The Ekstraklasa Final Round Preview

Round 29 was a belter! The second club relegated, the leaders dropping from right down to fourth with merely a slim chance of still winning the title, and another club dropping out of the title race altogether; meanwhile clubs with nothing to play for were also smashing the European dreams of others. With just 90 minutes left on each clubs’ season, there are three clubs still in the hunt for the league title; whilst the same three sides are guaranteed European football alongside cup winners Legia Warszawa – but we have no idea in which order! It’s not going to be as hectic as Thursday night, but expect the title to change hands a couple of times as Ekstraklasa Round 30 gets into full swing.

Smuda’s 26: Who is Who…

Late on Wednesday, Poland National Team coach Franciszek Smuda named the 26 players who will be heading to the training camps in Turkey and Austria, as well as 7 reserves who will train with the squad for the first part of the team’s preparations. With warm-up games in Austria against Latvia and Slovakia, before Smuda chooses who progresses to his final 23, there is a great opportunity for the fringe players to seal a room in Warsaw’s Hyatt Hotel for the tournament. Here are the 26 names that Franciszek Smuda will run the rule over in the coming weeks.

Swięta Wojna: The Kraków Derby

When the season’s fixtures are released at the start of the season, there are a number that people look out for. The meeting between Legia and Lech, the Warsaw Derby, the Wielkie Derby Śląska, and the Łódź Derby are some of the most anticipated games on the calendar; but for rivalry, intensity, and sheer importance, in recent years none of those match the “Swięta Wojna” – the local derby between Wisła Kraków and Cracovia.

Puchar Polski Final: Legia Warszawa – Ruch Chorzów

As the sun begins its descent to the horizon on Tuesday afternoon, the clubs occupying first and second position in the Polish Ekstraklasa will begin to lock horns in the 15,000 capacity Kielc Arena in Kielce. Although the Puchar Polski final between Legia Warszawa and Ruch Chorzów has been dogged by problems since it was announced that the capital’s new Stadion Narodowy wouldn’t be fit to host the prestigious game; it still represents the first silverware of the 2011/12 Polish season.

The Pierwsza Liga Promotion Push

With nine games left in the Polish Pierwsza Liga, we are all set up for an interesting climax to the season. With Arka Gdynia in sixth a mere five points behind leaders Pogoń Szczecin, the race for the title – as well as the battle for the second-placed promotion spot – is destined to go right down to the wire. So when the curtain falls on the second tier’s season, here are the clubs who EKSTRAKLASAreview thinks could be in with a shout of reaching the top-flight promised land.

Wielkie Derby Śląska

Sunday afternoon sees one of Poland’s biggest football games take place in the southern city of Chorzów. Almost 10,000 fans will cram into the city’s Stadion Ruchu as Ruch Chórzow host local rivals Górnik Zabrze in the Wielkie Derby Śląska, or “Great Silesian Derby”. Whilst not as famous as the Kraków derby between Wisła and Cracovia due to the teams’ lack of recent success, it still ranks as one of the most important games on the Polish football Calendar.

The Ekstraklasa Relegation Dogfight

After ploughing through the European and title contenders in the Ekstraklasa earlier in the week, it’s now the turn of the teams in danger of making the treacherous fall into the depths of the Pierwsza Liga. A few weeks ago, the article would probably have consisted of just five words – “Cracovia and ŁKS are screwed”. But with Cracovia’s 3-1 victory over Podbeskidzie on Wednesday, and ŁKS heading into the Łódź derby on the back of a 1-0 win over the same opponents; is there a chance that either, or even both of them could earn the right to stay in the top flight? Welcome to the fight for Ekstraklasa survival.

The Ekstraklasa Title Run-In

With just six games remaining of the Ekstraklasa season, we’ve now reached what can only be described as the “business end” of the season. By now, we were expecting a couple of the title challengers to have fallen; but whilst we can almost comfortably say that reigning champions Wisła Kraków are out of the running, there are still five teams within just four points of the top spot. And with the winter favourites Legia Warszawa and Śląsk Wrocław hitting a rough patch, the final fifth of 2011/12 could potentially see any one of the top five emerging victorious.

Unfancied, yet Unbeaten: Ruch and Korona’s Quest for Europe

Since the return of the Ekstraklasa in the middle of January, only three sides remain unbeaten in the League. Górnik Zabrze got off to a great start by beating title contenders Legia Warszawa, but their last five games have been blighted by draws against arguably inferior sides and a postponed trip to an out-of-form Lech Poznań. However it is two unfancied sides in the form of Ruch Chorzów and Korona Kielce who are making a Spring push for the European spots.

Gryf Who?

What do you know about Gryf Wejherowo? Nothing? Well that is about as much as EKSTRAKLASAreview.co.uk knew before their surprise run to the Puchar Polski Quarter Finals…