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Lechia Gdańsk

Full name	Ośrodek Szkolenia Piłkarskiego Lechia Gdańsk
Nickname(s)	Biało-zieloni (White-green), Lechiści, Władcy Północy
Founded	1945
Ground	MOSiR, ul. Traugutta 29, Gdańsk, Poland (Capacity: 12,244)
Chairman	Maciej Turnowiecki
Manager	Tomasz Kafarski
League	Ekstraklasa
2009/2010	Ekstraklasa, 7st (after 12 rounds)
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Lechia Gdansk Supporters

Lechia Stadium

Lechia Gdańsk (Polish pronunciation: [ˈlɛxja ˈɡdaɲsk]) is a Polish football club based in Gdańsk, Poland. The club's name comes from Lechia, a poetic name for Poland. The club was founded by people expelled from Lwów, who were supporters of Lechia Lwów. Founded in 1945, Lechia was a powerhouse in Polish football during the mid-1950s. Next decades were lean, the team returned to form in early the 1980s, winning a Cup of Poland, a Super Cup, and playing in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, where it lost to Juventus Turin. In May 2008 the club was promoted again to the Polish top division.

[edit] Achievements

• Ekstraklasa:
  • 3rd Place:: 1956
• Polish Cup:
  • Winner:(1): 1983
  • Finalist:(1) 1955
• Polish SuperCup:
  • Winner:(1): 1983
• UEFA Cup Winners Cup:
  • 1st round: 1983-84

[edit] History

The club was founded in 1945 in Gdańsk named at the time "BOP Baltia Gdańsk". In 1946 the club name was changed to "Lechia". The first historic promotion to the Polish Ekstraklasa occurred in 1948.

• Debut Match in Ekstraklasa: March 20, 1949, Cracovia Kraków - Lechia Gdańsk 5:1
• 1st Win in Ekstraklasa: March 27, 1949, Lechia Gdańsk - Ruch Chorzów 5:3

After a season in the Polish Ekstraklasa, Lechia was relegated in 1949 to the Second Division. The club again changed its name to "Budowlani", advancing to the Polish Ekstraklasa in 1951 and being relegated again in 1953 for a season. In the 1956 season, Lechia finished 3rd in the Polish Ekstraklasa, which is the greatest achievement in the club's history so far. Lechia was relegated for the third time after the 1962-1963 season of the Polish Ekstraklasa, and then was relegatged from the Second Division in the 1966-1967 season. They returned to the Second Division in the 1972-1973 season, but was short lived as they were relegated after the 1981-1982 season.

In spite of that the 1980s have been regarded as the rebirth of the club. Lechia was promoted to the Polish 2nd Division in the 1982-1983 season. In 1983 the club achieved his biggest successes so far: first by winning the Polish Cup with a 2-1 victory over Piast Gliwice in the final and later by winning the Polish Supercup. In 1984 Lechia finally managed to get promoted to Ekstraklasa after 21 years of absence. The club played in the top league 4 years but in 1988 suffered a decline in form which resulted in another relegation to second division. At the end of the 2007/08 season Lechia managed to get promoted to extraklasa again.

On 28 January 2009 the members of OSP Lechia Gdańsk signed a document that formed the new Lechia Gdańsk S.A.

Road to the Ekstraklasa

[edit] Historic Club Names

• 1945: Baltia Gdańsk
• 1946: Klub Sportowy Lechia Gdańsk
• 1950: Budowlani Gdańsk
• 1955: Budowlany Klub Sportowy Lechia Gdańsk
• 1992: FC Lechia (S.A.)
• 1995: Lechia/Olimpia Gdańsk
• 1996: Klub Sportowy Lechia Gdańsk
• 1998: Lechia/Polonia Gdańsk
• 2001: Ośrodek Szkolenia Piłkarskiego Lechia Gdańsk
• 2009: Lechia Gdańsk (S.A.)

[edit] Managers

[edit] The Fans

In the 1980s many of the club's fans were active in the Solidarity movement which was fighting the communist regime in Poland. It is therefore not unusual to see anticommunist slogans or phrases like "we make history" on the stands. The leader of the movement, Lech Wałęsa is a supporter of the club together with other prominent figures in polish politics such as Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The archrivals are Arka Gdynia which come from the same region, the Tricity, Poland. Lechia's fans have an alliance with Wisła Kraków and Śląsk Wrocław fans.

[edit] Baltic Arena

The city of Gdańsk will host the UEFA Euro 2012 and is consequently preparing itself to build a new modern arena. It will be called the Baltic Arena and will have the capacity for about 44,000 people. After the event the stadium will belong to Lechia Gdańsk.

[edit] Current squad

As of September 8, 2009.

No. Position Player 1 GK Paweł Kapsa 2 DF Boris Radovanović 3 DF Arkadiusz Mysona 4 DF Sergejs Kožans 5 DF Krzysztof Bąk 6 MF Karol Piątek 7 DF Jacek Manuszewski 8 MF Łukasz Surma 9 MF Maciej Rogalski 10 FW Andrzej Rybski 11 FW Ivans Lukjanovs 12 GK Sebastian Małkowski 13 MF Piotr Kasperkiewicz 14 FW Piotr Wiśniewski

No. Position Player 15 FW Piotr Trafasrki 18 FW Jakub Zabłocki 19 DF Peter Čvirik 20 FW Paweł Buzała 21 DF Hubert Wołąkiewicz 22 MF Paweł Nowak 23 MF Marko Bajić 24 GK Mateusz Bąk 25 DF Jakub Kawa 26 MF Damian Szuprytowski 27 FW Robert Hirsz 28 FW Maciej Kowalczyk 29 MF Marcin Kaczmarek

[edit] Lechia in Europe

Season	Competition	Round		Club	Score
1983/84	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R		Juventus Turin	0-7, 2-3

[edit] See also

• Football in Poland
• List of football teams
• Champions' Cup/League
• UEFA Cup

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: BKS Lechia Gdańsk

• Official website (in Polish)
• Fan's website
• Fan's website (in Polish)

Coordinates: 54°22′4.59″N 18°37′15.79″E / 54.3679417°N 18.6210528°E / 54.3679417; 18.6210528