Polonia Bytom

Coordinates: 50°21′27.21″N 18°53′55.38″E / 50.3575583°N 18.8987167°E / 50.3575583; 18.8987167
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Polonia Bytom
Polonia-Bytom01
Full nameBytomski Sport Polonia Bytom Spółka z o.o.
Nickname(s)Blue & Reds, Queen of Silesia
Founded4 January 1920; 104 years ago (1920-01-04)
GroundStadion im. Edwarda Szymkowiaka
Capacity2,220[1]
ManagerŁukasz Tomczyk
LeagueII liga
2022–23III liga, group III, 1st of 18 (promoted)[2]
Current season

Polonia Bytom (Polish pronunciation: [pɔˈlɔɲja ˈbɨtɔm]) is a Polish football club based in Bytom. Founded in 1920, the team won two championships, in 1954 and 1962. As of the 2023–24 season, they currently compete in the II liga.

History[edit]

Beginnings[edit]

Edmund Grabianowski, co-founder and first chairman of Polonia Bytom

Polonia was founded on 4 January 1920 in the Upper Silesian city of Bytom, during the hectic months of the Silesian Uprisings. In late 1922, however, as a result of the Upper Silesia plebiscite, Bytom remained part of Germany and the club ceased to exist.

In May 1945, numerous players and officials of another Polish club, Pogoń Lwów, arrived in Bytom and decided to revive Polonia. On 17 May 1945, the team played its first game in over two decades, defeating Warta Poznań 3–2.

Polonia is considered the continuation of Pogoń Lwów; its logo is very similar to the logo of Lwów's team as well as their colours, red-blue.

1950s and 1960s[edit]

Polonia achieved greatest success in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was one of the top teams in Poland. It has won the Polish championship twice, in 1954 and 1962. In 1952, 1958, 1959 and 1961 Polonia Bytom was the vice-champion of Poland. It reached the Polish Cup final in 1964. It performed well in the Intertoto Cup, reaching the final in the 1963–64 season after defeating teams such as Red Star Belgrade, Sampdoria and fellow Polish side Odra Opole. It won the trophy in the 1964–65 season after defeating teams like RC Lens, Schalke 04, Liège and SC Leipzig. Polonia also won the 1965 International Soccer League and finished third in the Polish league in the 1965–66 and 1968–69 seasons.

During that period, Polish international player and goalkeeper Edward Szymkowiak played for Polonia. The club stadium is named after him, and has a capacity of 5,500 spectators.

Recent times[edit]

In June 2007 Polonia Bytom, after many years, returned to the Polish Ekstraklasa. However, in 2011, the club was relegated to the I liga after finishing bottom of the table with just six wins all season.[3]

Honours[edit]

Domestic[edit]

International[edit]

American Challenge Cup won by Polonia in 1965

Youth Teams[edit]

Supporters[edit]

Polonia Bytom supporters were the first organised fan-club in Poland. They have introduced scarfs, flags and organised chants. Many of the other supporters groups were travelling to Bytom only to watch how Polonia's fans are cheering their club and behaving on the stadium.

The fans have friendships with fans of Arka Gdynia which dates back to 1974, one of the longest friendships in supporter history which has survived to date;[4] and with fans of Odra Opole, since 1987.

Polonia biggest rivals are local teams Górnik Zabrze, Ruch Radzionków, Ruch Chorzów (The Oldest Silesian Derby) and Szombierki Bytom (Derby of Bytom). The other groups which are not very welcome in Bytom are fans from Zaglebie Sosnowiec, Legia Warszawa and Lechia Gdańsk.

Polonia Bytom firm is commonly known as Desperados.

League participations[5][edit]

  • Ekstraklasa: 1948–1949 (2 seasons), 1951–1955 (5 seasons), 1957–1976 (20 seasons), 1977–1980, 1986–1987, 2007–2011
  • I liga: 1950, 1956, 1976–1977, 1980–1986, 1987–2001, 2005–2007, 2011–2013
  • II liga: 2001–2005, 2013–2014, 2015–2017, 2023–

Current squad[edit]

As of 26 July 2022

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Poland POL Dawid Gargasz
3 DF Poland POL Michał Bedronka
7 MF Poland POL Tomasz Pośpiech
9 MF Poland POL Łukasz Matusiak
10 MF Poland POL Dawid Krzemień
11 FW Poland POL Łukasz Krakowczyk (on loan from Piast Gliwice)
12 GK Poland POL Maciej Wierzbicki
13 MF Poland POL Wojciech Mróz
14 FW Poland POL Dawid Rudnik (on loan from Polonia Gościęcin)
15 MF Poland POL Jakub Czajkowski
16 MF Poland POL Patryk Stefański
17 FW Poland POL Filip Zagiel
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW Poland POL Adam Zak
19 MF Poland POL Jakub Belica
21 MF Poland POL Krzysztof Hałgas
22 MF Poland POL Mariusz Fornalczyk
23 MF Poland POL Marcin Lachowski
24 MF Poland POL Dominik Budzik
25 MF Poland POL Dominik Konieczny
27 DF Poland POL Dawid Kozicki
29 MF Poland POL Przemysław Mizgała
30 DF Poland POL Norbert Radkiewicz
DF Poland POL Mateusz Lipp (on loan from Schalke 04)
DF Ukraine UKR Ruslan Zubkov

Polonia in Europe[edit]

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate/Position
1958–59 European Cup Q Hungary MTK Budapest 0–3 0–3 0–6
1962–63 European Cup Q Greece Panathinaikos FC 2–1 4–1 6–2
1R Turkey Galatasaray 1–4 1–0 2–4
1964–65 Intertoto Cup Group C3 France Lens 4–0 1–3 Winner/1st
West Germany Schalke 04 6–0 0–2
Sweden Degerfors IF 6–0 1–1
1R Bye
Quarter final East Germany Karl-Marx-Stadt FC 0–2 4–1 4–3
Semi-final Belgium RFC Liège 0–1 3–1 3–2
Final East Germany Lokomotive Leipzig 0–3 5–1 5–4
1966–67 Intertoto Cup[6] Group B6 Sweden Norrköping 3–1 1–5 3rd
East Germany Dynamo Dresden 0–0 1–7
Czechoslovakia Spartak Hradec Králové 0–0 0–0
1967 Intertoto Cup[7] Group B3 Sweden Elfsborg 3–0 2–1 Winner/1st
West Germany Werder Bremen 2–1 0–2
Switzerland Grasshopper 5–1 4–1
1970 Intertoto Cup[8] Group B8 Denmark Horsens 2–2 1–1 Winner/1st
West Germany Rot-Weiss Essen 3–2 1–1
Austria Tirol Innsbruck 1–0 3–2
1973 Intertoto Cup[9] Group 10 Denmark B 1901 6–2 2–0 3rd
Sweden Östers 1–2 2–3
Austria Austria Salzburg 4–1 1–7
1975 Intertoto Cup[10] Group 5 Czechoslovakia Zbrojovka Brno 1–2 1–2 2nd
Sweden AIK 5–1 3–2
West Germany Tennis Borussia Berlin 3–0 1–1
1980 Intertoto Cup[11] Group 5 Czechoslovakia Nitra 1–0 0–4 4th
Denmark Esbjerg 0–1 2–1
Austria LASK Linz 1–1 0–2

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bytom, Polonia. "Stadion Polonii Bytom". stadiony.net.
  2. ^ III liga 2022/2023, grupa: III
  3. ^ http://fussball.wettpoint.com/en/archives/table/ekstraklasa_2010_poland.html "Fussball – League Table Ekstraklasa Season 2010/11 Poland" Retrieved 15 August 2011
  4. ^ "Polonia Bytom".
  5. ^ pl:Polonia Bytom (piłka nożna)
  6. ^ "Intertoto Cup 1966/67". mogiel.net. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Intertoto Cup 1967". mogiel.net. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Intertoto Cup 1970". mogiel.net. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Intertoto Cup 1973". mogiel.net. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Intertoto Cup 1975". mogiel.net. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Intertoto Cup 1980". mogiel.net. Retrieved 18 December 2022.

External links[edit]

50°21′27.21″N 18°53′55.38″E / 50.3575583°N 18.8987167°E / 50.3575583; 18.8987167