Lechia Gdansk Supporters
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Lechia Stadium
Lechia Gdańsk ( ) is a
Polish football club based in
Gdańsk
, Poland
. The
club's name comes from
Lechia, a poetic name
for Poland.
The club was founded by people expelled from
Lwów
, who were supporters of Lechia Lwów. Founded in 1945, Lechia
was a powerhouse in Polish football during the mid-1950s. Next
decades were lean, the team returned to form in early the 1980s,
winning a Cup of Poland, a Super Cup, and playing in the UEFA Cup
Winners Cup, where it lost to
Juventus
Turin. In May 2008 the club was promoted again to the
Polish top division.
Achievements
History
The club
was founded in 1945 in Gdańsk named at the
time "BOP Baltia Gdańsk". In
1946 the
club name was changed to "Lechia". The first historic promotion to
the Polish Ekstraklasa occurred in
1948.
After a season in the Polish Ekstraklasa, Lechia was relegated in
1949 to the Second Division. The club again changed its name to
"Budowlani", advancing to the Polish Ekstraklasa in 1951 and being
relegated again in 1953 for a season. In the 1956 season, Lechia
finished 3rd in the Polish Ekstraklasa, which is the greatest
achievement in the club's history so far. Lechia was relegated for
the third time after the 1962-1963 season of the Polish
Ekstraklasa, and then was relegatged from the Second Division in
the 1966-1967 season. They returned to the Second Division in the
1972-1973 season, but was short lived as they were relegated after
the 1981-1982 season.
In spite of that the 1980s have been regarded as the rebirth of the
club. Lechia was promoted to the Polish 2nd Division in the
1982-1983 season.
In 1983 the club achieved his biggest
successes so far: first by winning the Polish
Cup with a 2-1 victory over Piast Gliwice
in the final and later by winning the Polish Supercup. In 1984 Lechia
finally managed to get promoted to
Ekstraklasa after 21 years of absence. The club
played in the top league 4 yearsbut in 1988 suffered a decline in
form which resulted in another relegation to second division.At the
end of the 2007/08 season Lechia managed to get promoted to
extraklasa again.
On 28 January 2009 the members of OSP Lechia Gdańsk signed a
document that formed the new Lechia Gdańsk S.A.
Road to the Ekstraklasa
Historic Club Names
- 1945: Baltia Gdańsk
- 1946: Klub Sportowy Lechia Gdańsk
- 1950: Budowlani Gdańsk
- 1955: Budowlany Klub Sportowy Lechia Gdańsk
- 1992: FC Lechia (S.A.)
- 1995: Lechia/Olimpia Gdańsk
- 1996: Klub Sportowy Lechia Gdańsk
- 1998: Lechia/Polonia Gdańsk
- 2001: Ośrodek Szkolenia Piłkarskiego Lechia Gdańsk
- 2009: Lechia Gdańsk (S.A.)
Managers
The Fans
In the
1980s many of the club's fans were active in the Solidarity movement which was fighting the
communist regime in Poland. It
is therefore not unusual to see anticommunist slogans or phrases
like "we make history" on the stands. The leader of the movement,
Lech Wałęsa is a supporter of
the club together with other prominent figures in polish politics
such as Prime Minister
Donald
Tusk.
The
archrivals are Arka
Gdynia
which come from the same region, the Tricity, Poland
. Lechia's fans have an alliance with
Wisła Kraków and
Śląsk Wrocław fans.
Baltic Arena
The city
of Gdańsk will host
the UEFA Euro 2012 and is
consequently preparing itself to build a new modern
arena.It will be called the Baltic Arena
and will have the capacity for about 44,000
people. After the event the stadium will belong to Lechia
Gdańsk.
Current squad
Lechia in Europe
See also
External links
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