# 2010–11 Ekstraklasa

The 2010–11 Ekstraklasa was the 77th season of the highest level of football leagues in Poland since its establishment in 1927. It began on 6 August 2010 and concluded on 29 May 2011. A total of 16 teams participated, 14 of which competed in the league during the 2009–10 season, while the remaining two were promoted from the I Liga. Each team played a total of 30 matches, half at home and half away.
Wisła Kraków won the title, which marked their 13th title in total.
Wisła Kraków qualified as champions for the 2nd qualifying round of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, while Śląsk Wrocław, as the runner-up, entered the 2nd qualifying round of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, followed by the fourth placed Jagiellonia Białystok team that earned a place in the 1st qualifying round of the Europa League. Legia Warsaw, the winner of the 2010–11 Polish Cup, also earned a place in European competition by qualifying to the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League.
The defending champions were Lech Poznań, who won their sixth Polish championship last season.

## Teams

Promotion and relegation was established by a change, which eliminated relegation play-off games after the 2008–09 season. Thus, the 14th team from the Ekstraklasa and the 3rd team from the Polish First League no longer competed against each other in play-offs. Following the change, promotion and relegation were determined solely by a team's position in the table. As usual, the bottom two teams were directly relegated to the I Liga, while the top two teams were promoted to the Ekstraklasa.
Odra Wodzisław and Piast Gliwice finished in 15th and 16th place, respectively, and were directly relegated to the Polish First League as a result. Odra Wodzisław returned to the second tier after spending 14 years in the top division, their first appearance being in the 1996–97 season. Piast Gliwice spent just two seasons in the Ekstraklasa, after being promoted for the first time for the 2008–09 season, having spent the previous 71 seasons in the lower leagues.
Promotion was won by 2009–10 2nd level champions Widzew Łódź, who returned to the top division after being relegated in the 2007–08 season. 14-time Ekstraklasa champions Górnik Zabrze finished as runners-up in the I Liga and made their comeback to the top tier after being relegated in the 2008–09 season.

### Stadiums and locations

Since and prior to the selection of Poland as co-host for Euro 2012, numerous clubs were engaged in reconstruction of their stadiums, or building a completely new stadium. Some teams in the beginning of the season played their home matches in other stadiums. For instance Wisła Kraków played their home matches at the Hutnik Kraków stadium, the Stadion Suche Stawy, which held 12,000 spectators. However, the move to the nearly completed 33,000-plus home stadium was in effect mid-season. Legia Warsaw and Lech Poznań played at stadiums which remained under construction but nearing completion. Dialog Arena, the home venue of Zagłębie Lubin was the newest completely finished stadium in the Ekstraklasa these season, being completed just before the start of the season.
Arka Gdynia, and Cracovia started the season playing in their old stadiums. The two clubs moved to their completely finished new stadiums mid season. Jagiellonia Białystok, Lechia Gdańsk, and Śląsk Wrocław played in their old stadiums while their new venues were being constructed. The 40,000 plus PGE Arena Gdańsk became the new home ground for Lechia after its completion in 2011, while Śląsk moved to the new 45,000 plus Stadion Wrocław. The two stadiums were venues for Euro 2012.
| Team | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| Arka Gdynia | Gdynia | GOSiR Stadium | 15,139 |
| Cracovia | Kraków | Marshal Józef Piłsudski Stadium | 15,016 |
| GKS Bełchatów | Bełchatów | GIEKSA Arena | 5,238 |
| Górnik Zabrze | Zabrze | Ernest Pohl Stadium | 10,000 |
| Jagiellonia Białystok | Białystok | Jagiellonia Stadium | 6,000 (upgrading to 22,500) |
| Korona Kielce | Kielce | Arena Kielce | 15,550 |
| Lech Poznań | Poznań | Lech Stadium | 43,000 |
| Lechia Gdańsk | Gdańsk | Lechia Stadium | 11,811 (upgrading to 40,818) |
| Legia Warsaw | Warsaw | Polish Army Stadium | 31,800 |
| Polonia Bytom | Bytom | Edward Szymkowiak Stadium | 6,000 |
| Polonia Warsaw | Warsaw | Polonia Stadium | 7,150 |
| Ruch Chorzów | Chorzów | Ruch Stadium | 10,000 |
| Śląsk Wrocław | Wrocław | Oporowska Stadium | 8,346 (upgrading to 42,720) |
| Widzew Łódź | Łódź | Stadion Widzewa | 10,500 |
| Wisła Kraków | Kraków | Henryk Reyman Stadium | 24,000 (upgrading to 33,680) |
| Zagłębie Lubin | Lubin | Dialog Arena | 16,300 |

### Sponsoring and personnel

| Club | Manager | 2009–10 Season | Kit sponsor | Main sponsor |
| Arka Gdynia | František Straka | 14th | Jako | Polnord |
| Cracovia | Yuriy Shatalov | 12th | Jako | Comarch |
| GKS Bełchatów | Maciej Bartoszek | 5th | Adidas | Polska Grupa Energetyczna |
| Górnik Zabrze | Adam Nawałka | Promoted | Erima | Allianz |
| Jagiellonia Białystok | Michał Probierz | 11th | Joma | Białystok City |
| Korona Kielce | Włodzimierz Gąsior | 6th | Hummel | Formaster |
| Lech Poznań | José Mari Bakero | Champions | Puma | s.Oliver |
| Lechia Gdańsk | Tomasz Kafarski | 8th | Adidas | LOTOS |
| Legia Warsaw | Maciej Skorża | 4th | Adidas | n |
| Polonia Bytom | Dariusz Fornalak | 7th | Hummel | Ecco Holiday |
| Polonia Warsaw | Jacek Zieliński | 13th | Hummel | J.W. Construction |
| Ruch Chorzów | Waldemar Fornalik | 3rd | Lotto | Tauron Poland Energy |
| Śląsk Wrocław | Orest Lenczyk | 9th | Puma | Piast |
| Widzew Łódź | Czesław Michniewicz | Promoted | Vigo | Harnaś |
| Wisła Kraków | Robert Maaskant | 2nd | Adidas | Tele-Fonika Kable |
| Zagłębie Lubin | Jan Urban | 10th | Nike | KGHM Polska Miedź |
Puma continues as Ekstraklasa's official match ball suppliers through the 2010–11 season. All matches are played with the PUMA PowerCat 1.10 ultra balls, which is a special model created just for the Ekstraklasa.
The official presentation of the new ball for Ekstraklasa was prepared together with PUMA Poland in the beginning of August 2010 – just before the start of season. The case of prolonging the use of the match ball for the next two seasons was made official on 3 August 2010. The new model will be used through the 2011–12 season as it is regarded at the highest quality .

### Managerial changes

| Club | Outgoing Manager | Date of vacancy | Manner of departure | Incoming Manager | Date of appointment |
| GKS Bełchatów | Rafał Ulatowski | 21 May 2010 | End of Contract | Maciej Bartoszek | 2 June 2010 |
| Cracovia | Orest Lenczyk | 24 May 2010 | Sacked | Rafał Ulatowski | 28 May 2010 |
| Legia Warsaw | Stefan Białas | 25 May 2010 | Sacked | Maciej Skorża | 1 June 2010 |
| Widzew Łódź | Paweł Janas | 21 June 2010 | Resigned | Andrzej Kretek | 25 June 2010 |
| Wisła Kraków | Henryk Kasperczak | 6 August 2010 | Sacked | Tomasz Kulawik (temporary) | 6 August 2010 |
| Wisła Kraków | Tomasz Kulawik | 21 August 2010 | Temporary Manager | Robert Maaskant | 21 August 2010 |
| Polonia Warsaw | José Mari Bakero | 13 September 2010 | Sacked | Paweł Janas | 13 September 2010 |
| Śląsk Wrocław | Ryszard Tarasiewicz | 22 September 2010 | Sacked | Paweł Barylski (temporary) | 22 September 2010 |
| Śląsk Wrocław | Paweł Barylski | 27 September 2010 | Temporary Manager | Orest Lenczyk | 27 September 2010 |
| Cracovia | Rafał Ulatowski | 24 October 2010 | Resigned | Marcin Sadko (temporary) | 27 October 2010 |
| Polonia Bytom | Yuriy Shatalov | 28 October 2010 | Resigned | Jan Urban | 29 October 2010 |
| Cracovia | Marcin Sadko | 31 October 2010 | Temporary Manager | Yuriy Shatalov | 31 October 2010 |
| Lech Poznań | Jacek Zieliński | 2 November 2010 | Sacked | José Mari Bakero | 3 November 2010 |
| Widzew Łódź | Andrzej Kretek | 15 November 2010 | Sacked | Czesław Michniewicz | 15 November 2010 |
| Polonia Bytom | Jan Urban | 10 December 2010 | Resigned | Robert Góralczyk | 13 December 2010 |
| Polonia Warsaw | Paweł Janas | 28 December 2010 | Sacked | Theo Bos | 6 January 2011 |
| Zagłębie Lubin | Marek Bajor | 7 March 2011 | Sacked | Jan Urban | 10 March 2011 |
| Polonia Warsaw | Theo Bos | 13 March 2011 | Sacked | Piotr Stokowiec | 14 March 2011 |
| Arka Gdynia | Dariusz Pasieka | 23 March 2011 | Sacked | František Straka | 23 March 2011 |
| Polonia Warsaw | Piotr Stokowiec | 24 March 2011 | Temporary Manager | Jacek Zieliński | 24 March 2011 |
| Korona Kielce | Marcin Sasal | 12 May 2011 | Sacked | Włodzimierz Gąsior (temporary) | 12 May 2011 |
| Polonia Bytom | Robert Góralczyk | 24 May 2011 | Sacked | Dariusz Fornalak | 24 May 2011 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Wisła Kraków (C) | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 56 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Śląsk Wrocław | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 49 | Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Legia Warsaw | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 49 | Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Jagiellonia Białystok | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 38 | 32 | +6 | 48 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Lech Poznań | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 37 | 23 | +14 | 45 | |
| 6 | Górnik Zabrze | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 45 | |
| 7 | Polonia Warsaw | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 41 | 26 | +15 | 44 | |
| 8 | Lechia Gdańsk | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 43 | |
| 9 | Widzew Łódź | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 43 | |
| 10 | GKS Bełchatów | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 31 | 33 | −2 | 40 | |
| 11 | Zagłębie Lubin | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 31 | 41 | −10 | 39 | |
| 12 | Ruch Chorzów | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 29 | 32 | −3 | 38 | |
| 13 | Korona Kielce | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 37 | |
| 14 | Cracovia | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 37 | 47 | −10 | 29 | |
| 15 | Arka Gdynia (R) | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 22 | 43 | −21 | 28 | Relegation to I liga |
| 16 | Polonia Bytom (R) | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 29 | 45 | −16 | 27 | Relegation to I liga |
* 1 2 ŚLĄ 0–1 LEG; LEG 1–2 ŚLĄ
* ↑ Winners of the 2010–11 Polish Cup.
* 1 2 GÓR 2–0 LPO; LPO 2–0 GÓR
* 1 2 LGD 3–1 WID; WID 1–0 LGD

## Results

| Home \ Away | ARK | CRA | BEŁ | GÓR | JAG | KOR | LPO | LGD | LEG | PBY | PWA | RUC | ŚLĄ | WID | WIS | ZLU |
| Arka Gdynia | | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–5 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Cracovia | 2–0 | | 3–2 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| GKS Bełchatów | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Górnik Zabrze | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 |
| Jagiellonia Białystok | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Korona Kielce | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Lech Poznań | 0–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 |
| Lechia Gdańsk | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 |
| Legia Warsaw | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Polonia Bytom | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Polonia Warsaw | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Ruch Chorzów | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Śląsk Wrocław | 5–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Widzew Łódź | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–2 | | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Wisła Kraków | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 5–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | | 1–0 |
| Zagłębie Lubin | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | |

## Awards
### Monthly awards
### Annual awards

| Award | Player | Club |
| Player of the Season | Adrian Mierzejewski | Polonia Warsaw |
| Coach of the Season | Orest Lenczyk | Śląsk Wrocław |
| Discovery of the Season | Maor Melikson | Wisła Kraków |
| Fair Play Award | Lechia Gdańsk | Lechia Gdańsk |