Polonia Bytom

Towarzystwo SPORTOWE Polonia is a Polish sports club in the Upper Silesian city of Bytom ( Bytom ).

The official foundation was already in 1920. According to the third rebellion in Upper Silesia, he was resolved in 1922 by the Germans. On 21 May 1945 he was re-established as Towarzystwo SPORTOWE Polonia Bytom IDPs from Lvov Poland. The traditional team colors are made up of striped blue and red, the colors of the former Polish Association Pogoń Lwów. The association has a close connection to the fan groups from Arka Gdynia and Odra Opole.

Football Division

History

After the club had disbanded during the war, he was re-founded in 1945 and played his first ever game against Warta Poznan. The greatest successes of the club 's history were the two-time champion titles (1954 and 1962 ), and winning the International Football Cup, which corresponds to today's Intertoto Cup against SC Leipzig 5-4. The association was even in the years before the final, but lost 0-1 against the unhappy Slovak representatives Slovnaft Bratislava. Bytom reached the finals of the Polish Cup three times, but could never win the trophy. In addition, it was the first Polish club has managed to move into the second round of the Cup of the National Champion (now Champions League). On 7 July 1997 the club was merged with the city rivals Szombierki Bytom, but due to constant unrest the merger on 30 November 1998 has been terminated.

In the 2004/05 season the club was still playing in the third highest Polish league, before he ascended through a qualification game against Szczakowianka Jaworzno in the second highest Polish League on 22 June 2005. After it held to a goalless draw in the first leg, the Polonia made ​​in the return match at home with a 1-0 win everything clear. The following season the club had again in the play-offs against Unia Janikowo and realized again in the league.

Before the season 2006/ 07 Dariusz Fornalak was introduced as the new coach and reached the end of the season the 3rd place in the table and thus the direct promotion to the Orange Ekstraklasa. Only after the 3-2 win against Piast Gliwice in the penultimate round, the Polonia could again reach the excellence after 21 years of abstinence.

Ekstraklasa era 2007 - 2011

As the stadium of Polonia did not match the security measures of the Orange Ekstraklasa, the club's home matches in the stadium of Ruch Chorzów had to deliver in the first half of the season 2007/ 08. After a disastrous start to the season, the club mobilized only towards the middle of the first round and began to important points in the league to collect. The contract, the season was dissolved with ascent coach Dariusz Fornalak On 12 December 2007, and then finished at the 13th place in the standings.

Prior to the 2008/09 season the club did not get the license for the time being again, as on the one hand debt burdened the club and on the other hand, the stadium not the new guidelines of the Polish Football Association ( PZPN ) corresponded. Be allowed after the club did everything possible to compete in the Ekstraklasa, he got on 7 July 2008 at the third attempt ultimately the license. Marek Motyka was unveiled on 9 July 2008 as the new coach. After a satisfactory first round, which was terminated on Table No. 8, and a good winter preparation had Marek Motyka on 15 March 2009 after the 0-3 home defeat by Ruch Chorzów after only 3 games leave his coaching job. That same day, provided the executive level the Ukrainian Yuri Szatałow ago as the new head coach. Previously, it has become over the winter break, according to the club when the player Jakub Zabłocki and Tomasz Owczarek had directed the training and were suspended following. The season ended the club from Upper Silesia on table Rank 7 From the 2009/10 season Polonia Bytom is equipped by the Danish sportswear manufacturer Hummel.

Pre-season 2009/2010 for the club from Upper Silesia was difficult because you could not bind to the club one hand, many regular players and on the other hand was not available a lot of money (budget of the club is around 8 million zloty ) to sign on to new arrivals. Coach Yuri Szatałow had tested over 40 sample players throughout the summer break and could only imagine the full squad on 31 July 2009 just ahead of league start.

Unlike the previous seasons, the club was able to secure the license early and only had to renovate the sanitary facilities and spectator toilets. After many test matches and a training camp in Germany, was celebrated in Bytom the Ligauftakt the Ekstraklasa 2009/10 at home against GKS ​​Belchatow, where they won a goal by Szymon Sawala 1-0. While the team a great start to the season with 16 points after 8 games and they succeeded meanwhile were completely unexpected at No. 3 in the league, they lost unexpectedly in the 2nd round of the Polish Cup against fifth-tier Bytovia II Bytów 1-2. With 6 wins and 6 draws and 5 losses and a total of 24 points, the club ended the first round on table rank 7 this table space could the club also pause until the end of the season and finished the season off with 37 points and was the third year the goal relegation realize.

Even before the season 2010/11, a radical upheaval of the squad took place again, which, however, did not meet with such great media interest as the seasons before. For example, service providers such as Adrian Klepczyński and Wojciech Skaba were issued and also the long-time captain Jacek Trzeciak did his career end after the 2009/10 season known. Thus, a total of 15 new players obliged, mostly consisting of Ekstraklasa - actors and Eastern European legionnaires. Also, the season opener was standard and so was the team from Upper Silesia only on Matchday 5 the first three times the profit points with a 2-0 home win over Zagłębie Lubin recorded. In the next match days, the association could begin, but the end of September was shaken by a corruption incident on the board. In 2010, manager Damian Bartyla was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Association CBA on September 30. Then left on 29 October 2010 surprisingly head coach Yuri Szatałow the club and moved on to league rivals Cracovia Kraków. He was replaced by former Polish international Jan Urban, who won 1-0 his debut match against those very Cracovia a goal by Dariusz Jarecki. The contract was Urban remainder of the season. But Urban did not receive the Upper Silesian traditional club a long time and so they resorted to Saisondendspurt to the former Coach Dariusz rise Fornalak. However, after a weak second half of the club lost many league games, including important relegation matches against neighbors table and climbed on the last day even as Table from. Thus the club after three years of service in the Ekstraklasa will be reflected on the season 2011/ 2012 in the 1st league.

After sobering descent from the Ekstraklasa in 2011 a large part of the squad left the club, including long-standing management players like Marek bazik, Peter Hricko and Grzegorz Podstawek. It was a radical break with many new and especially young players. But the start of the season was disastrous for the Polonia. They lost against both Pogoń Szczecin, Warta Poznań and Piast Gliwice and stood after three game days, not a single counter and not a single hit on the bottom of the table. After the first round to Polonia was second to last place with sixteen points from seventeen games. The twelve -time scorer and thus the best club member of the first round, youth international Jakub Świerczok, left during the winter break the club and gave his move to German Bundesliga 1 FC Kaiserslautern known. In the media, a transfer fee in the amount of € 420,000 has been rumored. After the 1-3 home defeat 20 May 2012 against Arka Gdynia Polonia stable than repeated relegated and thus rose during the two seasons of the premier league to the third division from. With a 2-0 away win on the final day could say goodbye with a win in the league and finished the season with 36 points Rank 15 Thus, the association would be 2012 for the first time since the season 2004 /05 in the third Polish been League America, but benefited from the withdrawal of Ruch Radzionków from the second division and rose not from hence. In the next 2012/13 season the club 15 points behind but had only five games remaining on the first non- relegation zone, which was occupied by OKS Stomil Olsztyn. And when there had also lost the direct duel against Stomil Olsztyn, Polonia Bytom was quite early fixed relegated. Another blow to the younger Polonia story took place on 9 October 2013. After a relatively positive start to the season with 17 points from 11 matches, the club announced that former player and fan favorite Jacek Trzeciak ( coach since October 2, 2012) from his Office will be released as a head coach. He was succeeded by Artur Skowronek.

Achievements

• Polish Champion: 1954, 1962
• Polish vice-champion: 1952, 1958, 1959, 1961
• Polish Cup Finalist: 1964, 1973, 1977
• Winner of the International Football Cup: 1965

Participations in the European Cup

1962/63 Champions Cup

1958/59 Champions Cup

Well-known former players

• German Werner ( Pawel ) Orzechowski
• Poland Zygmunt Anczok
• Poland Henryk Apostles
• Poland Jan Banas
• German Dietmar Brehmer
• Poland Jerzy Brzęczek
• Germany Helmut ( Henryk ) Kempny
• Poland Adrian Klepczyński
• Poland Marcin Komorowski
• Poland Waclaw Kruczkowski
• Poland Jan Liberda
• Poland Horst Mahseli
• Poland Maciej Murawski
• Slovakia Michal Peskovic
• Poland Grzegorz Podstawek
• Poland Wojciech Skaba
• Ukraine Valeriy Sokolenko
• Poland Jakub Świerczok
• Poland Edward Szymkowiak
• Poland Kazimierz Trampisz
• Poland Jacek Trzeciak
• Poland Jakub Zabłocki

Stadium

The club plays its home games at Edward Szymkowiak Stadium, which was built in 1929. It offers the home fans some 5,000 seats and the total capacity of the stadium is around 6,000 places. The stadium has a Flutlichtanlange and soil heating is also available. Because of Erdschäden the clubhouse, as well as the adjacent stadium slipped every year by a few centimeters. After renovations in recent years, the new roof over the main stand was opened in the league game against Gornik Zabrze in September 2008. Namesake of the stadium is the former Polonia Bytom actor Edward Szymkowiak. In February 2013, the club announced to reduce the seating capacity of the stadium to 2,304 seats because he could no longer financially afford enough folders for the games themselves.

Hockey Department

The ice hockey team of Polonia Bytom is one of six league titles to one of the most successful Polish clubs in the past. In the 2011/12 season, the club plays in the second highest Polish Hockey League.