Widzew Łódź

Widzew Łódź
Full nameRTS Widzew Łódź
Nickname(s)Widzewiacy, Czerwona Armia (Red Army)
Founded5 November 1910 (1910-11-05) as TMRF Widzew
GroundWidzew Łódź Stadium
Capacity18,018
ChairmanMichał Rydz
ManagerŽeljko Sopić
LeagueEkstraklasa
2024–25Ekstraklasa, 13th of 18
Websitewidzew.com

RTS Widzew Łódź (Polish pronunciation: [ˈɛr ˈtɛ ˈɛs ˈvʲidzɛf ˈwut͡ɕ]) is a Polish football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames Czerwona Armia (Red Army) and Czerwono-biało-czerwoni (Red-white-reds). They compete in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the Polish football league system, since the 2022–23 season.

History

The club was founded in 1910 as Towarzystwo Miłośników Rozwoju Fizycznego Widzew (Society of Physical Development Fans Widzew). Its name comes from the name of the city district Widzew, while RTS stands for Workers' Sports Association (in Polish Robotnicze Towarzystwo Sportowe). The club was founded by Polish workers and German industrialists who were employees of the Widzew textile manufactory called WIMA. Initially, the club was called the Widzew Association for Physical Development (in Polish: Towarzystwo Miłośników Rozwoju Fizycznego Widzew) because at that time Łódź was under the rule of the Russian Tsar and the adjective "workers'" (in Polish: Robotniczy) could not be used in the club's name. The club's mottos are Together We Create Power (in Polish Razem Tworzymy Siłę) and Always 12 (in Polish Zawsze w 12) which is meant to suggest that its fans are the twelfth player on the team. The club plays its matches at its stadium, located in Łódź at 138 Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego Avenue. The stadium bears the unofficial but commonly used name of the Heart of Łódź (in Polish Serce Łodzi).

After the First World War, Poland regained its independence and the club was reactivated in 1922 as Robotnicze Towarzystwo Sportowe Widzew Łódź (Workers' Sports Association Widzew Łódź).

During World War II, three pre-war players of Widzew Łódź, Joachim Schreer, Mirosław Wągrowski and Aleksander Żadziłko, were among Poles murdered by the Russians in the large Katyn massacre in April–May 1940.[1]

Widzew has won four Polish league championships, in 1980–81, 1981–82, 1995–96 and 1996–97, as well as the 1985 Polish Cup.[2]

After winning back-to-back championships in 1980–81 and 1981–82, Widzew reclaimed the league crown 14 years later after a record season once again.[3] During the successful 1995–96 season, Widzew conceded only 22 goals in 34 matches, the least out of all teams in the league. They were also proficient in attack, scoring 84 goals and securing 88 points across the campaign.[4] Thanks in part to the great performance of their goalkeeper Andrzej Woźniak, the team remained unbeaten for the whole season.

In the following 1996–97 season, the team enjoyed another great season. For the second time in the club's history, they secured back-to-back championships, scoring 74 goals across the season and conceding only 21.[5]

They have appeared in 117 matches in European Cups, of which they won 42. Widzew knocked European giants Manchester United out of the 1980–81 UEFA Cup, although their biggest achievement was reaching the semi-final of the 1982–83 European Cup, eliminating then three-time winners Liverpool along the way.

Recent history

At the beginning of the 2007–08 season, Widzew was purchased by one of the wealthiest men in Poland, Sylwester Cacek.[6]

In January 2008, while playing in the second division, the Polish Football Association ruled that Widzew Łódź should be relegated due to their involvement in a corruption scandal. However, Widzew became champions that year and were allowed to stay in the second division, which was renamed I liga before the start of the 2008-09 season. Despite being deducted six points as a penalty, Widzew won the I Liga again in the 2009-10 season, and were promoted to the Ekstraklasa. However, Widzew were once again relegated at the end of the 2013–14 season after four seasons.

Due to financial problems, Widzew finished last at the end of the 2014–15 season, and subsequently went bankrupt.

Local businessmen Marcin Ferdzyn and Grzegorz Waranecki decided to take on amateur status as a new association called Stowarzyszenie Reaktywacja Tradycji Sportowych Widzew Łódź (Association of the Reactivation of the Sports Traditions of Widzew Łódź),[7] which continues the tradition of the old RTS Widzew Łódź. The new association was registered in a Polish court on 2 July 2015, and within a few weeks of summer 2015, they managed to hire a new coach Witold Obarek and gather a new roster, which started the 2015–16 season in the fifth tier of Polish football. In their first season in IV liga, Widzew won promotion. In the 2016–17 season, Widzew achieved third place in III liga, behind Drwęca Nowe Miasto Lubawskie and ŁKS Łódź, but next season yielded promotion to II liga. In the 2018–19 season, they finished in fifth place with 55 points. In the 2021–22 season, Widzew finished 2nd, one point ahead of Arka Gdynia, and returned to Ekstraklasa for the first time since the 2013–14 season.[8]

Honours

Domestic

League

Cup

Europe

Youth teams

Results in Ekstraklasa

Season Position Matches Points Goals W.-D.-L.
1 1948 14 (relegation) 26 13 pts. 31–99 5–3–18
2 1975–76 5 30 32 pts. 33–33 10–12–8
3 1976–77 2 30 38 pts. 46–31 14–10–6
4 1977–78 10 30 28 pts. 34–40 9–10–11
5 1978–79 2 30 39 pts. 37–26 14–11–5
6 1979–80 2 30 36 pts. 47–39 13–10–7
7 1980–81 1 30 39 pts. 39–25 14–11–5
8 1981–82 1 30 39 pts. 45–31 14–11–5
9 1982–83 2 30 38 pts. 50–30 13–12–5
10 1983–84 2 30 42 pts. 43–25 15–12–3
11 1984–85 3 30 38 pts. 34–16 13–12–5
12 1985–86 3 30 41 pts. 40–25 15–11–4
13 1986–87 6 30 36 pts. 34–29 14–7–9
14 1987–88 5 30 31 pts. 28–24 8–15–7
15 1988–89 7 30 29 pts. 27–27 9–12–9
16 1989–90 15 (relegation) 30 17 pts. 22–39 4–12–14
17 1991–92 3 34 43 pts. 48–28 17–9–8
18 1992–93 5 34 43 pts. 60–42 16–11–7
19 1993–94 6 34 39 pts. 45–33 12–15–7
20 1994–95 2 34 45 pts. 48–25 17–11–6
21 1995–96 1 34 88 pts. 84–22 27–7–0
22 1996–97 1 34 81 pts. 74–20 25–6–3
23 1997–98 4 34 61 pts. 53–34 18–7–9
24 1998–99 2 30 56 pts. 50–33 18–2–10
25 1999–2000 7 30 40 pts. 48–54 11–7–12
26 2000–01 12 30 36 pts. 33–40 9–9–12
27 2001–02
Autumn round
– group A: 		8 14 11 pts. 9–24 3–2–9
Spring round
– g. relegation: 		2 14 31 pts. 19–8 6–7–1
28 2002–03 9 30 37 pts. 29–39 10–7–13
29 2003–04 14 (relegation) 26 19 pts. 25–52 4–7–15
30 2006–07 12 30 28 pts. 27–48 7–7–16
31 2007–08 15 (relegation) 30 26 pts. 27–42 5–11–14
32 2010–11 9 30 43 pts. 41–34 11–10–9
33 2011–12 11 30 39 pts. 25–26 9–12–9
34 2012–13 13 30 33 pts. 30–41 8–9–13
35 2013–14 15 (relegation) 37 22 pts. 36–59 8–9–20
36 2022–23 12 34 41 pts. 38–47 11–8–15
37 2023–24 9 34 46 pts. 45–46 13–7–14
38 2024–25 13 34 40 pts. 38–49 11–7–16

Widzew in Europe

Season Competition Round Club Score
1977–78 UEFA Cup 1R Manchester City 2–2, 0–0
2R PSV Eindhoven 3–5, 0–1
1979–80 UEFA Cup 1R AS Saint-Étienne 2–1, 0–3
1980–81 UEFA Cup 1R Manchester United 1–1, 0–0
2R Juventus FC 3–1, 1–3 p. 4–1
3R Ipswich Town 0–5, 1–0
1981–82 European Cup 1R RSC Anderlecht 1–4, 1–2
1982–83 European Cup 1R Hibernians FC 4–1, 3–1
2R SK Rapid Wien 1–2, 5–3
1/4F Liverpool F.C. 2–0, 2–3
1/2F Juventus FC 0–2, 2–2
1983–84 UEFA Cup 1R IF Elfsborg 0–0, 2–2
2R Sparta Prague 1–0, 0–3
1984–85 UEFA Cup 1R Aarhus Gymnastik Forening 2–0, 0–1
2R Borussia Mönchengladbach 2–3, 1–0
3R FC Dinamo Minsk 0–2, 1–0
1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Galatasaray SK 0–1, 2–1
1986–87 UEFA Cup 1R LASK Linz 1–1, 1–0
2R Bayer 05 Uerdingen 0–0, 0–2
1992–93 UEFA Cup 1R Eintracht Frankfurt 2–2, 0–9
1995–96 UEFA Cup Q Bangor City FC 4–0, 1–0
1R FC Chornomorets Odesa 1–0, 0–1 p. 5–6
1996–97 UEFA Champions League Q Brøndby IF 2–1, 2–3
GR Borussia Dortmund 1–2, 2–2
GR Atlético Madrid 1–4, 0–1
GR Steaua București 0–1, 2–0
1997–98 UEFA Champions League 1Q Neftchi Baku 2–0, 8–0
2Q Parma FC 1–3, 0–4
UEFA Cup 1R Udinese Calcio 1–0, 0–3
1999–00 UEFA Champions League 2Q Litex Lovech 4–1, 1–4 p. 3–2
3Q ACF Fiorentina 1–3, 0–2
UEFA Cup 1R Skonto FC 0–1, 2–0
2R AS Monaco FC 1–1, 0–2

Best results in European competitions

Season Achievement Notes
European Cup/UEFA Champions League
1982–83 Semi-final lost to Juventus 0–2 in Turin, 2–2 in Łódź
UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League
1980–81 Round of 16 lost to Ipswich Town 0–5 in Ipswich, 1–0 in Łódź
1984–85 Round of 16 lost to Dinamo Minsk 0–2 in Łódź, 1–0 in Tbilisi

Players

Current squad

As of 8 July 2025[9]

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 Rafał Gikiewicz
3 DF  SVK Samuel Kozlovský
4 DF  POL Mateusz Żyro
6 MF  ALB Juljan Shehu
10 MF  ESP Fran Álvarez
16 DF  DEN Peter Therkildsen
17 FW  POL Hubert Sobol
18 FW  POL Daniel Gryzio
19 MF  POL Bartłomiej Pawłowski (captain)
21 DF  POL Paweł Kwiatkowski
23 MF  POL Leon Madej
24 DF  GRE Polydefkis Volanakis
25 MF  CZE Marek Hanousek
31 GK  POL Mikołaj Biegański
33 GK  POL Jan Krzywański
No. Pos. Nation Player
44 MF  FRA Noah Diliberto
55 MF  POL Szymon Czyż
70 FW  POL Nikodem Stachowicz
78 FW  POL Kamil Cybulski
91 DF  POL Marcel Krajewski
— FW  NGA Samuel Akere
— FW  ESP Ángel Baena
— FW  POL Sebastian Bergier
— FW  POL Mariusz Fornalczyk
— DF  KOS Dion Gallapeni
— GK  POL Maciej Kikolski
— FW  POL Antoni Klukowski
— MF  ALB Lindon Selahi
— DF  ESP Ricardo Visus

Retired numbers

See also: List of retired numbers in association football

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
11 FW  POL Włodzimierz Smolarek (1974–78, 1980–86 - posthumous honour)

Notable players

Managers

[10]

Stadium

Main article: Widzew Łódź Stadium

The club's home stadium was the Municipal Stadium (Polish: Stadion Miejski) opened in 1930. The stadium, which was owned by the city of Łódź, had a capacity of 10,500 seats. In early 2015, it was demolished to make way for a new stadium with 18,000 seats. It was intended the new stadium will be completed by November 2016.

In the 2014–15 season, Widzew played their home matches in Byczyna near Poddębice, 40 km west of Łódź.[11]

After bankruptcy and relegation to the fifth division, a rebuilt team was forced to play its domestic games in Łódź at UKS SMS Łódź stadium,[12] during the construction of a new Widzew Łódź Stadium.

The first match at their new stadium was played on the 18th March, 2017, where Widzew won against Motor Lubawa 2–0.[13] 17,443 fans attended the game.

Fans

Widzew has one of the largest fan-bases in Poland with fan-clubs all around the country. Widzew's biggest rival is ŁKS Łódź, with whom they contest the Łódź Derby. Legia Warsaw are also big rivals, with whom they contest the Derby of Poland, which stems from the fact there were frequent title races between the two clubs. GKS Bełchatów is third biggest rival of Widzew. Their fans maintain friendly relations with fans of Ruch Chorzów, Elana Toruń, KKS Kalisz, Wisła Kraków.[14] A little group of ultras has a friendship with Hungarian side Honvéd, due to the Hungary–Poland relations.

TMRF Widzew Łódź

Main article: TMRF Widzew Łódź

TMRF Widzew was a football team created by the active supporters of Widzew in 2014, who were in a long conflict with the club board. Only Widzew supporters were admitted to the squad.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ciesielski, Kacper (2021). "Sportowcy wśród ofiar zbrodni katyńskiej oraz powiązane z nimi artefakty grobowe i archiwalia w zbiorach Muzeum Katyńskiego". Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny (in Polish). 44. Opole: 147. ISSN 0137-5199.
  2. ^ "Widzew Łódź – Profile". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  3. ^ "Rekordowo mistrzowski sezon 1995–1996". widzew.com (in Polish). Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  4. ^ "Andrzej Woźniak Profile". BonusCodes (in German). Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  5. ^ "Widzew Lodz - tables & standings Ekstraklasa 1996/1997 season, statistics, results, fixtures and more from Tribuna.com". Tribuna.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  6. ^ Historia Widzewa
  7. ^ Jest nowy Widzew! Reaktywacja Tradycji Sportowych Widzew Łódź
  8. ^ "Widzew w Ekstraklasie". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Widzew Łódź current squad" (in Polish).
  10. ^ If not marked in a different way – I league
  11. ^ Byczyna dla Widzewa. Jest umowa. Władze klubu dogadały się z gminą Poddębice
  12. ^ http://www.expressilustrowany.pl/artykul/3932343,rts-widzew-bedzie-gral-na-stadionie-sms,id,t.html RTS Widzew będzie grał na stadionie SMS
  13. ^ "Widzew Łódź - Wygrana na otwarcie stadionu - relacja z meczu z Motorem Lubawa - Aktualności".
  14. ^ "WidzewToMy - Oficjalny portal kibiców Widzewa Łódź".
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