Górnik ZabrzeSpółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to asGórnik Zabrze S.A. or simplyGórnik Zabrze (Polish pronunciation:[ˈɡurɲiɡˈzabʐɛ]), is a Polishfootball club fromZabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning the second-mostPolish Championship titles together withRuch Chorzów. The club was a dominant force in the 1960s and 1980s. Górnik holds the record for winning the most consecutive Polish Championship titles (5) and Polish Cup titles (5). In addition, the club was1969–70 Cup Winners' Cup runners-up.
The club was founded in 1948 after several smaller sports associations – KS Zjednoczenie, KS Pogoń, KS Skra, and KS Concordia – were merged into a single organization, which took the name "Górnik", thePolish word for "Miner", reflecting the fact that Zabrze was an important coal-mining centre.
In 1950 Górnik joined the Opole Silesia regional league. In 1952 the club was promoted to thePolish Second Division. Their first game in the second tier was againstSkra Częstochowa, and was witnessed by 20,000 fans, with Górnik winning 5–1. The whole season was very successful and Górnik finished second overall, behindGórnik Wałbrzych.
The club was promoted to the top division in 1955. In their first game in the top flight Górnik beat local rivalsRuch Chorzów 3–1, with 25,000 in attendance; the club finished the season in sixth place.
In 1957, just a year after promotion, Górnik won its first championship of Poland. The team, with star,Ernest Pohl, was third in 1958, to regain the crown in 1959 and 1961, together with such players asStanisław Oślizło andHubert Kostka. In 1961 Górnik for the first time appeared in European Cups, losing in the first round toTottenham Hotspur.
The next championship, won in 1963, marked the beginning of an unusual streak of five consecutive titles (1963, 64, 65, 66 and 67), which is a Polish record.
Górnik's biggest success in European football took place in 1970 (even though in Poland the team was second, afterLegia Warsaw). In theUEFA Cup Winners Cup, Gornik beat all their opponents –Olympiacos,Rangers,Levski Sofia andAS Roma, reaching the final, which took place inVienna. There,Manchester City turned out to be the better team, winning 2–1. The following season Górnik would once again play Manchester City, with the 1970 final being repeated this time in the quarter-final.
During the mid-1970s Górnik form deteriorated and in late spring of 1978, the team was relegated to the Second Division. However, it returned after one year and in games of 1979–80, Zabrze's side finished sixth. In 1984, after purchasing of a group of talented players (Ryszard Komornicki,Waldemar Matysik,Eugeniusz Cebrat,Andrzej Zgutczyński,Tadeusz Dolny,Andrzej Pałasz), Górnik finished fourth, which was a sign of better times.
Between 1985 and 1988 Górnik again marked a magnificent streak, with four consecutive championships. Zabrze's side also played versus renowned European powerhouses, such asBayern Munich,Anderlecht,Hamburger SV,Juventus andReal Madrid.
In 1994 Górnik competed again for the title and with players asJerzy Brzęczek,Grzegorz Mielcarski,Tomasz Wałdoch, hopes were high. Before the last round of the league the standings at the top were: Legia 47 points and Górnik 45 points. Since the two teams were to face each other inWarsaw, Górnik still had a chance to win the title. However the game ended in a 1–1 tie which gave Legia the crown. Before Legia scored the goal which gave her the title (the score 0–1 would mean the title for Górnik), the referee of the match – Mr Redzinski – sent off one by one 3 players from Górnik's squad, and Górnik had to finished match with only 8 players against 11 players of Legia. It was the last match in Mr Redzinski's career.
In the same year, Górnik played its last so far game in European Cups, losing toAdmira Wacker Vienna.
In the spring of 2007 Górnik got a new sponsor – German insurance companyAllianz. However, after finishing 16th in theEkstraklasa in 2008–09, the club was relegated to thePolish First League, the second level of Polish football, during the 2009–10 season. In June 2010, the club earned promotion back to the Ekstraklasa for the 2010–11 season. Since then, Górnik has promoted a number of players to thePoland national team and transferred several players to stronger leagues, includingArkadiusz Milik,Łukasz Skorupski,Szymon Żurkowski andPaweł Bochniewicz.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Górnik Zabrze supporters during the Great Silesian Derby
Górnik Zabrze is believed to have one of the largest and most loyal fanbases in Poland, especially in theKatowice metropolitan area. In the 2016–17 season, Górnik Zabrze drew the highest average home attendance (10,636)[4] of all second level Polish football clubs. They also drew the highest attendance in their league (20,987). After their comeback to the top flight in 2017, Górnik drew the highest average home attendance in Polish football, surpassing current top teamsLech Poznań andLegia Warsaw,[5] with most league games being sold-out.[6]
