ŁKS Łódź

ŁKS
Full name	Łódzki Klub Sportowy S.A.
Nickname(s)	Rycerze wiosny (Knights of Spring)
Founded	1908
Ground	Stadion Miejski im. Władysława Króla
Capacity	5,700
Chairman	Tomasz Salski
Manager	Kibu Vicuña
League	I liga
2020–21	5th
	Current season

ŁKS Łódź (Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź; Polish pronunciation: [ˌɛwkaˈɛs ˈwut͡ɕ]) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, athletics and in the past ice hockey. The club is based at Stadion Miejski im. Władysława Króla, at the 2 Union of Lublin Avenue in the West of Łódź. The club was founded in 1908.

This article focuses on the football club. Their nickname "Rycerze Wiosny" ("Knights of Spring") was given to them due to their usually strong performance in the second round of the league, after Winter break.

History[]

In March 2010, the city government sold the football team to a private investor, as the city could no longer afford to support the football team, particularly after several seasons in the top level Ekstraklasa, where expenses often exceeded the ticket revenue from the club's small seating-capacity stadium.^[1]

In May 2013, at the conclusion of the second-tier 2012–13 I liga season, the private investor declared bankruptcy.^[2] The club survived when a partnership between fans and other local investors raised the necessary funds to enter the much more affordable amateur fifth-level IV liga in time for the 2013–14 IV liga season, competing against other local area teams in the Łódź group.^[3]

Facilities[]

1936 ŁKS side.

In 2009 the new Atlas Arena^[4] was completed adjacent to the football stadium. It is an indoor arena and has already hosted international events in basketball, volleyball and boxing.

The City council, owner of the various ŁKS Łódź sports clubs, still intend to construct a brand new stadium on the site of the current football stadium. It was intended to be complete in time for UEFA Euro 2012, but now is expected to be finished in late 2013-early 2014. Although Łódź is not a Euro 2012 host city, it had been believed that a failure by Ukraine to be ready on time^[5] would lead to Poland hosting the entire tournament on its own and therefore requiring more host cities. There were four Polish host cities (Warsaw, Gdańsk, Poznań and Wrocław) involved in hosting the tournament. It was envisioned the new stadium would have approximately 34,000 seats, as required by UEFA.^[6] While the concept of a new stadium for ŁKS Łódź was being discussed in 2009, cross-town rival Widzew Łódź announced that they would not contribute to any such stadium, as they had imminent plans to renovate their own stadium (the Widzew Łódź plans were stalled for years, eventually opening the 18,000 seat Stadion Miejski Widzewa in 2017). Support for the project was undermined by the successful re-call of the Łódź city president in early 2010. The city also announced a public auction for their stake in the club as they could no longer afford to cover the clubs loses. Owing to financial constraints and lack of demand from LKS fans, the conceptual plan for a new ŁKS Łódź stadium was scaled down to 16,500 in 2012.^[7]^[8]

As part of renovations, a new 3,000 seat arena was supposed to be built to complement the existing Atlas Arena. All work was expected to cost 218 million PLN.

All plans to provide the club with new facilities, however, were abandoned as of 2013, due to financial constraints and the bankruptcy of the club in May 2013. However, with an upturn in the clubs fortunes, a new stadium is currently being built. One side was used during the 2019-20 Ekstraklasa season with the remainder of the ground set to be completed by 2021. ^[9]

Rivalries[]

The club has a fierce rivalry with cross-town club Widzew Łódź, with the derby match between the two clubs being intense both on and off the field. See Łódź derby

Achievements[]

Stadion Miejski im. Władysława Króla, while under construction (2015)

Ekstraklasa:
- 1st Place (2): 1958, 1997–98
- 2nd Place (1): 1954
- 3rd Place (3): 1922, 1957, 1992–93
Polish Cup:
- Winner (1): 1956–57
- Finalist (1): 1993–94
Polish SuperCup:
- Finalist (2): 1994, 1998
Youth Teams:
- Polish U-19 Champion: 1962, 1983, 1999
- Polish U-19 Runner-up: 1953, 1955, 1973, 2002
- Polish U-19 Bronze Medal: 1971, 1981
- Polish U-17 Champion: 1994, 1999

Current squad[]

As of 24 July 2021

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
3	DF	POL	Adrian Klimczak
4	DF	ESP	Nacho Monsalve
5	DF	POL	Maciej Dąbrowski
6	MF	POL	Maciej Wolski
7	MF	DEN	Mikkel Rygaard
8	DF	POL	Kamil Dankowski
9	FW	ESP	Samu Corral
10	FW	ESP	Antonio Domínguez
11	FW	ESP	Javi Moreno
15	MF	POL	Artur Sójka
17	MF	POL	Piotr Gryszkiewicz
18	MF	NGA	Kelechukwu Ebenezer Ibe-Torti
19	MF	POL	Michał Trąbka


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
20	MF	ESP	Pirulo
21	FW	BRA	Ricardinho
23	FW	POL	Jan Kuźma
24	DF	POL	Jakub Tosik
26	MF	POL	Bartosz Szeliga
27	DF	POL	Mateusz Bąkowicz
29	DF	POL	Maksymilian Rozwandowicz
30	FW	POL	Dariusz Gmosiński
33	GK	POL	Michał Kot
37	FW	POL	Piotr Janczukowicz
56	GK	POL	Marek Kozioł
77	DF	POL	Jowin Radziński
88	DF	POL	Adam Marciniak
99	GK	POL	Dawid Arndt

Out on loan[]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	POL	Aleksander Cieślik (at Flota Świnoujście)
—	DF	POL	Maciej Dampc (at Sokół Ostróda)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	POR	Guima (at Académica)

ŁKS in Europe[]

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Score
1959–60	European Cup	Q	Jeunesse Esch	0–5, 2–1
1994–95	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Porto	0–2, 0–1
1996	UEFA Intertoto Cup	GR	KAMAZ	0–3
			Spartak Varna	1–1
			1860 Munich	0–5
			Kaučuk Opava	0–3
1998–99	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Kapaz	4–1, 3–1
		2Q	Manchester United	0–2, 0–0
	UEFA Cup	1R	Monaco	1–3, 0–0