GKS Katowice

GKS Katowice
Full name	Górniczy Klub Sportowy Katowice
Nickname(s)	Gieksa
Founded	27 February 1964; 60 years ago
Ground	Stadion GKS Katowice
Capacity	9,511
Chairman	Krzysztof Nowak
Manager	Rafał Górak
League	Ekstraklasa
2023–24	I liga, 2nd of 18 (promoted)
Website	Club website

GKS Katowice (Polish pronunciation: [ɡʲɛ ka ˈɛs katɔˈvitsɛ]; GKS stands for Górniczy Klub Sportowy, lit. 'Miners Sporting Club') is a Polish professional football club based in Katowice. They will compete in the Ekstraklasa in the 2024–25 season after gaining promotion from the I liga in 2024.^[1]

History edit

Stadion GKS Katowice

In 1963 in Katowice a special organizational committee was called with the purpose of uniting all the clubs and sporting organizations of the city into one large club which would encompass many disciplines. In mid-1963 Rapid Wełnowiec and Orzeł Wełnowiec merged, creating Rapid/Orzeł. In 1964 Rapid/Orzeł, Górnik Katowice, Koszutka Katowice, Katowicki Klub Łyżwiarski (Katowice Skating Club), Katowicki Klub Sportowy Górnik, Górniczy Klub Żeglarski Szkwał (a sailing club) amongst other clubs from Katowice merged creating GKS Katowice. Four years later on the 9 August 1968, Dąb Katowice also amalgamated with GKS Katowice. GKS Katowice made its debut in Polish football's top league (now called the Ekstraklasa) on 8 August 1965 when GKS Katowice took on local rivals Górnik Zabrze.

GKS Katowice's debut season in the top flight was in the 1965–66 season. The new team quickly gained experience and ability. A bad patch for the club came in 1971 when Katowice was relegated to the 2nd Division. The club's problems were quickly overcome, and GKS returned to the top flight where they played with pride and passion. From 1982 the club consistently found itself up the top end of the ladder, as well as playing off in several Polish Cup finals. In 1985 GKS Katowice played in its first Polish Cup final but lost in a penalty shootout to Widzew Łódź. The following year GKS played off in a memorable final at Stadion Śląski against Górnik Zabrze; GKS triumphed 4–1. From that moment the city of Katowice began to live and breathe football.^{[citation needed]} The next year GKS finished third and the two following years they were runners-up. In the 1989–90 season GKS again came third, and in the 1991–92 season GKS were runners-up. From 1986 to 1995 to GKS Katowice were four times runners-up in the league, twice the winners of the Polish Super Cup and three-time Polish Cup winners.

The biggest moments for the club and fans were always when the team took part in European cups. The first time GKS faced European opposition was in 1970, in the now defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, GKS took on Spanish club Barcelona in a two-legged tie. Katowice didn't lose by much (2–4 on aggregate), the fans were proud of their club.^{[citation needed]} The second time GKS took part in European football they showed more and played better football. In the first round of the 1986–87 UEFA Cup Winners Cup, GKS defeated Icelandic side Fram Reykjavík before losing in the second round to Switzerland's Sion. For the next 10 years, GKS Katowice took part in European football. Over the years fans of GKS got to witness their team take on the likes of Sportul Studentsc Bucharest, Rangers, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Benfica, Aris, Girondins Bordeaux and twice Bayer Leverkusen. GKS's record in European football stands at 10 wins, 7 draws, and 19 losses.

GKS Katowice again fell on hard times during the mining crisis. Following the 1998–99 season, the team was relegated from the Ekstraklasa, but was back in the topflight only a year later. Piotr Dziurowicz became president who, despite growing debts and financial troubles, kept the team in the top flight. In 2003, the team even managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup by finishing third in the league under coach Jan Żurek. This was hailed^{[by whom?]} as one of the biggest surprises ever in the history of the Ekstraklasa. Despite the success, the debts under Piotr Dziurowicz began to grow to a significant sum.

Home game with Odra Opole in the 2008–09 I liga

From 27 March 2003 to 11 June 2004, the club played under the name of its main sponsor Dospel Katowice; this was not taken well by the fans of the club.^{[citation needed]} GKS Katowice Sportowa Spółka Akcyjna finished its reins at the helm of the club in the summer of 2005 after the disastrous 2004–05 season where GKS finished 14th (and last) in the Ekstraklasa and was relegated to the second division. To make matters worse, the team had to drop to the fourth division due to financial problems and their involvement in the 2003–2005 match-fixing scandal. After the drop to the 4th division, a group of dedicated fans known as the "Stowarzyszenie Sympatyków Klubu GKS Katowice" (which loosely translates into Society of Well Wishers Club of GKS Katowice) took over the helm at the club. In June 2006, the club was promoted to the third-tier, and in June 2007 the team advanced to the second division, which in 2008 was renamed I liga.

On 26 May 2024, they clinched promotion during the last matchday of the 2023–24 season after a 1–0 away victory over Arka Gdynia, tying them on points, but finishing ahead in the standings on head-to-head difference. They were promoted to Ekstraklasa as runners-up, ending their 19-year absence from the top tier.^[2]

Honours edit

Domestic edit

Ekstraklasa:
- Runners-up: 1987–88, 1988–89, 1991–92, 1993–94
- Third place: 1986–87, 1989–90, 1994–95, 2002–03

Polish Cup:
- Winners: 1985–86, 1990–91, 1992–93
- Runners-up: 1984–85, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1994–95, 1996–97

Polish Super Cup:
- Winners: 1991, 1995

International edit

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup round of 16: 1986–87, 1991–92
UEFA Cup round of 16: 1994–95

Youth teams edit

Polish Under-19 Championship
- Third place: 1995, 2002

GKS in Europe edit

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Score
1970–71	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	1R	Barcelona	0–1, 2–3
1986–87	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Fram Reykjavik	3–0, 1–0
		2R	FC Sion	2–2, 0–3
1987–88	UEFA Cup	1R	Sportul Studenţesc	0–1, 1–2
1988–89	UEFA Cup	1R	Rangers FC	0–1, 2–4
1989–90	UEFA Cup	1R	RoPS	1–1, 0–1
1990–91	UEFA Cup	1R	Turun Palloseura	3–0, 1–0
		2R	Bayer 04 Leverkusen	1–2, 0–4
1991–92	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Motherwell FC	2–0, 1–3
		2R	Club Brugge	0–1, 0–3
1992–93	UEFA Cup	1R	Galatasaray SK	0–0, 1–2
1993–94	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1R	S.L. Benfica	0–1, 1–1
1994–95	UEFA Cup	Q	Inter Cardiff F.C.	2–0, 6–0
		1R	Aris Thessaloniki	1–0, 0–1
		2R	Girondins de Bordeaux	1–0, 1–1
		3R	Bayer 04 Leverkusen	1–4, 0–4
1995–96	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Q	Ararat Yerevan	2–0, 0–2
2003–04	UEFA Cup	Q	Cementarnica 55 Skopje	0–0, 1–1

Current squad edit

As of 21 May 2024^[3]

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	POL	Dawid Kudła
2	DF	EST	Märten Kuusk
3	DF	POL	Grzegorz Janiszewski
4	DF	POL	Arkadiusz Jędrych (captain)
5	DF	POL	Oskar Repka
6	MF	POL	Antoni Kozubal (on loan from Lech Poznań)
7	FW	POL	Sebastian Bergier
8	MF	ECU	Christian Alemán
10	MF	POL	Mateusz Mak
11	MF	POL	Adrian Błąd
12	GK	POL	Przemysław Pęksa
13	DF	POL	Bartosz Jaroszek
14	DF	POL	Aleksander Komor
15	MF	POL	Szymon Krawczyk


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	DF	POL	Grzegorz Rogala
17	MF	POL	Mateusz Marzec
18	FW	POL	Jakub Arak
19	FW	POL	Kacper Pietrzyk
20	DF	POL	Adrian Danek
21	MF	POL	Bartosz Baranowicz
23	MF	POL	Marcin Wasielewski
25	DF	POL	Łukasz Trepka
26	DF	POL	Jakub Kaduk
28	MF	POL	Alan Bród
29	MF	POL	Kacper Ćwielong
31	MF	JPN	Shun Shibata
33	GK	POL	Patryk Szczuka
34	GK	UKR	Maksym Gerasymov