ŁKS Łódź
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| Full name | Łódzki Klub Sportowy Spółka Sportowa | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Rycerze wiosny (Knights of Spring) | ||
| Founded | 1908 2008 (first reformation) 2013 (second reformation) | ||
| Ground | Stadion ŁKS, Łódź, Poland | ||
| Capacity | 2.200 | ||
| Chairman |  Łukasz Bielawski | ||
| Manager | Robert Szwarc | ||
| League | III liga (4th level) | ||
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ŁKS Łódź (Łódzki Klub Sportowy) (Polish pronunciation: [ˌɛwkaˈɛs ˈwut͡ɕ]) is a Polish sports club that is publicly owned by Łódź City Council. They are best known for their football club, but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, athletics and in the past ice hockey The club is based at Al. Unii Lubelskiej 2 in the West of Łódź, Poland. The club was founded in 1908. The football section had since been sold to private investors as the city could no longer afford to support it.[1] After years of financial hardships, the club declared bankruptcy in May 2013.[2] It will start from Fifth Category the next season, when it will be re-founded by a partnership between fans and local investors. It is still based at the Stadion LKS.
Their nickname Rycerze Wiosny (Knights of Spring) has been given to them due to their usually strong performance in the second round of the league, after Winter break.
Facilities
In 2009 the new Atlas Arena [3][4] was completed adjacent to the football stadium. It is an indoor arena and has already hosted international events in basketball, volleyball and boxing.
The City council still intend to construct a brand new stadium on the site of the current football stadium. It was intended to be complete in time for Euro 2012, but now is expected to be finished in late 2013-early 2014. Although Lodz is not a Euro 2012 host city it had been believed that a failure by Ukraine to be ready on time [5] would lead to Poland hosting the entire tournament on its own and therefore requiring more host cities. There are four Polish host cities (Warsaw, Gdańsk, Poznań, Wrocław) involved in hosting the tournament. It was envisioned the new stadium will hold approx 34,000 seats as required by UEFA.[6] Due to their rivalry Widzew Łódź have ruled out using this new stadium and instead intend to rebuild their own stadium. Support for the project was undermined by the successful re-call of the Lodz City President in early 2010. The city has also announced a public auction for their stake in the club as they can no longer afford to cover the clubs loses. Due to financial constraints and lack of demand from LKS fans the stadium size was revised down to 16,500 in 2012.[7][8]
As part of this work, a new 3,000 seat arena was supposed to be built to compliment the existing Atlas Arena. All work was expected to cost 218 million PLN.
However, all plans to provide the club with new facilities have been abandoned as of 2013, due to financial constraints and the bankruptcy of the club in May 2013.[9]
Rivalries
They have a fierce rivalry with cross-town club, Widzew Łódź, with the derby match between the two clubs being intense both on and off the field. See Łódź derby
Achievements
- Ekstraklasa (First division):
- 1st Place (2): 1958, 1998
- 2nd Place (1): 1954
- 3rd Place (3): 1922, 1957, 1993
- Polish Cup:
- Winner (1): 1957
- Finalist (1): 1994
- Polish SuperCup:
- Finalist (2): 1994, 1998
- Youth Teams:
- Polish U-19 Champion: 1962, 1983, 1999
- Polish U-19 Runner Up: 1953, 1955, 1973, 2002
- Polish U-19 Bronze Medal: 1971, 1981
- Polish U-17 Champion: 1994, 1999
Current squad
- As of 4 April 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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ŁKS in Europe
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959/60 | European Cup | Q | 
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Jeunesse Esch | 0-5, 2-1 |
| 1994/95 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | 
|
FC Porto | 0-2, 0-1 |
| 1996 | Intertoto Cup | GR | 
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KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny | 0-3 |
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PFC Spartak Varna | 1-1 | |||
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TSV 1860 München | 0-5 | |||
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Kaucuk Opava | 0-3 | |||
| 1998/99 | UEFA Champions League | 1Q | 
|
Kapaz PFC | 4-1, 3-1 |
| 2Q | 
|
Manchester United | 0-2, 0-0 | ||
| UEFA Cup | 1R | 
|
AS Monaco | 1-3, 0-0 |
Notable players
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Managers
See also
- ŁKS Lotto Łódź - women basketball team STBL
- Football in Poland
- List of football teams
- UEFA Champions League
- UEFA Cup
References
- ^ http://lodz.gazeta.pl/lodz/1,35142,7583116,Nowy_LKS_idzie_na_przetarg__I_do_pierwszej_ligi.html
- ^ http://www.thelodz.com/lks-lodz-loses-its-battle-against-financial-problems/
- ^ http://www.atlasarena.pl/
- ^ http://www.lkslodz.pl/klub.php
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2009-10-29-2669160872_x.htm
- ^ http://www.polishsoca.com/newswire/ekstraklasa/1919-new-stadia-key-to-polish-footballs-rebirth
- ^ http://gwizdek24.se.pl/pilka-nozna/ekstraklasa/nowy-stadion-LKS--lodz-wizualizacja_219526.html
- ^ http://sport.wp.pl/kat,1715,title,W-czerwcu-przetarg-na-budowe-stadionu-LKS-u,wid,13448827,wiadomosc.html
- ^ http://www.thelodz.com/no-stadiums-in-sight-in-lodz/
External links
- Official website
- ŁKS Łódź at 90minut.pl
- Łódzki KS at 90minut.pl
- Unofficial website
- Atlas Arena Site
