Śląsk Wrocław

Śląsk Wrocław
Full name	Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna
Nickname(s)	WKS, Wojskowi (Military)
Founded	1947
Ground	Stadion Miejski, Wrocław, Poland
Capacity	45,105
Owner	Wrocław (99,11%)
Chairman	Piotr Waśniewski
Manager	Vítězslav Lavička
League	Ekstraklasa
2019–20	5th
Website	http://slaskwroclaw.pl/strona/
Home colours	Away colours

Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław, Śląsk Wrocław (Polish pronunciation: [ɕlɔ̃sk ˈvrɔtswaf]) or simply Śląsk, is a Polish football club based in Wrocław that plays in Ekstraklasa, the highest level of the Polish football league system. The club was founded in 1947 and has competed under many names since then; adopting the name Śląsk Wrocław ten years after their foundation. In 1977, Śląsk Wrocław won the Polish league championship for the first time. The club has also won the Polish Cup twice, the Polish SuperCup twice and the Ekstraklasa Cup once. The club's home is Stadion Miejski, a 45,105 capacity stadium in Wrocław which was one of the host venues during UEFA Euro 2012. Club previously played at Olympic Stadium and Stadion Oporowska. Śląsk Wrocław is ranked 8th in the Ekstraklasa all-time table^[pl].

History

The club has had many names since its foundation in 1947. They are listed below;^[2]

1947 – Pionier Wrocław
1949 – Legia Wrocław
1950 – Centralny Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Wrocław
1951 – Okręgowy Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Wrocław
1957 – Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław
1997 – Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Sportowa Spółka Akcyjna
Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna

Śląsk is the Polish name of Silesia, the historical region in which Wrocław is located.

Honours

Ekstraklasa Cup

Ekstraklasa^[3]
- Champions (2): 1976–77, 2011–12
- Runners-up (3): 1977–78, 1981–82, 2010–11
Polish Cup^[4]
- Winners (2): 1975–76, 1986–87
- Runners-up: 2012–13
Ekstraklasa Cup^[5]
- Winners: 2009
Polish SuperCup^[6]
- Winners (2): 1987, 2012

Youth Teams:

Polish U-19 Champion
- Champions: 1978–79
- Runners-up: 1976–77
- Bronze Medal: 1977–78, 1979–80, 2017–18

The fans

Śląsk fans are one of the largest supporter movements in Poland. In the early 1970s, they were one of the pioneers of football supporters groups. In the 1980s many of the fans were active in the Solidarity movement, and were active with Fighting Solidarity and showing opposition to the communist regime in Poland. Due to the clubs historical fight against the former communist government it is still not unusual to see anticommunist and patriotic slogans on the stands. The Śląsk supporters call themselves Nobles from Wrocław (Polish: Szlachta z Wrocławia).

Friendships

They have a friendship with Lechia Gdańsk with which the two clubs fans have had a friendship since 1977, and have had friendly relations since 1967. This is the oldest fan friendship in Polish football. During the 2017/18 season, the two sets of fans celebrated their 40th Friendship Anniversary. Games between the two are often called "the friendship match".

The fans have also had a friendship with Motor Lublin dating back to the 1990s. Due to the clubs' long friendship, Śląsk were invited to play a friendly in 2015 in Lublin to celebrate Motor's 65th anniversary.

Despite the clubs' close proximity, Śląsk also hold friendly relations with Miedź Legnica. The fans also have friendships with fans from both SFC Opava, from the Czech Republic, and Ferencvárosi TC, from Hungary.^[7]

Rivals

Their biggest rivals are Zagłębie Lubin, with the games between the two known as the "Lower Silesian Derby" (Polish: Derby Dolnego Śląska). The two teams are the largest in the Lower Silesia region, with Śląsk representing Wrocław (the largest city in the area) and Zagłębie representing Lubin. Both teams have won the Ekstraklasa twice, Śląsk in 1977 & 2012, and Zagłębie in 1991 & 2007.

The fans of Lechia and Śląsk formally had a friendship with the Wisła Kraków fans, creating the "Three Kings of Great Cities" (Polish: Trzej Królowie Wielkich Miast) coalition. Wisła fans left the coalition in 2016. Since 2016 Wisła Kraków itself has since turned into a rivalry.

Arka Gdynia, Lech Poznań and Cracovia are rivals dating back to the time with their alliance with Wisła. This was due to the two largest fan coalitions in Poland, "Three Kings of Great Cities" (Śląsk, Lechia, Wisła) and "The Great Triad" (Lech, Arka, Cracovia) with any of the opposite coalition teams playing each other resulting in a big and hotly contested match.

There is also a competitive rivalry with Widzew Lodz, with the two often facing each other throughout their history. However, due to Widzew currently in the lower divisions of Polish football, it is unlikely this rivalry will played out on the pitch any time soon.

Stadium

The Municipal Stadium in Wrocław, Poland, is the highest fourth category football (soccer) stadium built for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship. The Stadium is located on aleja Śląska in the western part of the city (Pilczyce district). It is the home stadium of the Śląsk Wrocław football team playing in the Polish PKO Ekstraklasa. The stadium has a capacity of 45,105 spectators, all seated and all covered. The Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw is the largest arena in Ekstraklasa and the third largest in the country (after National Stadium and Silesia Stadium). Stadium construction began in April 2009 and was completed in September 2011. Stadium opening took place at 10 September 2011 with boxing fight between Tomasz Adamek and Vitali Klitschko for WBC heavyweight title. First football match between Śląsk Wrocław and Lechia Gdańsk was played on 10 October 2011. Śląsk won this match 1–0 and Johan Voskamp was first goalscorer on the new stadium.

Municipal Stadium by night.
interior of the stadium.
Śląsk Wrocław – Wisła Kraków (11.25.2011)
The Municipal Stadium in Wrocław during the UEFA Euro 2012.