Cracovia are the oldest active sports club in Poland. Above is the traditional hymn sang at the beginning of every home game and in my first game at Blonia Park it soon became apparent how passionate the adulation of the fans was for this historic football club.
People used to play football in Cracow since the 1890's originally at the location known as Jordan's Park, however these games were merely recreational in nature and the rules were interpreted freely.
In the first game Czarni Lwow played against Przodownicy - a team of Cracovian high school students. In another match, students from Lviv, ( now in modern day Ukraine ) faced a line up consisting of members from the public - Akademicy. This event acted as a catalyst to the growth of football in Cracow. On June 13th, after a classified advert in the ' Nowa Reforma ' had been posted to encourage people to join in, Akademicy had their first training session. This is how the legendary club in Polish football was born. In September 1906 Akademicy took a new name, Akademieki Klub Footballowy Cracovia. At the same time , Przodownicy, received an official name - white, reds - because of their two coloured shirts, which is why their nickname is the ' Pasy ', or ' stripes ' in Polish.
To the left is Jozef Kaluza, Polish footballer and later coach, one of the legends of Polish sport. As a striker in the 1920's, he was one of the very best and he spent his whole career with Cracovia, winning in 1921, the first historic Championship of Poland.
In its first international game against Hungary, Cracovia had seven players selected to play for Poland. In 1948, Cracovia completed the season by winning the league title for the fifth time after defeating Wisla , thier arch rivals, in a play off. A year later sports clubs were reorganised the Soviet way and Cracovia became Zwiazkowy Klub Sportowy Ogniwo Cracovia and in 1949 the authorities made Cracovia give up the red and white striped shirts. It was not until 1955 that it would regain its old name.
The sports reorganisation by the Soviets was not only about interfering with the clubs' traditional names. Sports clubs were placed under the the command of unions. Cracovia club was at first subordinate to the MPK, ( the Municipal Association of Public Transport ) and later to a consumer cooperative. Things began to slide and in 1954 they were relegated to the second division and then promoted again three years later. This became a bit of a pattern. From the second to the third, back again to the second and so on and therefore a promotion to division one in the 1982-83 season was considered a great success.
However, success was short lived and in the 1990's there were only three seasons when the ' Pasy ' didn't play in division three. The club was grappling with severe financial problems and in 1997 Cracovia were turned into a sporting joint-stock company but insufficient funds were still the main issue. Nevertheless, 'Pasy' were saved from imminent bankruptcy by the fans who came to their rescue. The famous demonstration in front of the Building of Voivodeship, on Braszlowa Street, took place in 2001 which resulted in a financial rescue package supplied by the ' Group of 100 '. Soon after this Cracovia attracted a sponsor - Comarch -, an I.T. specialist and at the end of the 2002-03 season they were promoted to the second division and a year later to the first. After many years the ' Pasy ' were back where they belonged.
The first season in the top division was a success and Cracovia came fifth and were very close to qualifying for the Intertoto Cup. Financial stability resulted in new transfers and the extension to the training facilities and the level of football led to call ups to the Polish National Team. Cracovia then hit the doldrums and had a long period of mediocrity until Wojciech Stawowy was once again appointed and he steered them back to division one in his first season as manager.
Cracovia were hailed as a sensation in the first part of the 2013-14 season. The team did so well that they narrowly missed being champions. The ' Pasy ' began the 2014-15 season under a new coach, Robert Podolinski, however his tenure was short lived and he was replaced in the April of 2015 by Jacek Zielinski and under his guidance Cracovia won seven out the last nine games. The unbeaten run continued into the 2015-16 campaign in which they finished fourth and ensured them a place in the Europa League for the first time in their history. 2016-17 saw them finish just above the relegation zone and in June 2017 Michael Probierz was appointed new head coach. 2017-18 saw them finish tenth while 2018-19 saw them reach fourth. Currently after sixteen games they are second, one point behind leaders Pogon Szczecin with Michael Probierz still at the helm.
No talk of Cracovia would be complete without mentioning their bitter rivals Wisla Krakow. The stadiums are a mere half a mile apart and on derby day there are often vicious battles between rival fans which are well documented on YouTube. I have chosen not to document any of that here.
Now, on to my first game at the Marshal Jozef Pilsudski Stadium, 25th November, 6pm kick off. What struck me first, was the size of the stadium. Small but beautifully formed with a 15,000 capacity. Amanda had agreed to come with me for the first game to show me the ropes so to speak ( she was a steward at Lechia Gdansk for a while ) It was a bitterly cold evening and so I decided to have a cold beer instead of a steaming hot pint of tea, for the princely sum of £1.60! The stadium itself was very impressive and reminded me of a mini Highbury, the main difference being that my ticket to watch Cracovia cost me £8 and £2 for Amanda...yes they have a discriminatory pricing policy in favour of the fairer sex!
To be fair the attendance was only about 8,000 but the crowd still managed to sing a rousing rendition of the Cracovian hymn at the start of the game. This was made even more poignant by the announcement that the daughter of the famous striker, Jozef Kaluga, had died at the age of 95 and that there would be a minutes silence in her honour. It was observed immaculately.
Amanda translated some of the P.A. announcements for me, the most amusing being that the Cracovia manager Mr. Probierz had better behave as he had acquired seven yellow cards already this season! We were sat beside an enclosure full of some hard core fans and and it was strange to hear all the familiar football songs sang in another language. I wasn't however too familiar with the one about a particular part of the male anatomy being shoved in the mouth of the w....r in the yellow, ( linesman ). Iv'e missed live football. Anyway I was left to my own devices for the second half as Amanda quite understandably went home to warm up and I managed to have a sort of conversation with the people around me and will probably see them again next time.
The Marszalek Pilsudski Stadium, named after the legendary Polish Chief of State, was finished in late 2010 and meets the criteria for EUFA Category 3. The stadium has often been recognised for its fine architectural design features, winning several awards for this.
The game itself was rather pedestrian until the last twenty minutes or so when we ( notice how I slipped effortlessly into the first person plural ) scored twice to ensure our position remained second in the league. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my first game and am looking forward to the next match.
Whilst researching this post I came across an amazing coincidence. As many of you know I have supported Arsenal for nigh on fifty years. A tenuous link to the ' Gunners ' of course, would be the fact that they play in the same colours. However, far more incredible than that, is the fact that Cracovia won the Polish league in 1930, 1932 and 1937, the very same years that Arsenal won the league in England! How very strange is that. Maybe I was destined to be in Cracow, cheering on the ' Pasy '.
In its first international game against Hungary, Cracovia had seven players selected to play for Poland. In 1948, Cracovia completed the season by winning the league title for the fifth time after defeating Wisla , thier arch rivals, in a play off. A year later sports clubs were reorganised the Soviet way and Cracovia became Zwiazkowy Klub Sportowy Ogniwo Cracovia and in 1949 the authorities made Cracovia give up the red and white striped shirts. It was not until 1955 that it would regain its old name.
The sports reorganisation by the Soviets was not only about interfering with the clubs' traditional names. Sports clubs were placed under the the command of unions. Cracovia club was at first subordinate to the MPK, ( the Municipal Association of Public Transport ) and later to a consumer cooperative. Things began to slide and in 1954 they were relegated to the second division and then promoted again three years later. This became a bit of a pattern. From the second to the third, back again to the second and so on and therefore a promotion to division one in the 1982-83 season was considered a great success.
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| Warming up with a cold one |
No talk of Cracovia would be complete without mentioning their bitter rivals Wisla Krakow. The stadiums are a mere half a mile apart and on derby day there are often vicious battles between rival fans which are well documented on YouTube. I have chosen not to document any of that here.
Now, on to my first game at the Marshal Jozef Pilsudski Stadium, 25th November, 6pm kick off. What struck me first, was the size of the stadium. Small but beautifully formed with a 15,000 capacity. Amanda had agreed to come with me for the first game to show me the ropes so to speak ( she was a steward at Lechia Gdansk for a while ) It was a bitterly cold evening and so I decided to have a cold beer instead of a steaming hot pint of tea, for the princely sum of £1.60! The stadium itself was very impressive and reminded me of a mini Highbury, the main difference being that my ticket to watch Cracovia cost me £8 and £2 for Amanda...yes they have a discriminatory pricing policy in favour of the fairer sex!
To be fair the attendance was only about 8,000 but the crowd still managed to sing a rousing rendition of the Cracovian hymn at the start of the game. This was made even more poignant by the announcement that the daughter of the famous striker, Jozef Kaluga, had died at the age of 95 and that there would be a minutes silence in her honour. It was observed immaculately.
Amanda translated some of the P.A. announcements for me, the most amusing being that the Cracovia manager Mr. Probierz had better behave as he had acquired seven yellow cards already this season! We were sat beside an enclosure full of some hard core fans and and it was strange to hear all the familiar football songs sang in another language. I wasn't however too familiar with the one about a particular part of the male anatomy being shoved in the mouth of the w....r in the yellow, ( linesman ). Iv'e missed live football. Anyway I was left to my own devices for the second half as Amanda quite understandably went home to warm up and I managed to have a sort of conversation with the people around me and will probably see them again next time.
The Marszalek Pilsudski Stadium, named after the legendary Polish Chief of State, was finished in late 2010 and meets the criteria for EUFA Category 3. The stadium has often been recognised for its fine architectural design features, winning several awards for this.
The game itself was rather pedestrian until the last twenty minutes or so when we ( notice how I slipped effortlessly into the first person plural ) scored twice to ensure our position remained second in the league. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my first game and am looking forward to the next match.
Whilst researching this post I came across an amazing coincidence. As many of you know I have supported Arsenal for nigh on fifty years. A tenuous link to the ' Gunners ' of course, would be the fact that they play in the same colours. However, far more incredible than that, is the fact that Cracovia won the Polish league in 1930, 1932 and 1937, the very same years that Arsenal won the league in England! How very strange is that. Maybe I was destined to be in Cracow, cheering on the ' Pasy '.
Next up is a look at the Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz
