ŁKS
Full nameŁódzki Klub Sportowy S.A.
Nickname(s)Rycerze wiosny (Knights of Spring)
Founded1908 (1908)
GroundStadion Miejski im. Władysława Króla
Capacity18,033
ChairmanJarosław Olszowy
ManagerPiotr Stokowiec
LeagueEkstraklasa
2022–23I liga, 1st of 18 (promoted)
WebsiteClub website

ŁKS Łódź (Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź; Polish pronunciation: [ˌɛwkaˈɛs ˈwut͡ɕ]) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, boxing, and in the past ice hockey, athletics, tennis, table tennis, swimming, cycling, fencing, chess, etc. The club is based at Stadion Miejski im. Władysława Króla, at Aleja Unii Lubelskiej 2 in the West of Łódź.

This article focuses on the football club. Their nickname "Rycerze Wiosny" ("Knights of Spring") was given to them due to their usually strong performance in the second round of the league, after Winter break.

History

1936 ŁKS side

The club was founded in 1908. It was one of the founders of the Ekstraklasa, Poland's top division.

During World War II, two pre-war players of ŁKS, Adam Obrubański and Alojzy Welnitz, were among Poles murdered by the Russians in the large Katyn massacre in April–May 1940.[1]

ŁKS enjoyed greatest success in the 1950s and 1990s, when it reached the podium six times, including winning the championship title in 1958 and 1997–98. It also won the Polish Cup in 1957, and reached the final in 1994.

In March 2010, the city government sold the football team to a private investor, as the city could no longer afford to support the football team, particularly after several seasons in the top level Ekstraklasa, where expenses often exceeded the ticket revenue from the club's small seating-capacity stadium.[2]

In May 2013, at the conclusion of the second-tier 2012–13 I liga season, the private investor declared bankruptcy.[3] The club survived when a partnership between fans and other local investors raised the necessary funds to enter the much more affordable amateur fifth-level IV liga in time for the 2013–14 IV liga season, competing against other local area teams in the Łódź group.[4] The rebuilt club returned to the top division in 2019.

On 28 May 2023, LKS Lodz secured promotion to Ekstraklasa from 2023–24 after a 1–1 draw against Arka Gdynia. This result also confirmed LKS as I liga champions. .

Facilities

In 2009 the new Atlas Arena[5] was completed adjacent to the football stadium. It is an indoor arena and has already hosted international events in basketball, volleyball and boxing.

The City council, owner of the various ŁKS Łódź sports clubs, still intend to construct a brand new stadium on the site of the current football stadium. It was intended to be complete in time for UEFA Euro 2012, but now is expected to be finished in late 2013-early 2014. Although Łódź is not a Euro 2012 host city, it had been believed that a failure by Ukraine to be ready on time[6] would lead to Poland hosting the entire tournament on its own and therefore requiring more host cities. There were four Polish host cities (Warsaw, Gdańsk, Poznań and Wrocław) involved in hosting the tournament. It was envisioned the new stadium would have approximately 34,000 seats, as required by UEFA.[7] While the concept of a new stadium for ŁKS Łódź was being discussed in 2009, cross-town rival Widzew Łódź announced that they would not contribute to any such stadium, as they had imminent plans to renovate their own stadium (the Widzew Łódź plans were stalled for years, eventually opening the 18,000 seat Stadion Miejski Widzewa in 2017). Support for the project was undermined by the successful re-call of the Łódź city president in early 2010. The city also announced a public auction for their stake in the club as they could no longer afford to cover the clubs loses. Owing to financial constraints and lack of demand from LKS fans, the conceptual plan for a new ŁKS Łódź stadium was scaled down to 16,500 in 2012.[8][9]

As part of renovations, a new 3,000 seat arena was supposed to be built to complement the existing Atlas Arena. All work was expected to cost 218 million PLN.

All plans to provide the club with new facilities, however, were abandoned as of 2013, due to financial constraints and the bankruptcy of the club in May 2013. However, with an upturn in the clubs fortunes, a new stadium is currently being built. One side was used during the 2019–20 Ekstraklasa season with the remainder of the ground set to be completed by 2021. [10]

Rivalries

The club has a fierce rivalry with cross-town club Widzew Łódź, with the derby match between the two clubs being intense both on and off the field. See Łódź derby.

Honours

Current squad

As of 11 January 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Poland POL Aleksander Bobek
2 DF Switzerland SUI Levent Gülen
3 DF Lithuania LTU Artemijus Tutyškinas
5 DF Poland POL Marcin Flis
7 MF Poland POL Adrian Małachowski
8 DF Poland POL Kamil Dankowski
9 FW Netherlands NED Kay Tejan
10 MF Spain ESP Pirulo
11 MF Kosovo KOS Engjëll Hoti
12 GK Poland POL Tomasz Kucharski
14 MF Poland POL Michał Mokrzycki
15 MF Poland POL Antoni Młynarczyk
16 MF Spain ESP Dani Ramírez
17 FW Poland POL Grzegorz Glapka
19 MF Poland POL Jędrzej Zając
20 FW Poland POL Piotr Janczukowicz
21 FW Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Stipe Jurić
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 MF Poland POL Jan Łabędzki
23 MF Poland POL Maciej Śliwa
24 DF France FRA Adrien Louveau
25 GK Poland POL Michał Kołba
26 DF Poland POL Bartosz Szeliga
27 MF Poland POL Jakub Letniowski
29 FW Netherlands NED Anton Fase
30 DF Poland POL Oskar Koprowski
31 DF Poland POL Marcel Wszołek
32 FW Poland POL Oliwier Sławiński
37 DF Poland POL Piotr Głowacki
77 MF Poland POL Ricardo Gonçalves
88 DF Poland POL Adam Marciniak (captain)
99 GK Poland POL Dawid Arndt
— FW Austria AUT Husein Balić
— DF Denmark DEN Riza Durmisi

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
6 MF Ukraine UKR Vladyslav Okhronchuk (at Polonia Warsaw until 30 June 2024)
18 MF Poland POL Kelechukwu Ibe-Torti (at Resovia until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
28 MF Poland POL Mieszko Lorenc (at Wisła Płock until 30 June 2024)

Players under contract

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Poland POL Mateusz Bąkowicz

ŁKS in Europe

The old ground
Season Competition Round Club Score
1959–60 European Cup Q Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 0–5, 2–1
1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Portugal Porto 0–2, 0–1
1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup GR Russia KAMAZ 0–3
Bulgaria Spartak Varna 1–1
Germany 1860 Munich 0–5
Czech Republic Kaučuk Opava 0–3
1998–99 UEFA Champions League 1Q Azerbaijan Kapaz 4–1, 3–1
2Q England Manchester United 0–2, 0–0
UEFA Cup 1R France Monaco 1–3, 0–0

Managers

Notable former players

ŁKS Łódź II

As of the 2023–24 season, the club's reserve team, ŁKS Łódź II, competes in II liga, having won promotion from the 2022–23 III liga.[11]

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). Opole. 44: 147. ISSN 0137-5199.
  2. ↑ Walczyk, Jerzy (2 February 2010). "Nowy ŁKS idzie na przetarg. I do pierwszej ligi" [The new ŁKS goes to tender. And to the top league.]. Łódź Gazeta.pl (in Polish). Agora SA. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "ŁKS Łódź loses its battle against financial problems". TheLodz.com. 22 April 2013. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Walczyk, Jerzy (14 July 2013). "Ile ŁKS będzie kosztować gra w IV lidze? I jakie klub musi spełnić warunki?" [How much will it cost ŁKS to play in League IV? And what kind of club must meet the conditions?]. Łódź Sport.pl (in Polish). Agora SA. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Atlas Arena Łódź – Home". Atlasarena.pl. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  6. ↑ Dampf, Andrew (29 October 2009). "Ukraine still risks losing Euro 2012". USA Today. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Wizgier, Henry (26 October 2009). "New stadia: key to Polish football's rebirth". Polish SOCA! UK. Archived from the original on 30 October 2009.
  8. ↑ "Nowy stadion ŁKS Łódź – WIZUALIZACJA – SE.pl". Gwizdek24.se.pl. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "W czerwcu przetarg na budowę stadionu ŁKS-u – Sport – WP.PL". Sport. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  10. ↑ No Stadiums in Sight in Łódź – TheLodz
  11. ↑ "III liga 2022/2023, grupa: I". www.90minut.pl.
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