Lechia Gdańsk & Śląsk Wrocław (Fan Friendship)

The Friendship Match (Polish: Mecz Przyjaźni) is a term used by media and both football clubs for games between Polish football clubs Lechia Gdańsk and Śląsk Wrocław.[1][2] While there have been longer "friendships" (Polish: zgody) 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[3] meant that the agreement between Lechia and Śląsk became the longest current friendship in Polish football.[4][5] 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.[6] 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.

The Friendship Match
The 70th anniversary shirts used by Lechia Gdańsk (left) for the 2015–16 season, and Śląsk Wrocław (right) for the 2016–17 season.
LocationGdańsk & Wrocław, Poland
Teams
First meeting9 November 1952 (first game)
Śląsk 1–2 Lechia
28 November 1982 (after the fan agreement)
Lechia 3–0 Śląsk
Latest meeting1 April 2023
Lechia 0–0 Śląsk
Next meetingTBA
StadiumsArena Gdańsk
Wrocław Stadium
Statistics
Meetings total63
All-time seriesLechia: 17
Draw: 22
Śląsk: 24

Teams

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Lechia Gdańsk

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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.[7][8] The team's highest position in the Ekstraklasa is third which it achieved in 1956 and 2019.[9]

Śląsk Wrocław

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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.[10]

Three Kings of Great Cities

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Śląsk fans in 2003. The "Trzej Królowie Wielkich Miast" banner can be seen on the right

The Three Kings of Great Cities alliance (Polish: Trzej Królowie Wielkich Miast) 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.[11] The friendship between the three teams was created to combat the large "The Great Triad" (Polish: Wielka Triada), 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.[12][13] 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.[14] The main Śląsk Wrocław fan group posted a similar response the following day officially ending the TKWM alliance.

The Friendship Match

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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

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No. Date Home team Score Away team League
1 18 August 1963 Lechia Gdańsk 0–2 Śląsk Wrocław II liga
2 22 March 1964 Śląsk Wrocław 2–0 Lechia Gdańsk
3 7 October 1972 Lechia Gdańsk 0–0 Śląsk Wrocław
4 13 May 1973 Śląsk Wrocław 3–1 Lechia Gdańsk
5 24 November 1984 Śląsk Wrocław 2–0 Lechia Gdańsk I liga
6 23 June 1985 Lechia Gdańsk 3–2 Śląsk Wrocław
7 17 August 1985 Lechia Gdańsk 4–4 Śląsk Wrocław
8 8 March 1986 Śląsk Wrocław 1–1 Lechia Gdańsk
9 28 September 1986 Śląsk Wrocław 2–1 Lechia Gdańsk
10 2 May 1987 Lechia Gdańsk 1–0 Śląsk Wrocław
11 26 August 1987 Lechia Gdańsk 1–0 Śląsk Wrocław
12 2 April 1988 Śląsk Wrocław 1–0 Lechia Gdańsk
13 21 August 1993 Śląsk Wrocław 2–2 Lechia Gdańsk II liga (Western gr.)
14 9 April 1994 Lechia Gdańsk 0–0 Śląsk Wrocław
15 5 November 1994 Śląsk Wrocław 6–0 Lechia Gdańsk
16 3 June 1995 Lechia Gdańsk 0–1 Śląsk Wrocław
17 29 June 1995 Olimpia-Lechia Gdańsk 2–1 Śląsk Wrocław I liga
18 3 April 1996 Śląsk Wrocław 1–1 Olimpia-Lechia Gdańsk
19 8 August 1998 Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk 2–1 Śląsk Wrocław II liga (Western gr.)
20 21 March 1999 Śląsk Wrocław 3–0 Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk
21 15 August 1999 Śląsk Wrocław 5–1 Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk II liga
22 29 March 2000 Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk 1–0 Śląsk Wrocław
23 4 September 2005 Lechia Gdańsk 1–2 Śląsk Wrocław
24 5 April 2006 Śląsk Wrocław 0–0 Lechia Gdańsk
25 9 September 2006 Śląsk Wrocław 1–1 Lechia Gdańsk
26 21 April 2007 Lechia Gdańsk 0–0 Śląsk Wrocław
27 19 October 2007 Lechia Gdańsk 3–1 Śląsk Wrocław
28 21 May 2008 Śląsk Wrocław 2–0 Lechia Gdańsk
29 9 August 2008 Śląsk Wrocław 1–1 Lechia Gdańsk Ekstraklasa
30 28 February 2009 Lechia Gdańsk 1–1 Śląsk Wrocław
31 29 August 2009 Lechia Gdańsk 1–1 Śląsk Wrocław
32 13 March 2010 Śląsk Wrocław 1–2 Lechia Gdańsk
33 28 August 2010 Lechia Gdańsk 2–0 Śląsk Wrocław
34 19 March 2011 Śląsk Wrocław 2–1 Lechia Gdańsk
35 28 October 2011 Śląsk Wrocław 1–0 Lechia Gdańsk
36 22 April 2012 Lechia Gdańsk 1–1 Śląsk Wrocław
37 21 October 2012 Lechia Gdańsk 2–3 Śląsk Wrocław
38 21 April 2013 Śląsk Wrocław 1–1 Lechia Gdańsk
39 3 November 2013 Lechia Gdańsk 1–2 Śląsk Wrocław
40 12 April 2014 Śląsk Wrocław 1–0 Lechia Gdańsk
41 25 October 2014 Lechia Gdańsk 1–4 Śląsk Wrocław
42 18 April 2015 Śląsk Wrocław 3–0 Lechia Gdańsk
43 30 May 2015 Śląsk Wrocław 1–0 Lechia Gdańsk
44 9 August 2015 Śląsk Wrocław 0–0 Lechia Gdańsk
45 6 December 2015 Lechia Gdańsk 1–0 Śląsk Wrocław
46 6 August 2016 Śląsk Wrocław 0–0 Lechia Gdańsk
47 9 December 2016 Lechia Gdańsk 3–0 Śląsk Wrocław
48 28 July 2017 Śląsk Wrocław 3–2 Lechia Gdańsk
49 1 December 2017 Lechia Gdańsk 3–1 Śląsk Wrocław
50 30 April 2018 Śląsk Wrocław 3–1 Lechia Gdańsk
51 27 July 2018 Lechia Gdańsk 1–1 Śląsk Wrocław
52 30 November 2018 Śląsk Wrocław 0–2 Lechia Gdańsk
53 24 August 2019 Lechia Gdańsk 1–1 Śląsk Wrocław
54 7 February 2020 Śląsk Wrocław 2–2 Lechia Gdańsk
55 19 July 2020 Śląsk Wrocław 1–2 Lechia Gdańsk
56 20 November 2020 Lechia Gdańsk 3–2 Śląsk Wrocław
57 10 April 2021 Śląsk Wrocław 1–1 Lechia Gdańsk
58 8 August 2021 Śląsk Wrocław 1–1 Lechia Gdańsk
59 5 February 2022 Lechia Gdańsk 2–0 Śląsk Wrocław
60 10 September 2022 Śląsk Wrocław 2–1 Lechia Gdańsk
61 1 April 2023 Lechia Gdańsk 0–0 Śląsk Wrocław

Cup Competitions

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No. Date Home team Score Away team Cup
1 9 November 1952 Śląsk Wrocław 1–2 Lechia Gdańsk Polish Cup
2 28 November 1982 Lechia Gdańsk 3–0 Śląsk Wrocław

Players & Managers

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Players

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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.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Played for Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk
  2. ^ a b c d e Played for Olimpia-Lechia Gdańsk

Managers

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

Notes

  1. ^ While at Lechia he held the role of player-manager
  2. ^ Managed Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Zapraszamy na mecz przyjaźni Lechia Gdańsk - Śląsk Wrocław [ZDJĘCIA]". lechia.pl.
  2. ^ "Lechia pokonuje Śląsk w meczu przyjaźni". wroclaw.pl.
  3. ^ "Koniec najdłuższej kibicowskiej zgody w Polsce". polsatsport.pl.
  4. ^ "ZAPISY NA WYJAZD DO GLIWIC I KRAKOWA!". kibiceslaska.pl.
  5. ^ ""...niech zgoda ta, na wieki trwa!" - relacja z Krakowa". lwypolnocy.pl.
  6. ^ "40-lecie zgody Lechii ze Śląskiem". lechiahistoria.pl.
  7. ^ "PUCHAR JEST NASZ!". lechia.pl.
  8. ^ "SUPERPUCHAR JEST NASZ!". lechia.pl.
  9. ^ "LECHIA GDAŃSK Z BRĄZOWYM MEDALEM MISTRZOSTW POLSKI!". lechia.pl.
  10. ^ "Śląsk Wrocław - historia". wroclaw.pl.
  11. ^ "Śląsk Wrocław i Lechia Gdańsk zerwały zgodę kibicowską z Wisłą Kraków!". wmeritum.pl.
  12. ^ "Śląsk Wrocław i Lechia Gdańsk zerwały zgodę kibicowską z Wisłą Kraków!". wmeritum.pl.
  13. ^ "Zmarł Rolik". slasknet.com.
  14. ^ "Stowarzyszenie kibiców Lechii Gdańsk: Koniec zgody z Wisłą Kraków!". dziennikbaltycki.pl.
  15. ^ "W ŚLĄSKU WROCŁAW I W LECHII GDAŃSK". slaskwroclaw.pl.