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RTS Widzew Łódź
Widzew Lodz.svg
Full name RTS Widzew Łódź
Nickname(s) Widzewiacy, Czerwona Armia (Red Army)
Founded 5 November 1910; 114 years ago (1910-11-05) as TMRF Widzew
Ground Widzew Łódź Stadium
Ground Capacity 18,018
Chairman Michał Rydz
Manager Daniel Myśliwiec
League Ekstraklasa
2023–24 Ekstraklasa, 9th of 18
Third colours

RTS Widzew Łódź (Polish pronunciation: [ˈɛr ˈtɛ ˈɛs ˈvʲidzɛf ˈwut͡ɕ]) is a Polish football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames Czerwona Armia (Red Army) and Czerwono-biało-czerwoni (Red-white-reds). They compete in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the Polish football league system, since the 2022-23 season.

History

Legitymacja członkowska TMRF z 1914
Widzew membership card from 1914

The club was founded in 1910 as Towarzystwo Miłośników Rozwoju Fizycznego Widzew (Society of Physical Development Fans Widzew). Its name comes from the name of the city district Widzew, while RTS stands for Workers' Sports Association (in Polish Robotnicze Towarzystwo Sportowe). The club was founded by Polish workers and German industrialists who were employees of the Widzew textile manufactory called WIMA. Initially, the club was called the Widzew Association for Physical Development (in Polish: Towarzystwo Miłośników Rozwoju Fizycznego Widzew) because at that time Łódź was under the rule of the Russian Tsar and the adjective "workers'" (in Polish: Robotniczy) could not be used in the club's name. The club's mottos are Together We Create Power (in Polish Razem Tworzymy Siłę) and Always 12 (in Polish Zawsze w 12) which is meant to suggest that its fans are the twelfth player on the team. The club plays its matches at its stadium, located in Łódź at 138 Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego Avenue. The stadium bears the unofficial but commonly used name of the Heart of Łódź (in Polish Serce Łodzi).

After the First World War, Poland regained its independence and the club was reactivated in 1922 as Robotnicze Towarzystwo Sportowe Widzew Łódź (Workers' Sports Association Widzew Łódź).

During World War II, three pre-war players of Widzew Łódź, Joachim Schreer, Mirosław Wągrowski and Aleksander Żadziłko, were among Poles murdered by the Russians in the large Katyn massacre in April–May 1940.

Widzew has won four Polish league championships, in 1980–81, 1981–82, 1995–96 and 1996–97, as well as the 1985 Polish Cup.

After winning back-to-back championships in 1980–81 and 1981–82, Widzew reclaimed the league crown 14 years later after a record season once again. During the successful 1995–96 season, Widzew conceded only 22 goals in 34 matches, the least out of all teams in the league. They were also proficient in attack, scoring 84 goals and securing 88 points across the campaign. Thanks in part to the great performance of their goalkeeper Andrzej Woźniak, the team remained unbeaten for the whole season.

Trofeum dla Mistrza Polski w piłce nożnej w sezonie 1996-97
1996–97 Polish Championship trophy for Widzew

In the following 1996–97 season, the team enjoyed another great season. For the second time in the club's history, they secured back-to-back championships, scoring 74 goals across the season and conceding only 21.

They have appeared in 117 matches in European Cups, of which they won 42. Widzew knocked European giants Manchester United out of the 1980–81 UEFA Cup, although their biggest achievement was reaching the semi-final of the 1982–83 European Cup, eliminating then three-time winners Liverpool along the way.

Recent history

At the beginning of the 2007–08 season, Widzew was purchased by one of the wealthiest men in Poland, Sylwester Cacek.

In January 2008, while playing in the second division, the Polish Football Association ruled that Widzew Łódź should be relegated due to their involvement in a corruption scandal. However, Widzew became champions that year and were allowed to stay in the second division, which was renamed I liga before the start of the 2008-09 season. Despite being deducted six points as a penalty, Widzew won the I Liga again in the 2009-10 season, and were promoted to the Ekstraklasa. However, Widzew were once again relegated at the end of the 2013–14 season after four seasons.

Due to financial problems, Widzew finished last at the end of the 2014–15 season, and subsequently went bankrupt.

Local businessmen Marcin Ferdzyn and Grzegorz Waranecki decided to take on amateur status as a new association called Stowarzyszenie Reaktywacja Tradycji Sportowych Widzew Łódź (Association of the Reactivation of the Sports Traditions of Widzew Łódź), which continues the tradition of the old RTS Widzew Łódź. The new association was registered in a Polish court on 2 July 2015, and within a few weeks of summer 2015, they managed to hire a new coach Witold Obarek and gather a new roster, which started the 2015–16 season in the fifth tier of Polish football. In their first season in IV liga, Widzew won promotion. In the 2016–17 season, Widzew achieved third place in III liga, behind Drwęca Nowe Miasto Lubawskie and ŁKS Łódź, but next season yielded promotion to II liga. In the 2018–19 season, they finished in fifth place with 55 points. In the 2021–22 season, Widzew finished 2nd, one point ahead of Arka Gdynia, and returned to Ekstraklasa for the first time since the 2013–14 season.

Honours

Domestic

Stadion Widzewa Lodz - Polska
Ultras of Widzew
RTS Widzew Łódź - To już historia
Ultras of Widzew

League

  • Ekstraklasa (First Division)
    • Champions: 1980–81, 1981–82, 1995–96, 1996–97
    • Runners-up: 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1994–95, 1998–99
  • I liga (Second Division)
    • Champions: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10

Cup

  • Polish Cup
    • Winners: 1984–85
  • Polish Super Cup
    • Winners: 1996
    • Runners-up: 1997
  • Polish League Cup
    • Runners-up: 1977

Europe

Youth teams

  • Polish U19 championship
    • Runners-up: 1995

Results in Ekstraklasa

Season Position Matches Points Goals W.-D.-L.
1 1948 14 (relegation) 26 13 pts. 31–99 5–3–18
2 1975–76 5 30 32 pts. 33–33 10–12–8
3 1976–77 2 30 38 pts. 46–31 14–10–6
4 1977–78 10 30 28 pts. 34–40 9–10–11
5 1978–79 2 30 39 pts. 37–26 14–11–5
6 1979–80 2 30 36 pts. 47–39 13–10–7
7 1980–81 1 30 39 pts. 39–25 14–11–5
8 1981–82 1 30 39 pts. 45–31 14–11–5
9 1982–83 2 30 38 pts. 50–30 13–12–5
10 1983–84 2 30 42 pts. 43–25 15–12–3
11 1984–85 3 30 38 pts. 34–16 13–12–5
12 1985–86 3 30 41 pts. 40–25 15–11–4
13 1986–87 6 30 36 pts. 34–29 14–7–9
14 1987–88 5 30 31 pts. 28–24 8–15–7
15 1988–89 7 30 29 pts. 27–27 9–12–9
16 1989–90 15 (relegation) 30 17 pts. 22–39 4–12–14
17 1991–92 3 34 43 pts. 48–28 17–9–8
18 1992–93 5 34 43 pts. 60–42 16–11–7
19 1993–94 6 34 39 pts. 45–33 12–15–7
20 1994–95 2 34 45 pts. 48–25 17–11–6
21 1995–96 1 34 88 pts. 84–22 27–7–0
22 1996–97 1 34 81 pts. 74–20 25–6–3
23 1997–98 4 34 61 pts. 53–34 18–7–9
24 1998–99 2 30 56 pts. 50–33 18–2–10
25 1999–2000 7 30 40 pts. 48–54 11–7–12
26 2000–01 12 30 36 pts. 33–40 9–9–12
27 2001–02
Autumn round
– group A:		 8 14 11 pts. 9–24 3–2–9
Spring round
– g. relegation:		 2 14 31 pts. 19–8 6–7–1
28 2002–03 9 30 37 pts. 29–39 10–7–13
29 2003–04 14 (relegation) 26 19 pts. 25–52 4–7–15
30 2006–07 12 30 28 pts. 27–48 7–7–16
31 2007–08 15 (relegation) 30 26 pts. 27–42 5–11–14
32 2010–11 9 30 43 pts. 41–34 11–10–9
33 2011–12 11 30 39 pts. 25–26 9–12–9
34 2012–13 13 30 33 pts. 30–41 8–9–13
35 2013–14 15 (relegation) 37 22 pts. 36–59 8–9–20
36 2022–23 12 34 41 pts. 38–47 11–8–15
37 2023–24 9 34 46 pts. 45–46 13–7–14

Widzew in Europe

Otwarcie stadionu Widzewa (05)
New ground
Stary stadion Widzewa - trybuna C
Old ground
Season Competition Round Club Score
1977–78 UEFA Cup 1R England Manchester City 2–2, 0–0
2R Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 3–5, 0–1
1979–80 UEFA Cup 1R France AS Saint-Étienne 2–1, 0–3
1980–81 UEFA Cup 1R England Manchester United 1–1, 0–0
2R Italy Juventus FC 3–1, 1–3 p. 4–1
3R England Ipswich Town 0–5, 1–0
1981–82 European Cup 1R Belgium RSC Anderlecht 1–4, 1–2
1982–83 European Cup 1R Malta Hibernians FC 4–1, 3–1
2R Austria SK Rapid Wien 1–2, 5–3
1/4F England Liverpool F.C. 2–0, 2–3
1/2F Italy Juventus FC 0–2, 2–2
1983–84 UEFA Cup 1R Sweden IF Elfsborg 0–0, 2–2
2R Czechoslovakia Sparta Prague 1–0, 0–3
1984–85 UEFA Cup 1R Denmark Aarhus Gymnastik Forening 2–0, 0–1
2R West Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 2–3, 1–0
3R Soviet Union FC Dinamo Minsk 0–2, 1–0
1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Turkey Galatasaray SK 0–1, 2–1
1986–87 UEFA Cup 1R Austria LASK Linz 1–1, 1–0
2R West Germany Bayer 05 Uerdingen 0–0, 0–2
1992–93 UEFA Cup 1R Germany Eintracht Frankfurt 2–2, 0–9
1995–96 UEFA Cup Q Wales Bangor City FC 4–0, 1–0
1R Ukraine FC Chornomorets Odesa 1–0, 0–1 p. 5–6
1996–97 UEFA Champions League Q Denmark Brøndby IF 2–1, 2–3
GR Germany Borussia Dortmund 1–2, 2–2
GR Spain Atlético Madrid 1–4, 0–1
GR Romania Steaua București 0–1, 2–0
1997–98 UEFA Champions League 1Q Azerbaijan Neftchi Baku 2–0, 8–0
2Q Italy Parma FC 1–3, 0–4
UEFA Cup 1R Italy Udinese Calcio 1–0, 0–3
1999–00 UEFA Champions League 2Q Bulgaria Litex Lovech 4–1, 1–4 p. 3–2
3Q Italy ACF Fiorentina 1–3, 0–2
UEFA Cup 1R Latvia Skonto FC 0–1, 2–0
2R France AS Monaco FC 1–1, 0–2

Best results in European competitions

Season Achievement Notes
European Cup/UEFA Champions League
1982–83 Semi-final lost to Italy Juventus 0–2 in Turin, 2–2 in Łódź
UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League
1980–81 Round of 16 lost to England Ipswich Town 0–5 in Ipswich, 1–0 in Łódź
1984–85 Round of 16 lost to Soviet Union Dinamo Minsk 0–2 in Łódź, 1–0 in Tbilisi

Current squad

No. Position Player
1 Poland GK Rafał Gikiewicz
2 Portugal DF Luís Silva
3 Slovakia DF Samuel Kozlovský
4 Poland DF Mateusz Żyro
5 Kosovo DF Kreshnik Hajrizi
6 Albania MF Juljan Shehu
7 Poland MF Jakub Łukowski
8 Nigeria MF Hilary Gong
9 Bosnia and Herzegovina FW Imad Rondić
10 Spain MF Fran Álvarez
15 Spain DF Juan Ibiza
17 Poland FW Hubert Sobol
19 Poland MF Bartłomiej Pawłowski (captain)
21 Poland DF Paweł Kwiatkowski
No. Position Player
25 Czech Republic MF Marek Hanousek
31 Poland GK Mikołaj Biegański
33 Poland GK Jan Krzywański
37 Germany MF Sebastian Kerk
44 France MF Noah Diliberto
47 Poland MF Antoni Klimek
62 Kosovo DF Lirim Kastrati
73 Poland MF Kajetan Radomski
77 Poland MF Jakub Sypek
78 Poland MF Kamil Cybulski
91 Poland DF Marcel Krajewski
92 Portugal MF Fábio Nunes
99 Bosnia and Herzegovina FW Said Hamulić (on loan from Toulouse)

Out on loan

No. Position Player
35 Slovakia GK Ivan Krajčírik (at Slovan Liberec until 30 June 2025)
No. Position Player
Poland MF Dawid Tkacz (at Stal Mielec until 30 June 2025)

Notable players

  • Poland Tadeusz Błachno
  • Poland Daniel Bogusz
  • Poland Henryk Bolesta
  • Germany Ulrich Borowka
  • Poland Zbigniew Boniek
  • Poland Stanisław Burzyński
  • Poland Wiesław Cisek
  • Poland Marek Citko
  • Poland Ryszard Czerwiec
  • Poland Jacek Dembiński
  • Poland Dariusz Dziekanowski
  • Poland Marek Dziuba
  • Poland Dariusz Gęsior
  • Poland Andrzej Grębosz
  • Poland Rafał Grzelak
  • Poland Leszek Iwanicki
  • Poland Paweł Janas
  • Poland Waldemar Jaskulski
  • Poland Tomasz Łapiński
  • Poland Sławomir Majak
  • Poland Radosław Michalski
  • Poland Józef Młynarczyk
  • Poland Andrzej Możejko
  • Poland Arkadiusz Onyszko
  • Poland Kazimierz Przybyś
  • Poland Rafał Siadaczka
  • Poland Włodzimierz Smolarek
  • Poland Michał Stasiak
  • Poland Tadeusz Świątek
  • Poland Maciej Szczęsny
  • Poland Mirosław Szymkowiak
  • Poland Mirosław Tłokiński
  • Poland Artur Wichniarek
  • Poland Jerzy Wijas
  • Poland Roman Wójcicki
  • Poland Paweł Wojtala
  • Poland Andrzej Woźniak
  • Poland Wiesław Wraga
  • Poland Zbigniew Wyciszkiewicz
  • Poland Marcin Zając
  • Poland Władysław Żmuda
  • Ukraine Andriy Mikhalchuk
  • Moldova Alexandru Curtianu

Managers

  • Poland Zygmunt Otto (1948)
  • Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vančo Kaménař (1948)
  • Poland Wacław Pegza (1949)
  • Poland Władysław Król (1950–51)
  • Poland Leszek Jezierski (1972–76) (II liga)
  • Poland Janusz Pekowski (1976)
  • Poland Paweł Kowalski (1976–77)
  • Poland Bronisław Waligóra (1977–79)
  • Poland Stanisław Świerk (1978–79)
  • Poland Jacek Machciński (1979–81)
  • Poland Władysław Jan Żmuda (1981–84)
  • Poland Bronisław Waligóra (1984–86)
  • Poland Orest Lenczyk (1987–88)
  • Poland Andrzej Grębosz (1988–89)
  • Poland Bronisław Waligóra (1988–90)
  • Poland Jan Tomaszewski (1989–90)
  • Poland Czesław Fudalej (1989–90)
  • Poland Paweł Kowalski (1990–91) (II liga)
  • Poland Władysław Jan Żmuda (April 28, 1992 – May 20, 1993)
  • Poland Leszek Jezierski (1992–93)
  • Poland Marek Woziński (1993–94)
  • Poland Władysław Stachurski (Sept 1, 1993 – April 20, 1995)
  • Poland Ryszard Polak (1994–95)
  • Poland Franciszek Smuda (April 30, 1995 – May 31, 1998)
  • Poland Andrzej Pyrdoł (July 1, 1998 – July 28, 1998)
  • Poland Wojciech Łazarek (July 28, 1998 – Oct 26, 1998)
  • Poland Marek Dziuba (1998–99)
  • Poland Grzegorz Lato (1999–00)
  • Poland Orest Lenczyk (Aug 30, 1999 – April 23, 2000)
  • Poland Andrzej Pyrdoł (1999–00)
  • Poland Jan Żurek (April 24, 2000 – July 1, 2000)
  • Ukraine Petro Kushlyk (2000–01)
  • Poland Marek Koniarek (2000–01)
  • Poland Marek Kusto (July 3, 2001 – Oct 13, 2001)
  • Poland Dariusz Wdowczyk (Oct 13, 2001 – Aug 2, 2002)
  • Poland Franciszek Smuda (Aug 2, 2002 – Dec 5, 2002)
  • Czech Republic Petr Němec (Dec 6, 2002 – April 7, 2003)
  • Poland Tomasz Muchiński (int.) (April 7, 2003 – April 10, 2003)
  • Poland Franciszek Smuda (April 10, 2003 – July 9, 2003)
  • Poland Andrzej Kretek (July 10, 2003 – Aug 26, 2003)
  • Poland Tomasz Łapiński (interim) (Aug 26, 2003 – Sept 2, 2003)
  • Poland Jerzy Kasalik (Sept 3, 2003 – March 22, 2004)
  • Poland Stefan Majewski (2004–06) (II liga)
  • Poland Michał Probierz (June 1, 2006 – Sept 3, 2007)
  • Poland Marek Zub (Sept 3, 2007 – April 21, 2008)
  • Poland Janusz Wójcik (April 21, 2008–08)
  • Poland W. Fornalik (July 1, 2008 – Jan 9, 2009) (I liga nowa)
  • Poland P. Janas (Jan 9, 2009 – June 21, 2010) (I liga nowa, I liga)
  • Poland A. Kretek (June 25, 2010 – Nov 15, 2010) (Ekstraklasa)
  • Poland C. Michniewicz (Nov 15, 2010 – June 22, 2011) (Ekstraklasa)
  • Poland R. Mroczkowski (June 24, 2011 – Sept 26, 2013) (Ekstraklasa)
  • Poland Rafal Pawlak (Sept 26, 2013 – Jan 6, 2014) (Ekstraklasa)
  • Poland Artur Skowronek (Jan 6, 2014 – June 20, 2014) (Ekstraklasa)
  • Poland Włodzimierz Tylak (June 20, 2014 – 2014)
  • Poland Rafał Pawlak (2014)
  • Poland Wojciech Stawowy (2014–2015)
  • Poland Witold Obarek (2015)
  • Poland Marcin Płuska (2015–2016)
  • Poland Tomasz Muchiński (2016)
  • Poland Przemysław Cecherz (2016–2017)
  • Poland Franciszek Smuda (2017–2018)
  • Poland Radosław Mroczkowski (2018–2019)
  • Poland Jacek Paszulewicz (2019)
  • Poland Zbigniew Smółka (2019)
  • Poland Marcin Kaczmarek (2019–2020)
  • Albania Enkeleid Dobi (2020–2021)
  • Poland Marcin Broniszewski (2021)
  • Poland Janusz Niedźwiedź (2021–2023)
  • Poland Daniel Myśliwiec (2023–)

Stadium

Main article: Widzew Łódź Stadium

The club's home stadium was the Municipal Stadium (Polish: Stadion Miejski) opened in 1930. The stadium, which was owned by the city of Łódź, had a capacity of 10,500 seats. In early 2015, it was demolished to make way for a new stadium with 18,000 seats. It was intended the new stadium will be completed by November 2016.

In the 2014–15 season, Widzew played their home matches in Byczyna near Poddębice, 40 km west of Łódź.

After bankruptcy and relegation to the fifth division, a rebuilt team was forced to play its domestic games in Łódź at UKS SMS Łódź stadium, during the construction of a new Widzew Łódź Stadium.

The first match at their new stadium was played on the 18th March, 2017, where Widzew won against Motor Lubawa 2–0. 17,443 fans attended the game.

Fans

Widzew has one of the largest fan-bases in Poland with fan-clubs all around the country. Widzew's biggest rival is ŁKS Łódź, with whom they contest the Łódź Derby. Legia Warsaw are also big rivals, with whom they contest the Derby of Poland, which stems from the fact there were frequent title races between the two clubs. GKS Bełchatów is third biggest rival of Widzew. Their fans maintain friendly relations with fans of Ruch Chorzów, Elana Toruń, KKS Kalisz, Wisła Kraków. A little group of ultras has a friendship with hungarian side Honvéd, due to the Hungary–Poland relations.

TMRF Widzew Łódź

Main article: TMRF Widzew Łódź

TMRF Widzew was a football team created by the active supporters of Widzew in 2014, who were in a long conflict with the club board. Only Widzew supporters were admitted to the squad.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Widzew Lodz para niños

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