FC Baník Ostrava

Formation and history to 1937

The club was founded on 8 September 1922 as SK Slezská Ostrava, when 20 activists signed the establishment treaty in the U Dubu restaurant. The signatories were mostly poor coal miners from the Kamenec coal mining settlement in Ostrava. The organizers of the founding were Karel Aniol, Arnošt Haberkiewicz, Petr Křižák, František Mruzek and Jaroslav Horák. The club was officially registered on 14 October 1922. Karel Aniol became the club's first president. First jerseys of SK Slezská Ostrava were red-white striped. Since April 1923, however the club played with white jerseys and blue shorts. These colours were used since then. The first match ever occurred on 4 March 1923, when SK Slezská Ostrava faced reserve team of famous local side Slovan Ostrava.

SK Slezská Ostrava was a poor club, raising money for functioning of the club was a common concern. It had no own playing field and was forced to loan fields from wealthier clubs. The first own field was built in autumn of 1925 at Kamenec. It was however stony and did not meet requirements of the football officials. In 1934 club activists succeeded in renting the land at Stará střelnice from regional wealthy industrialist Count Wilczek. During the summer of 1934 a new field was built there. Many workers volunteered to help with the construction for free. Workers and coal miners often came directly from shifts to build the field.

SK Slezská Ostrava began to compete with other teams in the league system in spring of 1923. It started in the lowest division (III. třída župy) and was promoted to higher division the same year. It took however some time for the club the appear in the highest divisions of football in Czechoslovakia. In 1934 the club won the promotion to the Moravian-Silesian Division, one of the highest leagues in the country. The promotion made SK Slezská Ostrava a popular team in the city and the public interest was rising. The 1935 derby against Slovan Ostrava was watched at Stará střelnice by 5,400 spectators.

Since 1934 the club began also to pay money to footballers, which was made legal by the Czechoslovak Football Association the same year. In the Moravian-Silesian Division, the club finished in a mid-table position. In the 1936–37 season, SK Slezská Ostrava won the Moravian-Silesian Division and advanced to the qualification tournament for the First League. They won the tournament to be promoted to the First League for the first time in history.

From 1937 to 1952

The First League in Czechoslovakia was dominated by Prague teams at that time, which were advanced in all aspects. Promotion to the First League was therefore a big success for SK Slezská Ostrava. In 15 years the team advanced from the obscure minnows to the highest level of football in the country. The first league match at Stará střelnice was played on 22 August 1937 against 1. ČsŠK Bratislava. In the second match, the newcomer team faced famous Sparta Prague in Prague. Though Sparta's roster was full of national team players, Baník won 3–2 and caused immediate sensation. SK Slezská Ostrava survived three seasons in the First League before being relegated in 1940.

SK Slezská Ostrava played in the Division until 1943, when it was again promoted to the First League. Promotion to the highest league sparked even stronger interest in football of local people. Later famed opera singer Rudolf Asmus even sang the new anthem for the club. In the 1943–44 season the home attendances of SK Slezská Ostrava reached the highest level so far. The match against Slavia Prague was attended by 33,000 people. The club was relegated back to the second-tier division (now named Second League) in 1949, but won the league in 1950 and returned to the First League. The club changed its name after World War II and again in 1948 after the communist coup d'état.

From 1952 to 1967

In 1952 the club adopted the name DSO Baník Ostrava. Since then the name went only through slight changes. In the 1954 season, Baník achieved its biggest league success so far, ending second in the league after Sparta. In 1959 Baník played for the last time at the old Stará střelnice stadium. Stará střelnice did not meet requirements made by the football association. The pitch was not grassy, but covered with slag, which was also a reason to close down the stadium. New Bazaly stadium was constructed in 1959 in Slezská Ostrava, and was opened on 19 April 1959.

In the 1965–66 season Baník was weakened by the generation change. It ended 13th in the league table and was relegated to the Second League. A year later Baník was again promoted to the top division. Since then Baník plays exclusively in the top flight of football in the country.

The Golden Era

In the 1972–73 season Baník won the Czechoslovak Cup. It was the club's first domestic trophy, and they advanced to the Cup Winners' Cup. It was the first European cup appearance in the club's history. Baník eliminated Irish Cork Hibernians in the first round, but was defeated in the second round by 1. FC Magdeburg, who later won the cup. In the 1974–75 UEFA Cup season Baník eliminated Real Sociedad, Nantes and Napoli, only to be defeated in the quarter-finals by eventual Cup winners Borussia Mönchengladbach.

In the 1974–75 season Baník finished 13th in the First League. Jiří Rubáš was appointed as a new manager of Baník in the half of the 1975–76 season. Baník managed to improve in the second half of the season and became Czechoslovak champions for the first time in their history.

Evžen Hadamczik took over as manager of Baník on 1 January 1978, and the club won the Czechoslovak Cup that year. In the 1978–79 season Baník finished second to Dukla Prague. On 20 August 1978 Baník lost at Bazaly to Dukla Prague. Since then Baník did not lose 74 home matches in a row, thus being almost five years undefeated at their home ground. In the 1978–79 European Cup Winners' Cup Baník made it to the semi-finals knocking out Sporting Clube de Portugal, Shamrock Rovers and 1. FC Magdeburg on their way. Baník was eliminated in the semi-finals by Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Team squad was stable in the Golden Era years. The best players like Lička and Vojáček were regularly playing for the national team. Others like Radimec, Rygel, Němec and Šreiner played also for the Olympic team. In the 1979–80 season Baník won its second Czechoslovak title, finishing five points ahead of Zbrojovka Brno. In the 1980–81 season of the UEFA European Cup Baník reached the quarter-finals, where it was knocked out by Bayern Munich. In the same season, Baník also won the First League again. In the subsequent two seasons, Baník finished second in the league table. After the 1982–83 season, coach Hadamczik resigned, thus symbolically ending the Golden Era of the club.

From 1983 to 1991

In the following years Baník withdrew from the highest league positions. The team was undergoing another generation change and young players did not maintain their performance for the whole season. Baník however regularly appeared in the upper part of the league table. In the 1988–89 and 1989–90 seasons it finished second in the league. In 1991, Baník won the Czechoslovak Cup by beating Spartak Trnava 6–1 in the final match. It was the last success of the club for long years to come.

Recent years

Since 1991 the club constantly underachieved. Financial problems soon joined as major sponsors were undergoing restructuraliing following the collapse of communism in the country. In the 1990s, Baník achieved various results. The best was third place in the 1993–94 Czech First League. The club however struggled for the league survival in the 2000–01 season, and finished 14th in the table, just four points short of relegation.

In the 2003–04 season they won the league for the first time since an independent Czech Republic. Marek Heinz was the league's top goalscorer with 19 goals. In the same season, Baník finished runners-up in the Czech Cup. In 2004/05 they won the domestic cup for the first time since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

Historical names

Supporters

Banik are known throughout the Czech Republic as having one of, if not the, most loyal and vociferous groups of supporters in the country. The Bazaly stadium had attendances higher than most within the Czech First League.

Ultra supporters of Baník call themselves Chachaři, which means "bad boys" in the local dialect. Some of the ultras' songs contain lyrics proudly demonstrating willingness to not only sing, but also fight for their club. Baník's ultras have made friendships over the years, and in 2006 celebrated 10 years of partnership with 2nd division Poland club, GKS Katowice. The celebration took the form of a game between the two teams, organised by the clubs directors. The fixture took place at GKS's stadium, where throughout the 90 minutes the opposing sets of fans sung one another's songs. At the end of the game, both sets of fans climbed over metal fences in order to race onto the pitch come the final whistle to embrace and exchange scarves.

Transfers

Baník have produced numerous players who have gone on to represent the Czech national football team. Over the last 15 years there has been a steady increase of young players leaving Baník after a few years of first team football and moving on to play football in leagues of a higher standard, with the Belgian First Division, Italy's Serie A and also the German Bundesliga being popular destinations. Young Czech footballers tend to fit into two categories – highly skilled, technically sound attacking players, or strong, athletic and somewhat uncompromising defenders. Baník, as with all Czech clubs, are unable to demand huge sums of money for the signature of their youngsters. Top transfers include Václav Svěrkoš 2008 transfer to Sochaux for an undisclosed fee (believed to be in the region of £1.8 million) is a highlight of recent seasons. It wasn't the first time Baník allowed Svěrkoš to move on, with a previous transfer to Borussia Mönchengladbach during the 2003–04 season for £1.2 million. This still pales in comparison to the Milan Baroš transfer of 2001–02 season of £3.2 million.

As with all football fans, supporters of Baník are disappointed when a loved member of the team decides that it is time to move on. Especially when the player signs for a bitter rival, just as Zdeněk Pospěch and Miroslav Matušovič did in 2005. Both players were highly regarded by both the coaching staff and fans at Bazaly, but decided to move on to rivals Sparta Prague. Other players who moved from Baník to Sparta include Tomáš Řepka and Libor Sionko.

Current squad

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

Out on loan

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

Notable former players

History in domestic competitions

International

Domestic