Górnik Zabrze
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| Full name | Klub Sportowy Górnik Zabrze | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Trójkolorowi (Tri-Colour), Górnicy (The Miners) | |||
| Founded | 14 December 1948 | |||
| Ground | Ernest Pohl Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 24,563 | |||
| Chairman | Bartosz Sarnowski | |||
| Manager | Marcin Brosz | |||
| League | Ekstraklasa | |||
| 2018–19 | 11th | |||
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Górnik Zabrze (Polish pronunciation: [ˈɡurɲiɡ ˈzabʐɛ]) is a Polish football club from Zabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning the most Polish Championship titles together with Ruch Chorzów. The club was a dominant force in the 1960s and 1980s. Górnik holds the record for winning the most consecutive Polish Championship titles (5) and Polish Cup titles (5). In addition, the club was 1969–70 Cup Winners' Cup runners-up.
The club plays in a white or dark blue-red kit, and is based at the Ernest Pohl Stadium. Their main local rival is Ruch Chorzów.
History
First years
The club was founded in 1948, three years after Polish borders had moved westward and the city of Zabrze became part of the Polish Republic. Górnik was patterned after several smaller sports associations that had existed in Zabrze between 1945 and 1948 – KS Zjednoczenie, KS Pogoń, KS Skra, and KS Concordia. The clubs merged into a single organization, which took the name "Górnik", the Polish word for "Miner", reflecting the fact that Zabrze was an important coal-mining centre.
In 1950 Górnik joined the Opole Silesia regional league. In 1952 the club was promoted to the Polish Second Division. Their first game in the second tier was against Skra Częstochowa, and was witnessed by 20,000 fans, with Górnik winning 5–1. The whole season was very successful and Górnik finished second overall, behind Górnik Wałbrzych.
The club was promoted to the top division in 1955. In their first game in the top flight Górnik beat local rivals Ruch Chorzów 3–1, with 25,000 in attendance; the club finished the season in 6th place.
First successes
In 1957, just a year after promotion, Górnik won its first championship of Poland. The team, with star, Ernest Pohl, was third in 1958, to regain the crown in 1959 and 1961, together with such players as Stanislaw Oslizlo and Hubert Kostka. In 1961 Górnik for the first time appeared in European Cups, losing in the first round to Tottenham Hotspur.
Golden years
The next championship, won in 1963, marked the beginning of an unusual streak of five consecutive titles (1963, 64, 65, 66 and 67), which is a Polish record.
Górnik's biggest success in European football took place in 1970 (even though in Poland the team was second, after Legia Warsaw). In the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, Gornik beat all their opponents – Olympiacos, Rangers, Levski Sofia and AS Roma, reaching the final, which took place in Vienna. There, Manchester City turned out to be the better team, winning 2–1. The following season Górnik would once again play Manchester City, with the 1970 final being repeated this time in the quarter-final.
Late 1970s and early 1980s
During the mid-1970s Górnik form deteriorated and in late spring of 1978, the team was relegated to the Second Division. However, it returned after one year and in games of 1979–80, Zabrze's side finished sixth. In 1984, after purchasing of a group of talented players (Ryszard Komornicki, Waldemar Matysik, Eugeniusz Cebrat, Andrzej Zgutczyński, Tadeusz Dolny, Andrzej Pałasz), Gornik finished fourth, which was a sign of better times.
Late 1980s until now
Between 1985 and 1988 Górnik again marked a magnificent streak, with four consecutive championships. Zabrze's side also played versus renowned European powerhouses, such as Bayern Munich, Anderlecht, Hamburger SV, Juventus and Real Madrid.
In 1994 Górnik competed again for the title and with players as Jerzy Brzęczek, Grzegorz Mielcarski, Tomasz Wałdoch, hopes were high. Before the last round of the league the standings at the top were: Legia 47 points and Górnik 45 points. Since the two teams were to face each other in Warsaw, Górnik still had a chance to win the title. However the game ended in a 1–1 tie which gave Legia the crown. Before Legia scored the goal which gave her the title (the score 0–1 would mean the title for Górnik), the referee of the match – Mr Redzinski – sent off one by one 3 players from Gornik's squad, and Górnik had to finished match with only 8 players against 11 players of Legia. It was the last match in Mr Redzinski's career.
In the same year, Górnik played its last so far game in European Cups, losing to Admira Wacker Vienna.
In the spring of 2007 Górnik got a new sponsor – German insurance company Allianz. However, after finishing 16th in the Ekstraklasa in 2008–09, the club was relegated to the Polish First League, the 2nd level of Polish football, during the 2009–10 season. In June 2010, the club earned promotion back to the Ekstraklasa for the 2010–11 season.
Achievements
- Ekstraklasa
- Polish Cup
- Winner (6): 1964–65, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72
- Runner-up (7): 1955–56, 1956–57, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1985–86, 1991–92, 2000–01
- Polish SuperCup:
- Winners (1): 1988
- European Cup:
- Quarter-Final (1): 1967–68
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:
- Runner-up (1): 1969–70
- Youth Teams:
- Polish U-19 Champion: 1967, 1989
- Polish U-19 Runner Up: 1985, 2001, 2011
- Polish U-19 Bronze Medal: 2015
- Polish U-17 Champion: 1992, 1996
- Polish U-17 Runner Up: 2014
Górnik in Europe
Best results in European competitions
| Season | Achievement | Notes | |
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| European Cup / UEFA Champions League | |||
| 1968 | Quarter-Final | lost to  Manchester United 0–2 in Manchester, 1–0 in Chorzów
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| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | |||
| 1970 | Final | lost to Manchester City 1–2 in Vienna
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| 1971 | Quarter-Final | lost to Manchester City 2–0 in Chorzów, 0–2 in Manchester, 1–3 in Copenhagen
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Current squad
- As of 3 March 2020.[1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable former players
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Managers
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Supporters and rivalries
Górnik Zabrze is believed to have one of the largest and most loyal fanbases in Poland, especially in the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. In the 2016–17 season, Górnik Zabrze drew the highest average home attendance (10,636)[2] of all second level Polish football clubs. They also drew the highest attendance in their league (20,987). After their comeback to the top flight in 2017, Górnik drew the highest average home attendance in Polish football, surpassing current top teams Lech Poznań and Legia Warsaw[3], with most league games being sold-out.[4]
Górnik holds a long-standing rivalry with Upper Silesian side Ruch Chorzów, known as the Great Silesian Derby. Other main rivals are Legia Warsaw and Zagłębie Sosnowiec.
Torcida Zabrze is a brother ultras of Torcida Split. They also called United Torcida.
References
- ^ "Pierwsza drużyna" (in Polish). Górnik Zabrze. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- ^ "EFS Attendances". www.european-football-statistics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- ^ Kusina, Maciej. "90minut.pl". img.90minut.pl. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- ^ "Już jutro stadion Górnika odwiedzi więcej kibiców niż stadion Ruchu przez cały sezon - weszlo.com". weszlo.com. 15 September 2017. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
External links
- Official website (in Polish)
- Fansite (in Polish)
- Fans' forum (in Polish)