Zagłębie Wałbrzych is a Polish multisports club in the south-western city of
Wałbrzych. The club, based in the
Biały Kamień neighbourhood, is the most famous for its football team, which competed in the
Polish top division in the past.
History
The club was founded in 1945. Its founders were Polish emigres returning from
France and
Belgium, who named the club ''Thorez'', after
Maurice Thorez, a French communist leader. The name was disliked by most fans and was changed in 1968 into Zagłębie, which means ''coal basin'' in Polish, as Wałbrzych was an important center of mining.
In 1968, Zagłębie Wałbrzych won promotion to the
Ekstraklasa, and in the
1970–71 season, it finished in the 3rd spot, after
Górnik Zabrze and
Legia Warsaw
Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...
. Zagłębie participated in the games of the
UEFA Cup, advancing to the second round. In the first round, it beat Czechoslovakian team
FK Teplice (1-0, 3-2), in the second round it lost to Romanian side
UT Arad
Asociația Fotbal Club UTA Arad (), commonly known as UTA Arad or simply UTA, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Arad, Arad County, which competes in the Liga I. The UTA acronym stands for ''Uzina Textilă Arad'' ("Text ...
(1-1, 1-2). Team's most famous player is goalkeeper
Marian Szeja
Marian Henryk Szeja (20 August 1941 – 25 February 2015) was a Polish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was the substitute player for the Poland national team at the 1972 Summer Olympics where Poland won gold medal. Szeja di ...
, participant of the 1972 Olympic Games.
After the
1973–74 season, Zagłębie was relegated from the top division and has never returned. A difficult financial situation of sports clubs in
Wałbrzych meant that in the early 1990s the club merged with fierce rivals
Górnik Wałbrzych Gornik may refer to one of the following.
* Gornik, Pleven Province, a village in Chechen Republic
*April Gornik, an American painter
*Górnik (means "Miner" in Polish) is a common name of Polish sports teams:
**Górnik Konin
**Górnik Łęczna
*** ...
much to the shock of both sets of fans after over 40 years of rivalry. The new merged club then became "KP Wałbrzych", then "KP Górnik/Zagłębie Wałbrzych". Matches were played at Zagłębie's stadium but eventually the Zagłębie part was dropped from the name and the club ''
de facto'' ceased to exist.
On 6 April 2006 the "Stowarzyszenie GKS Zagłębie Wałbrzych", was created, reactivating the football section of the club. From 2008, the team participates in the regional games of
Lower Silesia.
In 2019, a women's football section was founded.
Honours
* 2x 3rd place in
I liga: 1970/1971, 1970/1971
* 2x
Polish Cup Quarter-finals: 1962/63, 1992/93
* 1/16th of
UEFA Cup: 1971/72
European record
Notable players
Marian Szeja
Marian Henryk Szeja (20 August 1941 – 25 February 2015) was a Polish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was the substitute player for the Poland national team at the 1972 Summer Olympics where Poland won gold medal. Szeja di ...
, Joachim Stachuła and Stanisław Paździor have all played in the
Polish national football team.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaglebie Walbrzych
Sports clubs established in 1945
Association football clubs established in 1945
1945 establishments in Poland
Multi-sport clubs in Poland
Wałbrzych
Sport in Lower Silesian Voivodeship
Mining association football clubs in Poland