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July 27, 2010

Spain: the 3 promoted clubs from Segunda División to La Liga, for the 2010-11 season.

Filed under: Football Stadia,Spain — admin @ 6:28 pm

La Liga official site…www.lfp.es [translated].

The map page shows the 3 clubs that were promoted in Spain, in June 2010, from the Segunda División to La Liga, for the 2010-11 season. 3 or 4 photos of each club’s stadium are shown on the map page, along with club info.
{2010-11 La Liga at en.wikipedoa.org}.
{Segunda División 2010-11 map from en.wikipedia.org}.
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Real Sociedad won the 2009-10 Segunda División title and return to La Liga after 3 seasons in the second division. Real Sociedad de Fútbol are from the Basque Country city of San Sebastián, which is on the southern coast of the Bay Of Biscay.

San Sebastián has a metropolitan area population of around 393,000 {European Spatial Planning Network figure from 2007; see this list}. San Sebastián is the 17th largest metro area in Spain, and the fourth largest city in the Greater Basque Region [Bilbao is the largest Basque city {see this}]. The Greater Region of the Basque Country [as defined by Basque nationalists] {see this} includes two political divisions of Spain…the Basque Country, and the Autonomous Community of Navarre; as well as three small historical provinces in France (which is sometimes called the Northern Basque country)…Lower Navarre, Labourd, and Soule.

Real Sociedad were one of the founding members, in 1929, of the first season of La Liga (which had 10 clubs playing 18 matches, and was won by Barcelona) {1929 – first season of Primera División [aka La Liga]}.

Real Sociedad has played 63 seasons in La Liga, and have two national titles to their name…back-to-back La Liga championships in 1980-81 and 1981-82. Real Sociedad have won 2 Copa del Rey titles. The two were won almost 8 decades apart…their first in 1909 [which preceded the club's official formation, but this title is ascribed by most to Real Sociedad] , and their second in 1987.

In 2002-03, a third La Liga title was within Real Sociedad’s grasp, but the Txuri-Urdin, or white-blue, agonizingly lost first place to Real Madrid on the 37th match day. That Real Sociedad squad featured local talent and Spanish national team World Cup winner Xabi Alonso, and the Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci. The club never recovered from that… they finished 15th the following season, and then had finishes of 14th place, then 16th place, and then 19th place and relegation in 2007.

Real Sociedad have a pretty sizable fan base. In their failed title run of 2002-03, they averaged 27,743 per game, and when they got relegted 4 seasons later, they drew 23,076. Last season in their promotion campaign, they drew 19,927 per game, second highest in the Segunda División (behind only the faltering, underacheiving giants Real Betis, who drew 28,730 for their second season in their latest spell in the second tier).

Real Sociedad play at Anoeta, which opened in 1993. Anoeta is one of those faceless structures which is basically a concrete doughnut. The 32,000-capacity municipal facility is also marred by it’s running track. The club had attempted to have a redevelopment of Anoeta, including an expansion and a removal of the running track, but the city government rejected that proposal 6 years ago. Anoeta is also sometimes used by two Basque rugby clubs, Biarritz (who are based just across the border in France), and Bayonne (also based in France). Here is another photo of Anoeta, from the Soccerway.com site {Real Sociedad/Venue at www.soccerway.com}.
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The other two clubs promoted to the 2010-11 La Liga are both from the Valencian Autonomous Community… Levante UD, who are from the city of Valencia, and Hércules CF, who are from the city of Alicante.
{Valencian Community [en.wikipedia.org]} ; {Valencian Community @ All About Spain site}.

Second place in the 2009-10 Segunda División were Valencian club Levante. [Valencia is the fourth largest city in Spain, and the third-largest metropolitan area. Valencia has a city population of around 814,000 {2009 figure}, and, as Valencia-Sagunto, it has a metro area population of around 1.5 million {ESOPN figure, 2007}.

Levante UD have only played 5 seasons in La Liga, and their fan base is dwarfed by local rivals Valencia CF...Levante drew only 7,814 per game last season, and during their last 2-season-spell in the top flight, they drew 16,799 per game in 2006-07 and 12,330 per game in 2007-08. If that 07/08 figure looks pretty low compared to the 06/07 figure, that's because most everyone knew that Levante were doomed to be relegated in 2008, seeing as how they were in a huge financial mess, and evidently had only been paying their players around 20% of their wages (wages were eventually payed via a quasi-testimonial match). Levante play at the municipal stadium, Ciutat de Valencia, which has a capacity of 23,500 and looks like it would be nice place to see a match, with deecnt, backed seats in stands pretty close to the pitch; and for a dry part of Spain it still does feature a certain percentage of covered seats (the second link right below shows a photo with a roofed part of the stand). Here is a good panoramic photo of 'Nou Estadi Ciutat de Valencia (Levante UD) ', by Sascha Drenth at Panoramio.com . {Levante/Venue at Soccerway.com}.

Levante do have one major title to their name, but seeing as they won the Copa de La España Libre title back in 1937, which was during the Spanish Civil War, and which ended up being a one-time only competition that comprised just 4 teams, you might want to put an asterisk next to that trophy. There were no La Liga seasons for three years (1936-37, 1937-38, and 1938-39), and there was no Cop del Rey competrition in 1937 and 1938. In 1937 Franco's army controlled several areas of the country (in the north and the south) which meant clubs from Seville (Real Betis and Sevilla), the Basque Country (Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad), and Galicia (Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruña) were cut off from clubs in the Republican-controlled areas. There were just 12 clubs in La Liga back then, so that meant half the league was cut off from the other half. The Republican strongholds included 3 of the 4 major cities...Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, and a good portion of the surrounding countryside. So La Liga was suspended for 3 seasons, and the Copa del Rey for 2 seasons. In the place of the League was the Mediterranean League (1937, won by Barcelona) and then the Catalan League (never completed). In place of the national Cup in 1937 was the Copa de la España Libre. Barcelona (wisely , I would say) opted to not enter this competition, and FC Barcelona toured Mexico that summer. In their place went Levante, and Levante went on the beat Valencia 1-0 in the final at Monjuic in Barcelona on 18 July, 1937. The 4 clubs that competed in the Copa de la España Libre {see this} were Valencia, Espanyol, Levante, and a small club from the Catalonian city of Girona, Girona FC. [Girona have never been in the top flight and are currently in Segunda División. Girona is 85 km. northeast of Barcelona].
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Hércules, who have played 19 seasons of La Liga football, won the third promotion spot, and will return to La Liga after a 13-year absence (which included 5 seasons in the third division from 2000 to 2005). Hércules CF are from the Valencian Community city of Alicante, which is part of the Alicante-Elche metropolitan area, and is the 8th largest metro area in Spain, with a metro population of around 793,000 {ESOPN figure, 2007}. The city of Alicante itself has a population of around 335,000 {2009 figure}. Alicante is 125 km. (78 miles) south-west of Valencia. Hérclues play at the 30,000-capacity Estadio José Rico Pérez, which might seem rather large for a club that has yet to play two decades worth of seasons in the top top flight (a third division club, Alicante CF, also uses the stadium). But the Estadio José Rico Pérez (built in 1974) is that large because it was one of the venues for the 1982 World Cup. Anyway, seeing as how Hércules drew 14,186 per game last season, and factoring in the inevitable post-promotion-attendance-increase, I don’t think the stadium will be that empty this season. Here is another photo of the stadium {Hércules/Venue at Soccerway.com}. It looks like a stadium in Argentina, with the one tall and steep stand, and all the stands so close to the pitch.
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedi.org and es.wikipedia.org,
2010-11 La Liga.
Primera División de España [es.wikipedia.org].
Thanks to Soccerway.com, for the 09/10 final table.
Thanks to Demis.nl, for the blank map of Spain. demis.nl/home.
Thanks to E-F-S site, for attendance figures, E-F-S, attendances/Espana.

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July 23, 2010

Italy: the 3 clubs promoted from Serie B to Serie A for the 2010-11 season.

Filed under: Football Stadia,Italy — admin @ 6:46 pm

The map page shows the 3 clubs in Italy that won promotion from Serie B to Serie A, in May, 2010. Three photos of each club’s stadium are shown.
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Yo-yo club Lecce are back, once again, in the Italian top flight, after having won the 2009-10 Serie B title. US Lecce are from Lecce, Apulia (population 94,000 {2009 figure}), which is near the Italian peninsula’s boot-heel tip, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Lecce first gained promotion to Serie A in 1985, but were relegated the following season, setting a pattern that stubbornly persists. Lecce got promoted back to the top tier 2 seasons later, in 1988. A 9th place finish, in 1988-89, is to this day Lecce’s highest placement. But after a three-season spell in the first division they were relegated again, in 1991. They won promotion again in 1994, but finished dead last with only 11 points in 1993-94. Back-to-back relegations saw Lecce in Serie C by 1996. Then back-to-back promotions put Lecce back in Serie A in 1997, for their fourh spell in a 13-year period. Lecce were relegated once again the following season (in 1998). Lecce bounced right back to Serie A the next year, and had another 3-year stint in the top level. That takes us to 2002. 2003 saw Lecce back in Serie A (their sixth spell in the top flight). For the third time, Lecce had a 3-season run in Serie A, and were relegated in 2006. A two-year stint in Serie B ensued, with promotion to Serie A in 2008. Relegation in 2009. Promotion in 2010. So in August, 2010, Lecce will thus begin their 8th spell in Serie A in just 25 years.

Lecce’s kit {US Lecce 10/11 kits, here (Football Shirt Culture.com)} features their retina-searing red-and-yellow-vertical-striped jerseys, which are subtly balanced off by dark royal blue pants, and a classy wolf-and-fruit-tree-in-gold-on-a-navy-shield as their crest. Only Italians could pull off red and yellow stripes and not look clownish (Ghana national team away kit notwithstanding).

Lecce dew only 12,171 per game for their last season in Serie A, in 2008-09. But during their previous 3-season spell before that, from 2003-04 to 2005-06, Lecce were drawing in the low 16,000 to high 15,000 range. So it looks like Lecce supporters are tiring of the club’s perpetual comings and goings to and from the top flight. Lecce’s stadium, the Stadio Via del Mare, capacity 33,876, has a running track. Ugh. On the map page, take a look at the middle photo of Lecce’s stadium, and that yawning gap between the stands and the pitch.
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Second place in the 2009-10 Serie B was Cesena. This makes back-to-back promotions for Cesena. AC Cesena are from the small city of Cesena (population, 95,000 [2009 figure}), which is in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, 15 km. (9 miles) from the Adriatic Sea coast. Which makes me wonder why they have a seahorse in their crest, seeing as how Cesena is not actually a coastal city. Cesena drew 11,272 per game last season, which was second best in Serie B [Torino drew highest in the Italian second division. 2009-10 Italian attendance figures here (E-F-S site)]. Here is an article on Cesena’s promotion, from SoccerLens.com, ‘Cesena’s Fairytale’, by GT (2nd June, 2010).

Cesena play in the 23,860-capacity Stadio Dino Manuzzi, which is unusual for a municipal stadium in Italy in that it has no unsightly and atmosphere-deadening running track. I find it ironic that this part of Emilia-Romagna (the eastern, Romagna half), which has very little history of top-flight football, has built a municipal stadium that is pretty decent and has no running track. After all, Italy is the land of the running track stadium (rivaled only by Brazil for that dubious distinction). In Italy, it is often the case that the city, not the football club, owns the stadium. Fine. [16 of the 17 stadiums in Serie A this coming season are municipally-owned, with the exception being Rome's Stadio Ilimpico, and that is owned by the Italian National Olympic Committee.] But that is no excuse for all the god-awful running tracks ruining the atmosphere at top-flight Italian football matches. Why on earth are running tracks so necessary ? Where is the mass audience for track and field ? And it’s not like Italy has a great track-and field tradition. I mean how often do you ever see an Italian win a medal in the Summer Olympics in track and field, for crying out loud ? How on earth can the capital, Rome, allow a situation where it’s two first division clubs, AS Roma and SS Lazio, play on stadium with a running track ?

OK, digression here…here are the track and field medals from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics {click here (ESPN)}. As you can see, I am totally wrong on this, because Italy won a gold medal in race walking. So you see, it was all worth it to ruin the atmosphere in virtually half the Italian top flight football matches, for about 70 years, by having facilities with running tracks. Because there is nothing more prestigious than winning an Olympic gold medal in race walking. They don’t call race walking the Beautiful Stroll for nothing.
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Third place in the 2009-10 Serie B went to Brescia. Brescia Calcio are from Brescia, Lombardy, a city of around 190,000, 82 km. (51 miles) east of Milan. Brescia are back in the top tier for the first time since 2005, which was one year after legendary Italian international Roberto Baggio retired. He had turned his back on the limelight and pressures of Milan club football (with stints at AC Milan and at Inter), to happily play out the tail end of his career for Brescia, a small and up to that point unfashionable club in the foothills of the Alps.

Here is a nice Youtube video, by iiFAZZA10 – ’10 piu bei gol di (10 beautiful goals of) Roberto BAGGIO’ [note: numbers 10, 8, 5, 3 and 2 are from Baggio's Brescia days] {click here}].

Circa 2000 to 2004, Baggio basically kept Brescia up in Serie A (Baggio scored 45 goals in 95 games for Brescia), to the point where they became popularly known as “Baggio’s Brescia”, and when he exited, the modestly supported club went straight back to Serie B the following season. Brescia were averaging in the 7,000s, in Serie B, a decade ago, and were drawing in the 15-17,000 per game range when Baggio was there, from 2000 to 2004. The club has an even smaller fan base now, averaging only 3,937 per game last season (and drew only 2,996 in 2008-09), but, like Bari and Parma last year, Brescia will probably see a large increase in attendance for their return to Serie A.

Bescia’s stadium. Stadio Mario Rigamonti has an actual capacity of 27,592, but it’s current capacity has been restricted to 16,308 (that will probably change to a higher capacity now that Brescia are back in Serie A). The stadium originally had a running track, but it was removed and grass was planted there. However, seats still remain very far away from the pitch.
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For the 2010-11 Serie A season, there are 8 stadiums with running tracks, and 9 clubs playing on pitches poisoned by running tracks… Roma, Lazio, Catania, Lecce, Bari, Napoli, Bologna, Chievo Verona, and Udinese. And although the putrid orange track itself is gone at Brescia’s stadium, the huge gap between seats and pitch remains, so you would have to lump Brescia in with the other 9 running-track-afflicted clubs. By way of comparison, for the 2010-11 La Liga season in Spain, there are 3 clubs who must play on pitches ringed by running tracks, UD Alméria, RCD Mallorca, and Real Sociedad. In England, not a single Premier League stadium has a running track, and this has been the case for years. In fact, you would have to go all the way down to the Conference National, which is the 5th Level in the English football league system, to find a club playing on a pitch with a running track (the Welsh club Newport County) [note: Rotherham United and Brighton & Hove Albion play at stadiums with running tracks, but in both cases these clubs (from League Two and League One, respectively) are playing there because of stadium problems, and next season Brighton will move into a new, running track-free stadium].

Hats off to the people running things in Palermo, Cagliari and Florence (Fiorentina), because these three clubs play in stadia where the local authorities had the good sense to remove the the running tracks and build stands closer to the pitch. Heck, the folks in Palermo figured this out way back in the late 1940s, because the Stadio Renzo Barbera there had it’s running track removed and stands built closer to the pitch in 1948. Why the people who run the other Italian municipalities which have top flight representation have never seen fit to do the same for their stadiums is beyond me. Italian calcio fans deserve better than this.
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org and it.wikipedia.org, 2010-11 Serie A. Thanks to Eric Gaba. aka Sting, for the brilliant blank topographic map of Italy, ‘Sting’- location maps at Wikimedia.
Thanks to European-Football-Statistics.co.uk, for the attendance figures, E-F-S site. Thanks to Soccerway.com, for the final table.

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July 19, 2010

Germany: the 2 clubs promoted from 2. Bundesliga to Bundesliga, for the 2010-2011 season.

Filed under: Football Stadia,Germany — admin @ 5:04 pm

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Only two clubs won promotion to the German Bundesliga in May, because of the result in the Relegation Playoff. The 3rd place finisher in 2. Bundesliga, FC Augsburg (who have never been in the top flight), lost to Nürnberg, 3-0 aggregate.
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Promoted back to the Bundesliga, after a four-season absence from the German top flight, are 1. FC Kaiserslautern, from Kaiserslautern in Rhineland-Palatinate, near to the France and Luxembourg frontiers. Kaiserslautern is a city with a population of only around 99,000 {2006 figure}. The club play in the 48,500-capacity Fritz Walter Stadion, which was one of the venues for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Fritz Walter was the captain of the 1954 World Cup-winning Germany national team, and played his entire club career for Kaiserslautern. (I would have said his entire pro career, but Germany remained amateur until the formation of the Bundesliga.) Walter was part of Kaiserslautern’s first two title-winning teams, in 1951 and 1953.
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Kaiseslautern were one of the 16 original clubs in the first Bundesliga season of 1963-64, and have played in 42 of the 47 Bundesliga seasons. Kaiserslautern have won 4 German titles (2 during the Bundesliga era), their most recent championship being in 1998, when they achieved the pretty rare feat (in modern times, at least) of winning the national title one season after being promoted. This is the only time it has happened since the formation of the Bundesliga. Another distinction FC Kaiseslautern has is that they are the club from the smallest city in Germany to have won a Bundesliga title.
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Below is a chart showing club crests from the history of 1. FC Kaiserslautern, with the history of the club’s mergers and name changes listed, as well as the club’s major titles. There were several mergers early in the club’s history, and Kaiseslautern’s full, present-day name originated in 1932. Also since 1932, the club has maintained the same crimson-disk-with-acronym device as their logo, only the fonts have changed (and now in 2010, the color has changed, to a deep maroon or burgandy; ditto their home kits’ primary color).

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Second place in 2. Bundesliga went to the Hamburg-based FC St. Pauli, who are renowned as probably the most radical-left-wing football club on the planet. FC St. Pauli is a club that definitely flies its freak flag. Since the mid-1980s, the club has used their location near to Hamburg’s famous Reeperbahn to their advantage. The Reeperbahn {see this} is a street in the St. Pauli district that is one of the two centers of nightlife in Hamburg, and home to the city’s red-light district. Home matches became an “event”. A decidedly party-hardy, left-wing/anarchist event. Most importantly, the club… the organization itself, and it’s supporters… have taken a strong stance against racism, fascism, sexism, and homophobia, and are active in the pursuit of social justice in the cause of low-income housing.

FC St. Pauli have recovered from an almost fatal financial deficit, and are now back in the top tier for their eighth season of first division football, their last spell being one season in 2001-02, which preceded back to back relegations to the regionalised 3rd division Oberliga, with 4 seasons in Regionalliga Nord (from 2003 to 2007). St. Pauli are in the process of a total overhaul of their stadium. The plan is to do it one stand at a time, and to have the renovation and expansion finished in 2014, turning the 22,648 capacity stadium into one with a capacity of around 27,000. One stand (the South Stand) is being rebuilt, and next will be the Main Stand.
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Here is an article on FC St. Pauli, from The Offside.com/Bundesliga, which includes an excellent 8 minute documentary about the club, from Trans World Sport…“FC St. Pauli: Non-established since 1910“.
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From Bundesliga.de.en, from 19-07-2010, an interview with veteran MF Timo Schultz, who has been a starter for FC St. Pauli since 2005-06 (when they were in the third division), ‘Our only chance is as a team‘.
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Abseits [aka "offsides"] Guide to German football/Clubs/FC St, Pauli, {here}.
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St. Pauli fans UK [with history of the skull-and-crossbones logo at FC St. Pauli].

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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikiedia.org and de.wikipedia.org,
2. Football-Bundesliga;
2. Fussball-Bundesliga.
Thanks to Midfield Dynamo site, www.midfielddynamo.com/Cult Clubs.
Thanks to E-F-S site, for attendance figures, Germany attendances, 2009-10, at E-F-S.
Thanks to the official 1.FC Kaiserslautern site, for the old logos, http://www.fck.de .
Thanks to Maps Of Germany.co.uk, www.maps-of-germany.co.uk, for the base map.

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July 15, 2010

France, the 3 clubs promoted from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1, for the 2010-11 season.

Filed under: Football Stadia,France — admin @ 5:33 pm

Ligue Un site.
The map shows the 3 clubs that won promotion from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1, for the 2010-11 season.
Yo-yo club Caen are back in the French top flight again, bouncing straight back after finishing in first in the second tier this season. Caen’s last spell in Ligue Un lasted two seasons (2007 to 2009). Next season will be the 12th the club has played in Ligue 1. Caen averaged 18,914 per game the last season they were in the top tier (in 2008-09), but averaged 5,700 per game less in Ligue 2 in 2009-10.

The club plays at the 21,000-capacity Stade Michel d’Ornano. From some of the photos on the map page, you can see that Caen has a pretty decent ground for a municipal stadium (ie, good sight-lines; seats with backs; and no stupid, ugly and useless running track ruining it). Stade Michel d’Ornano (@FussballTempel.net).

Stade Malherbe Caen Calvados Basse Normandie (their official name) are from the city of Caen, which is in the north of France in Normandy, 15 km. (9 miles) from the English Channel. Caen is the capital of the Basse-Normandie region, and has a population of around 110,000 {2006 figure}, which makes it the 21st-largest city in France. The Malherbe in the club’s full name is a reference to the secondary school and cultural center called the Lycée Malherbe, which was founded in 1432. This school was originally called the Université de Caen, and in the late 1800s was re-named in honor of 16th and 17th century poet François de Malherbe, who was from Caen. The Calvados part of Caen’s name is a reference to the department {Calvados}, that Caen are from. Caen were founded in 1912, but have only been a professional club since 1985.
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Second place in Ligue Deux in 2009-10 were Brest, who return to the first division after a 19-year absence, which began when the club were administratively relegated following the 1990-91 Ligue 1 season, for excessive debts. Stade Brestois are from the city of Brest, which is at the far western edge of France, on the Breton peninsula in Brittany. All those seasons in the wilderness of the third division has left Brest without a sizable fan base, as shown by the home ground, Stade Francis-le Blê, which has a capacity of just 10,228. Brest were still stuck in the third division earlier this decade, and in their first season back in the second tier, in 2004-05, Brest drew 7,330 per game. But their attendance settled into the high-5,000s to mid 6,000s per game in the 3 seasons of 2005-06 to 2007-08.
In 08/09, Brest saw a 10% increase at the turnstiles, in spite of a 14 place finish, and last season, they drew 7,009 per game.

The city of Brest is the 18th-largest in France, with around 140,000 {2004 estimate}, while the Brest metropolitan area population is around 303,000.
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The third club to win promotion are Arles-Avignon, who will be making their top-flight debut in 2010-11. Arles-Avignon have now won 3 promotions in 4 years, including back-to-back promotions these last two seasons. Two years before that, the club were in the fourth division, the regionalized Championnat de France Amateur. In 2008-09, Athlétic-Club Arles were playing in the third division, the Championnat National, and drawing just 771 per game, at the 3,500 Stade Fernand Fournier in Arles. The club changed it’s name from AC Arles to AC Arles-Avignon in 2009, when they won promotion from the third tier, needed a larger ground, and moved from Arles to Avignon, which is 32 km. (20 miles) north of Arles. [Most media outlets in English speaking cyberspace still call them just Arles, but it looks like French media is sticking to Arles-Avignon.] Arles-Avignon now play at Parc des Sports in Avignon, which has a capacity of 9,430.

What makes Arles-Avignon’s promotion last May to Ligue 1 even more unlikely is that they were almost not allowed to play in Ligue 2 last season for irregularities in the club’s financial accounts. They had the decision reversed in July, 2009 following an appeal, then found themselves promoted to Ligue Un 10 months later.

Arles-Avignon drew 3,749 per game at their new home last season. Key to their promotion run was midfielder and playmaker André Ayew [who also excelled for Ghana in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa]. Sadly for the minnows from Avignon, Olympique Marseille management has indicated that Ayew’s loan spell at Arles-Avignon is over, so he’ll be playing for L’OM this season. Arles-Avignon have another problem…If you think the stadium at Brest is not really up to top flight caliber, just take a look at the forlorn, weed-strewn concrete municipal stadium that Arles-Avignon call home. The Parc des Sports holds just 9,430, and of course, it has an unsightly running track. I don’t think fans will be complaining of the venue’s shortcomings this coming season, as the novelty of top flight football in the region will be so great. But Arles-Avignon’s ground is not the sort of facility that can hope to sustain a top-flight club in western Europe.

Here is an article [translated], from Le Monde.fr, from 15th May, 2010, on Arles-Avignon’s promotion to Ligue 1… ‘Arles,Avignon [sic] enters Ligue 1′ .

On the map I have listed both Avignon and Arles. Arles has a population of around 52,000 {2007 figure}. Arles is the village where during part of 1898, visionary Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh lived, during part of the last, and probably most productive, period of his life. Avignon has a population of around 94,0000 {2006 figure}, and is the 44th largest city in France. For a 74-year period, The Papacy, then some discredited “anti-Popes”, set up shop in Avignon in the 15th century {see this, Avignon Papacy}.

Arles and Avignon are both in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. Avignon is 86 km. (53 miles) north of Marseille.
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Here is an excellent article by Chris Mayer at 6 Pointer blog, from 26 July, 2010, ‘The rise and imminent demise of AC Arles Avignon‘.
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Thanks to Ligue 1 site, for attendance figures, Ligue Deux attendance figures for 2009-10 season, at ligue1.com/ligue2/stat/.

Note: there are errors in the en.wikipedia page on Arles-Avignon, so go to the French Wikipedia page on the club if you want to read about them [The errors are that it is said Arles-Avignon has won promotion 4 straight seasons (it is 2 straight promotions, and 3 promotions in 4 seasons - they were in the third division 2 seasons (2007-08 and 2008-09, not one season). They won promotion from the 3rd to the 2nd level in 2008-09, then they won promotion from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1 in 2009-10. Also, the capacity of their stadium has not been updated from the 7,000 figure it was before Arles-Avignon started playing there last year. Plus there is a lot more on the club at the French wiki page, which is an interesting read even if the translation is not so great {see below}]
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at fr.wikipedia.org and en.wikipedia.org,
2010-11 Ligue 1.
Arles-Avignon page at fr.wikipedia.org [translated]

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May 17, 2010

League Two, 2009-10 season. The 3 promoted clubs and the 4 play-off clubs.

Filed under: 2009-10 English Football,Eng-4th Level/League Two,Engl. Promotion Candidates,Football Stadia — admin @ 5:06 pm

League Two Play-Off fixtures and results, England – League Two (Soccerway.com).

Notts County FC, empowered by the support shown by their re-awakened fan base, took the title. Lee Hughes scored 33 goals for the Magpies, and the club overcame a mid-season lull to finish strong and on top. Notts County had their highest average attendance in 16 years. The club drew 7,353 per game this season, a 65 percent increase from 08/09, when they drew 4,446 per game and finished in 19th place. This is a club that had finished in 21st place twice, 19th place twice and in 13th place in the last 5 seasons. Their new, mysterious foreign ownership had promised to invest heavily at the start of this season, and several top calibre players (for the fouth division, anyway), including goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, joined the squad (with celebrity executive Sven-Göran Erikson on board as well). But the Qatar-based owners pulled out in February, and Notts County were almost wound up. Sven is gone now too, and the club’s financial worries are still not over, but the bottom line is this…all the early season hype and media glare got the fans back into Meadow Lane, and now that the club has won promotion, the crowds should continue to swell. But the thing is, Notts County has never come close to filling their 19,500-seat ground on a regular basis.

The last, single, season Notts County were in the the top flight was in the last season of the old First Division (in 1991-92, under manager Neil Warnock). That season the Magpies drew 11,133 per game and were relegated. It was during that season, in January 1992, that the club made plans to rebuild three sides of Meadow Lane to make it the near-20,000 seat stadium it is today. But relegation and poor play in the following seasons saw average gates diminish as re-building and expansion continued. The average gate had dwindled to the 8,000-range for the next two seasons in the second tier, and by 1994-95, in the same season that the final re-building phase was completed, Notts County were relegated to the third tier (into the old Division Two). With their big new ground the Magpies then went through a 14 season period where they drew above 6,000 just once, drawing 6,154 per game in 2002-03.

Notts County’s second-most-recent top flight spell had been three seasons in the First Division in the 1980s, with the club drawing 11,613; 10,265; and 9,463 per game from 1981 to 1984. So why did a club, which had never pulled in more than 11,000 per game in the modern era, build a stadium that has an almost 20,000 capacity? My guess is jealousy of their (very) nearby rivals, Nottingham Forest. The two clubs have grounds the closest together of any clubs in England, separated by only 275 meters (300 yards) [you can see that in the photo on the far right in the Notts County section on the map]. When Nottingham Forest were in their heyday, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and winning trophies as recently as the 1989 and 1990 League Cup (and making a 1991 FA Cup finals appearance), it must have irritated the board at Notts County to see Nottingham Forest so big and (relatively) successful.
So when Notts County got that taste of the promised land (ie, first division football), in 1991-92, they re-built Meadow Lane too big for their fan base, believing they could increase their support as they consolidated their position in the top flight. The exact opposite happened. They were relegated that season and have never had an average attendance of higher than 10,000 per game since. I’m not saying Notts County are akin to a club like Darlington FC, in building an empty white elephant of a stadium that will never be filled on a regular basis, but over a decade of playing to 25% capacity or less cannot have been good for Notts County or their supporters.
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Second place and automatic promotion goes to AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries also saw an increase at the turnstiles, though more modest…Bournemouth drew 5,720 per game (up 16% from 08.09). Brett Pitman scored 28 goals for Bournemouth this season. Two years on from their finanancial meltown and administration, Bournemouth are a club on the rise. It could be argued that this is a club that definitely belongs in the third tier and perhaps ever the second tier, if one were to go by city population, because Bournemouth is in the top 30 largest cities in England, List of towns and cities in England by population [en.wikipedia.org].
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Third place and automatic promotion goes to the longest-running non-promoted club in the League, Rochdale AFC. 36 seasons in the fourth division, and finally a promotion. Well done to irrepressible manager Keith Hill, their goal-scoring tandem of Chris O’Grady (22 goals) and Chris Dagnall (20 goals), and the league’s stand-out defender, the young and promising Rochdale-born Craig Dawson, who has eschewed signing with a bigger club for next season, opting instead to continue contributing to the success of his hometown club.
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The League Two 2009-120 Play-Off features one down-on-their-luck-but-finding-revitalization club, Rotherham United; and three small clubs that five years ago were not even in the League…Morecambe, Aldershot Town, and Dagenham & Redbridge.
In the first legs… Rotherham snatched a late goal at Aldershot, when former Rochdale striker Adam LeFondre stole a back pass and netted. Second leg is Wednesday, 19th May in at The don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Meanwhile, in East London, Dagenham demolished Morecambe 6-0, with a double-brace from Joshua Scott and a brace from Paul Benson (who had scored 18 goals this season). Second leg is up in Lancashire at Morecambe’s Christie Patk on Thursday, 20th May.
League Two fixtures, here, (news.bbc.co.uk).
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Morecambe will say goodbye to Christie Road, as they are set to move into their new stadium in August. From FC Business.co.uk, “Morecambe’s new 12 million-pound stadium to be called ‘Globe Arena’ [16 Feb., 2010]. www.morecambestadium.co.uk, Globe Arena, Morecambe FC. There is a new Morecambe logo as well, New Morecambe crest- what do you think? (www.thevisitor.co.uk)
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Thanks to BBC/Nottingham, Aerial photographs of Nottingham. Thanks to Bing.com/maps, Meadow Lane [Birds-Eye view]. Thanks to Jazza5 and Berndt Jatzwauk at en.wikipedia.org, Meadow Lane.

Thanks to SoccerVoice.com, Soccer Voice.com/Ground Guide, League 2. Thanks to AFC Bournemouth-Mad.co.uk, Dean Court.

Thanks to Shanandphil at Flickr.com, shanandphil’s photostream @ flickr.com; Rochdale FC [exterior]. Thanks to mikeserieys at Flickr.com, Rochdale Promotion 17/4/2010 (Set)/ My favorite picture of the day [part of mikeserieys' photostream @ flickr.com].

Thanks to campdavemorecambe at Flickr.com, Christie Park, Morecambe FC; campdavemorecambe’s photostream @ flickr.com. Thanks to The Groundhog.co.uk, Rotherham (DVS) [Don Valley Stadium]. Thanks to TeamTalk.com, Rotherham United.

Thanks to Aldershot FA.com, Alderhot Divisional Football Association. Thanks to FourFoutTwo.com/blogs, [scroll 2/3 down page] ‘The Recreation Ground: They don’t make ‘em like this anymore’ [part of 03/09/08 entry on Andy Mitten's blog].

Thanks to Gouldy99 at Flickr.com, Gouldy99′s photostream @ flickr.com. Thanks to Stadiums.Football.co.uk, League 2 Stadiums. Thanks to Away Grounds.com, Away ground- UK Football Ground Guide.
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Thanks to E-F-S site, for attendance figures, Attendance Figures, European Football Statisrics.co.uk.
Thanks to Aerofilms Football Grounds- Then and Now, from Ian Allen Publishing, Aerofilms Football Grounds from the Air: Then and Now (Paperback) [BookDepository.com].

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May 12, 2010

League One, 2009-10 season. The 2 promoted clubs and the 4 play-off clubs.

Filed under: 2009-10 English Football,Eng-3rd Level/League One,Engl. Promotion Candidates,Football Stadia — admin @ 7:22 am

It was a nail biting final match day last Saturday in League One. Charlton, then Millwall had the edge up to finish in the crucial second spot, and automatic promotion. Then 10-man Leeds scored twice on Bristol Rovers in the space of 5 minutes, with goals from Jonathan Howson in the 59th minute, and from Jermaine Beckford in the 63rd minute. Leeds United returns to the League Championship along with table-topper Norwich City.
Both promoted clubs had pretty good results at the turnstiles (for big clubs being stuck in the third division, that is), with Leeds drawing 24,818 per game (up 3% from 08/09), and Norwich averaging 24,617 per game (up 1% from 08/09).
The four playoff clubs all were in the top 8 of average attendance in League One. The just-relegated Charlton Athletic saw a sharp drop in attendance, to 17,407 per game (-17% from 08/09). Huddersfield Town has continued with it’s cut-rate season tickets promotion, and drew 14,381 per game (+8% from 08/09). Millwall overcame the disappointment of losing in the Play-Off final to Scunthorpe United in 2008-09. This season Millwall had decent gates, as the Lions remained competitive and exciting all season, drawing 10,835 per game (+21% from 08/09). Swindon Town also saw an increase, though more modest, as the Robins went from being a relegation-threatened side (in 2008-09) to a promotion challenger. Swindon drew 8,389 per game (+12%).

Other high-drawing clubs in League One in 2009-10 that did not win promotion, or make the playoff, were Southampton, who drew 20,982 per game (an 18% increase from 08/09), and MK Dons, who drew 10,290 per game (a 2% decrease from 08/09).
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The four clubs battling for the third promotion spot are Millwall, Charlton Athletic, Swindon Town, and Huddersfield Town. Play-Off fixtures here, League 1 Play-Offs Confirmed (Football League site).
Friday, 14 May, at The County Ground in Wiltshire, it’s Swindon Town v. Charlton Athletic; with the return leg on Monday, 17 May, at The Valley in Charlton, Greewnwich, South East London.
Saturday, 15 May, at the Galpharm Stadium in West Yorkshire, it’s Huddersfield Town v. Millwall; with the return leg on Tuesday, 18 May at the New Den in Bermondsey, Lewisham, South East London.
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Thanks to Mike Avery’s Non-League Football site, Football League One Attendance Grids and Charts 2009-2010.
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Thanks to The Pinkun’, a Norwich-based weekly newspaper and website, The Pink’un newspaper. Thanks to Mskau at Panoramio.com, Carrow Road “Come on you Yellows”. Thanks to Away Grounds.com, League One Grounds, at www.awaygrounds.com.

Thanks to Raddersndakman at en.wikipedia.org, Elland Road [2007]. Thanks to Gunnar Larsson at en.wikipedia.org, Elland Road, Leeds [exterior]. Thanks to Leeds United.com, leedsunited.com / Stadium tours. Thanks to susstudio_x at Flickr.com, Elland Road exterior, part 1.

Thanks to daejin at Flickr.com, The New Den [aerial shot]. Thanks to Les Bailey at Flickr.com, Millwall Stand.

Thanks to Bing.com/maps, The Valley, Charlton, London: Bird’s Eye view. Thanks to shields_t at Flickr.com, The Valley [exterior]. Thanks to John Mills at www.yourlocalweb.co.uk, Pictures of New Charlton and the surrounding area.

Thanks to Matthew Ashton at The Guardian, “Huddersfield’s community stadium dream sours in ownership wrangle [6 May, 2009]“. Thanks to Sky Sports.com, Huddersfield Town.

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May 2, 2010

League Championship, 2009-10 season. The 2 promoted clubs and the 4 play-off clubs.

Filed under: 2009-10 English Football,Eng-2nd Level/Champ'ship,Engl. Promotion Candidates,Football Stadia — admin @ 10:39 am

Play-Off dates… Play-Off dates announced (The Football League site).
League Championship Play-Off fixtures, Championship Play-Offs Confirmed.
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On the right of the map are the 2 clubs automatically promoted to the Premier League for the 2010-11 season…Newcastle United, and West Bromwich Albion, both of whom bounce straight back to the top flight. Shown in each club’s profile box are major domestic titles and League history; 2009-10 average attendance; 2009-10 kits; and 4 photos of the club’s ground. Ditto for the 4 Play-Off clubs (on the left of the map). The four play-off clubs will vie for the third promotion spot…with two legged match-ups of Nottingham Forest versus Blackpool; and Cardiff City versus Leicester City. The first legs are Saturday 8th May (Blackpool hosting Forest) and Sunday, 9th May 9 (Leicester hosting Cardiff). Second legs are Tuesday the 11th (at City Ground) and Wednesday the 12th (at the brand new Cardiff City Stadium). The winners will advance to the Play-off final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, 22nd May.
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Attendance figures of the 6 clubs are shown at the upper right on the map page. Here are attendance figures for the whole League Championship this season, Attendance table, League Championship (ITV.com).
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Thanks to Toon Toon Blog, Toon Toon Blog. Thanks to j lord at Flickr.com, j loord’s photosream @ flickr.com. Thanks to Down at thr Mac- the Huddersfield Town fansite, DATM. Thanks to poity_uk at Flickr.com, poiy_uk’s photostream @flickr.com.

Thanks to Bing.com/maps, The Hawthorns (Bird’s Eye view. Thanks to Jameboy at en.wikipedia.org, The West Stand and Smethwick End (exterior) by Jameboy. Thanks to Mattd1991 at en.wikipedia.org, The Hawthorns, by Mattd1991. Thanks to LFC Malta.com, Liverpool Supporters Club Malta.

Thanks to NffcChris at en.wikipedia.org, City Ground by NffcChris. Thanks to Ciderspace.co.uk, Ciderspace-the independant Yeovil Town FC website. Thanks to BBC/Nottingham, Aerial photographs of Nottingham.

Thanks to Colorcoat-online, Cardiff City Stadium, project summary/gallery. Thanks to Cardiff Blues.com, Cardiff Blues and Cardiff City FC sign stadium contract. Thanks to Cardiff City FC.co.uk, Cardiff City Stadium. Thanks to Phil Tucker at Flickr.com, Phil Tucker’s photostream @ flickr.com.

Thanks to The Stadium Guide.com, Walkers Stadium. Thanks to Remarkable People.co.uk, [Football] Grounds [visited]. Thanks to SkySports.com, The Walkers Stadium.

Thanks to leftarmoccasional via Zim Flyer at SkyScraperCity.com, Bloomfield Road Redevelopment/14.000+/Phase Two thread [featuring photos by leftarmoccasional]. Thanks to Blackpool Today, Blackpool Today, South Stand progress/Gallery.

Thanks to Historical Football Kits, for the kit illustrations, Historical football Kits.

Comments (2)

April 27, 2010

Football Conference (aka Blue Square Premier League)-Top of the table, 2009-10 season.

Filed under: 2009-10 English Football,Eng-5th level,Football Stadia — admin @ 12:34 pm

Stevenage Borough will play in the Football League next season for the first time in their 35 year history. Stevenage Borough were famously denied entrance into the Football League in 1996, when, after winning the Conference, their automatic promotion was denied due to their ground being below standards. So 14 years later, it’s payback time for Stevenage and their fans. In the interim, the club had improved their ground, Broadhall Way, to the point where it was considered one of the top facilities in the Conference. This season, Stevenage saw a 30% increase in average attendance, to a very respectable 2,589 per game.
That still was far below the two turnstile giants of Non-League football these days…Luton Town and Oxford United, who both have averaged in the 6,000s this season. Average attendances of the top 5 clubs in the Conference are listed on the left on the map page. The following link shows average attendances in the Conference this season…Conference Premier Attendance Grids and Charts 2009-2010 (www.mikeavery.co.uk).

Stevenage Borough FC page at en.wikipedia.org

The four clubs competing for the other promotion spot to League Two are: Luton Town, Oxford United, Rushden & Diamonds, and York City. All four of the playoff clubs have League history, and their relegations from the League are noted in their club profile box. Also listed are the number of seasons spent in each of the top 5 levels of English football, and the club’s 09/10 kits. Also included in the profile boxes are three photos of each club’s home ground.
On the map I have listed the 23 clubs that competed in the 2009-10 Conference. The odd-number of clubs is due to the mid-season expulsion of Chester City.
That made relegation a matter of three other clubs, and those relegated this season were: Grays Athletic, Ebbsfleet United, and Forest Green Rovers. However, Salisbury City were penalized for failing to pay creditors, and were relegated two levels to the Southern Premier League, in the 7th Level. This was made official on 12th June. Forest Green Rovers, as the highest-placed relegated club, were thus re-instated into the Blue Square Premier League for the 2010-11 season.
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Play Off dates…The Play-Off begins Thursday, 29th April, with Rushden & Diamonds v. Oxford United; and York City v. Luton Town. ; 2nd Legs Monday, 3rd May. Play-Off final Sunday, 16th May, at Wembley Stadium. 2010 Conference Play Off fixtures, at Football Conference site .
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Thanks to Football Supporter’s Federation Ground Guide,FSF Ground Guide. Thanks to Soccerway, England- Conference National/Venues (www.soccerway.com). Thanks Google Maps, Google Earth view.

Thanks to World Stadia.com, www.worldstadiums.com. Thanks to RDFC Fans Blog, Rushden & Diamonds fansite. Thanks tor RDFC official site, www.thediamondsfc.com.

Thanks to Sam Mason at Flickr.com, Sam Mason @ Flickr.com. Thanks to jim2000 at Panoramio.com, jim2000 @ panoramio.com. Thanks to OxKits.co.uk, OxKits.com, A visual history of the kits of Oxford United.

Thanks to SoccerWorld.com, soccerword.com. Thanks to UK European Football Stadiums, stadiums.football.co.uk/Non League Stadiums. Thanks to Bing.com, Luton Town FC, Kenilworth Road (Birds Eye view).

Thanks to Campdavemorecambe at Flickr.com,‘[Photo of]Broadhall Way, Stevenage Borough. Thanks to Ray Stanton at Panoramio.com, [Photo of] Stevenage Borough FC. Thanks to Virtual Globetrotting, Broadhall Way (satellite view).

Thanks to Mike Avery Non-League Football Stats site, http://www.mikeavery.co.uk.
Thanks to Jeremy, at Albion Road site, for tech support help, Albion Road, Fan’s guide to Football Clubs around the world .

Comments (10)

March 28, 2010

2009-10 UEFA Europa League, Quarter-finals: the 8 clubs, with stadium photos.

Filed under: Football Stadia,UEFA Cup / Europa League — admin @ 12:39 pm

Europa League fixtures/results, Europa League fixtures/results (ESPN Soccernet).
The Quarter-finals of the 09/10 Europa League begin on Thursday, 1st April, with the second leg matches a week later. Of the 8 clubs still alive, there are 2 English clubs (Fulham and Liverpool), 2 German clubs (Hamburg and Wolfsburg), 2 Spanish clubs (Atletico Madrid and Valencia), a Belgian club (Standard Liege), and a Portuguese club (Benfica).
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How ’bout them Cottagers? At Craven Cottage, West London, on 18th March, Fulham found themselves down to Juventus 4-1 aggregate, after a 2nd minute goal by Juve’s David Trezeguet. Fulham they got one goal back 9 minutes in, from Bobby Zamora, then were given a man advantage after a straight red card to Juventus’ Cannavaro. Fulham’s Zoltan Gera then scored late in the first half, and netted a penalty kick in the 49th minute, after Diego handled the ball. But it was a tense match that looked headed for extra time. In the 71st minute, Fulham manager Roy Hodgson put in Clint Dempsey for Stephen Kelly, and 9 minutes later the move proved brilliant, when the Texas-born Dempsey, at the top edge of the box on the right-hand side, chipped a stunning, where-on-earth-did-that-come-from shot that looped all the way across the goal mouth to land just inside in the upper-left corner of the goal. It could arguably be called the greatest moment in the history of Fulham FC, a club that has won no major trophies, has only played 21 seasons in the English top flight, and had never played in Europe prior to this season.

Thanks to Tim’s 92 site for the panoramic photo, www.tims92.co.uk.
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There is a new site on my blogroll…Tanked Up-Imaging.com site, which has an unusual feature that all other deep-sea-diving/underwater photography sites lack…maps of football leagues and competitions from Europe and beyond.
The maps are interactive (that’s an element that is beyond the limited technical abilities of Bill T, here). A cool feature is when you hover your cursor over the club’s name on the map, the club’s logo appears along with a small box that lists the club’s stadium and domestic titles. Click and you get sent to that club’s site.
Tanked-Up, interactive maps…European Football League maps and history.
Thanks to Spurs fan Martin, at Tanked-Up site, for the link, and for the entertaining e-mails.

Comments (3)

March 7, 2010

Poland: Ekstraklasa, 2009-10. With UEFA Euro 2012 venues.

Filed under: Football Stadia,Poland — admin @ 10:42 am

The Polish Ekstraklasa returned from it’s long, November to late February winter break on the last weekend of February. Leaders are Wisla Kraków, who won last season’s championship, and have won 6 of their 12 titles in the last decade. Wisla Kraków draw around 12,000 per game. Three other clubs have a shot at the 2009-10 title. They are the low-drawing (~6,000-per game) Legia Warszawa (who have 8 titles, their most recent from 2006); Lech Poznan, who are the current highest-drawing club in Poland, at around 16,000-per game, and who have won 5 titles (most recently in 1993); and Ruch Chorzów. Ruch Chorzów, from the Silesian Voivodeship (a voivideship is like a province), are joint all-time titles leaders in Poland. Ruch Chorzów have won 14 championships, but the club has not won the crown for 20 years now. Ruch Chorzów drew 8,900 per game last season. They share the most titles with another Silesian club, Górnik Zabrze, who were relegated last May. Górnik Zabrze have the second largest fan base in Poland behind Lech Poznan, and drew 14,600 last season. Górnick Zabrze are drawing 11,000 per game in the second division this season, but the club might not bounce right back to the top flight, as they are in 6th place there (2 or 3 clubs are relegated/promoted each season between the Ekstraklasa and the second division, which is called the Polish First League).

Poland’s Ekstraklasa, fixtures, results, and table, at Soccerway.com, Ekstraklasa matches and table.

The long and drawn-out corruption scandal in Polish football is still casting a pall. The corruption began being exposed in 2005, and the investigations and arrests are still ongoing. The culture of corruption there was pretty widespread, in terms of referees being paid by club officials to control outcomes of games through favorable calls to one team, and of players being paid to throw games. Eight clubs have been implicated {see this}.
Here is short article from August, 2009, from The News.pl-The News from Poland site, ‘Two more netted in football corruption scandal’.

The roots of the Polish corruption scandal go back to the early 1990′s, centered on the-then 4th level club Amica Wronki, from the small (~12,000 population) town of Wronki in western Poland, which is 50 km. (30 miles) north-west of Poznan. A man who ran a local barbershop became associated with the club, helped create a merger between them and another club, and began managing the new club, using his contacts throughout the lower divisions…players, club officials, and referees…to manipulate outcomes. In other words, this individual who became known as The Barber “took care” of referees. Amica Wronki rose through the league pyramid, and won the Polish Cup title three years straight, from 1998 to 2000. To say that there were some very “friendly” calls that benefitted Amica Wronki when they won these three successive national cup titles would be understating it.
Meanwhile it wasn’t just Wronki that were benefitting from the bent refs. As the Barber’s corruption network became more widespread, clubs throughout Poland began relying on the Barber’s help, whether they were battling relegation or competing for the title. Amica Wronki had gained promotion to the top flight in 1995. The club wanted to distance themselves from the Barber, so they sacked him in in 1998, but his dire influence over the Polish game remained.
Finally, in 2005, someone’s conscience got the better of him. Piotr Dziurowicz, the 29-year old owner of then-top flight club GKS Katowice, decided to collaborate with the police. He had inherited ownership of the club from his recently deceased father. The latter, known in his time as the Magnate, had taught his son all he knew about fixing games. Piotr admitted to having “bought” several matches, but had come later to regret the hypocrisy and corruption of his position. Sting operations ensued, first resulting in two arrests…of referee Antoni F. (full names not allowed due to Polish law), who had accepted a 16,500-pound payoff to fix two league matches; and the arrest of Polish FA official Marian D., for collusion. Information from the suspects led to more arrests… over 70 arrests by May, 2007.
Here is an article from The Guardian.co.uk, from 6 February, 2007, by Jonathon Wilson, “Backhanders, bullets, and bent refs as Polish football reaches a crisis’.
It’s interesting to note that when you go to the Wikipdeia page of Amica Wronki, not one iota of this is mentioned. Most of the above details were gleaned from an article in the May, 2007 issue of World Soccer, written by Dariusz Kurowski.
Amica Wronki merged with Lech Poznan after the 2005-06 season, and maintains an amateur squad. The Barber has been detained since 2006. By April, 2009, over 200 people had been detained in connection with the corruption scandal, and there were only 15 referees left in Poland who could still work top flight matches…see this, from Reuters.com ‘More arrests likely in Polish corruption probe,’(27 April, 2009, by Patryk Wasilewski and Gabriella Baczynska).
By September, 2009, over 230 people had been charged for being involved in martch fixing in Poland. Those charged are from a group comprising players, club officials, referees, and members of the Polish Football Federation (PZPN). See this, from a Belarussian blog called Polish Police and Administrative Corruption, ‘Footballers get prison in match fixing scandal’,(26 September, 2009).
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Here are clubs who have recieved penalties and/ or relegations since the corruption investigation began in 2005. [Note- clubs who have regained promotion to the Ektraklasa, or who have remained there, are highlighted in bold...
Penalized clubs after the 2006-07 season...
Arka Gdynia-relegated to 2nd Level in 2006-07 as result of corruption scandal/ -5 points for 2007-08. {Since have regained promotion.}.
Gornick Leczna- relegated from 1st to 3rd Level in 2006-07/ -6 point for 2007-08.
Gornick Polkowice- relegated from 2nd to 4th Level/ 70,000 zloty penalty [100,000 zloty=around 17,000 pounds]/ -6 points for 2007-08.
Ostrowiec Swietokryzynski- relegated from 2nd to 3rd Level in 2006-07/ -6 points for 2007-08.
Penalized clubs after the 2007-08 season…
Zaglebie Sosnowiec- after 2007-08, were relegated from 1st Level to 3rd Level (one relegation by finish, plus one relegtion as punishment for corruption).
Korona Kielce- after 2007-08, were relegated to 2nd Level for corruption. {Since have regained promotion.}
Zaglebie Lubin- *Polish champion in 2006-07.- after 2007-08, were relegated to 2nd Level for corruption.
Club penalized after 2008-09 season…
Jagellonia Bilaystock- started 2009-10 season at -10 points/ fined 300,000 zloty.
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I have included a list of all-time champions, but take it with a grain of salt, because there is no way you are going to get me to believe that the widespread corruption in Polish top flight football only began in the mid 1990′s, and ended around 2007. And even if it did only begin with the Barber, in the mid-1990′s, in Wronki, that still ends up smearing around 11 or 12 seasons of Polish football at the very least (when you factor in the fact that Amica Wronki got to the first division in 1995, and serious investigations into the corruption scandal began in 2006). This basically calls into question, at minimum, the legitimacy of all those titles won betweeen 1995-96 to 2006-07. In fact, one of the champions during this time period, Zaglebie Lubin in 2007, were caught for corruption, and penalized one season after their title.
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Let’s focus on the present, and the future, of Polish football. And since that immediate future includes a co-hosting with Ukraine of the UEFA Euro 2012 competition, my hope is that the glare of the media spotlight will help to prevent a return to corruption in professional Polish football.

Below are the 4 Polish venues for the UEFA Euro 2012 competition, to be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
The first venue shown (Warsaw) will become the primary home of the Polish national football team, once the Euro 2012 competition is finished. The other three venues, post-Euro 2012, will become the homes of three different Polish clubs…Lechia Gdansk, Lech Poznan, and Slask Wroclaw.
Warsaw…

Here is the site connected with the construction of the Polish National Stadium, which in Polish is called Stadion Narodowy, Stadion Narodowy w Warszawie .
‘Progress of works at the National Stadium- pictures from 1st March’

Gdansk…

Pitch Invasion.net, ‘Stadium Spotlight: Gdansk, Euro 2012′, by Tom Dunmore.

Poznan…

www.amazing-architecture.com, ‘Euro 2012 stadiums- Lech Poznan’.

Wroclaw…

At forums.soccerfansnetwork.com , thread: ‘Stadiums, Wroclaw (Slask)’, submitted by Rozsbisurmaniony on Dec, 1, 2009, Wroclaw stadium: architectural renderings, photos, and info.

From the Voices In Football site, here is a nice article illustrated with photographs, of a trip to a Lower Silesian/Upper Silesian derby between Slask Wroclaw and Ruch Chornów, the match being held in Wroclaw [no date given on this, but I believe this is from December, 2009, by Damon Main]… ‘Slask Wroclaw v Ruch Chornów’.

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org and pl.wikipedia.org
Ekstraklasa page at en.wikipedia.org ;
Ekstraklasa w pilce noznej.
Thanks to World Soccer magazine World Soccer.com.
Thanks to E-F-S site, for attendance figures European-Football-Statistics.co.uk.

Thanks to Demis World Map Server, Demis World Map Server.

Thanks to aerofotos-kaczmarczyk.com, for the aerial photo of the Poznán Stadion construction aerofoto-kaczmarczyk.com [transl.].

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