Jump to content

GKS Katowice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by ΕυστάθιοςΧ (talk | contribs) at 14:54, 1 September 2022 (logo). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the ice hockey section of the club, see GKS Katowice (ice hockey). For the volleyball section of the club, see GKS Katowice (volleyball).
GKS Katowice
File:GKS Katowice.png
Full nameGórniczy Klub Sportowy Katowice
Nickname(s)Gieksiarze
Founded27 February 1964; 60 years ago (1964-02-27)
GroundStadion GKS Katowice, Katowice, Poland
Capacity9,511
ChairmanMarek Szczerbowski
ManagerRafał Górak
LeagueI liga
2021–22I liga, 8th
Websitehttp://www.gkskatowice.eu/index

GKS Katowice (Polish pronunciation: [ɡʲɛ ka ˈɛs katɔˈvitsɛ]; GKS stands for Górniczy Klub Sportowy, "Miners Sporting Club") is a Polish football club based in Katowice, Poland. The club currently plays in the I liga, after having won promotion in 2021.

History

Stadion GKS Katowice

In 1963 in Katowice a special organizational committee was called with the purpose of uniting all the clubs and sporting organizations of the city into one large club which would encompass many disciplines. In mid-1963 Rapid Welnowiec and Orzeł Welnowiec merged, creating Rapid/Orzeł. In 1964 Rapid/Orzeł, Górnik Katowice, Koszutka Katowice, Katowicki Klub Łyżwiarski (Katowice Skating Club), Katowicki Klub Sportowy Górnik, Górniczy Klub Żeglarski Szkwał (a sailing club) amongst other clubs from Katowice merged creating GKS Katowice. Four years later on the 9 August 1968, Dąb Katowice also amalgamated with GKS Katowice. GKS Katowice made its debut in Polish football's top league (now call the Ekstraklasa) on 8 August 1965 when GKS Katowice took on local rivals Górnik Zabrze.

GKS Katowice's debut season in the top flight was in the season of 1965–66. The new team quickly gained experience and ability. A bad patch for the club came in 1971 when Katowice was relegated to the 2nd Division. The club's problems were quickly overcome, and GKS returned to the top flight where they played with pride and passion. From 1982 the club consistently found itself up the top end of the ladder, as well as playing off in several Polish Cup finals. In 1985 GKS Katowice played in its first Polish Cup final but lost in a penalty shootout to Widzew Łódź. The following year GKS played off in a memorable final at Stadion Śląski against Górnik Zabrze; GKS triumphed 4–1. From that moment the city of Katowice began to live and breathe football.[citation needed] The next year GKS finished third and the two following years they were runners-up. In 1989 GKS again came third, and in 1991 GKS were runners-up. From 1986 to 1995 to GKS Katowice were four times runners-up in the league, twice the winners of the Polish Supercup and three-time Polish Cup winners.

The biggest moments for the club and fans were always when the team took part in European cups. The first time GKS faced European opposition was in 1970, in the now defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, GKS took on the might of Barcelona in a two-legged tie. Katowice didn't lose by much (2-4 on aggregate), the fans were proud of their club.[citation needed] The second time GKS took part in European football they showed more and played better football. In the first round of the 1986–1987 UEFA Cup Winners Cup GKS defeated Iceland's Fram Reykjavík but in the second round, they lost to Switzerland's Sion. For the next 10 years, GKS Katowice took part in European football. Over the years fans of GKS got to witness their team take on the likes of Sportul Studentsc Bucharest, Rangers, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Benfica, Aris, Girondins Bordeaux and twice Bayer Leverkusen. GKS's record in European football stands at 10 wins, 7 draws, and 19 losses.

GKS Katowice again fell on hard times during the mining crisis. In 1999 the team was relegated from the Ekstraklasa, but was back in the topflight only a year later. Piotr Dziurowicz became president who, despite growing debts and financial troubles, kept the team in the top flight. In 2003 the team even managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup by finishing third in the league under coach Jan Żurek. This was hailed[by whom?] as one of the biggest surprises ever in the history of the Ekstraklasa. Despite the success, the debts under Piotr Dziurowicz began to grow to a significant sum.

From March 27, 2003 to June 11, 2004, the club played under the name of its main sponsor Dospel Katowice; this was not taken well by the fans of the club.[citation needed] GKS Katowice Sportowa Spółka Akcyjna finished its reins at the helm of the club in the summer of 2005 after the disastrous 2004–2005 season where GKS finished 14th (and last) in the Ekstraklasa and was relegated to the second Division. Then to make matters worse the team had to drop to the 4th Division due to legal and financial problems. After the drop to the 4th division, a group of dedicated fans known as the "Stowarzyszenie Sympatyków Klubu GKS Katowice" (which loosely translates into Society of Well Wishers Club of GKS Katowice) took over the helm at the club. In June 2006 the club was promoted to the 3rd division, and in June 2007 the team again won promotion this time to the 2nd Division, which in 2008 was renamed the 1st Division (I Liga). The team continues to play, balancing between the I liga (2nd tier) and II liga (3rd tier).

Major achievements

National

Polish Cup titles (3): 1986, 1991, 1993
Polish Cup final: 1985, 1987, 1990, 1995, 1997
Polish Supercup titles (2): 1991, 1995
Polish Ekstraklasa Runner Up: 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994
Polish Ekstraklasa Third Team: 1987, 1990, 1995, 2003

International

Round of 16 – Cup Winners' Cup (2x) – 1986/87, 1991/92
Round of 16 – UEFA Cup (1x) – 1994/95

Youth Team

  • Polish U-19 Bronze Medal: 1995, 2002

GKS in Europe

Season Competition Round Club Score
1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1R Spain FC Barcelona 0–1, 2–3
1986–87 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Iceland Fram Reykjavik 3–0, 1–0
2R Switzerland FC Sion 2–2, 0–3
1987–88 UEFA Cup 1R Romania Sportul Studenţesc 0–1, 1–2
1988–89 UEFA Cup 1R Scotland Rangers FC 0–1, 2–4
1989–90 UEFA Cup 1R Finland RoPS 1–1, 0–1
1990–91 UEFA Cup 1R Finland Turun Palloseura 3–0, 1–0
2R Germany Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1–2, 0–4
1991–92 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Scotland Motherwell FC 2–0, 1–3
2R Belgium Club Brugge 0–1, 0–3
1992–93 UEFA Cup 1R Turkey Galatasaray SK 0–0, 1–2
1993–94 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Portugal S.L. Benfica 0–1, 1–1
1994–95 UEFA Cup Q Wales Inter Cardiff F.C. 2–0, 6–0
1R Greece Aris Thessaloniki 1–0, 0–1
2R France Girondins de Bordeaux 1–0, 1–1
3R Germany Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1–4, 0–4
1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Q Armenia Ararat Yerevan 2–0, 0–2
2003–04 UEFA Cup Q North Macedonia Cementarnica 55 Skopje 0–0, 1–1

Current team

As of 17 July, 2021[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Poland POL Dawid Kudła
3 DF Poland POL Grzegorz Janiszewski
4 DF Poland POL Arkadiusz Jędrych
5 MF Poland POL Oskar Repka
6 MF Poland POL Marcin Stromecki
7 MF Poland POL Daniel Dudzinski (on loan from Zaglebie Lubin)
8 MF Poland POL Rafał Figiel
11 MF Poland POL Adrian Błąd
13 DF Poland POL Bartosz Jaroszek
14 MF Poland POL Marcin Urynowicz
16 DF Poland POL Grzegorz Rogala
18 FW Poland POL Jakub Arak
19 MF Poland POL Daniel Krasucki
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF Poland POL Kacper Grzebieluch
21 DF Poland POL Zbigniew Wojciechowski
22 DF Poland POL Marcin Wasielewski
23 MF Poland POL Dominik Kościelniak
24 MF Poland POL Dawid Brzozowski
25 DF Poland POL Norbert Warmuz
26 DF Poland POL Michał Kołodziejski
27 DF Poland POL Daniel Tanzyna
28 MF Poland POL Alan Brod
29 FW Poland POL Patryk Szwedzik
30 FW Croatia CRO Marko Roginić
33 GK Poland POL Patryk Szczuka
34 GK Poland POL Patryk Kukulski

Notable players

Managers

See also

References

  1. ^ "GKS Katowice – Skład" (in Polish). GKS Katowice. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=GKS_Katowice&oldid=1107914869"