Zagłębie Lubin

Zagłębie Lubin S.A. is a Polish professional football club based in Lubin. Founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin, the club competes in the Ekstraklasa.

History
The football team was founded in 1945 as OMTUR Lubin by local members of the Youth Organization of the Association of Workers’ Universities (Organizacja Młodzieży Towarzystwa Uniwersytetów Robotniczych, OMTUR). The team played matches on a pitch at Kościuszko Street. The games of OMTUR Lubin were very popular, attracting crowds of people. Among the opponents, was the team of the local Red Army garrison, which faced the Poles in the autumn of 1945.

In March 1946, Klub Sportowy Zawisza, based on OMTUR Lubin, was formed (the name comes after a medieval knight, Zawisza Czarny). Among its players was Emil Czyżowski of Pogoń Lwów, Tadeusz Rela of Tarnovia Tarnów, and Stanisław Leśniewski, who had briefly played for Dynamo Kyiv. In 1946, Zawisza played in the Group IV, winning promotion to the newly formed A-Klasa. On May 5, 1946 Zawisza Lubin played its first ever league game against MKS Zgorzelec. In 1947, Zawisza won the Cup of Lower Silesia, and in the same year, the team from Lubin faced the team of the Northern Group of Forces, headquartered in nearby Legnica. The game, which Poles won 1–0, was attended by Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky.

In 1949, Zawisza Lubin changed name into Gwardia, and in 1951, to Spojnia. In 1953, the team returned to its original name, Zawisza.

In 1957, rich deposits of copper were discovered in the area of Lubin. With the construction of the Lubin mine, the team gained a rich sponsor (see also KGHM Polska Miedz). In 1961, its name was changed to Górnik ("Miner"). In 1963, Górnik won promotion from the C-Klasa to the B-Klasa. Finally, in 1966, its name was changed to MKS Zagłębie Lubin, with MKS standing for Międzyzakładowy Klub Sportowy (Inter-Enterprise Sports Club). In 1968, Zagłębie won promotion to the third division. In the 1970s Zagłębie had nine departments: football, volleyball, basketball, boxing, handball, track and field, weight lifting, table tennis and contract bridge. In 1974, Alojzy Sitko became the team's new manager. Zagłębie was a sensation in the 1975–76 Polish Cup, beating the reigning Polish champions Ruch Chorzów, however, they eventually lost to Górnik Zabrze.

In 1975, Zagłębie won a promotion to the second division, only to be relegated after one year. In 1978, it again was promoted and relegated after one year. The team was a sensation in the 1978–79 Polish Cup, beating GKS Katowice, Legia Warsaw and Górnik Zabrze, and reaching the semi-final, where they lost 0–3 to Wisła Kraków.

In 1982, under manager Stanisław Świerk, Zagłębie again won promotion to the second division. In 1985, it was finally promoted to the Ekstraklasa. With a new manager, Eugeniusz Rozanski, and a new stadium, Zagłębie was at that time one of the most powerful sports organization in Poland. On 27 July 1985, Zagłębie played its first Ekstraklasa home game, beating GKS Katowice 1–0, with Eugeniusz Ptak scoring the sole goal. In the 1985–86 season, Zagłębie finished 12th, in 1986–87 they placed 8th, and in 1987–88 - 11th. To avoid relegation, the team from Lubin had to participate in the play-offs, and lost to Górnik Wałbrzych (1–2, 2–2).

After one year in the second division, Zagłębie returned to the Ekstraklasa in June 1989. Managed by Stanisław Świerk, they were the 1989–90 Ekstraklasa runners-up and won a spot in the 1990–91 UEFA Cup. In the first round, Zagłębie faced the Italian side Bologna, losing both games 0–1, 0–1.

In June 1991, managed by Marian Putyra, Zagłębie won the Polish championship, earning a spot in the 1991–92 European Cup, where it faced Brøndby. The Polish champions lost 0–3 in the first leg, and won 2–1 at home, to be eliminated. Among Zagłębie’s top players at that time were Romuald Kujawa and Adam Zejer, both top scorers of the Ekstraklasa in 1990 and 1991.

In 1995 Zagłębie finished 4th, winning a spot in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup, where they lost to the European powerhouse, AC Milan (with Roberto Baggio, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Roberto Donadoni, Marcel Desailly, Zvonimir Boban, and manager Fabio Capello).

In June 2003, after 13 years, Zagłębie was relegated from the Ekstraklasa. Before that, Zagłębie played 20 games in the Intertoto Cup, with 7 victories, 5 ties and 8 losses. Furthermore, in 2001, it was the fifth team in Poland, also reaching the semi-final of the Polish Cup.

After one year, Zagłębie returned to the Ekstraklasa in June 2004, and in spring 2005, it again reached the final of the Polish Cup, losing 0–2 to Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolski. In 2005–06, under Franciszek Smuda, Zagłębie, with its top scorer Michał Chałbiński, finished third in the league, winning a spot in the European competitions. Furthermore, the team again reached the final of the Polish Cup, losing 2–3 and 1–3 to Wisła Płock. In the UEFA Cup, Zagłębie was eliminated by Dinamo Minsk, following 1–1 and 0–0 draws, losing on away goals.

In the 2006–07 season, Zagłębie won the Polish championship for the second time, and at the beginning of the 2007–08 campaign they lifted the Polish Super Cup.

In the 2013–14 season, Zagłębie reached the Polish Cup final for the third time, this time losing 5–6 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time to Zawisza Bydgoszcz. In the 2015–16 season, Zagłębie finished third in the Ekstraklasa, earning a spot in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League qualifications, where they managed to defeat Bulgarian team Slavia Sofia and Serbian powerhouse Partizan, before being eliminated by Danish side SønderjyskE.

League

 * Ekstraklasa
 * Champions: 1990–91, 2006–07
 * Runners-up: 1989–90
 * Third place: 2005–06, 2015–16
 * I liga
 * Champions: 1984–85, 1988–89, 2014–15
 * Runners-up: 2003–04, 2008–09
 * II liga
 * Champions: 1974–75, 1977–78
 * Runners-up: 1979–80, 1981–82

Cup

 * Polish Cup
 * Runners-up: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2013–14
 * Semi-finalists: 1978–79, 2000–01
 * Polish Super Cup
 * Winners: 2007
 * Runners-up: 1991
 * Polish League Cup:
 * Runners-up: 2000–01

Youth teams

 * Młoda Ekstraklasa
 * Champions: 2009–10, 2010–11
 * Runners-up: 2011–12
 * Polish U-19 championship:
 * Champions: 2009, 2010
 * Runners-up: 1990

Coaching staff
{| class="wikitable" !Position !Staff
 * Manager|| Waldemar Fornalik
 * Assistant coaches|| Tomasz Fornalik Marcin Kardela  Krzysztof Sierocki
 * Goalkeeping coach|| Paweł Primel
 * Assistant goalkeeping coach|| Tomasz Król
 * Fitness coach|| Leszek Dyja
 * Head physiotherapist|| Dariusz Puchalski
 * Physiotherapists|| Jakub Banasik Sławomir Kardasz
 * Team manager|| Karol Sitarski
 * Sport psychologist|| Paweł Habrat
 * Match analyst|| Norbert Onuoha
 * Head of equipment department|| Mariola Waszkowska
 * Team doctors|| Grzeogrz Kozak Jacek Worobiec
 * Dietician|| Mateusz Gawełczyk
 * Cook|| Paweł Ryckiewicz
 * Team manager|| Karol Sitarski
 * Sport psychologist|| Paweł Habrat
 * Match analyst|| Norbert Onuoha
 * Head of equipment department|| Mariola Waszkowska
 * Team doctors|| Grzeogrz Kozak Jacek Worobiec
 * Dietician|| Mateusz Gawełczyk
 * Cook|| Paweł Ryckiewicz
 * Head of equipment department|| Mariola Waszkowska
 * Team doctors|| Grzeogrz Kozak Jacek Worobiec
 * Dietician|| Mateusz Gawełczyk
 * Cook|| Paweł Ryckiewicz
 * Dietician|| Mateusz Gawełczyk
 * Cook|| Paweł Ryckiewicz
 * Cook|| Paweł Ryckiewicz

Notable former players

 * 🇵🇱 Krzysztof Piątek
 * 🇵🇱 Piotr Zieliński
 * 🇵🇱 Łukasz Piszczek
 * 🇵🇱 Mariusz Lewandowski
 * 🇵🇱 Dariusz Marciniak
 * 🇷🇸 Bojan Isailović
 * 🇵🇱 Arkadiusz Woźniak
 * 🇵🇱 Adam Matuszczyk
 * 🇵🇱 Maciej Iwański
 * 🇨🇴 Manuel Arboleda
 * 🇵🇱 Zbigniew Szewczyk
 * 🇷🇺 Vadim Rogovskoy
 * 🇵🇱 Jakub Świerczok
 * 🇵🇱 Adam Zejer
 * 🇵🇱 Jarosław Jach
 * 🇿🇼 Costa Nhamoinesu
 * 🇧🇬 Iliyan Mitsanski
 * 🇸🇳 Mouhamadou Traoré
 * 🇱🇹 Darvydas Šernas
 * 🇸🇰 Ľubomír Guldan
 * 🇸🇰 Róbert Jež
 * 🇸🇰 Samuel Mráz
 * 🇵🇱 Piotr Czachowski
 * 🇵🇱 Dariusz Lewandowski
 * 🇵🇱 Wojciech Łobodziński
 * 🇵🇱 Dariusz Jackiewicz
 * 🇵🇱 Filip Jagiełło
 * 🇵🇱 Bartosz Białek
 * 🇵🇱 Łukasz Łakomy

Managers

 * 🇵🇱 Zdzisław Wolsza (1976)
 * 🇵🇱 Alojzy Łysko (1987–88)
 * 🇵🇱 Stanisław Świerk (1988–90)
 * 🇵🇱 Marian Putyra (25 October 1990 – 30 June 1992)
 * 🇵🇱 Jerzy Fiutowski (1993–94)
 * 🇵🇱 Mirosław Dragan (21 April 1994 – 25 October 1994)
 * 🇵🇱 Wiesław Wojno (26 October 1994 – 10 September 1995)
 * 🇵🇱 Andrzej Strejlau (24 October 1995 – 15 June 1996)
 * 🇵🇱 Mirosław Dragan (15 June 1996 – 28 October 1996)
 * 🇵🇱 Adam Topolski (29 October 1996 – 1 October 1997)
 * 🇵🇱 Andrzej Szarmach (1997–98)
 * 🇵🇱 Mirosław Jabłoński (1 July 1998 – 30 June 2001)
 * 🇵🇱 Stefan Majewski (28 June 2001 – 17 November 2001)
 * 🇵🇱 Jerzy Wyrobek (17 November 2001 – 18 June 2002)
 * 🇵🇱 Adam Nawalka (18 June 2002 – 6 October 2002)
 * 🇵🇱 Wiesław Wojno (7 October 2002 – 5 May 2003)
 * 🇵🇱 Adam Topolski (5 May 2003 – 29 July 2003)
 * 🇷🇸 Žarko Olarević (July 2003 – 3 Dec)
 * 🇭🇷 Dražen Besek (23 December 2003 – 6 September 2005)
 * 🇵🇱 Franciszek Smuda (6 September 2005 – 30 June 2006)
 * 🇵🇱 Marek Kusto (interim) (13 December 2005 – 18 December 2005)
 * 🇵🇱 Edward Klejndinst (1 July 2006 – 3 October 2006)
 * 🇵🇱 Czesław Michniewicz (3 October 2006 – 22 October 2007)
 * 🇵🇱 Rafał Ulatowski (22 October 2007 – 11 July 2008)
 * 🇵🇱 Dariusz Fornalak (11 July 2008 – 17 November 2008)
 * 🇵🇱 Robert Jończyk (17 November 2008 – 12 April 2009)
 * 🇵🇱 Orest Lenczyk (16 April 2009 – 30 June 2009)
 * 🇵🇱 Andrzej Lesiak (17 June 2009 – 27 August 2009)
 * 🇵🇱 Franciszek Smuda (28 August 2009 – 18 December 2009)
 * 🇵🇱 Marek Bajor (18 December 2009 – 7 March 2011)
 * 🇵🇱 Marcin Broniszewski (interim) ( 7–10 March 2011)
 * 🇵🇱 Jan Urban (10 March 2011 – 31 October 2011)
 * 🇨🇿 Pavel Hapal (31 October 2011 – 30 July 2013)
 * 🇵🇱 Adam Buczek (interim) (30 July 2013 – 27 September 2013)
 * 🇵🇱 Orest Lenczyk (27 September 2013 – 12 May 2014)
 * 🇵🇱 Piotr Stokowiec (12 May 2014 – 28 November 2017)
 * 🇵🇱 Mariusz Lewandowski (28 November 2017 – 29 October 2018)
 * 🇳🇱 Ben van Dael (29 October 2018 – 31 August 2019)
 * 🇵🇱 Paweł Karmelita (interim) (31 August 2019 – 16 September 2019)
 * 🇸🇰 Martin Ševela (16 September 2019 – 1 July 2021)
 * 🇵🇱 Paweł Karmelita (interim) (1 July 2021 – 16 July 2021)
 * 🇵🇱 Dariusz Żuraw (16 July 2021 – 16 December 2021)
 * 🇵🇱 Paweł Karmelita (interim) (16 December 2021 – 21 December 2021)
 * 🇵🇱 Piotr Stokowiec (21 December 2021 – 8 November 2022)
 * 🇵🇱 Paweł Karmelita (interim) (8 November 2022 – 29 November 2022)
 * 🇵🇱 Waldemar Fornalik (29 November 2022 – present)