ŁKS Łódź

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, tennis, athletics and in the past ice hockey. The club is based at Stadion Miejski ŁKS, at Al. Unii Lubelskiej 2 in the West of Łódź. The club was founded in 1908.

For the women's basketball section of the club, see ŁKS Łódź (women's basketball).

ŁKS
Full nameŁódzki Klub Sportowy S.A.
Nickname(s)Rycerze wiosny (Knights of Spring)
Founded1908
GroundStadion Miejski ŁKS,
Łódź, Poland
Capacity5,700
ChairmanTomasz Salski
ManagerWojciech Stawowy
LeagueI liga
2019-20 Ekstraklasa16nd (relegated)

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

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 a number of seasons in the top level Ekstraklasa, where expenses often exceeded the ticket revenue from the club's small seating-capacity stadium.[1]

In May 2013, at the conclusion of the second-tier 2012–13 I liga season, the private investor declared bankruptcy.[2] 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.[3]

Facilities
1936 ŁKS side.

In 2009 the new Atlas Arena[4] 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[5] 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.[6] 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.[7][8]

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. [9]

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

Achievements
The new football stadium, while under construction (2015)

Current squad
As of 4 January 2020

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  POL Arkadiusz Malarz
2 DF  POL Jan Sobociński
3 DF  POL Adrian Klimczak
4 DF  ESP Carlos Gracia
5 DF  POL Maciej Dąbrowski
6 MF  POL Maciej Wolski
7 MF  POL Marcel Wszołek
8 DF  POL Kamil Dankowski
9 FW  ESP Samuel Corral
10 FW  ESP Antonio Domínguez
11 DF  POL Tomasz Nawotka (on loan from Legia Warsaw)
15 MF  POL Artur Sójka
17 MF  POL Piotr Gryszkiewicz
18 MF  NGA Kelechukwu Ebenezer
19 MF  POL Michał Trąbka
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF  ESP Pirulo
21 MF  POL Jakub Romanowicz
22 FW  POL Łukasz Sekulski
23 DF  ROU Daniel Celea
24 DF  POL Jakub Tosik
26 MF  POL Przemysław Sajdak
27 DF  POL Mateusz Bąkowicz
29 DF  POL Maksymilian Rozwandowicz
30 FW  POL Dariusz Gmosiński
33 GK  POL Michał Kot
42 MF  SRB Dragoljub Srnić
77 DF  POL Jowin Radziński
92 DF  SVN Tadej Vidmajer
99 GK  POL Dawid Arndt
— MF  DEN Mikkel Rygaard

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
— DF  POL Aleksander Cieślik (at Flota Świnoujście)
— DF  POL Maciej Dampc (at Sokół Ostróda)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  POR Guima (at Académica)

ŁKS in Europe
The old ground
Season Competition Round Club Score
1959–60 European Cup Q Jeunesse Esch 0–5, 2–1
1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1R Porto 0–2, 0–1
1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup GR KAMAZ 0–3
Spartak Varna 1–1
1860 Munich 0–5
Kaučuk Opava 0–3
1998–99 UEFA Champions League 1Q Kapaz 4–1, 3–1
2Q Manchester United 0–2, 0–0
UEFA Cup 1R Monaco 1–3, 0–0

Managers

Notable former players

See also

References
  1. 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.
  2. "ŁKS Łódź loses its battle against financial problems". TheLodz.com. 22 April 2013. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013.
  3. 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.
  4. "Atlas Arena Łódź – Home". Atlasarena.pl. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  5. Dampf, Andrew (29 October 2009). "Ukraine still risks losing Euro 2012". USA Today. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  6. Wizgier, Henry (26 October 2009). "New stadia: key to Polish football's rebirth". Polish SOCA! UK. Archived from the original on 30 October 2009.
  7. "Nowy stadion ŁKS Łódź – WIZUALIZACJA – SE.pl". Gwizdek24.se.pl. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  8. "W czerwcu przetarg na budowę stadionu ŁKS-u – Sport – WP.PL". Sport. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
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