Stal Rzeszów (football)

Stal Rzeszów is a Polish football club based in Rzeszów, Poland, as part of a multi-sports club. They currently compete in the I liga, the second tier of Polish league football.

Stal Rzeszów
Full nameStal Rzeszów Spółka Akcyjna
Founded1944; 80 years ago (1944)
GroundStadion Miejski w Rzeszowie
Capacity12,000[1]
ChairmanRafał Kalisz
ManagerMarek Zub
LeagueI liga
2023–24I liga, 11th of 18
Websitehttps://stalrzeszow.pl
Current season

History

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The history of Stal Rzeszów dates back to November 1944, when a group of sports enthusiasts, working at WSK PZL Rzeszów (Transport Equipment Enterprise) decided to form a Sports Circle. With support of the Youth Organization of the Association of Workers University (Organizacja Mlodziezy Towarzystwa Uniwersytetu Robotniczego, OM TUR), the new club was managed by Bronislaw Szczoczarz.

In March 1945, football team of PZL OM TUR was formed, under manager Jan Polak. In its first game, OM TUR faced Szturmowiec (Walter) Rzeszów, the match ended in a 2–2 draw. By the summer of 1945, OM TUR played several friendly games, facing Sokol Rzeszów (4–6), Czuwaj Lancut (2–6), and in June 1945, it played in the City of Rzeszów Cup tournament, losing in the final 1–3 to Resovia.

In the autumn of 1946, a series of playoffs took place, in order to find best teams for the newly created Rzeszów A-Class. PZL OM TUR managed to qualify to the league, together with such teams, as Legia Krosno, Nafta Krosno, Orzel Gorlice, Sanoczanka, Cukrownia Przeworsk, Resovia, Sokol Rzeszów, Czuwaj Przemysl and Polonia Przemysl. By 1955, however, the team did not have its own field, and had to use the fields of other clubs. On 26 June 1955, the first game took place at the newly built PZL Rzeszów stadium, at Hetmanska Street. The reserve team of Poland B faced Bulgarian reserves (1–1). In the second game of the day, Stal Rzeszów, the host, tied 1–1 with Poland U-19 team.

On 15 February 1948 the name of the club was changed into Union Sports Club of Metal Workers PZL Rzeszów (Zwiakzkowy Klub Sportowy Metalowców PZL w Rzeszowie). The club was overseen by the Central Union of Metal Workers, based in Katowice. By 1949, PZL Rzeszów had six departments: boxing (since 1944), football (since 1945), track and field (since 1945), chess (since 1947), table tennis (since 1948), speedway (since 1949). Finally, in May 1949, the name of the club was changed into Union Sports Club (Zakładowy Klub Sportowy) Stal Rzeszów.

In 1953, Stal qualified to the semifinal of the Polish Cup, where it lost 3–4 to AKS Chorzów. In 1956, Stal won regional games of Rzeszów League (III level of Polish football tier), qualifying to the Second Division playoffs, where it faced Piast Gliwice (2–2, 1–0), and Arkonia Szczecin (0–2, 2–0)

After the promotion, several players joined Stal for the upcoming 1957/58 season of the Second Division. Before the games, Polish Football Association decided to form two groups of the second level. Stal was in Group South, among such sides, as Cracovia, Garbarnia Kraków, Wawel Kraków, Piast Gliwice, Concordia Knurow, Bron Radom, Stal Mielec, AKS Chelmek, Naprzod Lipiny, Szombierki Bytom, AKS Chorzów.

In its first game, Stal faced Szombierki, beating the opponent 2–1. After the first round, Stal was in the 8th position, and after the whole season, Stal had 22 points, with goals 40–30, which made it the 6th team of the group.

In mid-1958, Tadeusz Hogendorf became new manager of Stal. By the end of the season, Stal was very lucky to avoid relegation. In 1960, Stal was 8th; in 1961, 5th; and in 1962, 9th. Before the 1962 season, PZPN divided the Second Division into two groups: A and B. Stal was in Group A, which consisted of 8 teams (Unia Racibórz, Unia Tarnów, Naprzód Lipiny, Piast Gliwice, MZKS Krosno, Polonia Bydgoszcz, Slavia Ruda Slaska), and won the games, qualifying to the Ekstraklasa. The decisive game took place on 21 June 1962 in Rzeszów, vs. Piast Gliwice. With the attendance of 25,000, Stal won 2–1.

In July 1962, Stal went on a summer camp in Finland. First Ekstraklasa game took place on 12 August 1962: Stal lost 0–1 at home to Lechia Gdańsk. In the second game, Stal lost in Kraków to Wisła Kraków (0–2). First, historic victory took place in the third round, when Stal beat at home 3–0 ŁKS Łódź.

Stal remained in the Ekstraklasa for ten years, until 1972. It was regarded as an average team, without major successes. Its top player at that time was Jan Domarski, who capped for Poland 17 times.

In 2012 a joint-stock company was established which took over the original club. Stal currently plays in the II liga. From April 2018, the main sponsor of the team is Fibrain – a Polish manufacturer of fiber optic solutions.

On 27 April 2022 Stal gained promotion to the I liga following Ruch Chorzów's draw against Wisła Puławy.[2] On 1 May 2022, after a 4–1 away win against Pogoń Siedlce, Stal secured the II liga title with 3 games left.[3]

Honours

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League

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  • Ekstraklasa
    • Best finish: 7th in 1966
    • Participation: 11x
  • I liga
    • Champions: 1962, 1974–75
  • II liga
    • Champions: 1956, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1986–87, 2021–22
      • Runners-up: 1953, 1954, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1985–86
  • III liga
    • Champions: 1998–99, 2001–02, 2014–15, 2018–19
    • Runners-up: 2008–09, 2015–16
  • Polish Cup
    • Winners: 1974–75
    • Semi-finalists: 1973–74
    • Quarter-finalists: 1971–72, 1975–76, 1990–91, 1991–92

Europe

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Youth teams

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Players

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Current squad

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As of 16 November 2024.[4]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   POL Krzysztof Bąkowski (on loan from Lech Poznań)
2 DF   POL Patryk Warczak
4 DF   POL Michał Synoś
9 FW   POL Tomasz Bała
10 MF   BIH Haris Duljević
11 MF   SRB Andreja Prokić (captain)
12 GK   POL Jakub Raciniewski
14 DF   POL Kamil Kościelny
18 DF   POL Krystian Wachowiak
22 DF   SVK Milan Šimčák
24 GK   POL Gerard Bieszczad
27 DF   COL César Peña
No. Pos. Nation Player
31 MF   LUX Sébastien Thill
39 DF   POL Marcin Kaczor
41 MF   POL Karol Łysiak
42 MF   POL Szymon Kądziołka
44 MF   POL Benedykt Piotrowski
45 DF   POL Kacper Paśko
46 MF   POL Szymon Łyczko
48 FW   POL Kacper Plichta
53 MF   POL Artur Gaża
91 DF   POL Paweł Oleksy
MF   UKR Ilya Postupalskyi

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
30 MF   COL Jesús Díaz (at Raków Częstochowa until 30 June 2025)
47 FW   POL Szymon Salamon (at Czarni Połaniec until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   POL Piotr Chrapusta (at Wisłoka Dębica until 30 June 2025)

European record

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Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1975–76 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First Round   Skeid 4–1[5][6] 4–0[7][8] 8–1
Second Round   Wrexham A.F.C. 1–1[9][10] 0–2[11][12] 1–3

Domestic record

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Season Competition Position Matches Points Goals Comments Most goals
Played W D L + - +/-
1953 Third tier 2/12 22 16 3 3 35 67 19 +48  
1954 2/9 16 10 2 4 22 42 17 +25  
1955 3/12 22 10 6 6 26 51 31 +20  
1956 1/12 22 16 4 2 36 60 18 +42 Promotion  
1957 Second tier 6/12 22 10 2 10 22 40 30 +10 10 Rafał Anioła
1958 10/12 22 6 7 9 19 28 33 −5 10 Ludwik Poświat
1959 8/12 22 8 7 7 23 24 23 +1 10 Ludwik Poświat
1960 5/12 22 9 5 8 23 26 29 −3 11 Ludwik Poświat
1961 9/18 34 11 12 11 34 41 40 +1 6 L. Szalacha, S. Stawarz
1962 1/8 14 10 1 3 21 26 13 +13 Promotion 7 Kazimierz Cholewa
1962–63 Top tier 9/14 26 7 9 10 23 33 39 −6 9 Ludwik Poświat
1963–64 11/14 26 8 7 11 23 32 44 −12 8 Zygmunt Marciniak
1964–65 12/14 26 5 13 8 23 30 35 −5 8 Joachim Krajczy
1965–66 7/14 26 8 10 8 26 29 30 −1 8 Jan Domarski
1966–67 8/14 26 9 8 9 26 24 30 −6 10 Jan Domarski
1967–68 11/14 26 8 7 11 23 24 39 −15 8 Jan Domarski
1968–69 12/14 26 7 8 11 22 18 31 −13 6 Stanisław Stawarz
1969–70 9/14 26 9 5 12 23 30 36 −6 10 Jan Domarski
1970–71 9/14 26 6 12 8 24 34 26 +8 9 Ryszard Duda
1971–72 13/14 26 4 10 12 18 20 32 −12 Relegation 6 Ryszard Duda
1972–73 Second tier 12/16 30 7 13 10 27 27 33 −6 6 Janusz Krawczyk
1973–74 6/16 30 12 8 10 32 34 25 +9 12 Janusz Krawczyk
1974–75 1/16 30 15 11 4 41 44 16 +28 Promotion, won the Polish Cup 11 Zdzisław Napieracz
1975–76 Top tier 15/16 30 8 8 14 24 23 35 −12 Relegation 8 Marian Kozerski
1976–77 Second tier 14/16 30 7 12 11 26 23 40 −17 Relegation 6 Stanisław Curyło
1977–78 Third tier 2/14 26 13 5 8 31 35 22 +13  
1978–79 2/15 28 19 5 4 43 67 13 +54  
1979–80 1/15 28 21 3 4 45 47 17 +30 Promotion  
1980–81 Second tier 6/16 30 11 11 8 33 33 29 +4 7 Aleksander Siekieryn
1981–82 14/16 30 7 10 13 24 23 34 −11 Relegation 5 M. Chamielec, A. Banasik
1982–83 Third tier 2/14 26 13 12 1 38 44 16 +28  
1983–84 1/16 30 22 7 1 51 65 14 +51 Promotion  
1984–85 Second tier 13/16 30 7 12 11 26 20 31 −11 Relegation 4 Zbigniew Znojek
1985–86 Third tier 2/14 26 15 7 4 37 51 17 +34  
1986–87 1/14 26 17 6 3 47 61 15 +46 Promotion  
1987–88 Second tier 4/16 30 13 7 10 35 41 32 +9 7 S. Sroczyński, R. Kaszuba
1988–89 5/16 30 13 10 7 38 38 26 +12 8 Stanisław Sroczyński
1989–90 7/20 38 15 13 10 44 37 31 +6 7 Paweł Kloc
1990–91 15/20 38 10 15 13 35 44 50 −6 14 Robert Bąk
1991–92 3/18 34 15 13 6 43 44 28 +16 7 Zbigniew Znojek
1992–93 10/18 34 12 8 14 32 31 35 −4 11 Paweł Kloc
1993–94 16/18 34 7 14 13 28 29 34 −5 Relegation 6 Marek Kogut
1994–95 Third tier 3/18 34 17 11 6 45 55 28 +27 10 Tomasz Tułacz
1995–96 4/18 34 20 6 8 66 70 32 +38 23 Paweł Koziołek
1996–97 3/18 34 17 11 6 62 82 40 +42 26 Paweł Koziołek
1997–98 10/18 34 11 10 13 43 43 48 −5 Relegation 10 M. Omiotek, G. Musiał
1998–99 Fourth tier 1/18 34 23 8 3 77 73 15 +58 Promotion 19 Jarosław Kuter
1999–2000 Third tier 6/18 34 15 7 12 52 37 32 +5 11 Marcin Pacuła
2000–01 16/19 36 12 8 16 44 31 44 −13 Relegation 4 Jarosław Kuter
2001–02 Fourth tier 1/18 34 23 8 3 77 76 18 +58 Promotion 16 Paweł Kloc
2002–03 Third tier 3/17 32 15 8 9 53 41 33 +8 9 Łukasz Szczoczarz
2003–04 2/16 30 18 7 5 61 45 22 +23 Play-off to II league 7 P. Kloc, K. Wójcik
2004–05 4/16 30 17 5 8 56 50 31 +19 9 Krzysztof Szymański
2005–06 5/16 30 14 8 8 50 47 36 +11 17 Wojciech Fabianowski
2006–07 5/16 30 15 5 10 50 58 31 +27 13 Łukasz Szczoczarz
2007–08 10/17 32 10 10 12 40 28 34 −6 Relegation, competition reform 5 Krzysztof Szymański
2008–09 Fourth tier 2/16 30 16 8 6 56 52 25 +27 Promotion 19 Ireneusz Gryboś
2009–10 Third tier 12/18 34 11 9 14 42 47 49 −2 12 Ireneusz Gryboś
2010–11 8/18 34 12 12 10 48 55 46 +9 14 Wojciech Fabianowski
2011–12 11/17 30 9 9 12 36 31 34 −3 4 D. Florian, K. Maca, A. Prokić
2012–13 11/18 34 9 15 10 42 37 32 5 10 Andreja Prokić
2013–14 11/18   34 12 11 11 47 40 40 0 Relegation 16 Piotr Prędota
2014–15 Fourth tier 1/18 34 21 10 3 73 84 29 +55 Playoff to 2nd league 30 Piotr Prędota
2015–16 2/18 34 23 5 6 74 80 33 +47 20 Piotr Prędota
2016–17 3/18 32 20 4 8 64 70 32 +38 17 Wojciech Reiman
2017–18 6/18 34 16 7 11 55 56 40 +16 15 Wojciech Reiman
2018–19 1/18   34 22 10 2 76 87 27 +60 Promotion 20 Tomasz Płonka
2019–20 Third tier 6/18 34 15 6 13 51 55 44 +11 Play-off to II league 9 Artur Pląskowski
2020–21 10/19 36 14 8 14 50 58 60 -2 12 Wojciech Reiman
2021–22 1/18 34 23 8 3 77 75 35 +40 Promoted 11 Damian Michalik
2022–23 Second tier 6/18 34 14 9 11 51 57 44 +13 Lost the promotion play-offs 10 Damian Michalik
2023–24 11/18 34 14 6 14 48 53 60 -7 8 Adler Da Silva

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Stal Rzeszów". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
  2. ^ "Stal Rzeszów awansowała do I ligi". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Stal Rzeszów efektownie pokonała Pogoń Siedlce i przypieczętowała mistrzostwo ligi". Nowiny24.pl (in Polish). 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. ^ Stal Rzeszów squad, stalrzeszow.pl
  5. ^ "Skeid - Stal Rzeszow Match Detail - 16.09.1975 - SharkScores.com". www.sharkscores.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  6. ^ https://web.archive.org/liveweb/http://www.eurocups-uefa.ru/winner_cups/1975-76/protocols/cw1976_015_1.php [dead link]
  7. ^ "Stal Rzeszow - Skeid Match Detail - 30.09.1975 - SharkScores.com". www.sharkscores.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  8. ^ https://web.archive.org/liveweb/http://www.eurocups-uefa.ru/winner_cups/1975-76/protocols/cw1976_015_2.php [dead link]
  9. ^ "Stal Rzeszow - Wrexham Match Detail - 04.11.1975 - SharkScores.com". www.sharkscores.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  10. ^ https://web.archive.org/liveweb/http://www.eurocups-uefa.ru/winner_cups/1975-76/protocols/cw1976_017_2.php [dead link]
  11. ^ "Wrexham - Stal Rzeszow Match Detail - 21.10.1975 - SharkScores.com". www.sharkscores.com. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  12. ^ https://web.archive.org/liveweb/http://www.eurocups-uefa.ru/winner_cups/1975-76/protocols/cw1976_017_1.php [dead link]
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