Wikipedia

Raków Częstochowa

For railway station in Częstochowa, see Częstochowa Raków railway station.

Robotniczy Klub Sportowy Raków Częstochowa Spółka Akcyjna (commonly referred to as Raków Częstochowa, or simply Raków) is a Polish professional football club, based in Częstochowa, that competes in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of national football league system.

Raków Częstochowa
Full nameRobotniczy Klub Sportowy Raków Częstochowa Spółka Akcyjna
Nickname(s)Medaliki (Medallions)
Founded15 March 1921; 103 years ago (1921-03-15)
(as Racovia)
GroundMiejski Stadion Piłkarski "Raków"
Capacity5,500
OwnerMichał Świerczewski
ChairmanPiotr Obidziński
ManagerDawid Szwarga
LeagueEkstraklasa
2022–23Ekstraklasa, 1st of 18 (champions)
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History edit

 
Poster advertising a friendly match between Raków Częstochowa and KKS Częstochowa, 1946

Sports club "Racovia" was established in 1921 in the village of Raków. The club dissolved in 1925 due to lack of registration. In 1927, the club was reactivated under the name of the Robotniczy Klub Sportowy (Workers Sports Club) Raków. A year later, the village became a district of Częstochowa.[1] The club operated under the patronage of the Polish Socialist Party and was financially supported by the Częstochowa steelworks. In 1937, the club was promoted to Klasa A. During the German occupation (World War II), the club did not function. In the years 1951–1955, a Raków's stadium with an athletics track was built. In the years 1962–1966, the football team competed in the second league.

On 9 July 1967, Raków lost 0–2 to Wisła Kraków in their first Polish Cup final appearance. In 1972, Raków's players reached the semi-finals of the Polish Cup, which they lost to Legia Warsaw. In the years 1978–1980, 1981–1984 and 1990–1994 the club played in the second league. In 1993, the junior team took 2nd place in the Football Junior Championships of Poland.[2] In 1994, for the first time in club history, Raków were promoted to Ekstraklasa. They competed in the top-flight for four seasons until being relegated after the 1997–98 season. The club suffered back-to-back relegations in 1999–2000 and 2000–01, dropping down to the IV liga. The club finally made it to back to the Polish second division, I liga, in 2016.

Promotion and European football edit

The club won the I liga in 2018–19, earning promotion to Ekstraklasa for the first time in 21 years.[3] In the same season, they impressed in the 2018-19 Polish Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the competition by beating the likes of Lech Poznań in the round of 32[4] and Legia Warsaw in the quarter-finals.[5] They finished the 2019–20 season in 10th place.

 
Match between Raków and Lechia Gdańsk

In the 2020–21 season, Raków finished the league as runners-up. This was the highest ever league position in their history, and it secured their place in the newly formed UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers for the 2021–22 season, their maiden appearance in European football.[6][7] Further success followed when Raków won its first major trophy on 2 May 2021, defeating I liga side Arka Gdynia in the final of the Polish Cup by a score of 2–1. On 17 July 2021, Raków Częstochowa defeated reigning Ekstraklasa title holders Legia Warsaw on penalties to win the 2021 Polish Super Cup.[8]

Their first ever appearance in European football was in the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, facing Lithuanian team Sūduva, with the game finishing 0–0 (4–3 pens) after both legs.[9] They faced Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan in the third qualifying round, beating them 1–0 on aggregate score.[10] In the final qualifying round, they faced Belgian side Gent, which they beat 1–0 in the first leg,[11] but lost 0–3 in the second leg, losing 1–3 on aggregate,[12] eliminating them from the competition.

On 2 May 2022, Raków defeated Lech Poznań 3–1 and secured its second consecutive Polish Cup.[13] In the race for the league title that season, Raków lost out to the same opponents by just five points, with the champions being decided on the penultimate day of the season. On 9 July 2022, Raków won their second consecutive Polish Super Cup with a 2–0 win over Lech Poznań.[14] In the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase, the team defeated FC Astana (6–0 agg.) and FC Spartak Trnava (3–0 agg.), but lost to Slavia Prague (2–3 agg.) in the play-off round.

On 7 May 2023, Raków won the Ekstraklasa championship for the first time in their history and made it to the last qualifying round of the Champions League where they faced FC Copenhagen from Denmark.[15]

Players and pupils edit

 
Raków Częstochowa players before a friendly match in 2021

The club's alumni include Jakub Błaszczykowski, Jerzy Brzęczek and Jacek Magiera. Former Polish internationals such as Jacek Krzynówek and Tomasz Kiełbowicz also played for the club.

Current squad edit

As of 19 April 2024[16]

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   SRB Vladan Kovačević
3 DF   SRB Milan Rundić
4 DF   GRE Stratos Svarnas
5 MF   SWE Gustav Berggren
7 MF   CRO Fran Tudor
8 MF   POL Ben Lederman
9 FW   POL Łukasz Zwoliński
10 MF   ESP Ivi
11 FW   ECU John Yeboah
12 GK   SVK Dušan Kuciak (on loan from Lechia Gdańsk)
14 MF   SRB Srđan Plavšić
15 DF   BIH Adnan Kovačević
16 DF   POL Oskar Krzyżak
17 FW   POL Jakub Myszor
18 DF   POL Adrian Gryszkiewicz
19 FW   CRO Ante Crnac
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF   BRA Jean Carlos
21 MF   POL Dawid Drachal
22 MF   POL Kacper Masiak
23 MF   HUN Péter Baráth (on loan from Ferencváros)
24 DF   CRO Zoran Arsenić (captain)
25 DF   ROU Bogdan Racovițan
26 DF   KEN Erick Otieno
27 MF   POL Bartosz Nowak
28 MF   POL Patryk Malamis
30 MF   UKR Vladyslav Kocherhin
31 GK   BIH Muhamed Šahinović
33 DF   POL Kamil Pestka
66 MF   GRE Giannis Papanikolaou
77 MF   POL Marcin Cebula
88 DF   CRO Matej Rodin
89 GK   POL Kacper Bieszczad (on loan from Zagłębie Lubin)

Other players under contract edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF   POL Piotr Malinowski
— MF   POL Daniel Szelągowski

Out on loan edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
6 MF   POL Szymon Czyż (at Górnik Zabrze until 30 June 2024)
22 MF   ROU Deian Sorescu (at Gaziantep until 30 June 2024)
39 GK   POL Jakub Mądrzyk (at Miedź Legnica until 30 June 2024)
71 MF   POL Wiktor Długosz (at Ruch Chorzów until 30 June 2024)
76 GK   POL Jakub Rajczykowski (at Skra Częstochowa until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
91 FW   POL Tomasz Walczak (at Pogoń Siedlce until 30 June 2024)
93 MF   GER Sonny Kittel (at Western Sydney Wanderers until 30 June 2024)
— GK   POL Xavier Dziekoński (at Korona Kielce until 30 June 2024)
— GK   POL Kacper Trelowski (at Śląsk Wrocław until 30 June 2024)
— MF   POL Tobiasz Kubik (at Skra Częstochowa until 30 June 2024)

Notable players edit

Players who have appeared for their respective national team at any time. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Raków.

Honours edit

League edit

Cups edit

Raków Częstochowa in European football edit

 
Home game with FC Astana in the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League
As of match played on 14 December 2023
Competition Games Wins Draws Losses GS GA GD
UEFA Champions League 8 5 2 1 12 6 +6
UEFA Europa League 6 1 1 4 3 10 –7
UEFA Europa Conference League 13 8 3 2 14 6 +8
Total 27 14 6 7 29 22 +7

Results edit

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 2QR   Sūduva 0–0 (a.e.t.) 0–0 0–0 (4–3 p)
3QR   Rubin Kazan 0–0 1–0 (a.e.t.) 1–0
PO   Gent 1–0 0–3 1–3
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 2QR   Astana 5–0 1–0 6–0
3QR   Spartak Trnava 1–0 2–0 3–0
PO   Slavia Prague 2–1 0–2 (a.e.t.) 2–3
2023–24 UEFA Champions League 1QR   Flora 1–0 3–0 4–0
2QR   Qarabağ 3–2 1–1 4–3
3QR   Aris Limassol 2–1 1–0 3–1
PO   Copenhagen 0–1 1–1 1–2
UEFA Europa League GS   Atalanta 0–4 0–2 4th
  Sporting CP 1–1 1–2
  Sturm Graz 0–1 1–0

UEFA Team ranking edit

See also: UEFA coefficient

As of 16 August 2023.[19]

Rank Team Points
243   Paide Linnameeskond 5.000
244   Milsami Orhei 5.000
245   Raków Częstochowa 5.000
246   Tobol 5.000
247   AIK 5.000

Coaches and managers edit

 
Marek Papszun is Raków's most successful coach

References edit

  1. ^ Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 14 marca 1928 r. o zmianie granic miasta Częstochowy w powiecie częstochowskim, województwie kieleckiem., Dz. U. z 1928 r. Nr 40, poz. 391
  2. ^ "Portal Kibiców Rakowa Częstochowa:Historia". rakow.com.pl (in Polish). 30 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Fortuna 1 Liga. Sezon 2018/19 w statystykach. Zobacz, kto najczęściej posiadał piłkę, a kto najwięcej dryblował". Gol24 (in Polish). 27 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Raków Częstochowa - Lech Poznań. Niespodzianka! Kolejorz odpada z Pucharu Polski!". Sport.pl (in Polish). 30 October 2018. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  5. ^ "Puchar Polski. Raków wyeliminował Legię! [ZAPIS RELACJI] Piłka nożna - Sport.pl". www.sport.pl. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  6. ^ a b "Football: Raków Częstochowa beat Arka Gdynia in Polish Cup final". Polskie Radio. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  7. ^ "TABELA PKO BANK POLSKI EKSTRAKLASY 2020/2021". Ekstraklasa (in Polish). Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Raków z Superpucharem". 90 Minut (in Polish). 17 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  9. ^ UEFA.com. "Raków-Sūduva | UEFA Europa Conference League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  10. ^ UEFA.com. "Rubin-Raków | UEFA Europa Conference League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  11. ^ UEFA.com. "Raków-Gent | UEFA Europa Conference League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  12. ^ UEFA.com. "Gent-Raków | UEFA Europa Conference League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  13. ^ "Raków zdobył Puchar Polski". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Raków z Superpucharem". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 9 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Raków mistrzem Polski! Zdobył tytuł dwie godziny po meczu". sport.pl (in Polish). 7 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Current squad". Raków Częstochowa. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  17. ^ Mogielnicki, Paweł (11 May 2018). "Poland - List of Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Walka o Superpuchar trwa nadal! Śledź relację! [NA ŻYWO]" [The fight for the Super Cup continues! Follow the report! [LIVE]]. sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). 17 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Club coefficients | UEFA Coefficients". UEFA.com.

External links edit

 
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