All you ever wanted to know about Wisla Krakow

Tottenham Hotspur have been drawn against Wisla Krakow in the first round of the UEFA cup.

Spurs will play at home first, on the 18th of september, before travelling to Poland on the 2nd October. Wisla were knocked out in the Champions League Qualifing rounds Barcelona, losing to the Spanish giants 4-0 in the first leg. However, they did win the return leg 1-0. But who are Wisla Krakow….?

Wisla Krakow were formed in 1906 by Dr. Tadeusz Konczynski. The club have always been a force in Polish football, but they are little known by most European countries, probably because they have never enjoyed great success in the UEFA Cup, or the UEFA Champions league. The furthest the club has ever progressed in European competition came in the 1978/79 season when the club reached the quarter-finals of the old European Cup. They lost in the quarter finals to Swedish side Malmo FF, 5-3.

Wisla have qualified for the new UEFA Cup 10 times and won the UEFA Intertoto Cup 3 times, in 1970, 1971 and 1973. They got to the group stages of the 2006/07 UEFA Cup but didn’t progress further, winning only one of their four games. They beat FC Basel of Switzerland 3-1, but lost 3-1 to Feyenoord, 2-1 to French team Nancy and 2-1 to Blackburn Rovers. Blackburn were the last English team Wisla Krakow played.

 Wisla play in Krakow, in a stadium that holds 15, 595 people. The stadium is currently undergoing construction that will allow the stadium to hold 34, 000 people. The stadium could also be used in Euro 2012, which is to be co-held by Poland and the Ukraine. The stadium is regarded as a fortress by the home fans, as the ground holds the European record for most home games without a loss at 73 games.

Last year, Wisla won the Polish league, the Ekstaklasa, and were runners up in both the Polish super cup and the Polish cup. Wisla also won the Chigaco trophy in 2007.

 Wisla boast a nearly all polish squad, 18 of the 24 man squad hail from Wisla’s home country, with 3 Wisla players named in Polands recent national team. The Wisla squad includes some very talented individuals. 6ft, Brazilian defender Cleber springs to mind after being voted the best foreign player in the league by coaches. He’s a threat from corners too, after netting 9 times in 43 Wisla games.

Wisla’s Polish striker Pawel Brozek will also need to be watched. A fan’s favourite, the Pole has netted 43 times in 111 Wisla games and also played for Poland in the 2006 World Cup.

 The club are currently managed by Polish coach Maciej Skorza. Skorza is one of the youngest managers in the UEFA Cup, at only 36. Skorza has managed the Polish national team, Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolsli and Amica Wronki. He won the Polish league in his first season at Wisla.

 

 Wisla are currently ranked as the 133rd best team in Europe by the UEFA rankings, putting them ahead of teams like Standard Liege and FC Twente. Tottenham are ranked 100 places above Wisla in 33rd place.

So there you have it. Hopefully thats all you ever wanted to know about Wisla. Remember we start our UEFA Cup ccampaign on the 18th of September. Good luck boys, lets hope for a repeat of these scenes!