Poland History

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Description

Name: Poland national football team
Nickname: Biało-czerwoni ("The-white-and-red") and Orły ("The Eagles")
Association: Polish Football Association
Head coach: Leo Beenhakker
Captain: vary


 

Early History

Football is the traditional and most liked sports in Poland. Nearly about 400,000 Poles play the sport. There are numerous professional and amateur football teams in the county. They are organized in to National First League and Second League, four regional Third Leagues, 18 regional Fourth League, 49 regional Fifth League and several other lower leagues. The teams also participate in other competitions such as the Polish Cup and Polish SuperCup. The important football stadiums in Poland are Lech Poznan with a seating capacity of 26,500, Gornik Zabrze with seating capacity of 17,000 and Legia Warszawa with a seating capacity of 15,400.

Football rolled out in Poland’s history towards the end of the 19th Century. The advent of the sport in Poland began with the opening of a sports park by Prof. Henry K Jordon, a court physician, in Krakow’s Blonia. The park happened to be a chief centre for sports and healthy living in Poland. The beginning of the 1900s witnessed the emergence of professional clubs. Some of the initial Polish professional football clubs were Lechia Lwow, Crarni Lwow, Pogon Lwow, Cracovia Krakow and Wisla Krakow.

The first official football match in Polish history was played on 14 July, 1894 between the Sokol members of Lwow and the Krakow members. The Lwow team emerged victorious with Wlodzimierz Chomicki scoring the only goal of the match. Although the sport was discouraged by educational societies and state authorities, it became exceedingly popular with the students at Galicia’s gymnasiums. The popularity led to the formation of the first Polish national football team in 1903-1904. Eventually, on 5 August, 1906 the Polish football entered the international meeting. On that day, the team of Sobieski’s Gymnasium played against the British and American members of Buffalo Bill’s team, registering a 1-0 win. The international victory was followed by the emergence of 16 teams in the country within a short span of time.


 

Development

The Galician football players moved on to Pilsudski’s Polish Legions after the First World War began. They played matches against the Austro-Hungarian Army, popularizing the sport in different parts of Poland. On 20 December, 1919, after Poland had regained its independence, the Polish national federation called the Polish Football Association was formed. In 1923, 4 years after its inception, the union joined FIFA and later on in 1955 joined UEFA.

At the time the Polish Football Association was formed, the sport of football was disorganized in the country. The association focused on organizing the first championship. It divided the country in to 5 football districts – Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Lodz and Lwow. As per the championship design, district level teams would play regional qualifying games, following which 5 champions would play against each other in a central tournament. It was in 1922 that Polish teams started participating in regular games in championships.

Polish football underwent a key change in 1927 with the establishment of the Polish Football League. Although the Polish Football Association was against the formation of the League, it was nevertheless instituted with the support of a majority of Polish clubs. The creation of the League was formally announced on 1 March, 1927. The League championship games began on 3 April, 1927 with all major teams except Cracovia participating. The first season of the League saw a clash between Wisla Krakow and 1.FC Katowice. While 1.FC was believed to have a minority of German supporters, Wisla was considered to be representing the Poles. With the rivalry being very serious and the Polish Football Association determined to not let the Germans win, the Wisla Krakow team won the match using the favoritism of the referee, Zygmunt Hanke.

 
 
Poland vs Italy 1982
 
Created on: 6/1/2008
 
By: marcelo
 
Tags:
Poland,  
 
 


 

2000 - Present

The most memorable victories by the Polish football team during 2000-2007 were a 3-0 win against Norway, a 3-1 win against Ukraine, a 3-1 win against Italy, a 2-1 win against Portugal and a 2-0 win against Belgium. The most outstanding players of the Polish team include Wlodzimierz Lubanski, Grzegorz Lato, Kazimierz Deyna, Ernest Pol, Andrzej Szarmach, Gerard Cieslik, Zbigniew Boniek, Ernest Wilimowski, Dariusz Dziekanowski, Roman Kosecki, Jacek Bak, Jacek Krzynowek and Kamil Kosowski.

 
 
Poland vs Portugal
 
Created on: 6/1/2008
 
By: marcelo
 
Tags:
Poland,  
 
 


The Polish national football team is called the Reprezentacja Polski w pilce noznej or the Poland national football team. It is governed by the Polish Football Association. On 18 December, 1921, the team played its first international match against Hungary and lost 1-0. At the Olympic Games, Poland's national team won the gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and the silver medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 1992 Summer Olympics. In the World Cup, Poland finished third twice, in 1974 and 1982. Nicknamed Bialo-czerwoni and The Eagles, the national team had its highest FIFA ranking of 16 in September 2007.
On 17 November, 2007, the Polish national team obtained a place in Euro 2008 by defeating Belgium and thus, for the first time, gained qualification to play in the European Championship. Furthermore, Poland will also host the Euro 2012. Poland also has 3 youth national teams – Poland U-19 national football team, Poland U-20 national football team and Poland U-21 national foccer team. Additionally, Poland also has a promising and successful woman’s football team.

 
 
Poland vs Brazil U-20
 
Created on: 6/1/2008
 
By: marcelo
 
Tags:
Poland,  
 
 


 

Statistics

The following teams have been winners of the Polish Championship in football in the last 5 years.

•    2003 – Wisla Krakow in the first place, Dyskobolia Grodzisk in the second place, GKS Katowice in the third place
•    2004 – Wisla Krakow in the first place, Legia Warszawa in the second place, Amica Wronki in the third place
•    2005 – Wisla Krakow in the first place, Dyskobolio Grodzisk in the second place, Legia Warszawa in the third place
•    2006 – Legia Warszawa in the first place, Wisla Krakow in the second place, Zaglebie Lubin in the third place
•    2007 – Zaglebie Lubin in the first place, GKS Belchatow in the second place, Legia Warszawa in the third place


 

Facts & Figures

•    Governing body - PZPN (Polski Zwiazek Piłki Nożnej - Polish Football Association)
•    Men’s national football team – Nicknamed Bialo-czerwoni, Orly
•    First international match – Against Hungary in December 1921
•    Major tournaments – World Cup, European Championship, Olympic Games
•    Olympic Games – Gold in 1972; Silver in 1976, 1992
•    Most memorable win – 9-0 win against Norway in September 1963
•    Worst defeat – 0-8 loss to Denmark in June 1948
•    Highest FIFA ranking – 16 in September 2007
•    Lowest FIFA ranking – 61 in March 1998


 

World Cup record

1930 - Did not enter
1934 - Withdrew during qualifying
1938 - Round 1
1950 - Did not enter
1954 - Withdrew
1958 - Did not qualify
1962 - Did not qualify
1966 - Did not qualify
1970 - Did not qualify
1974 - Third place
1978 - Round 2
1982 - Third place
1986 - Round 2
1990 - Did not qualify
1994 - Did not qualify
1998 - Did not qualify
2002 - Round 1
2006 - Round 1


 

European Championships record

1960 - Did not qualify
1964 - Did not qualify
1968 - Did not qualify
1972 - Did not qualify
1976 - Did not qualify
1980 - Did not qualify
1984 - Did not qualify
1988 - Did not qualify
1992 - Did not qualify
1996 - Did not qualify
2000 - Did not qualify
2004 - Did not qualify
2008 - Group Phase


Squad
NamePositionGrade FansGroups
Jakub Błaszczykowski
Midfield
46
 0
Łukasz Piszczek
Defense
2
0
Rafał Murawski
Midfield
5
 0
Dariusz Dudka
Midfield
3
 0
Paweł Brożek
Offense
23
 0
Robert Lewandowski
Offense
23
 0
Tomasz Jodłowiec
Defense
0
 0
Kamil Grosicki
Offense
2
0
Gregorz Wojtkowiak
Defense
1
 0
Ludovic Obraniak
Midfield
2
0
Jakub Wawrzyniak
Defense
1
 0
Last edited by:
On: August 29, 2009
Version: 17