Raków Częstochowa

Robotniczy Klub Sportowy Raków Częstochowa Spółka Akcyjna (commonly referred to as Raków Częstochowa, or simply Raków) is a Polish professional football club, based in Częstochowa, that competes in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of national football league system.

For railway station in Częstochowa, see Częstochowa Raków railway station.
Raków Częstochowa
Full nameRobotniczy Klub Sportowy
Raków Częstochowa
Spółka Akcyjna
Nickname(s)Medaliki (Medallions)
Founded15 March 1921 (1921-03-15)
(as Racovia)
GroundMiejski Stadion Piłkarski "Raków"
Capacity5,500
OwnerMichał Świerczewski
ChairmanPiotr Obidziński
ManagerMarek Papszun
LeagueEkstraklasa
2022–231st of 18 (champions)
WebsiteClub website

History
Poster advertising a friendly match between Raków Częstochowa and KKS Częstochowa, 1946

Sports club "Racovia" was established in 1921 in the village of Raków. The club dissolved in 1925 due to lack of registration. In 1927, the club was reactivated under the name of the Robotniczy Klub Sportowy (Workers Sports Club) Raków. A year later, the village became a district of Częstochowa. The club operated under the patronage of the Polish Socialist Party and was financially supported by the Częstochowa steelworks. In 1937 the club was promoted to class A. During the German occupation (World War II), the club did not function. In the years 1951-1955 a football stadium with an athletics track was built. In the years 1962-1966 the football team played in the second league. On July 9, 1967, Raków lost 0-2 with Wisła Kraków in the Polish Cup final. In 1972, Raków's players reached the semi-finals of the Polish Cup, which they lost to Legia Warsaw. In the years 1978-1980, 1981-1984 and 1990-1994 the club played in the second league. In 1993, the junior team took 2nd place in the Football Junior Championships of Poland.[1] In 1994, for the first time in club history, Raków were promoted to the first league. It played in the top-flight for four seasons until being relegated in 1997–98. The club suffered back-to-back relegations in 1999–2000 and 2000–01, dropping down to the IV liga. The club finally made it to back to the Polish second division, I liga, in 2016.

Promotion and European football

The club won the I liga in 2018–19, earning promotion to the Ekstraklasa in advance of the 2019–20 season for the first time in 21 years.[2] In the same season, they impressed in the 2018-19 Polish Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the competition by beating the likes of Lech Poznań in the round of 32[3] and Legia Warsaw in the quarter-finals.[4] They finished in 10th place in the 2019-20 season.

Miejski Stadion Piłkarski "Raków"

In the 2020–21 season, Raków Częstochowa finished in second place in the league. This was their highest ever league position in their history, and it secured their place in the newly formed UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers for the 2021–22 season, their maiden appearance in European football.[5][6] Further success followed when Raków won its first major trophy on 2 May 2021, defeating I liga side Arka Gdynia in the final of the Polish Cup by a score of 2–1. On 17 July 2021, Raków Częstochowa defeated reigning Ekstraklasa title holders Legia Warsaw in penalties in the Polish Super Cup.[7]

Their first ever appearance in European football was in the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, facing Lithuanian team Sūduva, with the game finishing 0–0 (4-3 pens) after both legs.[8] They faced Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan in the third qualifying round, beating them 1–0 on aggregate score.[9] In the final qualifying round, they faced Belgian side Gent, which they beat 1–0 in the first leg,[10] but lost 0–3 in the second leg, losing 1–3 on aggregate,[11] eliminating them from the competition.

On 2 May 2022, Raków defeated Lech Poznań 3–1 and secured its second consecutive Polish Cup.[12] In the race for the league title that season, Raków lost out to the same opponents by just five points, with the champions being decided on the penultimate day of the season. On 9 July 2022, Raków won their second consecutive Polish Super Cup with a 2–0 win over Lech Poznań.[13]

On 7 May 2023, Raków won the Ekstraklasa championship for the first time in their history.[14]

Players and pupils
Raków Częstochowa players before a friendly match in 2021

The club's pupils are Jakub Błaszczykowski, Jerzy Brzęczek and Jacek Magiera. The players were, among others, Jacek Krzynówek and Tomasz Kiełbowicz.

Current squad
As of 15 March 2023[15]
Marek Papszun is Raków's most successful coach

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 Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Vladan Kovačević [16]
2 DF Czech Republic CZE Tomáš Petrášek
3 DF Serbia SRB Milan Rundić
4 DF Greece GRE Stratos Svarnas (on loan from AEK Athens)
5 MF Sweden SWE Gustav Berggren
7 MF Croatia CRO Fran Tudor
8 MF Poland POL Ben Lederman
9 FW Poland POL Sebastian Musiolik
11 MF Spain ESP Ivi
12 GK Poland POL Kacper Trelowski
16 MF Poland POL Olivier Sukiennicki
17 MF Poland POL Mateusz Wdowiak
18 DF Poland POL Adrian Gryszkiewicz
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 DF Australia AUS Jordan Courtney-Perkins
20 MF Brazil BRA Jean Carlos
21 FW Latvia LVA Vladislavs Gutkovskis
23 MF Poland POL Patryk Kun
24 DF Croatia CRO Zoran Arsenić
25 DF Romania ROU Bogdan Racovițan
27 MF Poland POL Bartosz Nowak
30 MF Ukraine UKR Vladyslav Kocherhin
55 MF Poland POL Szymon Czyż
66 MF Greece GRE Giannis Papanikolaou
71 MF Poland POL Wiktor Długosz
76 GK Poland POL Jakub Rajczykowski
77 MF Poland POL Marcin Cebula
99 FW Poland POL Fabian Piasecki

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
14 MF Poland POL Daniel Szelągowski (at Chojniczanka Chojnice until 30 June 2023)
— DF Poland POL Oskar Krzyżak (at Skra Częstochowa until 30 June 2023)
22 MF Romania ROU Deian Sorescu (on loan to FCSB until 30 June 2023)
No. Pos. Nation Player
29 GK Poland POL Xavier Dziekoński (at Garbarnia Kraków until 30 June 2023)
89 FW Portugal POR Pedro Vieira (at Resovia until 30 June 2023)
— GK Poland POL Jakub Mądrzyk (at Stomil Olsztyn until 30 June 2023)

Other 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
— MF Poland POL Jakub Bator
— MF Poland POL Piotr Malinowski
— FW Poland POL Przemysław Oziębała

Notable players

Players who have either appeared for their respective national team at any time. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Raków.

Honours

League

Cups

Raków Częstochowa in European football
Home game with FC Astana in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
As of match played 25 August 2022
Competition Games Wins Draws Losses GS GA GD
UEFA Europa Conference League 12 7 3 2 13 6 +7
Total 12 7 3 2 13 6 +7

Results
Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 2QR Lithuania Sūduva 0–0 (a.e.t.) 0–0 0–0 (4–3 p)
3QR Russia Rubin Kazan 0–0 1–0 (a.e.t.) 1–0
PO Belgium Gent 1–0 0–3 1–3
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League 2QR Kazakhstan Astana 5–0 1–0 6–0
3QR Slovakia Spartak Trnava 1–0 2–0 3–0
PO Czech Republic Slavia Prague 2–1 0–2 (a.e.t.) 2–3
2023–24 UEFA Champions League 1QR

UEFA Team ranking
See also: UEFA coefficient

As of 12 August 2022.[19]

RankTeamPoints
236Luxembourg Progrès Niederkorn5.000
236Moldova Milsami Orhei5.000
236Poland Raków Czestochowa5.000
248Greece Panathinaikos4.895
248Greece OFI Crete4.895

Coaches and managers
  • Poland Franciszek Karmański ( – 1959)
  • Poland Jerzy Orłowski (1959-1960)
  • Poland Władysław Siech (1962)
  • Poland Czesław Suszczyk (1962 – 1964)
  • Poland Leon Wolny (1964)
  • Poland Edward Drabiński (1964 – 1965)
  • Poland Henryk Bobula (1965 – 1966)
  • Poland Jan Basiński (1966)
  • Poland Jerzy Wrzos (1966 - 1967)
  • Poland Jan Basiński ( - 1977)
  • Poland Janusz Poniedziałek (1977 – 1979)
  • Poland Zbigniew Szumski (1979 – 1980)
  • Poland Jan Basiński (1980 – 1984)
  • Poland Zbigniew Dobosz (1984 – 1985)
  • Poland Gothard Kokott (Jul 1, 1985 – Jan 1, 1986)
  • Poland Jan Basiński (1990 – 1991)
  • Poland Władysław Szarżyński (1991 – 1992)
  • Poland Zbigniew Dobosz (1992 – March 1995)
  • Poland Gothard Kokott (March 1995 – April 23, 1997)
  • Poland Hubert Kostka (April 24, 1997 – Sept 15, 1997)
  • Poland Jan Basiński (Sept 16, 1997 – Oct 1, 1997)
  • Poland Bogusław Hajdas (Oct 2, 1997 – Nov 3, 1997)
  • Poland Adam Zalewski (Nov 4, 1997 – Dec 1, 1997)
  • Poland Gothard Kokott (Dec 2, 1997 – Jul 1, 1998)
  • Poland Zbigniew Dobosz (1998 – 2000)
  • Poland Mirosław Sieja (2000 – July 2000)
  • Poland Adam Zalewski (July 2000 – 2000)
  • Poland Henryk Turek (2000 – )
  • Poland Zbigniew Dobosz (2002 – 2003)
  • Poland Andrzej Samodurow (2003 – Oct 17, 2005)
  • Poland Robert Olbiński (Oct 17, 2005 – Aug 20, 2008)
  • Poland Henryk Turek (2008 – Aug 20, 2008)
  • Poland Leszek Ojrzyński (Aug 20, 2008 – Oct 9, 2009)
  • Poland Robert Olbiński (Oct 19, 2009 – Feb 9, 2010)
  • Poland Jerzy Brzęczek (Feb 9, 2010 – Nov 4, 2014)
  • Poland Dawid Jankowski (Nov 6, 2014 – Dec 18, 2014)
  • Poland Radosław Mroczkowski (Dec 18, 2014 – Oct 3, 2015)
  • Poland Krzysztof Kołaczyk (Oct 4, 2015 – Oct 9, 2015)
  • Poland Przemysław Cecherz (Oct 9, 2015 – April 18, 2016)
  • Poland Marek Papszun (April 18, 2016 – current)

References
  1. "Portal Kibiców Rakowa Częstochowa:Historia". rakow.com.pl (in Polish). 30 August 2021.
  2. "Fortuna 1 Liga. Sezon 2018/19 w statystykach. Zobacz, kto najczęściej posiadał piłkę, a kto najwięcej dryblował". Gol24 (in Polish). 27 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  3. "Raków Częstochowa - Lech Poznań. Niespodzianka! Kolejorz odpada z Pucharu Polski!". Sport.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  4. "Puchar Polski. Raków wyeliminował Legię! [ZAPIS RELACJI] Piłka nożna - Sport.pl". www.sport.pl. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  5. "Football: Raków Częstochowa beat Arka Gdynia in Polish Cup final". Polskie Radio. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  6. "TABELA PKO BANK POLSKI EKSTRAKLASY 2020/2021". Ekstraklasa (in Polish). Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  7. "Raków z Superpucharem". 90 Minut (in Polish). 17 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  8. UEFA.com. "Raków-Sūduva | UEFA Europa Conference League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  9. UEFA.com. "Rubin-Raków | UEFA Europa Conference League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  10. UEFA.com. "Raków-Gent | UEFA Europa Conference League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  11. UEFA.com. "Gent-Raków | UEFA Europa Conference League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  12. "Raków zdobył Puchar Polski". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  13. "Raków z Superpucharem". 90minut.pl (in Polish). 9 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  14. "Raków mistrzem Polski! Zdobył tytuł dwie godziny po meczu". sport.pl (in Polish). 7 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  15. "Current squad". Raków Częstochowa. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  16. "Vladan Kovačević ipak ne može braniti za Srbiju". www.klix.ba. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  17. Mogielnicki, Paweł (11 May 2018). "Poland - List of Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  18. "Walka o Superpuchar trwa nadal! Śledź relację! [NA ŻYWO]" [The fight for the Super Cup continues! Follow the report! [LIVE]]. sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). 17 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  19. "Club coefficients | UEFA Coefficients". UEFA.com.
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