Lech Poznań

Formation and early years (1922–1945)

In 1920, a group of young activists from the Catholic Youth Association decided to split off and form their own football team. The origin of Lech can be traced back to March 19, 1922 when it was officially registered as a football club.^[2] The clubs first official name was Towarzystwo Sportowe Liga Dębiec. In September 1922 the club gained a football pitch on Grzybowa street. The first match for the club was played on September 17, 1922 against Sparta Poznań, which ended in a 1–1 draw. The club started its foundation in a low tier league, which at the time was the Class C.
The club achieved promotion in 1928 to the Class B after six years of being in Class C. In 1932 the club was promoted to Class A where the biggest teams of the region played. From there they could get promoted to the First National Division, but the club would not achieve that goal before the outbreak of World War II. In autumn of 1933 the Sportowy Kolejowego Przysposobienia Wojskowego Poznań ("Poznań Military Training Railway Sports Club") was founded or KPW. In 1945, shortly after the war ended, sporting officials made Lech the first club from the city.

Downfall and Miracle of Błażejewo (1947–1979)

In 1947, the Polish Football Association (PZPN) decided to create the first national division (Ekstraklasa). At first the club was not admitted to the top flight, but the Kolejorz ("the railwayman", popular nickname of the club) filed an appeal and the PZPN decided, in a special meeting, to extend the First Division to 14 teams, including the KKS (at that time called Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Poznań) and Widzew Łódź. The first match was against Widzew Łódź which Widzew won 4–3.
The club changed its name again in January 1957, this time to Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań and in December to Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań, which lasted throughout the history of the team. That same year turned out to be one of the worst for the club, since it finished in last position and was relegated to second division. Lech only gained twelve points in 22 games, despite having striker Teodor Anioła, the club's top scorer, with 141 goals and top scorer of the Polish championship in three consecutive editions (1949-1951).^[3] Along with Edmund Białas and Henryk Czapczyk, Anioła formed the famous trio known as ABC. During that period, the club managed to finish third in the First Division twice, as the best result, before its relegation to second division.
Lech managed to return to first division in 1961, but after two seasons with poor results, the blue team fell again in 1963. The club even went down to the third division, then known as the Interprovincial Division (Międzywojewódzka League), in one of the biggest sports crisis of the organization. In 1972 the club returned to the first division, in which they had to fight again to avoid relegation every season. Coach Jerzy Kopa, who arrived from Szombierki Bytom, was responsible for reviving Lech spectacularly. He took over the team in 1976, when they were in last position on the table. Kopa gathered players at a training camp in Błażejewo, saved the team from relegation and twelve months later qualified for the first time to play in the European competition after finishing third in the league, just two points behind the champion, Wisła Kraków. Therefore, this transformation in performance was known as The Miracle of Błażejewo.^[4] His first participation in the UEFA Cup in 1978-79 was brief, as he was eliminated in the first round by the MSV Duisburg.

Golden age of Lech (1980–1993)

The arrival of coach Wojciech Łazarek in 1980 at the club was key to overcome third place and European participation. That year the team reached the final of the Polish Cup for the first time, losing 0–5 to Legia Warsaw in Częstochowa. Two years later, the club managed to win the first title in its history, the Polish Cup, by defeating Pogoń Szczecin 1–0 in Wroclaw.

The striker Andrzej Juskowiak, top goalscorer and champion in the Ekstraklasa in 1990 with 18 goals.

The league championships of 1983 and 1984 went down in history as they were the first two league titles of the Kolejorz and for winning on such tight margins against Widzew Łódź. The first league championship for Lech was a point of advantage (39) over Widzew (38). The 15 goals scored by the top scorer of the tournament, Mirosław Okoński and the participation of other players like Krzysztof Pawlak and Józef Adamiec were very important to win their first league championship. Meanwhile, the championship of the following season both teams staged an exciting tournament and tied at 42 points. Lech defended championship by having a better difference of goals than Widzew to break the tie. That season was historic for the blue team, as they got their first double by becoming champions of the Polish Cup, after winning in the final at Wisła Kraków (3–0).

As Polish champions, Lech participated for the first time in the European Cup, although they could not pass the first round in the two seasons. In its first season it was eliminated by Athletic Club. In the first leg in Poland, Mariusz Niewiadomski and Mirosław Okoński scored the first two Lech goals in the tournament and the team won 2–0. However, the return match in San Mamés was a nightmare for the Poles and the Spanish team qualified by winning 4–0. The following season the team faced the current champion, F.C. Liverpool, who won by a 5–0 aggregate.
In 1988, Lech won another Cup by beating Legia in Łódź in the penalty shootout. In the second round of the European Cup, Lech faced Barcelona, coached by Johan Cruyff. After finishing the two games in a 1-1 draw, Barcelona, in the end the tournament, could only eliminate Lech in the penalty shootout.
Jerzy Kopa returned to Lech in 1990 along with Andrzej Strugarek and Kolejorz returned to be proclaimed league champions for the third time. Andrzej Juskowiak was the top scorer of the tournament with 18 goals and his team finished with 42 points, two more than the runner-up, Zagłębie Lubin. Henryk Apostel, however, was the coach who led Lech to two new championships in 1992 and 1993. The first one was achieved with a win over GKS Katowice, while the second one tied in points with the second team, Legia, and only won because Legia was penalized for disputed match fixing.
In the autumn of 1990, Lech played one of the most spectacular qualifiers of the last decade in the European Cup. At Bułgarska street stadium the Polish club defeated Olympique Marseille 3-2 in the first leg of the second round. The return match at the Stade Vélodrome, the French team, thrashed Lech 6–1, in a match in which most of the Polish players complained of food poisoning. Since 1993 the club entered into a major financial crisis and had to sell its most important players to continue in professional football.

New disappointments and successes (1994–present)

Lech managed to stay in the middle of the table and their best result was fourth place in 1990, which allowed him to play in the 1999-00 UEFA Cup, where they eliminated Liepājas Metalurgs in the qualifying round and were defeated by IFK Göteborg in first round. However, just a few months later, in 2000, Lech was relegated to the second division after 28 years of presence in the top flight. Lech's first season in the second division was a disaster, as they were very close to falling to the third division. It was only with a great effort that the club was saved from relegation and even won the promotion the next season to the first division.

Robert Lewandowski scored 32 goals in 58 matches with Lech Poznań (2008–2010).

In their first year of the return to the I league (2002–03) Lech focused on ensuring permanence. The following season began with a very negative dynamic for the Kolejorz. After five days, the club hired a new coach, Czesław Michniewicz.^[5] The unexpected appointment of the young coach turned out to be a shock, since Lech finished the season in sixth position. Most important, however, was the conquest of a new Polish Cup by defeating their great rival, Legia Warsaw, in the final two games in 2004. Several days later, the fans celebrated in Poznań the victory of Lech in the Super Cup against Wisła Kraków. Although the next two seasons did not bring any success of that proportion, Lech managed to finish at the top of the table at the end each season with coach Franciszek Smuda.

Smuda formed a strong team with the arrival at the club of players like Robert Lewandowski, Hernan Rengifo, Semir Štilić, Marcin Zając and Rafał Murawski. In the Ekstraklasa 2008–09 season, Lech had a great season and finished in third place and qualified for the UEFA Europa League thanks, in part, to the 14 goals scored by Robert Lewandowski. On May 19, 2009, Lech won the Cup for the fifth time by beating Ruch Chorzów with a solo goal by Sławomir Peszko at the Silesian stadium.
The following season, Jacek Zieliński replaced Franciszek Smuda (who was hired as national coach) as coach of Lech. With many of the players who achieved third place and the cup last season, Zieliński managed to make Lech champion for the sixth time in its history in the 2009-10 season. The striker Robert Lewandowski returned to be a reference in attack and was top scorer of the championship with 18 goal differential. In their participation in the Champions League 2010–11 they were eliminated by Sparta Prague in the third round and without Lewandowski, who was transferred to Borussia Dortmund. One of their most successful European appearance was in the UEFA Europa League 2010–11, in which they eliminated Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk to enter the group stage of the tournament for the first time. Lech managed to qualify as second in the group with Manchester City, leaving Juventus and FC Salzburg out of the tournament. However, they were eliminated by Braga, runner-up of the tournament months later, in the round of 32 after winning in Poland (1–0) and losing in Portugal (2–0).

Domestic

• Ekstraklasa (First Division):
  • Champion (7): 1982–83, 1983–84, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2009–10, 2014–15
  • 2nd place (2): 2012–13, 2013–14
  • 3rd place (6): 1949, 1950, 1977–78, 2008–09, 2016–17, 2017–18
• Polish Cup:
  • Winner (5): 1981–82, 1983–84, 1987–88, 2003–04, 2008–09
  • Finalist (5): 1979–80, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
• Polish SuperCup:
  • Winner (6): 1990, 1992, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2016
  • Finalist (3): 1983, 1988, 2010
• Youth Teams:
  • Polish U-19 Champion: 1987, 1995, 2018
  • Polish U-19 Runner-up: 1998, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015
  • Polish U-19 Bronze Medal: 1937, 1985, 1992, 1994, 2014, 2016, 2017
  • Polish U-17 Champion: 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
  • Polish U-17 Runner-up: 1996, 2012
• Ekstraklasa top goalscorers (11):

Teodor Anioła (1949 - 20, 1950 - 21, 1951 - 20)

Mirosław Okoński (1982–83 - 15)

Andrzej Juskowiak (1989–90 - 18)

Jerzy Podbrożny (1991–92 - 20, 1992–93 - 25)

Piotr Reiss (2006–07 - 15)

Robert Lewandowski (2009–10 - 18)

Artjoms Rudņevs (2011–12 - 22)

Marcin Robak (2016–17 - 18)

Europe

• UEFA Europa League:
  • Round of 32 (2): 2009, 2011

List of results

As of 18 August 2018.

Season	Competition	Round		Club	Home	Away	Agg
1978–79	UEFA Cup	1R		MSV Duisburg	2–5	0–5	2–10
1982–83	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R		ÍBV	3–0	1–0	4–0
		2R		Aberdeen	0–1	0–2	0–3
1983–84	European Cup	1R		Athletic Bilbao	2–0	0–4	2–4
1984–85	European Cup	1R		Liverpool	0–1	0–4	0–5
1985–86	UEFA Cup	1R		Borussia Mönchengladbach	0–2	1–1	1–3
1988–89	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R		Flamurtari Vlorë	1–0	3–2	4–2
		2R		Barcelona	1–1	1–1	2–2 (4–5 pen)
1990–91	European Cup	1R		Panathinaikos	3–0	2–1	5–1
		2R		Olympique de Marseille	3–2	1–6	4–8
1992–93	UEFA Champions League	1R		Skonto	2–0	0–0	2–0
		2R		IFK Göteborg	0–3	0–1	0–4
1993–94	UEFA Champions League	1R		Beitar Jerusalem	3–0	4–2	7–2
		2R		Spartak Moscow	1–5	1–2	2–7
1999–00	UEFA Cup	Q		Liepājas Metalurgs	3–1	2–3	5–4
		1R		IFK Göteborg	1–2	0–0	1–2
2004–05	UEFA Cup	2Q		Terek Grozny	0–1	0–1	0–2
2008–09	UEFA Cup	1Q		Khazar Lankaran	4–1	1–0	5–1
		2Q		Grasshopper	6–0	0–0	6–0
		1R		Austria Wien	4–2	1–2	5–4
		GR		Nancy	2–2		3rd
				CSKA Moscow		1–2
				Deportivo La Coruña	1–1
				Feyenoord		1–0
		3R		Udinese	2–2	1–2	3–4
2009–10	UEFA Europa League	3Q		Fredrikstad	1–2	6–1	7–3
		PO		Club Brugge	1–0	0–1	1–1 (3–4 pen)
2010–11	UEFA Champions League	2Q		Inter Baku	0–1	1–0	1–1 (9–8 pen)
		3Q		Sparta Praha	0–1	0–1	0–2
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	PO		Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	0–0	1–0	1–0
		GR		Juventus	1–1	3–3	2nd
				FC Salzburg	2–0	1–0
				Manchester City	3–1	1–3
		1/16		Braga	1–0	0–2	1–2
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	1Q		Zhetysu	2–0	1–1	3–1
		2Q		Khazar Lankaran	1–0	1–1	2–1
		3Q		AIK	1–0	0–3	1–3
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	2Q		FC Honka	2–1	3–1	5–2
		3Q		Žalgiris Vilnius	2–1	0–1	2–2 (a)
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	2Q		Nõmme Kalju	3–0	0–1	3–1
		3Q		Stjarnan	0–0	0–1	0–1
2015–16	UEFA Champions League	2Q		FK Sarajevo	1–0	2–0	3–0
		3Q		Basel	1–3	0–1	1–4
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	PO		Videoton	3–0	1–0	4–0
		GR		Basel	0–1	0–2	3rd
				Fiorentina	0–2	2–1
				Belenenses	0–0	0–0
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	1Q		Pelister	4–0	3–0	7–0
		2Q		Haugesund	2–0	2–3	4–3
		3Q		Utrecht	2–2	0–0	2–2 (a)
2018–19	UEFA Europa League	1Q		Gandzasar Kapan	2–0	1–2	3–2
		2Q		Shakhtyor Soligorsk	3–1	1–1	4–2 (a.e.t.)
		3Q		Genk	1–2	0–2	1–4

UEFA Team ranking

See also: UEFA coefficient

As of 3 August 2018.^[7]

Rank	Team	Points
128	Hajduk Split	8.000
	Lech Poznań
	Austria Wien
	Osmanlıspor
	Trabzonspor

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player 15 MF Jakub Moder (at Odra Opole until 30 June 2019) 24 FW Dawid Kurminowski (at Zemplín Michalovce until 31 December 2018) 27 DF Tymoteusz Puchacz (at Zagłębie Sosnowiec until 30 June 2019)

No. Position Player 31 GK Bartosz Mrozek (at Elana Toruń until 30 June 2019) GK Miłosz Mleczko (at Puszcza Niepołomice until 30 June 2019)

Retired numbers

9 - Piotr Reiss - Forward (1994–98, 2002–08, 2012–13)
12 - number retired for fans, called "12th player"

^[9]

Dębiec Stadium

Initially the club's first stadium was located in the Dębiec district between two train tracks.^[10] It belonged to PKP (the Polish state railways) and was demolished in 2013 after a long period of inactivity.^[11]

Edmund Szyc Stadium

Stadion im. Edmunda Szyca is a currently ruined multi-purpose stadium in the Wilda district, named after Edmund Szyc, one of founders of Warta Poznań.^[12] It is the historical home of the other football team Warta Poznań,^[13] but Lech played there sporadically between 1950s and 1970s.

Bułgarska Street Stadium

The Municipal Stadium in Poznań is the home ground of Lech Poznań, and was one of the venues for the group phase of Euro 2012. It has a league capacity of 43,269 (all seated). The stadium was originally built between 1968 and 1980. From its inauguration in August 1980 Lech Poznań has used the ground as its main venue; since 2010 it has also been used by Warta Poznań, which currently plays in I Liga.^[14] The ground is situated on the street ul. Bułgarska 17 in the southwestern part of the city (Grunwald district).

In the years 2003–10 the stadium underwent a complete reconstruction, including the building of four new fully covered stands.^[15] Currently it is the fifth largest stadium in Poland (after National Stadium, Silesia Stadium, The Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw and PGE Arena Gdańsk) and third largest in Ekstraklasa (after the latter two).^[16] The grand opening after final renovation took place on 20 September 2010, with Sting's Symphonicity Tour concert.

Exterior of the municipal stadium in Poznań 

Full Exterior of the stadium 

Full interior showing vip stand 

Interior of the municipal stadium 

The Poznań

The fans' goal celebration involving the turning of their backs to the pitch, joining arms and jumping up and down in unison—originated in 1961. It is known in the English speaking world as "The Poznan" after Manchester City began using the celebration following their clash with Lech Poznań in the group stages of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League. Also popular with fans of Scottish club Celtic who call their version "The Huddle", in homage to the teams pre-match ritual of a huddle before every game kicks off.