Ex-Germany under-21 gets first Poland call-up

Former Germany under-21 player Sebastian Boenisch has received his first call up after opting to play at senior level for the country of his birth, Poland.

Defender Boenisch, 23, was named by manager Franciszek Smuda in the White Eagles’ squad for home friendlies against fellow Euro 2012 hosts Ukraine on September 4 and Australia on September 7.

Boenisch was born into an ethnic-German family in Gliwice in southern Poland, and later moved to Germany.

After starting his professional career with Schalke in 2006, he joined current club Werder Bremen a year later.

He made a dozen appearances for Germany, although not since turning 21, which is the cut-off age after which internationals cannot switch allegiance.

Speculation had raged since 2009 that he would join Poland, but Boenisch said he would only be interested if he was sure of a slot in the A-team.

He finally made up his mind earlier this month.

Polish fans are more used to seeing players head in the opposite direction, in part because the national football federation, the PZPN, in the past allegedly failed to take the issue seriously.

German internationals Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose and Piotr Trochowski were all born in Poland and emigrated as youngsters.

While Klose was not tempted by Poland, Podolski and Trochowski have said they both got the brush-off from the PZPN when they contacted it as teenagers.

To avoid losing such foreign-based talent in the future, the PZPN’s new leadership has set up a unit that scouts the world’s huge Polish diaspora.