| Full name | Klub Sportowy Polonia Warszawa | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Czarne koszule (Black Shirts) | ||
| Founded | 1911 | ||
| Ground | Stadion Polonii, Warsaw, Poland (Capacity: 6,800[1]) |
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| Chairman | Józef Wojciechowski | ||
| Manager | Jacek Zieliński | ||
| League | Ekstraklasa | ||
| 2010–11 | 7th | ||
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Polonia Warsaw (Polish: Polonia Warszawa Polish pronunciation: [pɔˈlɔɲja varˈʂava]) is a Polish sports club with football and basketball teams, founded in 1911, and is the oldest such club in Warsaw, where it is based.
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Polonia Warsaw was formed in the autumn of 1911 as a union of two school teams. The founder of the club was captain Wacław Denhoff-Czarnocki, who also came up with the name of the club. Polonia is Latin for "Poland" and is often used by Polish ex-patriates in reference to their communities in other countries. The choice of such a name was a brave decision at the time, since Poland was not an independent country, and Warsaw was a part of Russian partition.
Initially the players played in black-and-white striped shirts, but in the spring of 1912, they switched to their now traditional design of all black shirts. The legendary patriotic explanation for this color scheme was that it was a sign of mourning for the occupied and divided motherland of Poland. This lasting devotion to tradition resulted in the club's popular name: The Black Shirts. The uniform's white shorts and red socks come from the colors of the Polish flag.
The club's first match on 19 November 1911 was against a strong local rival, Korona, and ended 3–4 in favor of Korona. Two years later, in February 1913, The Black Shirts defeated Korona 4–0.
The first match between Polonia and Legia Warsaw was played on 29 April 1917, ending in a 1:1 draw. It was the first historic "Great Derby of Warsaw" – the clash of these two rival teams. A month later, there was a second match between the teams, ending with the same score.
Hatred divided their supporters early in the clubs' history and continues to this day, driving strong emotions during the matches and sometimes even greater emotions between matches.
In 1921, the Black Shirts came second in the first ever season of the Polish football championship. In 1926 they also finished the season as joint-champions. Polonia was Warsaw's favorite club – the great majority of the city's inhabitants were devoted Black Shirt supporters. In late 1930s, Polonia became one of powerhouses of Polish football, with players, such as Jerzy Bulanow, Wladyslaw Szczepaniak, Erwin Nyc and Henryk Jaznicki capping for the national team. The friendship between Polonia and Cracovia – the prewar Polish football legend and the first ever champions of Poland (1921) – dates back to those days.
In 1946, Polonia finally won the Polish Championship title. It was symbolic among the ruins of the bombed and burned capital. The final match was played on "Wojska Polskiego"(the Polish Army's – Legia's – ground) Stadium on Lazienkowska Street, because Polonia's stadium on 6 Konwiktorska Street (which lay close to the Jewish ghetto area) had been ruined during the war. The Black Shirts defeated AKS Chorzów in the final.
In 1952, Polonia Warsaw won their first Polish Cup. In the final, Polonia managed to outscore local rivals Legia Warsaw 1-0, much to the delight of Warsaw's fans, who mainly supported the Black Shirts.
During the Stalinist period, Polonia's name and colors were changed – Warsaw's oldest club was renamed Kolejarz (which means "Railroad worker"), as the team was now tied to the Polish National Railroad company. The Black Shirts were banned, as the Stalinist regime was trying to erase everything which was associated with Warsaw from before the war. Every Polish football club got a 'sponsor', such as the army, militia or mining industry. Unfortunately, at the time, the railroad was one of the poorest sponsors, even choosing another club, (Lech Poznań) as the main club they were investing in. Polonia's management also struggled to face the problems that the club came across, which contributed to its eventual relegation to the Polish second division.
Fifteen years later, there were still thousands of fans on Konwiktorska Street. Nobody even thought it would take 40 years for Polonia to come back to top flight football.
In the 1992–93 season, after 40 years playing in the lower leagues, Polonia Warsaw was finally promoted to the first division. The organization of the club was insufficient to compete with the strongest clubs in Polish football - the biggest problems being lack of money and a sound training base. After one season, the team was relegated yet again, but only for a year as in the 1995–96 seaso,n Polonia Warszawa won promotion again. In 1996, Janusz Romanowski took over as chairman of Polonia, having just backed out from sponsoring local rivals Legia Warszawa. In 1998 "The Black Shirts" finished runner-up in the top flight and in 1999 reached the semi-finals of the Intertoto Cup.
In the 1999/2000 season, Polonia were not considered challengers for the title. At the end of the autumn round, the Black Shirts were for the first time in club's history leading the league. That team had two managers – Jerzy Engel (who later became the coach of the Polish national team, which qualified for the World Cup 2002) and Dariusz Wdowczyk (former Polish international). During the winter break, Polonia signed two talented players in Tomasz Wieszczycki and Tomasz Kielbowicz. In the spring round, the Black Shirts lost only two games and drew one.
| Club Achievements | |
|---|---|
| Domestic | Years |
| League | |
| Champions (2) | 1946, 2000 |
| Runner-up (3) | 1921, 1926, 1998 |
| Polish Cup | |
| Winner (2) | 1952, 2001 |
| Polish SuperCup | |
| Winner (1) | 2000 |
| Polish League Cup | |
| Winner (1) | 2000 |
| Europe | Years |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | |
| Semi-Finalist (1) | 1999 |
Polonia won the Polish Championship after thrashing Legia Warszawa at Wojska Polskiego Stadium 3:0. Prior to that, the team also won a League Cup yet again beating Legia Warszawa away 2:1. In July, they confirmed their place as the best that year, by winning the Super Cup in a match against Polish Cup winners Amica Wronki by a score of 4:2.
In the Champions League qualifiers, the Black Shirts won in the 2nd qualification round against Dinamo Bucureşti (4:3, 3:1 aggregate), just to lose at the hands of Panathinaikos Athens (2:2,1:2) in the final qualification round. Despite losing the battle for Champions League, Polonia Warszawa started in 1t round of the UEFA Cup where they lost to Udinese Calcio twice 0:1 and 0:2.
In 2000/2001, the Black Shirts lost their form, playing poorly in the 1st division, yet still managing to win The Polish Cup. During the next few years, Polonia managed to stay in the top division, however finishing mainly in the bottom part of the table. During this time, the club was owned and sponsored by a long time supporter, Jan Raniecki, a car parts company entrepreneur. Unfortunately, Raniecki died after a heart attack on 1 March 2006. His family, who inherited the club, were not interested in running and sponsoring Polonia, so the search for a new owner began.
In March 2006, the club was bought out by a new owner, Józef Wojciechowski, the owner of JW Construction, the biggest housing development company in Poland. The club budget was strengthened and at first it seemed, that Polonia would quickly become one of the main forces in Polish football yet again. However, the club was relegated to the 2nd division after ending in last place in 2005/2006.
In 2006/2007 Polonia struggled to get promoted to the 1st division again, coming close but ultimately failing, finishing in seventh place. There were reports in the newspapers since, that some of older players in the squad were not interested in promotion, as they, likely, would have lost the place in the team had Polonia gone up.
In July 2008, Polonia Warsaw merged with Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolski (3rd in the Ekstraklasa in 2007/08) and took over its place in the Polish top division. Most of Dyskobolia's players moved to Warsaw to form the core of Polonia's new team. Several players from Polonia's old squad stayed in the club too. The team managed to finish 4th at the end of the 2008/2009 season, and subsequently reached the 3rd qualification round of the Europa League.
In 2009/2010, after several changes in managerial positions, and with the team performing below expectations (15th place - mid-season), the club chairman Józef Wojciechowski decided to employ the former FC Barcelona captain José Mari Bakero as manager. While the team was last in the league at that point, Bakero managed to save the season by avoiding relegation and winning against the local rivals Legia Warszawa for the first time in 10 years. It was also Polonia's first win against its bitter rivals at home in 60 years sending supporters into the summer break ecstatic.
For the 100th anniversary of Polonia Warszawa's (season 2010/11), its owner Józef Wojciechowski strengthened the squad significantly, by signing 6 new players – including Euzebiusz Smolarek and Artur Sobiech - raising the expectations and hopes of fans for the new season dramatically.
Things got off to a good start with 3 wins (including a 3:0 trashing of Legia Warsaw) and a draw from 4 matches and first place in the standings. However, the press was reporting difficulties with the relationship between the team owner and the coach. After suffering the first defeat of the season to Korona Kielce at home, Józef Wojciechowski and Jose Bakero parted company - against the supporters' wishes. The former Polish national team manager Paweł Janas, already working at the club as football director, was installed as a replacement for the Spaniard, signing a 2 year contract.
It all went from bad to worse for Polonia from that point on. A string of unconvincing performances from the team, left Polonia in 8th place, 10 points from the top of the table after the 1st round. On 6 January 2011, Dutch national Theo Bos was confirmed as the new manager of the club. However he lasted only 5 matches in charge as he was dismissed after losing in the Polish Cup and scoring only 1 point in 3 games in the league, leaving the club only 3 points above the relegation zone. Assistant coach Piotr Stokowiec has been promoted to the head role, but as his predecessors he also did not last long - just one deafeat against Widzew Lodz. Tarnobrzeg born Jacek Zielinski, who has been sacked from Polonia Warsaw back in 2009 by Jozef Wojciechowski, has been appointed as a new head coach. Polonia won 5 out of 7 matches under Zielinski saving itself from relegation and finally took 7th place in 2010–11 Ekstraklasa. On the 11th of october 2011 Polish footballing legend Włodzimierz Lubański was appointed as vice-chairman/sports director to relieve Józef Wojciechowski of his duties, and to secure continuity to Polonia's future. In the 2012 FC Polonia team will play Lithuania's young rising football star Germanas Plenkovskis. Player of the Lithuanian National Team U-21 representative and club Žalgiris VMFD a top striker for 2008-2010. Player was five times the best Lithuanian footballer according to the Polish daily sports athlete had a value of 15.000EUR
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Intertoto Cup | GR | AaB | 0–2 | |
| Dinamo Minsk | 1–4 | ||||
| Heerenveen | 0–0 | ||||
| Duisburg | 0–0 | ||||
| 1998–99 | UEFA Cup | 1Q | Tallinna Sadam | 2–0, 3–1 | |
| 2Q | Dynamo Moscow | 0–1, 0–1 | |||
| 1999 | Intertoto Cup | 1R | Tiligul Tiraspol | 4–0, 0–0 | |
| 2R | Copenhagen | 1-1, 3-0 | |||
| 3R | Vasas | 2–0, 2–1 | |||
| 1/2F | Metz | 1–5, 1–1 | |||
| 2000–01 | UEFA Champions League | 2Q | Dinamo Bucureşti | 4–3, 3–1 | |
| 3Q | Panathinaikos | 2–2, 1–2 | |||
| UEFA Cup | 1R | Udinese | 0–1, 0–2 | ||
| 2001–02 | UEFA Cup | Q | The New Saints | 4–0, 2–0 | |
| 1R | Twente | 1–2, 0–2 | |||
| 2002–03 | UEFA Cup | Q | Sliema Wanderers | 3–1, 2–0 | |
| 1R | Porto | 0–6, 2–0 | |||
| 2003 | Intertoto Cup | 1R | Tobol Kostanay | 0–3, 1–2 | |
| 2009–10 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q | Budućnost Podgorica | 2–0, 0–1 | |
| 2Q | Juvenes/Dogana | 1–0, 4–0 | |||
| 3Q | NAC Breda | 0–1, 1–3 |
The Warsaw derby is a match between Legia Warsaw and Polonia.
| All matches | |||
| Matches | Legia wins | Draws | Polonia wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | 28 | 19 | 28 |
The average attendance at Polonia's matches is around 3,800. The main rival is the local team Legia Warsaw.
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