From the second division to the Champions League in five years: Poland’s champions Raków could make history in the play-offs against Copenhagen.
The Pauline monastery in the Polish place of pilgrimage Częstochowa attracts up to four million pilgrims a year with its black Madonna. The 17 home games of the local football club Raków had a total of just under 90,000 spectators last season. And yet, in addition to being a place of pilgrimage, Częstochowa could soon gain greater sporting fame: the Polish champions are playing in the playoffs against FC Copenhagen to qualify for the Champions League. Although the first leg was lost 0-1 on Tuesday, the big coup is not ruled out. The second leg will take place on August 30 (9 p.m.).
Sonny Kittel shoots Raków to victory
For the German offensive player Sonny Kittel, that would be a rise in record time: After he failed in the relegation with HSV for the second time in a row in May, he decided to move to his parents’ home country. A perfect debut followed: a few minutes after Kittel came on as a substitute in the second qualifying round against Qarabaq Aqdam, he hit the corner from a distance to win 3-2.
In doing so, he fulfilled a wish from sports director Robert Graf, who said at Kittel’s presentation: “We hope that his footballing quality and experience will help us in the fight for ambitious goals.” Raków would only be the sixth Polish participant in the premier class, in the past 25 years only record champions Legia Warsaw managed to qualify in the 2016/17 season.
Investor fulfills his promise
At that time, people in Częstochowa dreamed even smaller. Raków played third-rate and gave promotion to the second division as the goal of the season. By 2019, however, the team was to play in the first division and thus fulfill the childhood dream of club owner Michał Świerczewski.
As a student in 1998, the entrepreneur saw his favorite club’s relegation in the stands and was determined to bring Rakow back to the top. It helped that after his studies he built up one of the largest retail chains in the country. This year Świerczewski was among the 100 richest Poles according to Forbes, Raków has twice won the Polish Cup since promotion to the top division and last May the championship.
Raków’s record transfer is a German
However, Raków’s successes cannot be attributed solely to Świerczewski’s millions. The budget remains modest compared to clubs like Legia and Lech Poznań. Record purchase John Yeboah, the second German in the squad, cost just 1.5 million euros and came from Śląsk Wrocław. The former U-20 international was unable to assert himself as a youth player under Oliver Glasner at VfL Wolfsburg. He feels at home in Poland: “I’m happy and grateful that my coaches in Poland allow me the freedom to play,” he said recently in an interview with “transfermarkt.de”.
A trainer who has essays written
At Raków, the coach’s name is Marek Papszun. He applied to Świerczewski via an online ad when the club was still in the third division. For the engagement in Częstochowa, Papszun quit his job as a sports and history teacher. To do this, he has his players write essays after the games in which they have to rate the team’s performance within 24 hours of the final whistle. Who knows: Maybe Kittel, Yeboah and their colleagues will soon be writing about Erling Haaland and Vinícius Júnior.
