Widzew Łódź


RTS Widzew Łódź 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 and Czerwono-biało-czerwoni.

History

The club was founded in 1910 as Towarzystwo Miłośników Rozwoju Fizycznego Widzew .
After the first world war the club was reactivated in 1922 as Robotnicze Towarzystwo Sportowe Widzew Łódź.
Widzew has won four Polish league championships and the 1985 Polish Cup.
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 3 times winners Liverpool along the way.

Recent history

In the beginning of season 2007/2008 Widzew was bought by one of the wealthiest men in Poland – Sylwester Cacek.
In January 2008, while playing in the Second League, 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 First League before the start of the 2008–09 season. Despite the deduction of six points as a penalty, Widzew managed to become champions once again, and were finally promoted to the Ekstraklasa. In total, Widzew played 35 seasons at the highest level before being relegated in the 2013–14 season.
Due to financial problems, Widzew finished last at the end of the 2014–15 I Liga season. Subsequently, the club ruled by Sylwester Cacek went bankrupt.
In consequence local businessmen led by Marcin Ferdzyn and Grzegorz Waranecki decided to take on amateur status as a new association called Stowarzyszenie Reaktywacja Tradycji Sportowych Widzew Łódź , which continues the tradition of the old RTS Widzew Łódź. The new association was registered in a Polish court on 2.07.2015, and within a few weeks of summer 2015 they managed to find new coach Witold Obarek and collect a new squad, which started the 2015/2016 season in the fifth tier of Polish football. In first season in IV League Widzew has promoted to higher tier. In season 2016/17 Widzew achieved third place in III League, after Drwęca Nowe Miasto Lubawskie and ŁKS Łódź but next season yielded promotion to II League. Now, on the halfway point of season 2018/19 Widzew is leader with 37 points in 17 matches.

Achievements

Domestic

Widzew in Europe

SeasonCompetitionRoundClubScore
1977–78UEFA Cup1R Manchester City2–2, 0–0
2R PSV Eindhoven3–5, 0–1
1979–80UEFA Cup1R AS Saint-Étienne2–1, 0–3
1980–81UEFA Cup1R Manchester United1–1, 0–0
2R Juventus FC3–1, 1–3 p. 4–1
3R Ipswich Town0–5, 1–0
1981–82European Cup1R RSC Anderlecht1–4, 1–2
1982–83European Cup1R Hibernians FC4–1, 3–1
2R SK Rapid Wien1–2, 5–3
1/4F Liverpool F.C.2–0, 2–3
1/2F Juventus FC0–2, 2–2
1983–84UEFA Cup1R IF Elfsborg0–0, 2–2
2R Sparta Prague1–0, 0–3
1984–85UEFA Cup1R Aarhus Gymnastik Forening2–0, 0–1
2R Borussia Mönchengladbach2–3, 1–0
3R FC Dinamo Minsk0–2, 1–0
1985–86European Cup Winners' Cup1R Galatasaray SK0–1, 2–1
1986–87UEFA Cup1R LASK Linz1–1, 1–0
2R Bayer 05 Uerdingen0–0, 0–2
1992–93UEFA Cup1R Eintracht Frankfurt2–2, 0–9
1995–96UEFA CupQ Bangor City FC4–0, 1–0
1R FC Chornomorets Odessa1–0, 0–1 p. 5–6
1996–97UEFA Champions LeagueQ Brøndby IF2–1, 2–3
GR Borussia Dortmund1–2, 2–2
GR Atlético Madrid1–4, 0–1
GR Steaua Bucureşti0–1, 2–0
1997–98UEFA Champions League1Q Neftchi Baku2–0, 8–0
2Q Parma FC1–3, 0–4
UEFA Cup1R Udinese Calcio1–0, 0–3
1999–00UEFA Champions League2Q Litex Lovech4–1, 1–4 p. 3–2
3Q ACF Fiorentina1–3, 0–2
UEFA Cup1R Skonto FC0–1, 2–0
2R AS Monaco FC1–1, 0–2

Current squad

Notable players

The club's home stadium was the 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 2014–2015 season, its last season as a professional club, Widzewa played their home matches in Byczyna near Poddębice, 40 km west of Łódź.
After bankruptcy and relegation to the 4th division a rebuilt team was forced to play its domestic games in Łódź at UKS SMS Łódź stadium, during the construction of a new Widzew's stadium.
The first match on new stadium was played on 18 March 2017, Widzew won against Motor Lubawa 2:0. 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 and CSKA Moscow.

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.

Regular season