Lechia Gdańsk & Śląsk Wrocław (Fan Friendship)

The Friendship Match () is a term used by media and both football clubs for games between Polish football clubs Lechia Gdańsk and Śląsk Wrocław. While there have been longer "friendships" () in Polish football, such as Polonia Warsaw and Cracovia having relations since the 1920s and officially since the 1960s, their decision to end their friendship agreement in 2017 meant that the agreement between Lechia and Śląsk became the longest current friendship in Polish football. The Friendship has officially been in place since 1977, with the friendship linking back to 1976. The friendship came into fruition in 1976 after Śląsk Wrocław fans traveled to northern Poland to watch Śląsk play against Gwardia Koszalin, a team who has strong links with Arka Gdynia, the main rival of Lechia Gdańsk. During meetings between the two clubs there is no segregation between fans, as in normal football matches, with both sets of fans often being involved with displays of banners and tifo.

Teams Lechia Gdańsk Founded in 1945 in Gdańsk after the expulsion of Poles in Lviv. Throughout their history they have mostly played in the top three tiers. The club had to restart in the lowest divisions after the club created a new club independent club a few years after the Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk merger in 2001. The team have been playing in the Ekstraklasa since 2008. The club have currently won the Polish Cup and the Polish SuperCup twice, winning both cups in 1983 and 2019. The team's highest position in the Ekstraklasa is third which it achieved in 1956 and 2019.

Śląsk Wrocław Founded in 1947 in Wrocław, Śląsk have been the more successful of the two teams, playing mostly in the top division since the 1960s. Śląsk last won promotion to the Ekstraklasa in 2008 and have been in the league since. Śląsk have won the Polish championship twice in 1977 and 2012, and finishing in either second or third a further six times. They have won the Polish Cup twice, the Polish SuperCup twice, and the Ekstraklasa Cup once.

Three Kings of Great Cities

The Three Kings of Great Cities alliance () was created in 1994 when Wisła Kraków formed an agreement with Śląsk Wrocław. Lechia and Wisła already had an agreement which dated back to 1973, with the two teams splitting from that agreement at least once. The friendship between the three teams was created to combat the large "The Great Triad" (), the alliance between Arka Gdynia, Cracovia and Lech Poznań. The alliance ended in 2016 with Wisła Kraków intending to form a friendship with Ruch Chorzów. This upset both Lechia and Śląsk fans as fans of Ruch Chorzów and Widzew Łódź were involved in the murder of a Śląsk fan in 2003. The main Lechia Gdańsk fan group posted that the decision for Wisła to form a friendship with Ruch was unacceptable for the fans of Lechia, and that the friendship was to be terminated. The main Śląsk Wrocław fan group posted a similar response the following day officially ending the TKWM alliance.

The Friendship Match

Games before 1977 were normal fixtures between the two clubs. Those from 1977 are from when the fans of both clubs agreed a friendship, with the modern term of these games being called "Mecz Przyjaźni", The Friendship Match.

Key Lechia wins Draws Śląsk wins Friendship matches

League

No. Date Home team Score Away team League 118 August 1963Lechia Gdańsk0–2Śląsk WrocławII liga 222 March 1964Śląsk Wrocław2–0Lechia Gdańsk37 October 1972Lechia Gdańsk0–0Śląsk Wrocław413 May 1973Śląsk Wrocław3–1Lechia Gdańsk524 November 1984Śląsk Wrocław2–0Lechia GdańskI liga 623 June 1985Lechia Gdańsk3–2Śląsk Wrocław717 August 1985Lechia Gdańsk4–4Śląsk Wrocław88 March 1986Śląsk Wrocław1–1Lechia Gdańsk928 September 1986Śląsk Wrocław2–1Lechia Gdańsk102 May 1987Lechia Gdańsk1–0Śląsk Wrocław1126 August 1987Lechia Gdańsk1–0Śląsk Wrocław122 April 1988Śląsk Wrocław1–0Lechia Gdańsk1321 August 1993Śląsk Wrocław2–2Lechia GdańskII liga (Western gr.)149 April 1994Lechia Gdańsk0–0Śląsk Wrocław155 November 1994Śląsk Wrocław6–0Lechia Gdańsk163 June 1995Lechia Gdańsk0–1Śląsk Wrocław1729 June 1995Olimpia-Lechia Gdańsk2–1Śląsk WrocławI liga183 April 1996Śląsk Wrocław1–1Olimpia-Lechia Gdańsk198 August 1998Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk2–1Śląsk WrocławII liga (Western gr.)2021 March 1999Śląsk Wrocław3–0Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk2115 August 1999Śląsk Wrocław5–1Lechia-Polonia GdańskII liga2229 March 2000Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk1–0Śląsk Wrocław234 September 2005Lechia Gdańsk1–2Śląsk Wrocław245 April 2006Śląsk Wrocław0–0Lechia Gdańsk259 September 2006Śląsk Wrocław1–1Lechia Gdańsk2621 April 2007Lechia Gdańsk0–0Śląsk Wrocław2719 October 2007Lechia Gdańsk3–1Śląsk Wrocław2821 May 2008Śląsk Wrocław2–0Lechia Gdańsk299 August 2008Śląsk Wrocław1–1Lechia GdańskEkstraklasa3028 February 2009Lechia Gdańsk1–1Śląsk Wrocław3129 August 2009Lechia Gdańsk1–1Śląsk Wrocław3213 March 2010Śląsk Wrocław1–2Lechia Gdańsk3328 August 2010Lechia Gdańsk2–0Śląsk Wrocław3419 March 2011Śląsk Wrocław2–1Lechia Gdańsk3528 October 2011Śląsk Wrocław1–0Lechia Gdańsk3622 April 2012Lechia Gdańsk1–1Śląsk Wrocław3721 October 2012Lechia Gdańsk2–3Śląsk Wrocław3821 April 2013Śląsk Wrocław1–1Lechia Gdańsk393 November 2013Lechia Gdańsk1–2Śląsk Wrocław4012 April 2014Śląsk Wrocław1–0Lechia Gdańsk4125 October 2014Lechia Gdańsk1–4Śląsk Wrocław4218 April 2015Śląsk Wrocław3–0Lechia Gdańsk4330 May 2015Śląsk Wrocław1–0Lechia Gdańsk449 August 2015Śląsk Wrocław0–0Lechia Gdańsk456 December 2015Lechia Gdańsk1–0Śląsk Wrocław466 August 2016Śląsk Wrocław0–0Lechia Gdańsk479 December 2016Lechia Gdańsk3–0Śląsk Wrocław4828 July 2017Śląsk Wrocław3–2Lechia Gdańsk491 December 2017Lechia Gdańsk3–1Śląsk Wrocław5030 April 2018Śląsk Wrocław3–1Lechia Gdańsk5127 July 2018Lechia Gdańsk1–1Śląsk Wrocław5230 November 2018Śląsk Wrocław0–2Lechia Gdańsk5324 August 2019Lechia Gdańsk1–1Śląsk Wrocław547 February 2020Śląsk Wrocław2–2Lechia Gdańsk5519 July 2020Śląsk Wrocław1–2Lechia Gdańsk5620 November 2020Lechia Gdańsk3–2Śląsk Wrocław5710 April 2021Śląsk Wrocław1–1Lechia Gdańsk588 August 2021Śląsk Wrocław1–1Lechia Gdańsk595 February 2022Lechia Gdańsk2–0Śląsk Wrocław6010 September 2022Śląsk Wrocław2–1Lechia Gdańsk611 April 2023Lechia Gdańsk0–0Śląsk Wrocław

Cup Competitions

No. Date Home team Score Away team Cup 19 November 1952Śląsk Wrocław1–2Lechia GdańskPolish Cup 228 November 1982Lechia Gdańsk3–0Śląsk Wrocław

Players & Managers Players

There have been a few players who have played for both Lechia Gdańsk and Śląsk Wrocław, with the majority of those playing for both clubs after the agreement which was made in 1977.

Bolesław Błaszczyk – Lechia (1980–1982) & Śląsk (1985) Tomasz Borowiec – Lechia (2000) & Śląsk (1999) Piotr Bubiłek – Lechia (2000) & Śląsk (2001) Michał Chrapek – Lechia (2015–2017) & Śląsk (2017–2020) Marcin Ciliński – Lechia (1995–1996) & Śląsk (1997–1998) Jan Erlich – Lechia (1978–1981) & Śląsk (1974–1978) Piotr Jacyna – Lechia (2000) & Śląsk (1995) Marcin Janus – Lechia (1995, 2005–2006) & Śląsk (1999–2001) Jerzy Kasalik – Lechia (1975–1976) & Śląsk (1969–1970) Jakub Kosecki – Lechia (2011–2012) & Śląsk (2017–2018) Aleksandar Kovačević – Lechia (2015–2017) & Śląsk (2017) Kamil Kowalczyk – Lechia (1995–96, 1996) & Śląsk (1994) Maciej Kowalczyk – Lechia (2008–2009) & Śląsk (2000–2001) Grzegorz Krysiak – Lechia (2000) & Śląsk (1999) Mateusz Lewandowski – Lechia (2017–2019) & Śląsk (2017, 2018) Mateusz Machaj – Lechia (2011–2013) & Śląsk (2014–2016) Michał Mak – Lechia (2015–2019) & Śląsk (2017–2018) Sebastian Mila – Lechia (1997–1998, 1998–2001, 2015–2018) & Śląsk (2008–2015) Tomasz Moskal – Lechia (2000) & Śląsk (1994–1997) Flávio Paixão – Lechia (2016–2023) & Śląsk (2014–2016) Marco Paixão – Lechia (2016–2018) & Śląsk (2013–2015) Jacek Paszulewicz – Lechia (1998) & Śląsk (2001) Bartłomiej Pawłowski – Lechia (2014–2017) & Śląsk (2020–2021) Wojciech Pawłowski – Lechia (2010–2012) & Śląsk (2014–2015) Mirosław Pękala – Lechia (1985–1988) & Śląsk (1977–1984) Krzysztof Rusinek – Lechia (1998, 1998–2001, 2004–2006) & Śląsk (2007) Krzysztof Sadzawicki – Lechia (1995–1996) & Śląsk (1999–2001) Grzegorz Szamotulski – Lechia (1993) & Śląsk (2001) Adam Tokarz – Lechia (1973–1974) & Śląsk (1967–1969) Tomasz Unton – Lechia (1988–1994, 1995–96) & Śląsk (1997) Dariusz Wojciechowski – Lechia (2001) & Śląsk (1996–1997) Łukasz Zwoliński – Lechia (2020–2023) & Śląsk (2016–2017) Dzidosław Żuberek – Lechia (2000) & Śląsk (1998–1999) Mateusz Żukowski – Lechia (2017–2022) & Śląsk (2023–present)

Notes

Managers

Currently there have been three managers who have managed both Lechia Gdańsk and Śląsk Wrocław.

Zygmunt Czyżewski – Lechia (1945–1946) & Śląsk (1960–1961) Wojciech Łazarek – Lechia (1974–1975, 1985–1986) & Śląsk (1998–1999) Romuald Szukiełowicz – Lechia (2000) & Śląsk (1989–1991, 1995–1996, 2015–2016)

Notes

See also

Football in Poland Lechia Gdańsk Śląsk Wrocław Football hooliganism in Poland List of derbies in Poland

References