Polonia Warszawa
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| Full name | Miejski Klub Sportowy Polonia Warszawa |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Czarne koszule (Black Shirts) |
| Founded | 1911 |
| Ground |
Stadion Polonii, Warsaw, Poland |
| Capacity | 6,800 |
| Chairman | Jerzy Engel |
| Manager | Igor Gołaszewski |
| League | II liga |
| III liga Group VI, 1st (promoted) |
|
| Website | Club home page |
Polonia Warsaw (Polish: Polonia Warszawa [pɔ.ˈlɔ.ɲa var.ˈʂa.va]), founded in 1911, is the oldest existing Warsaw sports club, with football, basketball, track and field and swimming teams.
Polonia Warsaw was formed in the autumn of 1911 as a union of two school teams ('Stella' and 'Merkury'). The founder of the club was captain Wacław Denhoff-Czarnocki, who also came up with the name of the club. Polonia is Latin for "Poland" and is often used by Polish ex-patriates in reference to their communities in other countries. The choice of such a name was a brave decision at the time, since Poland was not an independent country, and Warsaw was a part of Russian partition.
Initially, the players played in black-and-white striped shirts, but in the spring of 1912, they switched to their now traditional design of all black shirts. The legendary patriotic explanation for this color scheme was that it was a sign of mourning for the occupied and divided motherland of Poland. This lasting devotion to tradition resulted in the club's popular name: The Black Shirts. The uniform's white shorts and red socks come from the colors of the Polish flag.
The club's first match on 19 November 1911 was against a strong local rival, Korona, and ended 3–4 in favor of Korona. Two years later, in February 1913, The Black Shirts defeated Korona 4–0. During the first world war, German occupants were slightly more liberal in their ways than the previous Russian counterparts, and allowed the official registration of sports clubs on Polish territory, on 15 October 1915 Polonia official became a football club, despite already existing for four years.
The first match between Polonia and Legia Warsaw was played on 29 April 1917, ending in a 1:1 draw. It was the first historic "Great Derby of Warsaw" – the clash of these two rival teams. A month later, there was a second match between the teams, ending with the same score.
Hatred divided their supporters early in the clubs' history and continues to this day, driving strong emotions during the matches and sometimes even greater emotions between matches.
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Wikipedia