Legia Warszawa

KP Legia Warszawa
Legia logo.png
Full name Klub Piłkarski Legia Warszawa SSA
Nickname(s) Wojskowi ("Military"),
Legioniści ("Legionnaires")
Founded March 1916,
as Drużyna Legjonowa
Ground Stadion Wojska Polskiego,
3 Łazienkowska Street, Warsaw
(Capacity: 27,000)
Chairman Poland Paweł Kosmala
(since 16 April 2010)
Manager Poland Maciej Skorża
(since 1 June 2010)
League Ekstraklasa
2009–10 Ekstraklasa 4th
Home colours
Away colours
Current season

Legia Warszawa (Polish pronunciation: [ˈlɛɡʲa varˈʂava]) is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. It was founded in March 1916 (during the military operations of the World War I on the eastern front) in the neighborhood of Maniewicze in Volhynia as the football club of the Polish Legions. After World War I (since 31 July 1922) it became the main football club of the Polish Army - Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Legia Warszawa (Military Sports Club Legia Warsaw). In the years 1949 - 1957 Legia was known by the name CWKS Warszawa (Central Military Sports Club Warsaw). Currently it is one of two Warsaw-based football club participating in the Polish Ekstraklasa (alongside Polonia Warsaw). Legia is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history winning a total of 9 league championships and a record 13 Polish Cups.

On 11 July 2007 Legia was expelled from the Intertoto Cup and put on probation for European competition for the following season, and for the following five seasons, if they qualified. This came as a result of some of their fans rioting during their match against the Lithuanian club FK Vėtra in Vilnius. The UEFA stated that there were ..."obvious problems with Legia supporters at away matches on the continent". [1] The decision to ban Legia for the future European cups was later changed to 5 years probation, and Legia participated in the qualification for the UEFA Cup 2008.[2]

Contents

History

Origins

In 1915 during World War I, some members of the Polish Legions decided to create a lasting Polish army club. This idea led to the creation of Legia Warsaw in March 1916. The club was formed almost entirely by soldiers from the Legion lead by Józef Piłsudski. Most of these players originated from southern Poland and from the areas no longer held by Poland. Many of these recruits played in Wisła, Cracovia, or Lwów. The team was originally known as "drużyna legionowa" (Legion Club in English). The first games were played in the area of Volhynian village of Maniewicze, against other legion teams. The first game played in Warsaw was in 1917 on Agrykola street against the team of Polonia Warsaw which ended in a 1:1 draw. The induction into the PZPN was officially recognized as 14 March 1920. In the Polish league it was officially recognized as WKS or Wojskowy Klub Sportowy (Army Sports Club is the direct translation). In 1921 after the War had ended Legia played its first game in the Polish second league against local rivals Korona Warszawa which they lost 0-3. Since its early history Legia played home games on the field on Agrykola street. The first field was located in the same spot as today's training field, which during the annexation was used to house the Russian Cavalry.

The first League

The first match played in the first league was played against ŁKS Łódź on 8 May 1927 which resulted in a 6:1 away win. During that game Marian Łańko was the first player to score a hat-trick for the club. During the 1927-1936 seasons Legia held usually sixth place. From 1930 Legia played in a new stadium, which was presented to them by Józef Piłsudski. After 1936 Legia was relegated to the second division, were it continued to be until after World War II .

After the war

After the World War II, Legia boosted its squad with many new players and at the end of 1949 the club changed its name again this time to Centralny Wojskowy Klub Sportowy (Central Army Sports Club). Eventually Kazimierz Górski joined the club and became a player for both the team and the Poland national team.

The 1970s

The 1970s were known as Poland's golden age of football. From the 1960s to the 1970s, Legia's roster included powerful football players such as Jan Tomaszewski, Kazimierz Deyna, and Robert Gadocha. In the European Cup 1969-70 Legia achieved a successful campaign by reaching the semi finals alongside Feyenoord, Leeds United, and Celtic. The following year, Legia reached the quarter finals where they lost to Atletico Madrid.

The 1980s

Though the club had many national team players including Kazimierski, Okoński, Dziekanowski, Janas, Majewski, Buncol, Kubicki, Wdowczyk and others, the club had problems winning any league titles. However, thanks to winning four Polish Cup the team was able to compete in European competitions.

One of the more memorable European runs was the near upset against Internazionale during the UEFA Cup 1985-86, after two 0-0 games Legia lost in extra time. The next season Legia were yet again drawn against Inter, this time winning at home 3-2 but losing away 1-0 thus losing on away goals.

Legia also won its first Polish SuperCup defeating Ruch Chorzów 3-0 in 1989.

Into the 1990s

The 1990s started just as the 80s had been, Legia struggled to take any League wins but made a name for themselves in European competition. One of the best European runs to date was the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1990–91 where Legia advanced all the way to the Semi-Finals only to lose to the champions Manchester United. Also, they're one of the 2 Polish teams to have played in the current format of UEFA Champions League, and the only Polish team which advanced to the Quarter-Finals in the UEFA Champions League 1995-96 season, advancing in the Group Stage over Rosenborg and Blackburn Rovers.

The club was co-owned by media mogul Jan Wejchert.[3]

Achievements

Domestic

Europe

Legia in Europe

Season Competition Round Club Score
1956–57 European Cup Q Czechoslovakia Slovan Bratislava 0-4, 2-0
1960–61 European Cup Q Denmark AGF Aarhus 0-3, 1-0
1964–65 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Austria ESV Admira-NÖ Energie Wien 3-1, 1-0
2R Turkey Galatasaray SK 2-1, 0-1, 1-0
1/4F Germany TSV 1860 München 0-4, 0-0
1966–67 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R East Germany BSG Chemie Leipzig 0-3, 2-2
1968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1R Germany TSV 1860 München 6-0, 3-2
2R Belgium KSV Waregem 0-1, 2-0
3R Hungary Újpest FC 0-1, 2-2
1969–70 European Cup 1R Romania UT Arad 2-1, 8-0
2R France AS Saint-Étienne 2-1, 1-0
1/4F Turkey Galatasaray SK 2-1, 1-0
SF Netherlands Feyenoord Rotterdam 0-0, 0-2
1970–71 European Cup 1R Sweden IFK Göteborg 4-0, 2-1
2R Belgium Standard Liege 0-1, 2-0
1/4F Spain Atlético Madrid 0-1, 2-1
1971–72 UEFA Cup 1R Switzerland FC Lugano 3-1, 0-0
2R Romania Rapid Bucharest 0-4, 2-0
1972–73 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Iceland Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur 2-0, 9-0
2R Italy AC Milan 1-1, 1-2
1973–74 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Greece PAOK FC 1-1, 0-1
1974–75 UEFA Cup 1R France FC Nantes Atlantique 2-2, 0-1
1980–81 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Bulgaria PFC Slavia Sofia 1-3, 1-0
1981–82 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Norway Vålerenga 2-2, 4-1
2R Switzerland Lausanne Sports 2-1, 1-1
3R Soviet Union FC Dinamo Tbilisi 0-1, 0-1
1985–86 UEFA Cup 1R Norway Viking FK 3-0, 1-1
2R Hungary Videoton FC Fehérvár 1-0, 1-1
3R Italy Internazionale 0-0, 0-1
1986–87 UEFA Cup 1R Soviet Union FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 0-0, 1-0
2R Italy Internazionale 3-2, 0-1
1988–89 UEFA Cup 1R Germany Bayern Munich 1-3, 3-7
1989–90 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Spain FC Barcelona 1-1, 1-0
1990–91 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Luxembourg FC Swift Hesperange 3-0, 3-0
2R Scotland Aberdeen FC 0-0, 1-0
1/4F Italy UC Sampdoria 1-0, 2-2
SF England Manchester United 1-3, 1-1
1994–95 UEFA Champions League Q Croatia Hajduk Split 0-1, 0-4
1995–96 UEFA Champions League Q Sweden IFK Göteborg 1-0, 2-1
GR Norway Rosenborg BK 3-1, 0-4
Russia FC Spartak Moscow 1-2, 0-1
England Blackburn Rovers 1-0, 0-0
1/4F Greece Panathinaikos FC 0-0, 0-3
1996–97 UEFA Cup 1Q Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 4-2, 3-0
2Q Finland FC Haka 3-0, 1-1
1R Greece Panathinaikos FC 4-2, 0-2
2R Turkey Beşiktaş J.K. 1-1, 1-2
1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Q Northern Ireland Glenavon FC 1-1, 0-4
1R Italy Vicenza Calcio 0-2, 1-1
1999–00 UEFA Cup Q Republic of Macedonia FK Vardar 5-0, 4-0
1R Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta FC 0-1, 2-0
2R Italy Udinese Calcio 0-1, 1-1
2001–02 UEFA Cup Q Luxembourg FC Etzella Ettelbruck 4-0, 2-1
1R Sweden IF Elfsborg 4-1, 6-1
2R Spain Valencia CF 1-1, 1-6
2002–03 UEFA Champions League 2Q Republic of Macedonia FK Vardar 3-1, 1-1
3Q Spain FC Barcelona 0-3, 0-1
UEFA Cup 1R Netherlands FC Utrecht 4-1, 3-1
2R Germany FC Schalke 04 2-3, 0-0
2004–05 UEFA Cup 2Q Georgia (country) FC Tbilisi 1-0, 6-0
1R Austria FK Austria Wien 0-1, 1-3
2005–06 UEFA Cup 2Q Switzerland FC Zürich 0-1, 1-4
2006–07 UEFA Champions League 2Q Iceland FH Hafnarfjörður 1-0, 2-0
3Q Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1, 2-3
UEFA Cup 1R Austria FK Austria Wien 1-1, 0-1
2007 Intertoto Cup 2R Lithuania FK Vėtra 0-3 (Awarded), (w/o)
2008–09 UEFA Cup 1Q Belarus FC Gomel 0-0, 4-1
2Q Russia FK Moscow 1-2, 0-2
2009–10 UEFA Europa League 2Q Georgia (country) Olimpi Rustavi 3-0, 1-0
3Q Denmark Brøndby IF 1-1, 2-2

Current squad

The numbers are established according to the official website: legia.com

As of August 14, 2010

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

No. Position Player
1 Croatia GK Marijan Antolović
2 Poland DF Artur Jędrzejczyk
4 Zimbabwe DF Dickson Choto
7 Poland MF Piotr Giza
8 Poland MF Maciej Iwański
9 Portugal MF Manú
11 Poland DF Tomasz Kiełbowicz
12 Ukraine GK Kostyantyn Makhnovskyi
15 Spain DF Iñaki Astiz
16 Poland MF Ariel Borysiuk
17 Poland DF Marcin Komorowski
18 Poland FW Michał Kucharczyk
19 Zimbabwe FW Takesure Chinyama
No. Position Player
20 Poland MF Sebastian Szałachowski
21 Croatia MF Ivica Vrdoljak
23 Serbia DF Srđa Knežević
24 Poland DF Jakub Wawrzyniak
25 Poland DF Jakub Rzeźniczak
26 Republic of Macedonia DF Panče Kumbev
27 Argentina MF Alejandro Cabral
30 Poland MF Michał Żyro
31 Poland MF Maciej Rybus
32 Serbia MF Miroslav Radović
80 Brazil FW Bruno Mezenga
90 Poland FW Maciej Górski

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player
–– Poland GK Wojciech Skaba (to Polonia Bytom)
–– Poland MF Kamil Majkowski (to Znicz Pruszków)

Reserve team

Sponsors

Notable players

  • Poland Henryk Apostel
  • Poland Jarosław Araszkiewicz
  • Poland Bernard Blaut
  • Poland Artur Boruc
  • Poland Lucjan Brychczy
  • Poland Andrzej Buncol
  • Poland Lesław Ćmikiewicz
  • Poland Kazimierz Deyna
  • Poland Dariusz Dziekanowski
  • Poland Robert Gadocha
  • Poland Jacek Gmoch
  • Poland Władysław Grotyński
  • Poland Paweł Janas
  • Poland Dawid Janczyk
  • Poland Marek Jóźwiak
  • Poland Jacek Kazimierski
  • Poland Henryk Kempny
  • Poland Roman Kosecki
  • Poland Wojciech Kowalczyk
  • Poland Wojciech Kowalewski
  • Poland Dariusz Kubicki
  • Poland Cezary Kucharski
  • Poland Piotr Włodarczyk
  • Poland Horst Mahseli
  • Poland Stefan Majewski
  • Poland Henryk Martyna
  • Poland Marcin Mięciel
  • Poland Piotr Mowlik
  • Poland Józef Nawrot
  • Poland Jan Pieszko
  • Poland Leszek Pisz
  • Poland Jerzy Podbrożny
  • Poland Ernest Pol
  • Poland Krzysztof Ratajczyk
  • Poland Zbigniew Robakiewicz
  • Poland Marek Saganowski
  • Poland Władysław Stachurski
  • Poland Marceli Strzykalski
  • Poland Grzegorz Szamotulski
  • Poland Maciej Szczęsny
  • Poland Edward Szymkowiak
  • Poland Antoni Trzaskowski
  • Poland Dariusz Wdowczyk
  • Poland Tomasz Wieszczycki
  • Poland Jacek Zieliński
  • Poland Janusz Żmijewski
  • Poland Brazil Roger Guerreiro
  • Serbia Stanko Svitlica
  • Serbia Aleksandar Vuković

Retired numbers

Coaches and managers

  • Jozef Ferenczi (1922-23)
  • Karl Fischer (1927)
  • Elemér Kovàcs (1928-29)
  • Poland Józef Kałuża (1930)
  • Stanisław Mielech (1933)
  • Gustav Wieser (1933-34)
  • Poland Karol Hanke (1936)
  • František Dembický (1947)
  • Edward Drabiński (1948)
  • Marian Schaller (1949)
  • Poland Wacław Kuchar (1949-53)
  • Janos Steiner (1954-55)
  • Poland Ryszard Koncewicz (1956-58)
  • Poland Kazimierz Górski (1959)
  • Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Stjepan Bobek (1959)
  • Poland Kazimierz Górski (1960-62)
  • Longin Janeczek (1962-63)
  • Virgil Popescu (1964-65)
  • Longin Janeczek (1965-66)
  • Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Vejvoda (1966-69)
 
  • Poland Edmund Zientara (1969-71)
  • Tadeusz Chruściński (1971-72)
  • Poland Lucjan Brychczy (1972-73)
  • Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Vejvoda (1973-75)
  • Poland Andrzej Strejlau (1975-79)
  • Poland Lucjan Brychczy (1979-80)
  • Ignacy Ordon (1980-81)
  • Poland Kazimierz Górski (1981-82)
  • Jerzy Kopa (1982-85)
  • Poland Jerzy Engel (1985-87)
  • Poland Lucjan Brychczy (1987)
  • Poland Andrzej Strejlau (1987-89)
  • Rudolf Kapera (1989-90)
  • Poland Lucjan Brychczy (1990)
  • Poland Władysław Stachurski (1990-91)
  • Krzysztof Etmanowicz (1991-92)
  • Poland Janusz Wójcik (1992-94)
  • Poland Paweł Janas (1994-96)
  • Mirosław Jabłoński (1996)
  • Poland Władysław Stachurski (1996-97)
 
  • Mirosław Jabłoński (1997-98)
  • Poland Stefan Białas & Jerzy Kopa (1998)
  • Jerzy Kopa (1998)
  • Poland Stefan Białas (1999)
  • Poland Dariusz Kubicki (1999)
  • Poland Franciszek Smuda (1999-01)
  • Poland Krzysztof Gawara (2001)
  • Serbia Dragomir Okuka (2001-03)
  • Poland Dariusz Kubicki (2003-04)
  • Poland Lucjan Brychczy, Krzysztof Gawara & Jacek Zieliński (2004)
  • Poland Jacek Zieliński (2004-05)
  • Poland Dariusz Wdowczyk (2005-07)
  • Poland Jacek Zieliński (2007)
  • Poland Jan Urban (2007-10)
  • Poland Stefan Białas (2010)
  • Poland Maciej Skorża (2010-)

Main rivals

Warsaw derby

The Warsaw derby is a match between Legia and Polonia Warsaw.

All matches
Matches Legia wins Draws Polonia wins
68 27 19 22

See also

References

  1. "Legia punished with UEFA ban". Uefa.com. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/intertotocup/news/kind=1/newsid=560167.html. Retrieved 2007-07-12. 
  2. http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=512/newsid=574658.html
  3. "Media mogul Jan Wejchert dies". Thenews.pl. 2009-10-31. http://www.thenews.pl/national/artykul119041.html. Retrieved 2009-11-08. 
  4. Legia won 1 place in league, but was accused of corrupion and championship was taken away by PZPN)

External links