Śląsk Wrocław

Football club
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
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours
Current season
Active departments of Śląsk Wrocław
Basketball
(men's)
Football
(men's)
Handball
(men's)
AthleticsFootball
(women's)
Handball
(women's)
OrienteeringShootingSwimming
WeightliftingClassic
wrestling
Freestyle
wrestling
BoxingJudoTaekwondo

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.

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

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1975–76 UEFA Cup 1R Sweden GAIS 4–2 1–2 5–4
2R Belgium Royal Antwerp 1–1 2–1 3–2
3R England Liverpool 1–2 0–3 1–5
1976–77 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Malta Floriana 2–0 4–1 6–1
2R Republic of Ireland Bohemians 3–0 1–0 4–0
QF Italy Napoli 0–0 0–2 0–2
1977–78 European Cup 1R Bulgaria Levski-Spartak 2–2 0–3 2–5
1978–79 UEFA Cup 1R Cyprus Pezoporikos 5–1 2–2 7–3
2R Iceland ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar 2–1 2–0 4–1
3R Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 2–4 1–1 3–5
1980–81 UEFA Cup 1R Scotland Dundee United 0–0 2–7 2–7
1982–83 UEFA Cup 1R Soviet Union Dynamo Moscow 2–2 1–0 3–2
2R Switzerland Servette 0–2 1–5 1–7
1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Spain Real Sociedad 0–2 0–0 0–2
2011–12 UEFA Europa League 2Q Scotland Dundee United 1–0 2–3 3–3[nb 1]
3Q Bulgaria Lokomotiv Sofia 0–0 0–0 0–0[nb 2]
PO Romania Rapid București 1–3 1–1 2–4
2012–13 UEFA Champions League 2Q Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica 0–1 2–0 2–1
3Q Sweden Helsingborg 0–3 1–3 1–6
2012–13 UEFA Europa League PO Germany Hannover 96 3–5 1–5 4–10
2013–14 UEFA Europa League 2Q Montenegro Rudar Pljevlja 4–0 2–2 6–2
3Q Belgium Club Brugge 1–0 3–3 4–3
PO Spain Sevilla 0–5 1–4 1–9
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 1Q Slovenia NK Celje 3–1 1–0 4–1
2Q Sweden IFK Göteborg 0–0 0–2 0–2
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 1Q Estonia Paide Linnameeskond 2–0 2–1 4–1
2Q Armenia Ararat Yerevan 3–3 4–2 7–5
3Q Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2–1 0−4 2−5
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. Nation Player
2 DF Poland POL Aleksander Paluszek
4 DF Poland POL Łukasz Bejger
5 DF Bulgaria BUL Aleks Petkov
8 MF Denmark DEN Patrick Olsen
9 FW Spain ESP Erik Expósito (captain)
10 MF Spain ESP Matías Nahuel
11 FW Poland POL Patryk Klimala
12 GK Poland POL Rafał Leszczyński
13 DF Poland POL Krzysztof Kurowski
16 MF Slovakia SVK Peter Pokorný
17 MF Czech Republic CZE Petr Schwarz
19 DF Poland POL Patryk Janasik
20 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Alen Mustafić (on loan from OB)
21 FW Poland POL Patryk Szwedzik
22 MF Poland POL Mateusz Żukowski
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF Poland POL Daniel Łukasik
24 MF Poland POL Piotr Samiec-Talar
26 MF Turkey TUR Burak İnce
27 DF Poland POL Martin Konczkowski
28 MF Poland POL Michał Rzuchowski
30 GK Poland POL Bartosz Głogowski
32 DF Poland POL Mikołaj Tudruj
33 DF Ukraine UKR Yehor Matsenko
34 DF Poland POL Konrad Poprawa
35 GK Poland POL Kacper Trelowski (on loan from Raków Częstochowa)
36 MF Poland POL Miłosz Kurowski
39 GK Poland POL Mateusz Górski
78 DF Poland POL Tommaso Guercio
87 DF Bulgaria BUL Simeon Petrov (on loan from CSKA 1948)
90 FW Venezuela VEN Lewuis 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. Nation Player
3 DF England ENG Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (at Ross County until 30 June 2024)
6 DF Poland POL Szymon Lewkot (at Chrobry Głogów until 30 June 2024)
MF Poland POL Adrian Bukowski (at Stal Rzeszów until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Poland POL Łukasz Gerstenstein (at Stal Mielec until 30 June 2024)
GK Poland POL Oskar Mielcarz (at Wisła Puławy until 30 June 2024)

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries.

Poland
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Gabon
Georgia
Hungary
Iceland
Japan
Latvia
Macedonia
Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Zambia
Zimbabwe

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

  1. ^ Won on away goals.
  2. ^ Won 4–3 on penalties.

References

  1. ^ "Fakty i liczby". Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Historia Wroclawskiego Klubu" (in Polish). WKS Śląsk Wrocław Historia Klubu. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  3. ^ Kaczmarek, Michal; Dabrowski, Piotr (19 May 2011). "Poland – List of Champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  4. ^ Mogielnicki, Pawel (2 June 2010). "Poland – List of Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  5. ^ Di Maggio, Roberto (21 May 2009). "Poland – List of League Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  6. ^ Mogielnicki, Pawel (17 September 2010). "Poland – List of Super Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  7. ^ "TKWM Three Kings of Great Cities". October 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Pierwsza drużyna" (in Polish). Śląsk Wrocław. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Vitezslav Lavička odchodzi ze Śląska Wrocław" (in Polish). Śląsk Wrocław. 21 March 2021. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Jacek Magiera trenerem Śląska" (in Polish). 90minut. 22 March 2021. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  11. ^ "WKS Śląsk Wrocław Sekcja Piłki Nożnej Kobiet". slaskwroclaw.pl. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Śląsk Wrocław.
  • Official website
  • Śląsk Net (in Polish)
  • Wrocław Kibice Sport (in Polish)
  • ŚLĄSKopedia (in Polish)
  • About WKS Śląsk Wrocław
  • v
  • t
  • e
Śląsk Wrocław
Teams
  • Śląsk Wrocław (football)
  • Śląsk Wrocław II (football)
  • Śląsk Wrocław women (football)
  • Śląsk Wrocław (basketball)
  • Śląsk Wrocław (handball)
Football
  • Players
  • Managers
StadiaRivalries
  • Lower Silesian Derby
Club friendships
  • Lechia Gdańsk & Śląsk Wrocław friendship
Related articles
  • v
  • t
  • e
Śląsk Wrocław – current squad
  • v
  • t
  • e
Śląsk Wrocławmanagers
(c) = caretaker manager
  • v
  • t
  • e