Polish President Lech Kaczynski, left, and Roger Guerreiro, right, with national team shirts [AFP]

Lech Kaczynski, Polish President, formally welcomed the 27-year-old Legia Warsaw midfielder as the newest member of the Polish nation and wished him success with the team.
 
Guerreiro responded: "I promise you that I will do my best to represent Poland with dignity, both on and off the pitch."

The newly naturalised footballer spoke in Portuguese, but ended with one word in Polish: "Dziekuje", meaning thank you.
 
Guerreiro and Kaczynski then swapped national team football shirts with their names printed on the back.

Guerreiro was not named in the initial 31, but Beenhakker said he wanted him in the squad and had simply left him off the list until formalities were complete.

At that point, Guerreiro was still awaiting a Polish passport and now needs approval from Fifa, which must give a green light for would-be internationals who change citizenship.

"We don't expect any problems at all," Beenhakker said, adding that Guerreiro's paperwork was in order.

Ruling required

Beenhakker needs a Fifa ruling on Guerreiro by May 28, which is the deadline set by Uefa, European football's governing body, for announcing squads for the June tournament in Austria and Switzerland.

Guerreiro, who comes from Sao Paulo, played for Brazilian clubs Sao Caetano, Corinthians and Flamengo.

His first venture into Europe was with Spanish side Celta Vigo, before he returned to Brazil to play for Juventude.

He arrived in Poland at the end of 2005, and played his first competitive match for first division side Legia Warsaw in 2006.

Under Polish law, any foreigner can request citizenship provided he or she has been a legal resident for at least five years, but the waiting period can be waived in "exceptional, justified" cases.

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