FKS Stal Mielec

Stal Mielec () is a Polish football club based in Mielec, Poland. The club was established on April 10, 1939. Historically, the club has enjoyed great successes within Poland's Ekstraklasa, winning the title twice (in 1973 and 1976) but had undergone significant management changes and financial difficulties within the past two decades, which forced the club from participation in the Poland's top league. After winning the third-tier II liga title in 2016, Stal Mielec was promoted to I liga. After finishing first in I liga in 2020, Stal Mielec was promoted to the Ekstraklasa for the first time since the 1995–96 season.

History

Naming history

* 1939 – Klub Sportowy PZL Mielec
* 1946 – Robotniczy Klub Sportowy PZL Zryw Mielec
* 1948 – Związkowy Klub Sportowy Metalowców PZL Mielec
* 1949 – Związkowy Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
* 1950 – Koło Sportowe Stal przy Wytwórni Sprzętu Komunikacyjnego Mielec
* 1957 – Fabryczny Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
* 1977 – Fabryczny Klub Sportowy PZL Stal Mielec
* 1995 – Autonomiczna Sekcja Piłki Nożnej FKS PZL Stal Mielec
* 1997 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Stal Mielec
* 1998 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Lobo Stal Mielec
* 1999 – Mielecki Klub Piłkarski Stal Mielec
* 2002 – Klub Sportowy Stal Mielec
* 2003 – Klub Sportowy FKS Stal Mielec

1939–1945 - the beginning and interwar period

The football club was one of the first two (next to the volleyball club) at the PZL Mielec, established in 1939. The team was made up of players playing in other clubs in Mielec and employees of the PZL, an aerospace company. In the first match played, the team defeated the Gymnastic Society "Sokół" Mielec with 4–1 victory. Three more matches were played against Dzikovia Tarnobrzeg (2–1), Metal Tarnów (3–1) and a team made up of players from an ammunition factory in Nowa Dęba (6–1). The match against Okęcie Warszawa planned for September did not take place, because World War II started and any sports games were forbidden. However, the matches were played illegally in the meadows beyond the communal forest and in other towns (including Dębica, Kolbuszowa, Sandomierz). The only official match was played against a German military unit and ended with the score 1–2.

Achievements

*Ekstraklasa
** 1st place: 1972–73, 1975–76
** 2nd place: 1974–75
** 3rd place: 1973–74, 1978–79, 1981–82
*Polish Cup
**Finalists: 1976
*Youth Teams:
** Polish U-19 Runner Up: 1964, 2007
** Polish U-19 Bronze Medal: 1968, 1969, 2006
** Polish U-17 Champion: 2007
** Polish U-17 Runner Up: 1996, 2012

Participation in European cups

* Quarter-finalists of the UEFA Cup in 75/76 season.
* First round participants of the UEFA Cup in 79/80 season.
* First round participants of the UEFA Cup in 82/83 season.
* First round participants of the European Champions Cup in 73/74 season.
* First round participants of the European Champions Cup in 76/77 season.

Lower League Championships

* B Class: 1949
* A Class: 1950, 1954
* II Liga: 1955, 1968–69, 2015–16
* I Liga: 1960, 1969-70 (as 2nd), 1984–85, 1987–88, 2019-20 (as 2nd)
* V Liga: 1998-99
* IV Liga: 2007-08 (as 4th)
* III Liga: 2012-13

Stadium

The construction of the club's current stadium, Stadion Miejski w Mielcu, was concluded in 1953. The stadium underwent a major renovation, completed in 2013. It maintains a seating capacity for 7,000 spectators. Before the 2013 renovation, it maintained seating capacity for 30,000 spectators, and hosted numerous European Champions Cup, UEFA Cup, and Polish national team matches, including FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship qualifiers.

Individual Player Awards

Ekstraklasa Top Goalscorer
* 1973 - Grzegorz Lato - 13 goals
* 1975 - Grzegorz Lato - 19 goals
* 1995 - Bogusław Cygan - 16 goals

Award given by ''Piłka Nożna'':

* Player of the Year
** 1976 - Henryk Kasperczak
** 1977 - Grzegorz Lato
* Newcomer of the Year
** 1975 - Zbigniew Hnatio
** 1978 - Włodzimierz Ciołek

Award given by ''Przegląd Sportowy''

* Polish Athlete of the Year
** 1974 - 4th place - Grzegorz Lato
** 1977 - 5th place - Grzegorz Lato

Award given by ''Sport''

* Player of the Year
** 1974 - Grzegorz Lato
** 1976 - Henryk Kasperczak
** 1977 - Grzegorz Lato

Award given by ''Tempo''

* Goalkeeper of the Year
** 1979 - Zygmunt Kukla

Reserves

The club operates a reserve team which currently plays in IV liga Subcarpathia, the fifth tier of the league pyramid. Moreover, there is the Stal Mielec III team, as they play in liga okręgowa (sixth tier) and participate in the 2020–21 Subcarpathian Rzeszów– Dębica Polish Cup edition.

Current squad

Other players under contract

Out on loan

Notable players

* Grzegorz Lato, player of Polish national football team, Golden Shoe winner of the 1974 World Cup with 7 goals; former President of the Polish Football Association
* Henryk Kasperczak, player of Polish national football team, former coach of Wisła Kraków and Kavala F.C.
* Andrzej Szarmach, player of Polish national football team
* Jan Domarski, player of Polish national football team
* Dariusz Kubicki, player of Polish national football team
* Zygmunt Kukla, goalkeeper of Polish national football team (1978–1980)
* Bogusław Wyparło, goalkeeper of Polish national football team
* Edgar Bernhardt, player of Kyrgyzstan national football team

Managers

* Stanisław Maurer (1947–1948)
* Rudolf Pirych (1948–1952)
* Eustachy Poticha (1952–1953)
* Antoni Brzeżańczyk (1954–1956)
* Michał Matyas (1957–1958)
* Antoni Brzeżańczyk (1959–1960)
* Henryk Skromny (1961)
* Czesław Suszczyk (1962)
* Michał Matyas (1962–1963)
* Stanisław Malczyk (1963–1964)
* Otton Opiełka (1964)
* Władysław Lemiszko (1964–1965)
* Konrad Jędryka (1966–1967)
* Andrzej Gajewski (1968–1972)
* Károly Kontha (1973)
* Aleksander Brożyniak (1973–1974)
* Zenon Książek (1974–1975)
* Edmund Zientara (1975–1977)
* Alfred Gazda (1977)
* Konstanty Pawlikaniec (1977–1978)
* Zenon Książek (1978–1980)
* Mieczysław Kruk (1980–1981)
* Józef Walczak (1981–1982)
* Witold Karaś (1982)
* Jacek Machciński and Marian Kosiński (1982–1983)
* Henryk Stroniarz (1983–1984)
* Włodzimierz Gąsior (1984–1985)
* Ryszard Latawiec (1985–1986)
* Zenon Książek (1986–1987)
* Włodzimierz Gąsior (1987–1990)
* Marian Kosiński (1990)
* Włodzimierz Gąsior (1990–1991)
* Grzegorz Lato (1991–1993)
* Witold Karaś (1993)
* Franciszek Smuda (1993–1995)
* Jan Złomańczuk (1995)
* Grzegorz Lato (1996–1997)
* Jerzy Płaneta (1998)
* Marek Chamielec (1999)
* Jerzy Płaneta (1999–2000)
* Witold Karaś (2000)
* Roman Gruszecki (2000–2001)
* Włodzimierz Gąsior (2001)
* Marek Lorenc (2001)
* Krzysztof Łętocha (2001–2002)
* Jacek Klisiewicz (2002)
* Włodzimierz Gąsior (2003–2006)
* Tomasz Tułacz (2006)
* Włodzimierz Gąsior (2006–2007)
* Janusz Białek (2007)
* Zbigniew Hariasz (2007)
* Andrzej Jaskot (2008)
* Grzegorz Wcisło (2008–2009)
* Zbigniew Hariasz (2009)
* Janusz Białek (2009)
* Zbigniew Hariasz (2009–2010)
* Grzegorz Wcisło (2010)
* Mariusz Łuc (2010)
* Tomasz Tułacz (2011–2012)
* Roman Gruszecki (2012)
* Włodzimierz Gąsior (2012–2014)
* Rafał Wójcik (2014)
* Janusz Białek (2014)
* Rafał Wójcik (2014)
* Janusz Białek (2014–2016)
* Maciej Serafiński (2016)
* Zbigniew Smółka (2016–2018)
* Artur Skowronek (2018–2019)
* Dariusz Marzec (2019–2020)
* Dariusz Skrzypczak (2020)
* Leszek Ojrzyński (2020–2021)
* Włodzimierz Gąsior (2021)
* Adam Majewski (2021–)

See also

* Football in Poland
* List of football teams
* Champions' Cup/League
* UEFA Cup

References

External links

* Official website
Stal Mielec
at the 90minut.pl website (Polish)

{{Authority control

Mielec
Association football clubs established in 1939
1939 establishments in Poland