Wisła Kraków

Birth of the Club 1906

Wisła Kraków was founded in May 1906 when students of the Second Practical School in Kraków, inspired by their professor Tadeusz Łopuszański, formed a football team.

Early Success Polish Champions 1927–1928

In this first, historic season of the League, fight for Championship was decided between two teams – Wisła Kraków and 1.FC Katowice. This rivalry was treated very seriously, not only by the two sides involved, but also by the whole nation. 1.FC was regarded as the team supported by German minority, while Wisła, at the end of this historic season, represented ambitions of all Poles.

Some time in the fall of 1927 in Katowice, an ill-fated game between 1.FC and Wisła took place. Stakes were very high – the winner would become the Champion. Kraków's side won 2–0 and became the Champion. 1.FC finished second, third was Warta Poznań.

In 1949 the club was renamed to Gwardia-Wisła Kraków. In 1955 the club returned to its original name TS Wisła. In 1967 was once again renamed, to GTS Wisła, a name which held until 1990 when the club reverted to its original name: TS Wisła. In the late nineteen-nineties the football (soccer) section of the club was incorporated and was renamed Wisła Kraków SSA.

The club has had its ups and downs, winning national championships and gaining European qualification. It was also relegated to the second division on three occasions. Since the football section has been bought by Tele-Fonika Kable S.A. in 1998, the team has been far and away the most successful club in Poland, winning 7 national championships and placing second 3 times, totaling 10 top 2 finishes in 12 years.

On the international stage Wisła has competed in all three of the European competitions. The club's greatest success came in the 1978/79 season, when Wisła was able to reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup eventually to be knocked out by Malmö FF,by an aggregate score of 3:5. Most recently Wisła narrowly missed out on a chance to compete in the 2005/06 Champions League group stage, being defeated 4:5 by Greek side Panathinaikos after extra time.

Wisła also twice reached the second round of the Cup Winners Cup in 1967/68 and 1984/85, being beaten 0:5 and 2:3 by Hamburger SV and Fortuna Sittard respectively.

"The White Star" has competed ten times in the UEFA Cup.

Stadium

Wisła's Stadium is located at 22 Reymonta Street in Kraków, Poland. The stadium was originally built in 1953 and currently has a capacity of 34,000. The stadium was renovated in 2010, being upgraded to UEFA elite standards. The Wisła Stadium has also been chosen as a reserve venue for the Euro 2012 tournament being organized jointly by Poland and Ukraine. The record attendance of 45,000 at Wisła Stadium came on 29 September 1976 when Wisła defeated Celtic 2:0. The venue has been a fortress for Wisła, where the team is especially difficult to defeat. It is worth noting that Wisła holds the all-time European football record for home games without a loss in a row. The streak was started following a loss on 16 September 2001, to KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski and ended more than five years later on 11 November 2006, when GKS Bełchatów defeated Wisła 4:2. The number of matches without a loss was then settled at 73, overcoming the former Polish record of 48 which belonged to Legia Warsaw. During the 2008–09 season, Wisła lost points at home only twice; tying ŁKS Łódź and being defeated by Lech Poznań.

Fan Friendlies

Wisła formerly had relations with Lechia Gdańsk and Śląsk Wrocław until they made a new pack between Ruch Chorzów, Widzew Łódź and Elana Toruń which divided Wisła fans. Also have relations with S.S. Lazio. They also formerly held relation with Unia Tarnów.

The Holy War

The term Holy War refers to the intense rivalry between the two Kraków based teams; Wisła and KS Cracovia. In 1906 the establishment of the two first Polish football clubs, Cracovia and Wisła, created a rivalry that now dates back more than one hundred years. The term Holy War was first used to describe the rivalry of Kraków's Jewish teams, Makabbi and Jutrzenka. A Jutrzenka defender, Ludwik Gintel, who later joined the Cracovia side referred to the derby match against Wisła as the Holy War. The phrase was incorporated into a song and has since been popular among Wisła and Cracovia fans.

The first recorded Kraków Derby was contested on 20 September 1908, the game was a 1:1 tie. A historic derby game between Cracovia and Wisła took place on 8 May 1913. It was the first time Polish teams played a championship game officially sanctioned by FIFA. Cracovia won the game 2:1. The most famous derby took place in 1948 when after the first postwar season both Cracovia and Wisła accumulated an even amount of points and the championship had to be decided by an additional game played at a neutral venue. On 5 December 1948 Cracovia defeated Wisła 3:1 and was crowned national champions. As of May 2011, the Kraków derby game between Wisła and Cracovia has been contested 183 times, with Wisła prevailing 82 times, tying 42 times and Cracovia coming away the victor 59 times.

Poland's Derby

The match contested between Wisła Kraków and Legia Warsaw is commonly recognized as the greatest rivalry in Polish club football. The two sides have been the most successful clubs in Poland during the past decade and the rivalry between two of Poland's premier cities of Kraków and Warsaw sparks the rivalry even more. The regional differences of Kraków (South) and Warsaw (North), and the fact that Kraków used to be the capital of Poland before Warsaw (in the years 1041–1596) and the full official name of Kraków is Stołeczne Królewskie Miasto Kraków, or "Royal Capital City of Kraków" in English, also add a greater meaning to the match.

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.

Domestic

Europe

Intercontinental

Youth Teams

Records

Team records

Records individual

Wisła in European football

UEFA Ranking

Club Ranking for 2014 (Previous year rank in italics, UEFA Club Coefficients in parentheses)

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Wisła.