Górnik Zabrze facts for kids
Górnik Zabrze is a famous Polish football club. It comes from the city of Zabrze. It's one of the most successful football clubs in Poland. They have won many Polish Championship titles. They share the second-highest number of titles with Ruch Chorzów.
Górnik Zabrze was very strong in the 1960s and 1980s. The club holds records for winning the most Polish Championship titles in a row (5 times). They also won the Polish Cup 5 times in a row. In 1970, they even reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup.
The team currently plays in the Ekstraklasa. This is the top football league in Poland. Their home stadium is the Arena Zabrze. They usually play in white or dark blue-red uniforms. Their main local rival is Ruch Chorzów.
History
How Górnik Zabrze Started
The club began in 1948. Several smaller sports groups joined together. These groups were KS Zjednoczenie, KS Pogoń, KS Skra, and KS Concordia. They decided to call their new club "Górnik". This Polish word means "Miner". It showed that Zabrze was an important city for coal mining.
In 1950, Górnik joined a regional league. By 1952, the club moved up to the Polish Second Division. Their first game in this league was against Skra Częstochowa. About 20,000 fans watched Górnik win 5–1. The team did very well that season. They finished second, just behind Górnik Wałbrzych.
The club then moved up to the top league in 1955. In their first game there, Górnik beat their local rivals Ruch Chorzów 3–1. About 25,000 people came to watch. Górnik finished that season in sixth place.
First Big Wins
Just one year after joining the top league, Górnik won its first Polish championship in 1957. The team had a star player named Ernest Pohl. They finished third in 1958. Then, they won the championship again in 1959 and 1961. Other great players like Stanisław Oślizło and Hubert Kostka were part of the team. In 1961, Górnik played in European Cups for the first time. They lost in the first round to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Golden Years
Górnik won another championship in 1963. This started an amazing run of five championships in a row. They won in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1967. This is still a record in Polish football.
Górnik's biggest success in European football happened in 1970. Even though they were second in Poland that year, they did great in Europe. In the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, Górnik beat teams like Olympiacos, Rangers, Levski Sofia, and AS Roma. They reached the final, which was played in Vienna. In the final, Manchester City won 2–1. The next season, Górnik played Manchester City again. This time, it was in the quarter-finals.
Challenges and Comebacks
In the mid-1970s, Górnik's performance dropped. In 1978, the team was moved down to the Second Division. But they came back quickly, after just one year. In the 1979–80 season, they finished sixth. In 1984, Górnik bought many talented players. These included Ryszard Komornicki and Waldemar Matysik. The team finished fourth, which showed better times were ahead.
More Success and Recent Times
Between 1985 and 1988, Górnik had another amazing run. They won four championships in a row. During this time, Górnik also played against famous European teams. These included Bayern Munich, Anderlecht, Hamburger SV, Juventus, and Real Madrid.
In 1994, Górnik was close to winning the title again. They had players like Jerzy Brzęczek and Tomasz Wałdoch. Before the last game, Legia Warsaw had 47 points and Górnik had 45. The two teams played each other in Warsaw. Górnik still had a chance to win the title. But the game ended in a 1–1 tie. This gave Legia the championship.
In the same year, Górnik played its last European Cup game for a while. They lost to Admira Wacker Vienna.
In 2007, a German insurance company, Allianz, became Górnik's new sponsor. However, in 2009, the club was moved down to the Polish First League. This is the second level of Polish football. But in June 2010, Górnik earned promotion back to the Ekstraklasa. Since then, Górnik has helped many players join the Polish national team. They have also transferred players to stronger leagues. Some of these players include Arkadiusz Milik and Szymon Żurkowski.
Honours
League Titles
- Ekstraklasa
- Champions: 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88
- Runners-up: 1962, 1968–69, 1973–74, 1990–91
Cup Titles
- Polish Cup
- Winners: 1964–65, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72
- Runners-up: 1955–56, 1956–57, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1985–86, 1991–92, 2000–01
- Polish League Cup
- Winners: 1978
- Polish Super Cup
- Winners: 1988
European Achievements
- European Cup
- Quarter-finalists: 1967–68
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
- Runners-up: 1969–70
Youth Team Success
- Polish U-19 Championship
- Champions: 1967, 1989
- Runners-up: 1985, 2001, 2011
- Third place: 2015
- Polish U-17 Championship
- Champions: 1992, 1996, 2023
- Runners-up: 2014
Górnik's Best European Results
Season | Achievement | Notes | |
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European Cup / UEFA Champions League | |||
1968 | Quarter-Final | lost to ![]() |
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UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | |||
1970 | Final | lost to ![]() |
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1971 | Quarter-Final | lost to ![]() |
Players
Current Squad
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Players on Loan
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Famous Former Players
Jan Banaś
Marek Bęben
Paweł Bochniewicz
Piotr Brożek
Jerzy Brzęczek
Ryszard Cyroń
Jerzy Gorgoń
Tomasz Hajto
Andrzej Iwan
Piotr Jegor
Ireneusz Jeleń
Damian Kądzior
Ryszard Komornicki
Dariusz Koseła
Kamil Kosowski
Hubert Kostka
Marek Koźmiński
Ryszard Kraus
Rafał Kurzawa
Marcin Kuźba
Włodzimierz Lubański
Arkadiusz Milik
Kazimierz Moskal
Andrzej Niedzielan
Stanisław Oślizło
Michał Pazdan
Rafał Pietrzak
Ernest Pohl
Michał Probierz
Grzegorz Sandomierski
Łukasz Skorupski
Ryszard Staniek
Andrzej Szarmach
Marek Szemoński
Zygfryd Szołtysik
Jan Urban
Tomasz Wałdoch
Józef Wandzik
Robert Warzycha
Mateusz Wieteska
Przemysław Wiśniewski
Tomasz Zahorski
Andrzej Zgutczyński
Szymon Żurkowski
Enkeleid Dobi
Ensar Arifović
Armin Ćerimagić
Boris Pandža
Vladimir Sladojević
Dimitar Makriev
Prejuce Nakoulma
Ivica Križanac
Anthony van den Hurk
Sergei Mošnikov
Richard Jensen
Valerian Gvilia
Michał Bemben
Richmond Boakye
Giorgos Giakoumakis
José Kanté
Adam Örn Arnarson
Kanji Okunuki
Mārcis Ošs
Andrejs Prohorenkovs
Māris Smirnovs
Aco Stojkov
Róbert Jež
Erik Jirka
Roman Procházka
Blaž Vrhovec
Igor Angulo
Emil Bergström
Dickson Choto
Shingayi Kaondera
Supporters and Rivalries
Górnik Zabrze has one of the biggest and most loyal fan groups in Poland. Many fans live in the Katowice metropolitan area. In the 2016–17 season, Górnik Zabrze had the highest number of fans at their home games. After returning to the top league in 2017, Górnik continued to have the most fans at home games. They even had more than teams like Lech Poznań and Legia Warsaw. Most of their league games were completely sold out.
Górnik has a long-standing rivalry with another team from Upper Silesia, Ruch Chorzów. Their games are known as the Great Silesian DerbyPiast Gliwice, Polonia Bytom, Legia Warsaw, and Zagłębie Sosnowiec.
. Other main rivals includeThe main fan group for Górnik Zabrze is called Torcida Zabrze. This name comes from the ultras (super fans) of Torcida Split. The two groups have a friendly relationship. Together, they are called United Torcida. Górnik fans also have friendly relations with fans of ROW Rybnik, Wisłoka Dębica, GKS Katowice, and the German club Schalke 04. Other fan clubs for Górnik include those from Concordia Knurów, Naprzód Rydłutowy, Slavia Ruda Śląska, and Czarni Pyskowice.
See also
In Spanish: Górnik Zabrze para niños