Górnik Zabrze

Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Górnik Zabrze S.A. or simply 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 second-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.

This article is about the association football club. For handball club, see Górnik Zabrze (handball).
Górnik Zabrze
Full nameGórnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna[1]
Nickname(s)Trójkolorowi (Tri-Colour),
Górnicy (The Miners)
Founded14 December 1948 (1948-12-14)
GroundArena Zabrze
Capacity24,563
ChairmanAdam Matysek
ManagerJan Urban
LeagueEkstraklasa
2022–23Ekstraklasa, 6th of 18
WebsiteClub website

The club plays in a white or dark blue-red kit, and is based at the Arena Zabrze. Their main local rival is Ruch Chorzów.[2]

History

First years

The club was founded in 1948 after several smaller sports associations – KS Zjednoczenie, KS Pogoń, KS Skra, and KS Concordia – were 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 sixth 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 Stanisław Oślizło and Hubert Kostka. In 1961 Górnik for the first time appeared in European Cups, losing in the first round to Tottenham Hotspur.

Golden years
Ticket to a match against Manchester City in the 1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup

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), Górnik 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.

Arena Zabrze

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 Górnik'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 second 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. Since then, Górnik has promoted a number of players to the Poland national team and transferred several players to stronger leagues, including Arkadiusz Milik, Łukasz Skorupski, Szymon Żurkowski and Paweł Bochniewicz.

Honours
History of Górnik Zabrze classifications in the Ekstraklasa

Górnik in Europe
Season Competition Round Club Score
1961–62 European Cup Q England Tottenham Hotspur 4–2, 1–8
1963–64 European Cup Q Austria Austria Wien 1–0, 0–1, 2–1
1R Czechoslovakia Dukla Prague 2–0, 1–4
1964–65 European Cup Q Czechoslovakia Dukla Prague 1–4, 3–0, 0–0
1965–66 European Cup Q Austria LASK Linz 3–1, 2–1
1R Czechoslovakia Sparta Prague 0–3, 1–0
1966–67 European Cup 1R East Germany Vorwärts Berlin 2–1, 1–2, 3–1
2R Bulgaria CSKA Sofia 0–4, 3–0
1967–68 European Cup 1R Sweden Djurgårdens IF 3–0, 1–0
2R Soviet Union Dynamo Kyiv 2–1, 1–1
1/4F England Manchester United 0–2, 1–0
1968–69 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Soviet Union Dynamo Moscow withdrawal
1969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Greece Olympiacos 2–2, 5–0
2R Scotland Rangers 3–1, 3–1
1/4F Bulgaria Levski-Spartak 2–3, 2–1
1/2F Italy Roma 1–1, 2–2, 1–1
F England Manchester City 1–2
1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Denmark Aalborg BK 1–0, 8–1
2R Turkey Göztepe 1–0, 3–0
1/4F England Manchester City 2–0, 0–2, 1–3
1971–72 European Cup 1R France Marseille 1–2, 1–1
1972–73 European Cup 1R Malta Sliema Wanderers 5–0, 5–0
2R Soviet Union Dynamo Kyiv 0–2, 2–1
1974–75 UEFA Cup 1R Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Partizan 2–2, 0–3
1977–78 UEFA Cup 1R Finland Haka 5–3, 0–0
2R England Aston Villa 0–2, 1–1
1985–86 European Cup 1R Germany Bayern Munich 1–2, 1–4
1986–87 European Cup 1R Belgium Anderlecht 0–2, 1–1
1987–88 European Cup 1R Greece Olympiacos 1–1, 2–1
2R Scotland Rangers 1–3, 1–1
1988–89 European Cup 1R Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 3–0, 4–1
2R Spain Real Madrid 0–1, 2–3
1989–90 UEFA Cup 1R Italy Juventus 0–1, 2–4
1991–92 UEFA Cup 1R Germany Hamburger SV 1–1, 0–3
1994–95 UEFA Cup Q Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers 7–0, 1–0
1R Austria Admira Wacker Mödling 2–5, 1–1
1995 Intertoto Cup GR Denmark AGF 1–4
Switzerland Basel 1–2
England Sheffield Wednesday 2–3
Germany Karlsruher SC 1–6
2018–19 UEFA Europa League 1Q Moldova Zaria Bălți 1–0, 1–1
2Q Slovakia Trenčín 0–1, 1−4

Best results in European competitions
Season Achievement Notes
European Cup / UEFA Champions League
1968 Quarter-Final lost to England Manchester United 0–2 in Manchester, 1–0 in Chorzów
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
1970 Final lost to England Manchester City 1–2 in Vienna
1971 Quarter-Final lost to England Manchester City 2–0 in Chorzów, 0–2 in Manchester, 1–3 in Copenhagen

Current squad
As of 15 September 2023.[3]

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 Daniel Bielica
2 DF Slovakia SVK Boris Sekulić
5 DF Poland POL Kryspin Szcześniak
6 MF Poland POL Damian Rasak
7 FW Slovakia SVK Adrián Kaprálik (on loan from Žilina)
8 MF Spain ESP Dani Pacheco
9 FW Poland POL Sebastian Musiolik
10 FW Germany GER Lukas Podolski
11 MF Germany GER Lawrence Ennali
13 DF Greece GRE Konstantinos Triantafyllopoulos
14 MF Poland POL Jakub Pochcioł
16 DF Poland POL Paweł Olkowski
17 MF Poland POL Kamil Lukoszek
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Japan JPN Daisuke Yokota
20 FW Poland POL Mateusz Chmarek
21 FW Poland POL Piotr Krawczyk
23 MF Portugal POR Filipe Nascimento
24 MF Poland POL Krzysztof Kolanko
25 DF Slovakia SVK Michal Sipľak
26 DF Poland POL Rafał Janicki
27 DF Poland POL Dominik Szala
29 DF Poland POL Kacper Capiga
32 GK Poland POL Michał Szromnik
55 MF Poland POL Szymon Czyż (on loan from Raków Częstochowa)
64 DF Slovenia SVN Erik Janža (captain)
96 DF Poland POL Robert Dadok

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. Nation Player
15 MF Poland POL Norbert Wojtuszek (at GKS Tychy until 30 June 2024)
28 FW Poland POL Jan Ciućka (at Skra Częstochowa until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
30 MF Poland POL Nikodem Zielonka (at Zagłębie Sosnowiec until 30 June 2024)

Notable former players

Managers

Supporters and rivalries
Górnik Zabrze supporters during the Great Silesian Derby

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)[4] 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,[5] with most league games being sold-out.[6]

Górnik holds a long-standing rivalry with Upper Silesian side Ruch Chorzów, known as the Great Silesian Derby. Other main rivals are Piast Gliwice, Polonia Bytom, Legia Warsaw and Zagłębie Sosnowiec.

Torcida Zabrze is named after the ultras of Torcida Split, with whom they have friendly relations; together they are called United Torcida. They have also friendly relations with fans of ROW Rybnik, Wisłoka Dębica, and GKS Katowice; the latter in past used to be a rival. Fans of Concordia Knurów, Naprzód Rydłutowy, Slavia Ruda Śląska and Czarni Pyskowice are also Górnik fan-clubs.

References
  1. "KRS 0000106227 GÓRNIK ZABRZE SPORTOWA S A, NIP 6481278811, REGON 273128033". Krs-online.com.pl. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  2. Willis, Craig; Hughes, Will; Bober, Sergiusz. "ECMI Minorities Blog. National and Linguistic Minorities in the Context of Professional Football across Europe: Five Examples from Non-kin State Situations". ECMI. ECMI. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  3. "Pierwsza drużyna" (in Polish). Górnik Zabrze. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  4. "EFS Attendances". www.european-football-statistics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  5. Kusina, Maciej. "90minut.pl". img.90minut.pl. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  6. "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.
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