th, 18 points after 9 matches) and managed to qualify without many difficulties to the league phase of the UEFA Conference League, so their aspirations are quite high.”
Despite respecting their Maltese opponents, Przyborowski expects the Polish side to treat Thursday’s fixture as an opportunity to start strongly.
“I am more than sure that they respect Ħamrun Spartans, but their goal will be to get an easy home win as they will then prepare for the important league game against Korona Kielce, which is one of the most surprising teams in this season’s campaign in Poland.”
Leading the line once again is striker Afimico Pululu, who topped last season’s scoring charts with eight goals. The Angolan forward is now within four goals of becoming the competition’s all-time top scorer, a record currently shared by Arthur Cabral, Vangelis Pavlidis, and Eran Zahavi (12).
“Last season, he was the biggest star of Jagiellonia. During the summer, there were some rumours that he could leave Białystok, but eventually he decided to stay there,” Przyborowski explained.
“Pululu is a physical, strong forward. Not an easy opponent, as we saw this last season in the UEFA Conference League. Bearing in mind that this competition is still relatively young, I am not surprised that he can become its all-time best goalscorer.”
Przyborowski also highlighted several other players to watch – Jesús Imaz, a club legend and the creative brain of the team; Alex Pozo, a summer signing with La Liga experience and a Spain cap; Sławomir Abramowicz, a promising Polish goalkeeper; Oskar Pietuszewski, regarded as one of Poland’s brightest young talents and currently valued at €8 million – compared to Ħamrun’s entire squad value of €4.7 million, per Transfermarkt.
Jagiellonia are led by 33-year-old Adrian Siemieniec, who had no prior senior coaching experience before taking charge in 2023, becoming the youngest manager in the Polish top-flight (age 31). Despite that, he guided them to the Polish championship in 2024, the biggest triumph in the club’s history, earning him the accolade of the league’s best coach that season.
“As I said, Jagiellonia has big aspirations. Siemieniec is an ambitious, young coach. They want to perform well in the UEFA Conference League, Ekstraklasa and Polish cup,” Przyborowski said.
“Last year they managed to do it, so this season they want to do it again. Although the team has changed, the new players are already playing well. All Ekstraklasa teams want to play in the spring games (the knockout stages) of the competitions. The same with Jagiellonia.”
Founded in Białystok, the club is considered the pride of north-eastern Poland. They have consistently been among the nation’s top teams over the last decade, capped by their 2024 league triumph.
“For more than a decade, they have been one of the top teams in Poland,” Przyborowski noted.
“Their biggest achievement was the championship from 2024, which was a big surprise, bearing in mind the season before when they finished 14th, but overall they are part of the most important football clubs in Poland.”
With a strong backing in the city and ambitions of becoming a “Polish Villarreal”, Jagiellonia head into the League Phase action against Ħamrun before facing Strasbourg (France), Shkëndija (Albania), KuPS (Finland), Rayo Vallecano (Spain), and AZ Alkmaar (the Netherlands).
