Śląsk Wrocław

Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as Śląsk Wrocław (Polish pronunciation: [ɕlɔ̃zɡ ˈvrɔt͡swaf]) 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 Super Cup twice and the Ekstraklasa Cup once. The club's home is Wrocław Stadium, a 42,771 capacity stadium in Wrocław which was one of the host venues during UEFA Euro 2012. The club previously played at Olympic Stadium and Stadion Oporowska.

Śląsk Wrocław
Full nameWrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna
Nickname(s)WKS, Wojskowi (Military)
Founded1947; 77 years ago (1947)
GroundTarczyński Arena Wrocław
Capacity42,771[1]
OwnerWrocław
ChairmanPatryk Załęczny
ManagerJacek Magiera
LeagueEkstraklasa
2022–23Ekstraklasa, 15th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season

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.

In 2024 club reached Viziris Cup final to become first Polish club to reach final in Opsis football system

Honours

Ekstraklasa Cup

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 2003

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. The Śląsk supporters call themselves Nobles from Wrocław (Polish: Szlachta z Wrocławia). Notable Śląsk fans include: Waldemar Kasta, a rapper that also created fan songs for Śląsk, Hubert Hurkacz, a Polish tennis player, Grzegorz Schetyna, a politician that also formerly owned the basketball division of Śląsk, and members of the Neo-Nówka comedy club.

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 capital of Lower Silesia) and Zagłębie representing Lubin, a traditionally industrial and coalmining city. Both teams have won the Ekstraklasa twice, Śląsk in 1977 & 2012, and Zagłębie in 1991 & 2007. They also hold a big rivalry with Legia Warsaw, due to both clubs having military roots. There also is a rivalry with Widzew Łódź, traditionally only due to competitive reasons, however, after the murder of a 17 year old Śląsk fan by a group of Widzew hooligans in Walichnowy, the rivalry became more heated than ever, and it still holds this status.

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.

Stadium

The Wrocław Stadium 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 42,771 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. The inaugural football match was held on 10 October 2011, between Śląsk Wrocław and Lechia Gdańsk. Śląsk won 1–0, with Johan Voskamp becoming the first goalscorer on the new stadium.

Śląsk Wrocław in European football

Śląsk Wrocław in European football
ClubŚląsk Wrocław
First entry1975–76 UEFA Cup
Latest entry2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
The team bus in 2011
The team bus in season 2012–2013

Śląsk Wrocław's score is shown first in each case

SeasonCompetitionRoundOpponentHomeAwayAggregate
1975–76UEFA Cup1R GAIS4–21–25–4
2R Royal Antwerp1–12–13–2
3R Liverpool1–20–31–5
1976–77European Cup Winners' Cup1R Floriana2–04–16–1
2R Bohemians3–01–04–0
QF Napoli0–00–20–2
1977–78European Cup1R Levski-Spartak2–20–32–5
1978–79UEFA Cup1R Pezoporikos5–12–27–3
2R ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar2–12–04–1
3R Borussia Mönchengladbach2–41–13–5
1980–81UEFA Cup1R Dundee United0–02–72–7
1982–83UEFA Cup1R Dynamo Moscow2–21–03–2
2R Servette0–21–51–7
1987–88European Cup Winners' Cup1R Real Sociedad0–20–00–2
2011–12UEFA Europa League2Q Dundee United1–02–33–3[nb 1]
3Q Lokomotiv Sofia0–00–00–0[nb 2]
PO Rapid București1–31–12–4
2012–13UEFA Champions League2Q Budućnost Podgorica0–12–02–1
3Q Helsingborg0–31–31–6
2012–13UEFA Europa LeaguePO Hannover 963–51–54–10
2013–14UEFA Europa League2Q Rudar Pljevlja4–02–26–2
3Q Club Brugge1–03–34–3
PO Sevilla0–51–41–9
2015–16UEFA Europa League1Q NK Celje3–11–04–1
2Q IFK Göteborg0–00–20–2
2021–22UEFA Europa Conference League1Q Paide Linnameeskond2–02–14–1
2Q Ararat Yerevan3–34–27–5
3Q Hapoel Be'er Sheva2–10−42−5
Notes
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round
  • 1R: First round
  • 2R: Second round
  • 3R: Third round
  • QF: Quarter-finals

Current squad

As of 6 March 2024[8]

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

No.Pos. NationPlayer
23MF  POLDaniel Łukasik
24MF  POLPiotr Samiec-Talar
26MF  TURBurak İnce
27DF  POLMartin Konczkowski
28MF  POLMichał Rzuchowski
30GK  POLBartosz Głogowski
32DF  POLMikołaj Tudruj
33DF  UKRYehor Matsenko
34DF  POLKonrad Poprawa
35GK  POLKacper Trelowski (on loan from Raków Częstochowa)
36MF  POLMiłosz Kurowski
39GK  POLMateusz Górski
78DF  POLTommaso Guercio
87DF  BULSimeon Petrov (on loan from CSKA 1948)
90FW  VENLewuis Peña

Out on loan

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

No.Pos. NationPlayer
MF  POLŁukasz Gerstenstein (at Stal Mielec until 30 June 2024)
GK  POLOskar Mielcarz (at Wisła Puławy until 30 June 2024)

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries.

Managers

Śląsk Wrocław (women)

The Śląsk Wrocław's women's team was formed in 2020, taking the place of KŚ AZS Wrocław in the Ekstraliga.[11]

See also

Footnotes

References

External links