Warta Poznań

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This article is about the sports club. For the field hockey section, see Warta Poznań (field hockey).
Warta Poznań
Warta Poznań crest.svg
Full nameKlub Sportowy Warta Poznań
Nickname(s)Zieloni (The Greens)
Founded15 June 1912; 109 years ago (1912-06-15)[1]
GroundStadion Warty Poznań
Stadion w Grodzisku Mazowieckim
Capacity2,813[2]
5,383[3]
ChairmanBartosz Wolny
ManagerPiotr Tworek
LeagueEkstraklasa
2020–21Ekstraklasa, 5th of 16
WebsiteClub website

Warta Poznań (Polish pronunciation: [ˈvarta ˈpɔznaj̃]) is a multi-sports club based in Poznań, Poland. The name means the Guard in Polish and also the name of the river Warta on which Poznań is located.

Founded in 1912, the association football club are two-time winners of the Polish Football Championship, in 1929 and 1947. In 2020, Warta returned to the Polish Ekstraklasa after being absent for 25 years. The club also played in the top level of the Polish football league system from 1927 to 1939, 1946 to 1950 and 1993 to 1995.

In its history, the club celebrated many successes in disciplines such as boxing (the club won the Polish championship 11 times between 1927 and 1939), field hockey (the club won the Polish championship 12 times between 1963 and 1980) and tennis (Wiesław Gąsiorek of Warta was Polish champion 12 times between 1959 and 1970). In total, Warta teams, sportsmen and sportswomen won almost 800 medals in Polish championship competitions in different sports disciplines.

History[]

Beginnings (1912-1918)[]

Warta Poznań football team in 1920, Edmund Szyc (football player wearing glasses), chairman Rotnicki standing (second from right)
The green colours of Warta displayed on Poznań's Town Hall honouring the club's 100th anniversary in 2012

On 15 June 1912, the Warta Poznań Sports Club (Klub Sportowy Warta Poznań) was established, which later became known as "the first lady of Wielkopolska". Its founders were young Poles who previously played in the German clubs in Poznań, including Marian Bey, Stefan Malinowski, Stefan Mórkowski, brothers Edmund and Franciszek Szyc and Ludwik Zysnarski. They were included in the first board of the club, whose first president - as the oldest member of the board - became Franciszek Szyc. His brother Edmund was appointed secretary, and Marian Bey was the team captain. At the founding meeting, white and green were chosen as statutory colours. In addition to football, Warta formed an athletics section in 1912 and then a tennis section in 1914.[4]

During German rule, matches involving Polish teams were forbidden, which prompted the decision to organize the first Wielkopolska football championship in 1913, in which three teams participated: Warta Poznań, Posnania and Ostrovia Ostrów Wielkopolski. Warta became the first champion. The results were as follows: Posnania - Warta 1–1, Warta - Ostrovia 3–2, Ostrovia - Warta 3–4, Warta - Posnania 2–2.[5]

The inaugural championship of the region resulted in a surge of football popularity in Poznań. New football teams emerged such as Trytonia[5] founded in Łazarz and a team called Sparta established in Jeżyce. In 1914, despite the start of hostilities related to the outbreak of World War I, efforts were made in Poznań to organize sports events, which was made more difficult by the martial law imposed by the Germans. In general, the regulations did not allow any kind of meeting or assembly to be held without official permits. Despite these difficulties, in 1914 the second Wielkopolska Championships were held, in which only two teams participated: Warta Poznań and KS Posnania. In this two-legged tie, Warta smoothly defeated Posnania 6–3[6] and 2–1.[7]

One of the mysteries of 1915 is finding reliable information about who won the next championships of Wielkopolska. From the chronicle of the Ostrovia club, you can learn that it was them that won the championship. However, many researchers doubt that this is true, as there are no other source materials on the basis of which this record could be confirmed. Another theory is possible, provided by J. Owsiański and T. Siwiński. Namely, that Ostrovia assigned the championship title to itself after winning the match against Warta Poznań. It would be a logical explanation of the record in the chronicle about winning the Wielkopolska championship. In this aggregate match, the first match ended with Warta's victory 4–2, the second match ended with the victory of the team from Ostrów 4–1.

During the war years, Warta played various friendly matches with Polish and German teams, including Fever Kościan (1–3 and 5–5) and DeutscherSportverein (DSV) (2���2) in 1915, and Stella Gniezno (2–2) and DSV (4–0) in 1916.[8] In 1917, Warta celebrated its 5th anniversary year by organising a tournament with the participation of the best football teams from Poznań.

Also in 1917, Franciszek Rotnicki became chairman of the club and, during his chairmanship (1917-1924), he laid the foundations for Warta's future successes. It was said at the time: “… A man of great authority, energetic and enterprising. It is he, together with a skillfully selected group of associates, who builds solid foundations for the future size of the club in this difficult period. Anticipating the inevitable end of the invasive Prussian imperialism, he focuses the efforts of the management primarily on consolidating the club tradition, on sticking to the colours of Warta ... ”.[9]

Interwar period (1918-1939)[]

Friendly match with Cracovia in August 1924, Władysław Przybysz of Warta on the right
Match with Ruch Hajduki Wielkie in 1937, Wilmowski on the ball, Kajetan Kryszkiewicz and Edmund Twórz of Warta defending

World War I hostilities caused enormous destruction, many Polish athletes died and the already modest sports base was largely destroyed. During the successful Greater Poland Uprising against German partitioning authorities, many footballers from Poznań volunteered for military service to fight for their country. But the end of World War I and the restoration of an independent Polish state after 123 years in 1918 also provided new opportunities for Polish sports, as Polish sports clubs were able to function without interference from foreign powers.

In 1919, pre-war sports structures were re-activated, and the first post-war Wielkopolska championship was held. Five teams entered the competition, including four teams from Poznań - Unia, Warta, Posnania, and Pogoń - as well as Ostrovia from Ostrów Wielkopolski. Warta won the championship, after beating Ostrovia 7–1, Unia 3–2, Posnania 7–0 and Pogoń 7–0. In the following year, the regional championship was abandoned because of the Polish-Soviet War.[10]

In 1921, the first Polish national football championship was successfully held (the championship was previously started and then abandoned in 1920 because of war). It was run similar to a cup competition, according to the "spring-autumn" system, until 1927. In the spring, Warta participated in the Klasa A regional district championship (Warta became champion in 1921, 1922, 1923 and 1926, in 1924-1925 no champion was crowned), with football clubs from Wielkopolska such as Warta,[11] Pogoń and Stella Gniezno.[12] In the autumn, the winners from five regional districts played against each other at national level. Under the club chairmanship of Stanisław Broniarz (chairman 1924 to 1927, deputy chairman 1927 to 1929), Warta was a leading proponent and founding member of the Polish football league, which was launched in 1927.[13]

The interwar period was Warta's golden era and Warta was a leading football team in Poland. Between 1922 and 1928, Warta was always in the top three teams in the Polish football championship (there was no championship in 1924). Finally, with the Hungarian coach Béla Fűrst in charge, Warta won its first Polish football championship in 1929.[14] In that season, Warta won 15 out of 24 league matches, it lost fewest goals of all teams (33) and it had - jointly with Cracovia - the best goal difference (+25).[15]

The global economic crisis of 1929 negatively affected Polish sports clubs, including Warta. Despite these difficulties, throughout the 1930s, Warta was again in the top three football clubs in the top division on four occasions. In 1932, Kajetan Kryszkiewicz and Friedrich Scherfke were jointly the top goal scorers in the league, with 15 goals each. Other sports disciplines also fared well. In 1920, the Poznań municipal government handed over large sports grounds to Warta. The club launched new sports sections, such as field hockey (1923), boxing (1924), swimming (1928) and ice hockey (1930).[16] Warta's boxing team won the Polish championship 11 times and Warta's athletics team won the Polish championship five times.

Warta Poznań encouraged innovations in sports in the inter-war period. In 1929, the victorious Warta match against the Dutch champions Philips Eindhoven was the first football match broadcast on Polish radio (Warta won 5–2).[17] In September 1933, the Warta match against Legia Poznań was the first football match in Poland to be played using artificial lighting.[18]

Polish teams did not yet participate in annual European football club competitions, but the Warta team travelled abroad on many occasions to play friendly games and to take part in football tournaments. Every year, various football teams from Germany, Hungary and elsewhere travelled to Poznań to play Warta. In September 1934, for example, FC Milan (today's AC Milan) travelled to Poznań to play against Warta (Warta lost 1–3).[19]

World War II (1939-1945)[]

At the start of World War II in 1939, the football season was interrupted and was never completed. The club was forced to suspend its operations. Poles were not permitted to participate in organised sports events during the German occupation, but some Warta football players clandestinely took part in an unofficial Poznań football championship in 1940 and 1941, with games played on football pitches on the outskirts of town.[20][21]

During the war, the German occupiers destroyed many documents and club mementos. Some former Warta sportsmen and board members died in German concentration camps. For example, former Warta footballers Marian Einbacher and Adam Knioła died in the Auschwitz concentration camp,[22] while former Warta club chairman Stanisław Broniarz died in the Gross-Rosen concentration camp.[23]

Postwar period (1945-1990)[]

A Communist Party harvest festival in the Edmund Szyc stadium in 1974

A formal general meeting was held on 18 March 1945 and the club's operations were revived.[24] Already in the first post-war season of the Polish football league in 1946, Warta finished the season in second place, losing in the final against Polonia Warsaw (for two years after the war, the Polish championship was contested like a cup competition).[25]

A year later in 1947, Warta played outstanding football under the direction of the Hungarian coach Károly Fogl. In the semi-final of the Polish championship competition, Warta won against AKS Chorzów 4–1 and 2–0. In the final, Warta beat Wisła Kraków 2–0 away in Kraków. Interest in the final match in Poznań was enormous and the stadium attendance was higher than nominal capacity (over 20 000 spectators). The exciting match finished with Warta's victory 5–2 and Warta won its second – and so far, last – championship title in its history.[26]

However, the Stalinism era ended the series of Warta's successes, as regional Communist leadership favoured the local rival Lech. In 1949, Warta was de facto forced to change its name to Związkowiec Poznań, which resulted in the disappearance of the historical name Warta.[27] In 1950, Warta was forced to merge with the sports club HCP, which belonged to the Hipolit Cegielski Poznań works – a leading industrial company in Poznań. The HCP team played under the name Stal and the merged club used the name.[28] In the same year, Warta's football team was relegated from the top division. From 1951 to 1956, the club played under the name Stal Poznań.

On 29 December 1956, a general meeting of the club decided to return to the old name Warta. The Hipolit Cegielski Poznań works continued to sponsor the club. Their involvement did not return Warta to its former glory, but it significantly helped to develop the club's logistical base. Warta received funds to re-develop its sports facilities and was able to use the Edmund Szyc Stadium (then called ''22 July Stadium") with a capacity of 60,000.

During the post-war period, the Warta football team never returned to the top flight. However, Warta celebrated successes in other sports – most notably, in field hockey and tennis. In field hockey, Warta won the Polish championship 12 times between 1963 and 1980 and they were runners-up nine times between 1957 and 1981. Warta participated in the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup (Europe's premier field hockey club competition) six times between 1969 and 1977, coming fifth in Europe in the 1969 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.

In the Polish tennis league, Warta's tennis team became Polish champions in 1965 and 1970 and were runners-up in 1961, 1964, 1966 and 1969. Warta's tennis section was particularly known for the individual achievements of Wiesław Gąsiorek, who was Polish men's singles champion 12 times between 1959 and 1970.

In 1989, at the end of the Communist period, Warta and Hipolit Cegielski Poznań works parted ways. After some negotiations, the Edmund Szyc Stadium and the sports grounds were transferred to the club.

Post-Communist period (1990-2018)[]

Alain Ngamayama - former Warta captain and club hero who was with Warta since its youth team

At the beginning of the 1990s, Warta returned to the top tier of the Polish football league system after 43 years for two seasons 1993/94 and 1994/95.

After relegation in 1995, Warta mostly played in the third tier of the league system over the next decade. The Edmund Szyc Stadium fell into disrepair by 1998. Warta subsequently played its football matches in the Warta Poznań Stadium - former training ground of the Edmund Szyc stadium, nicknamed Ogródek (Little Garden).

In the 2007/2008 season, Warta returned to the second tier of the Polish football league system.

In January 2011, former model and new owner Izabella Łukomska-Pyżalska became chairwoman. Debts of the ailing club were repaid and the budget was increased.[29] Warta started to play its games in the Municipal Stadium in Poznań. However, Warta remained in the second tier. After relegation in 2013 and because of club debts, Warta landed in the fourth tier of the league system where it spent two seasons 2014/2015 and 2015/16.

In 2016, Warta was promoted to II liga (the third tier of the league system).

In 2018, Warta was able to advance to I liga (the second tier) again. 

However, by the autumn of 2018, the club's finances were in serious trouble. The situation was so desperate that the football team captain Bartosz Kieliba said: "Several months of player wages are in arrears, there is no certainty whether we will ever play another game, which does not help our work in training or our stance in matches".

Period of renewal (2018 to-date)[]

Stadion Miejski (Grodzisk Wielkopolski) during the league match between Warta Poznań and Piast Gliwice in September 2020

In August 2018, businessman Bartłomiej Farjaszewski bought the football section of Warta (under the name: Warta Poznań SA) and repaid the club's debts.[30] Following the legal separation in 2018, there are now two organisations: Warta Poznań SA focuses on all football teams, whereas KS Warta Poznań continues as a multi-sports club (which includes fencing, field hockey and swimming sections, among others).

In June 2019, Piotr Tworek replaced Petr Němec as football coach. In 2020, with experienced players such as Bartosz Kieliba and Łukasz Trałka, Warta surprisingly finished the 2019–20 I liga season in third place. After winning the promotion playoffs, Warta returned to the Polish Ekstraklasa after being absent for 25 years.

At the start of the 2020/21 season, many football pundits predicted Warta’s relegation. Defying all expectations, with new players such as striker Mateusz Kuzimski (summer 2020 signing) and winger Makana Baku (on loan from January 2021), Warta finished fifth in the league. This represented Warta football team's best result since winning the football championship in 1947.[31]

As the Warta Poznań Municipal Stadium (Ogródek) does not conform to Ekstraklasa licensing requirements, the senior Warta football team plays its home games in the Stadion Miejski (Grodzisk Wielkopolski). Warta Poznań also has a women's football section and an amputee football section.

Honours[]

Football[]

Field hockey[]

  • Polish men's champion: 1963, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1980
  • Polish indoor men's champion: 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1982
European cup competitions
Year Competition Tier level Ranking Host city
1969 Club Champions Cup 1 5 Brussels
1971 Club Champions Cup 1 12 Rome
1973 Club Champions Cup 1 6 Frankfurt am Main
1974 Club Champions Cup 1 7 Utrecht
1976 Club Champions Cup 1 11 Amsterdam
1977 Club Champions Cup 1 8 London
1981 Club Champions Trophy 2 4 Rome

Current squad[]

Łukasz Trałka of Warta faces Dani Ramirez during the local derby with Lech Poznań in September 2020
As of 1 September, 2021[32]

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 Adrian Lis
2 DF Poland POL Jan Grzesik
3 DF Poland POL Jakub Kiełb
4 DF Finland FIN Robert Ivanov
5 DF Poland POL Bartosz Kieliba (Captain)
6 MF Poland POL Łukasz Trałka
7 MF Spain ESP Mario Rodríguez
9 FW Poland POL Mateusz Kuzimski
10 MF Belgium BEL Milan Corryn
11 MF Poland POL Michał Jakóbowski
12 GK Poland POL Patryk Prange
14 DF Poland POL Nikodem Fiedosewicz
15 MF Poland POL Michał Kopczyński
16 DF Poland POL Aleks Ławniczak
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF Poland POL Mateusz Czyżycki
19 FW Poland POL Jakub Sangowski
20 MF Poland POL Szymon Czyż
21 MF Poland POL Mateusz Kupczak
22 DF Poland POL Konrad Matuszewski
25 MF Poland POL Szymon Soiński
29 DF Poland POL Filip Małek
30 DF Poland POL Bartłomiej Burman
31 MF Poland POL Mateusz Sopoćko
33 GK Poland POL Jędrzej Grobelny
34 DF Poland POL Wiktor Pleśnierowicz
77 MF France FRA Jayson Papeau
99 FW Slovakia SVK Adam Zreľák

Players 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
8 MF Poland POL Kajetan Szmyt (at Górnik Polkowice until the end of 2021–22 season)
23 MF Poland POL Mikołaj Rakowski (at Unia Swarzędz until the end of 2021–22 season)
24 MF Poland POL Dominik Smykowski (at KSZO Ostrowiec until the end of 2021–22 season)

Former players[]

Grzegorz Rasiak - one of the most famous players of Warta Poznań

Notable Warta Poznań players, who played for the Poland national football team:

Managers[]

As of 2 August 2020.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ http://kswarta.pl/index.php?sid=6&pid=25
  2. ^ http://stadiony.net/stadiony/pol/stadion_warty_ogrodek
  3. ^ http://stadiony.net/stadiony/pol/stadion_dyskobolii_grodzisk_wielkopolski
  4. ^ Piech, Krzysztof (2012). 100 lat KS Warta Poznań - Historia w 1000 obrazkach. Poznań: KS Warta Poznań.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Owsiański, Jarosław; Siwiński, Tomasz (2013). Historia futbolu Wielkopolskiego (in Polish). WZPN Poznań. p. 36. ISBN 978-83-64237-00-3.
  6. ^ Owsiański, Jarosław; Siwiński, Tomasz (2013). Historia futbolu Wielkopolskiego (in Polish). p. 39. ISBN 978-83-64237-00-3.
  7. ^ Owsiański, Jarosław; Siwiński, Tomasz (2013). Historia futbolu Wielkopolskiego (in Polish). p. 43. ISBN 978-83-64237-00-3.
  8. ^ Owsiański, Jarosław; Siwiński, Tomasz (2013). Historia futbolu Wielkopolskiego (in Polish). p. 46. ISBN 978-83-64237-00-3.
  9. ^ 25 lat Warty : 1912-1937 : jubileuszowa księga pamiątkowa (in Polish). Poznań: Poznań : Klub Sportowy "Warta", 1937 ([Poznań] : Druk. "Dziennika Poznańskiego"). 1937. p. 3.
  10. ^ 25 lat Warty : 1912-1937 : jubileuszowa księga pamiątkowa (in Polish). Poznań: Poznań : Klub Sportowy "Warta", 1937 ([Poznań] : Druk. "Dziennika Poznańskiego"). 1937. p. 54.
  11. ^ Owsiański, Jarosław; Siwiński, Tomasz (2013). Historia futbolu Wielkopolskiego (in Polish). p. 55. ISBN 978-83-64237-00-3.
  12. ^ Owsiański, Jarosław; Siwiński, Tomasz (2013). Historia futbolu Wielkopolskiego (in Polish). p. 60. ISBN 978-83-64237-00-3.
  13. ^ 25 lat Warty : 1912-1937 : jubileuszowa księga pamiątkowa (in Polish). Poznań: Poznań : Klub Sportowy "Warta", 1937 ([Poznań] : Druk. "Dziennika Poznańskiego"). 1937. p. 27.
  14. ^ Owsiański, Jarosław; Siwiński, Tomasz (2013). Historia futbolu wielkopolskiego. Poznań. p. 106. ISBN 978-83-64237-00-3.
  15. ^ Warta Poznań official website. "Rok 1929: Warta Poznań obejmuje tron piłkarski – Pierwsze mistrzostwo "Zielonych"". Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  16. ^ 25 lat Warty : 1912-1937 : jubileuszowa księga pamiątkowa (in Polish). Poznań: Poznań : Klub Sportowy "Warta", 1937 ([Poznań] : Druk. "Dziennika Poznańskiego"). 1937.
  17. ^ Warta Poznań official website. "Rok 1929: Warta Poznań kontra Philips Eindhoven - Pierwszy w Polsce mecz transmitowany przez radio". Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  18. ^ Warta Poznań official website. "Rok 1933: Warta Poznań i pierwszy w Polsce mecz piłkarski przy sztucznym świetle". Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  19. ^ 25 lat Warty : 1912-1937 : jubileuszowa księga pamiątkowa (in Polish). Poznań: Poznań : Klub Sportowy "Warta", 1937 ([Poznań] : Druk. "Dziennika Poznańskiego"). 1937.
  20. ^ Nawrot, Radosław (2011) "Niemiecki piłkarz, gwiazda "Warty". Po 1939 r. grał dalej", Gazeta Wyborcza (Wielkopolska), 23 August 2011, p. 20. retrieved 14 February 2021 https://poznan.wyborcza.pl/poznan/1,36001,10155716,Niemiecki_pilkarz__gwiazda__Warty___Po_1939_r__gral.html?as=2
  21. ^ Aleksandrowicz, Grzegorz (1969). 60-lecie Piłkarstwa Wielkopolskiego. Poznań. p. 46.
  22. ^ Nawrot, Radosław (2015) "Rocznica wyzwolenia obozu Auschwitz. Ginęli tam poznańscy sportowcy", Gazeta Wyborcza (Wielkopolska), 27 January 2015. retrieved 14 February 2021 http://www.poznan.sport.pl/sport-poznan/1,124482,17317607,Rocznica_wyzwolenia_obozu_Auschwitz__Gineli_tam_poznanscy.html
  23. ^ Powstańcy wielkopolscy w obozie w Żabikowie, https://www.zabikowo.eu/muzeum/wystawy/wystawy-czasowe/407-powstancy-wielkopolscy-w-obozie-w-zabikowie, Muzeum Martyrologiczne w Żabikowie, retrieved 14 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Pierwszy film sportowy poznańskiej produkcji", Głos Wielkopolski, 17 December 1946.
  25. ^ "Prezentujemy piłkarskiego wicemistrza Polski drużynę "Warty". Od mistrza Okręgu do wicemistrza Polski", Głos Wielkopolski, 10 December 1946.
  26. ^ "Warta mistrzem Polski w piłce nożnej", Głos Wielkopolski, 2 December 1947
  27. ^ ""Warta" zmienia nazwę". Gazeta Ostrowska. 15 July 1949.
  28. ^ "SportowaHistoria.PL".
  29. ^ Pałuba, Jacek (2011) "Warta Poznań ma nową panią prezes", Głos Wielkopolski, 19 January 2011.
  30. ^ Maciejewski, Krzysztof (2018) "Warta Poznań: Nowy właściciel Bartłomiej Farjaszewski kupił spółkę za... 9,5 zł", Głos Wielkopolski, 29 August 2018.
  31. ^ "Piotr Tworek po meczu z Cracovią: Chłopcy, zapisaliście się na kartach historii Poznania". Głos Wielkopolski. 17 May 2021.
  32. ^ "Kadra pierwszego zespołu 2020/21". Warta Poznań. Retrieved 17 February 2021.

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