# Stal Rzeszów (football)

Stal Rzeszów sections :
| Acrobatic gymnastics | Boxing | Cycling |
| Diving | Football | Football II |
| Ice hockey | Motorcycle speedway | Wrestling |
Stal Rzeszów is a Polish football club based in Rzeszów, Poland, as part of a multi-sports club. They currently compete in the I liga, the second tier of Polish league football.

## History

The history of Stal Rzeszów dates back to November 1944, when a group of sports enthusiasts, working at WSK PZL Rzeszów (Transport Equipment Enterprise) decided to form a Sports Circle. With support of the Youth Organization of the Association of Workers University (Organizacja Mlodziezy Towarzystwa Uniwersytetu Robotniczego, OM TUR), the new club was managed by Bronislaw Szczoczarz.
In March 1945, football team of PZL OM TUR was formed, under manager Jan Polak. In its first game, OM TUR faced Szturmowiec (Walter) Rzeszów, the match ended in a 2–2 draw. By the summer of 1945, OM TUR played several friendly games, facing Sokol Rzeszów (4–6), Czuwaj Lancut (2–6), and in June 1945, it played in the City of Rzeszów Cup tournament, losing in the final 1–3 to Resovia.
In the autumn of 1946, a series of playoffs took place, in order to find best teams for the newly created Rzeszów A-Class. PZL OM TUR managed to qualify to the league, together with such teams, as Legia Krosno, Nafta Krosno, Orzel Gorlice, Sanoczanka, Cukrownia Przeworsk, Resovia, Sokol Rzeszów, Czuwaj Przemysl and Polonia Przemysl. By 1955, however, the team did not have its own field, and had to use the fields of other clubs. On 26 June 1955, the first game took place at the newly built PZL Rzeszów stadium, at Hetmanska Street. The reserve team of Poland B faced Bulgarian reserves (1–1). In the second game of the day, Stal Rzeszów, the host, tied 1–1 with Poland U-19 team.
On 15 February 1948 the name of the club was changed into Union Sports Club of Metal Workers PZL Rzeszów (Zwiakzkowy Klub Sportowy Metalowców PZL w Rzeszowie). The club was overseen by the Central Union of Metal Workers, based in Katowice. By 1949, PZL Rzeszów had six departments: boxing (since 1944), football (since 1945), track and field (since 1945), chess (since 1947), table tennis (since 1948), speedway (since 1949). Finally, in May 1949, the name of the club was changed into Union Sports Club (Zakładowy Klub Sportowy) Stal Rzeszów.
In 1953, Stal qualified to the semifinal of the Polish Cup, where it lost 3–4 to AKS Chorzów. In 1956, Stal won regional games of Rzeszów League (III level of Polish football tier), qualifying to the Second Division playoffs, where it faced Piast Gliwice (2–2, 1–0), and Arkonia Szczecin (0–2, 2–0)
After the promotion, several players joined Stal for the upcoming 1957/58 season of the Second Division. Before the games, Polish Football Association decided to form two groups of the second level. Stal was in Group South, among such sides, as Cracovia, Garbarnia Kraków, Wawel Kraków, Piast Gliwice, Concordia Knurow, Bron Radom, Stal Mielec, AKS Chelmek, Naprzod Lipiny, Szombierki Bytom, AKS Chorzów.
In its first game, Stal faced Szombierki, beating the opponent 2–1. After the first round, Stal was in the 8th position, and after the whole season, Stal had 22 points, with goals 40–30, which made it the 6th team of the group.
In mid-1958, Tadeusz Hogendorf became new manager of Stal. By the end of the season, Stal was very lucky to avoid relegation. In 1960, Stal was 8th; in 1961, 5th; and in 1962, 9th. Before the 1962 season, PZPN divided the Second Division into two groups: A and B. Stal was in Group A, which consisted of 8 teams (Unia Racibórz, Unia Tarnów, Naprzód Lipiny, Piast Gliwice, MZKS Krosno, Polonia Bydgoszcz, Slavia Ruda Slaska), and won the games, qualifying to the Ekstraklasa. The decisive game took place on 21 June 1962 in Rzeszów, vs. Piast Gliwice. With the attendance of 25,000, Stal won 2–1.
In July 1962, Stal went on a summer camp in Finland. First Ekstraklasa game took place on 12 August 1962: Stal lost 0–1 at home to Lechia Gdańsk. In the second game, Stal lost in Kraków to Wisła Kraków (0–2). First, historic victory took place in the third round, when Stal beat at home 3–0 ŁKS Łódź.
Stal remained in the Ekstraklasa for ten years, until 1972. It was regarded as an average team, without major successes. Its top player at that time was Jan Domarski, who capped for Poland 17 times.
In 2012 a joint-stock company was established which took over the original club. Stal played in the II liga. From April 2018, the main sponsor of the team is Fibrain – a Polish manufacturer of fiber optic solutions.
On 27 April 2022 Stal gained promotion to the I liga following Ruch Chorzów's draw against Wisła Puławy. On 1 May 2022, after a 4–1 away win against Pogoń Siedlce, Stal secured the II liga title with 3 games left.

## Honours
### League

* Ekstraklasa
** Best finish: 7th in 1966
** Participation: 11x
* I liga
** Champions: 1962, 1974–75
* II liga
** Champions: 1956, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1986–87, 2021–22
*** Runners-up: 1953, 1954, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1985–86
* III liga
** Champions: 1998–99, 2001–02, 2014–15, 2018–19
** Runners-up: 2008–09, 2015–16

### Cup

* Polish Cup
** Winners: 1974–75
** Semi-finalists: 1973–74
** Quarter-finalists: 1971–72, 1975–76, 1990–91, 1991–92

### Europe

* European Cup Winners' Cup
** Second round: 1975–76

### Youth teams

* Polish U-19 Championship
** Third place: 1983, 1986, 2010

## Players
### Current squad

    As of 28 February 2025.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | POL | Krzysztof Bąkowski (on loan from Lech Poznań) |
| 2 | DF | POL | Patryk Warczak |
| 4 | DF | POL | Michał Synoś |
| 7 | MF | POL | Karol Łysiak |
| 9 | FW | POL | Tomasz Bała |
| 10 | MF | BIH | Haris Duljević |
| 11 | MF | SRB | Andreja Prokić (captain) |
| 12 | GK | POL | Jakub Raciniewski |
| 14 | DF | POL | Kamil Kościelny |
| 18 | MF | POL | Krystian Wachowiak |
| 19 | FW | POL | Michał Musik |
| 21 | MF | POL | Szymon Kądziołka |
| 22 | DF | SVK | Milan Šimčák |
| 27 | DF | COL | César Peña |
| 31 | MF | LUX | Sébastien Thill |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 39 | DF | POL | Marcin Kaczor |
| 44 | MF | POL | Benedykt Piotrowski |
| 46 | MF | POL | Szymon Łyczko |
| 48 | FW | POL | Kacper Plichta |
| 51 | MF | POL | Artur Gaża |
| 52 | MF | POL | Kamil Koczera |
| 53 | MF | UKR | Ilya Postupalskyi |
| 54 | DF | POL | Filip Sonntag |
| 55 | FW | POL | Jakub Kaczówka |
| 77 | DF | POL | Ksawery Kukułka |
| — | DF | POL | Fabian Blejwas |
| — | MF | POL | Dominik Gujda |
| — | MF | POL | Jakub Kucharski |
| — | MF | POL | Mateusz Leniart |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 30 | MF | COL | Jesús Díaz (at Raków Częstochowa until 30 June 2025) |
| 45 | DF | POL | Kacper Paśko (at Sandecja Nowy Sącz until 30 June 2025) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 47 | FW | POL | Szymon Salamon (at Czarni Połaniec until 30 June 2025) |
| — | GK | POL | Piotr Chrapusta (at Wisłoka Dębica until 30 June 2025) |

## European record

| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1975–76 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | First Round | Skeid | 4–1 | 4–0 | 8–1 |
| 1975–76 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | Second Round | Wrexham A.F.C. | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 |

## Domestic record

| Season | Competition | Position | Matches | Matches | Matches | Matches | Points | Goals | Goals | Goals | Comments | Most goals |
| Season | Competition | Position | Played | W | D | L | Points | + | - | +/- | Comments | Most goals |
| 1953 | Third tier | 2/12 | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 35 | 67 | 19 | +48 | | |
| 1954 | | 2/9 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 42 | 17 | +25 | | |
| 1955 | | 3/12 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 51 | 31 | +20 | | |
| 1956 | | 1/12 | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 36 | 60 | 18 | +42 | Promotion | |
| 1957 | Second tier | 6/12 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 22 | 40 | 30 | +10 | | 10 Rafał Anioła |
| 1958 | | 10/12 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 33 | −5 | | 10 Ludwik Poświat |
| 1959 | | 8/12 | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 23 | 24 | 23 | +1 | | 10 Ludwik Poświat |
| 1960 | | 5/12 | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 23 | 26 | 29 | −3 | | 11 Ludwik Poświat |
| 1961 | | 9/18 | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 34 | 41 | 40 | +1 | | 6 L. Szalacha, S. Stawarz |
| 1962 | | 1/8 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 26 | 13 | +13 | Promotion | 7 Kazimierz Cholewa |
| 1962–63 | Top tier | 9/14 | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 39 | −6 | | 9 Ludwik Poświat |
| 1963–64 | | 11/14 | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 23 | 32 | 44 | −12 | | 8 Zygmunt Marciniak |
| 1964–65 | | 12/14 | 26 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 23 | 30 | 35 | −5 | | 8 Joachim Krajczy |
| 1965–66 | | 7/14 | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 26 | 29 | 30 | −1 | | 8 Jan Domarski |
| 1966–67 | | 8/14 | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 | 24 | 30 | −6 | | 10 Jan Domarski |
| 1967–68 | | 11/14 | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 23 | 24 | 39 | −15 | | 8 Jan Domarski |
| 1968–69 | | 12/14 | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 22 | 18 | 31 | −13 | | 6 Stanisław Stawarz |
| 1969–70 | | 9/14 | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 23 | 30 | 36 | −6 | | 10 Jan Domarski |
| 1970–71 | | 9/14 | 26 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 24 | 34 | 26 | +8 | | 9 Ryszard Duda |
| 1971–72 | | 13/14 | 26 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 18 | 20 | 32 | −12 | Relegation | 6 Ryszard Duda |
| 1972–73 | Second tier | 12/16 | 30 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 27 | 27 | 33 | −6 | | 6 Janusz Krawczyk |
| 1973–74 | | 6/16 | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 32 | 34 | 25 | +9 | | 12 Janusz Krawczyk |
| 1974–75 | | 1/16 | 30 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 41 | 44 | 16 | +28 | Promotion, won the Polish Cup | 11 Zdzisław Napieracz |
| 1975–76 | Top tier | 15/16 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 24 | 23 | 35 | −12 | Relegation | 8 Marian Kozerski |
| 1976–77 | Second tier | 14/16 | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 26 | 23 | 40 | −17 | Relegation | 6 Stanisław Curyło |
| 1977–78 | Third tier | 2/14 | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 31 | 35 | 22 | +13 | | |
| 1978–79 | | 2/15 | 28 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 43 | 67 | 13 | +54 | | |
| 1979–80 | | 1/15 | 28 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 45 | 47 | 17 | +30 | Promotion | |
| 1980–81 | Second tier | 6/16 | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 33 | 33 | 29 | +4 | | 7 Aleksander Siekieryn |
| 1981–82 | | 14/16 | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 24 | 23 | 34 | −11 | Relegation | 5 M. Chamielec, A. Banasik |
| 1982–83 | Third tier | 2/14 | 26 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 38 | 44 | 16 | +28 | | |
| 1983–84 | | 1/16 | 30 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 51 | 65 | 14 | +51 | Promotion | |
| 1984–85 | Second tier | 13/16 | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 26 | 20 | 31 | −11 | Relegation | 4 Zbigniew Znojek |
| 1985–86 | Third tier | 2/14 | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 37 | 51 | 17 | +34 | | |
| 1986–87 | | 1/14 | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 47 | 61 | 15 | +46 | Promotion | |
| 1987–88 | Second tier | 4/16 | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 35 | 41 | 32 | +9 | | 7 S. Sroczyński, R. Kaszuba |
| 1988–89 | | 5/16 | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 38 | 38 | 26 | +12 | | 8 Stanisław Sroczyński |
| 1989–90 | | 7/20 | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 44 | 37 | 31 | +6 | | 7 Paweł Kloc |
| 1990–91 | | 15/20 | 38 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 35 | 44 | 50 | −6 | | 14 Robert Bąk |
| 1991–92 | | 3/18 | 34 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 43 | 44 | 28 | +16 | | 7 Zbigniew Znojek |
| 1992–93 | | 10/18 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 32 | 31 | 35 | −4 | | 11 Paweł Kloc |
| 1993–94 | | 16/18 | 34 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 28 | 29 | 34 | −5 | Relegation | 6 Marek Kogut |
| 1994–95 | Third tier | 3/18 | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 45 | 55 | 28 | +27 | | 10 Tomasz Tułacz |
| 1995–96 | | 4/18 | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 66 | 70 | 32 | +38 | | 23 Paweł Koziołek |
| 1996–97 | | 3/18 | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 62 | 82 | 40 | +42 | | 26 Paweł Koziołek |
| 1997–98 | | 10/18 | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 43 | 43 | 48 | −5 | Relegation | 10 M. Omiotek, G. Musiał |
| 1998–99 | Fourth tier | 1/18 | 34 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 77 | 73 | 15 | +58 | Promotion | 19 Jarosław Kuter |
| 1999–2000 | Third tier | 6/18 | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 52 | 37 | 32 | +5 | | 11 Marcin Pacuła |
| 2000–01 | | 16/19 | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 44 | 31 | 44 | −13 | Relegation | 4 Jarosław Kuter |
| 2001–02 | Fourth tier | 1/18 | 34 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 77 | 76 | 18 | +58 | Promotion | 16 Paweł Kloc |
| 2002–03 | Third tier | 3/17 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 53 | 41 | 33 | +8 | | 9 Łukasz Szczoczarz |
| 2003–04 | | 2/16 | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 61 | 45 | 22 | +23 | Play-off to II league | 7 P. Kloc, K. Wójcik |
| 2004–05 | | 4/16 | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 56 | 50 | 31 | +19 | | 9 Krzysztof Szymański |
| 2005–06 | | 5/16 | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 50 | 47 | 36 | +11 | | 17 Wojciech Fabianowski |
| 2006–07 | | 5/16 | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 50 | 58 | 31 | +27 | | 13 Łukasz Szczoczarz |
| 2007–08 | | 10/17 | 32 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 40 | 28 | 34 | −6 | Relegation, competition reform | 5 Krzysztof Szymański |
| 2008–09 | Fourth tier | 2/16 | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 56 | 52 | 25 | +27 | Promotion | 19 Ireneusz Gryboś |
| 2009–10 | Third tier | 12/18 | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 42 | 47 | 49 | −2 | | 12 Ireneusz Gryboś |
| 2010–11 | | 8/18 | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 48 | 55 | 46 | +9 | | 14 Wojciech Fabianowski |
| 2011–12 | | 11/17 | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 36 | 31 | 34 | −3 | | 4 D. Florian, K. Maca, A. Prokić |
| 2012–13 | | 11/18 | 34 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 42 | 37 | 32 | 5 | | 10 Andreja Prokić |
| 2013–14 | | 11/18 | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 47 | 40 | 40 | 0 | Relegation | 16 Piotr Prędota |
| 2014–15 | Fourth tier | 1/18 | 34 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 73 | 84 | 29 | +55 | Playoff to 2nd league | 30 Piotr Prędota |
| 2015–16 | | 2/18 | 34 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 74 | 80 | 33 | +47 | | 20 Piotr Prędota |
| 2016–17 | | 3/18 | 32 | 20 | 4 | 8 | 64 | 70 | 32 | +38 | | 17 Wojciech Reiman |
| 2017–18 | | 6/18 | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 55 | 56 | 40 | +16 | | 15 Wojciech Reiman |
| 2018–19 | | 1/18 | 34 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 76 | 87 | 27 | +60 | Promotion | 20 Tomasz Płonka |
| 2019–20 | Third tier | 6/18 | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 51 | 55 | 44 | +11 | Play-off to II league | 9 Artur Pląskowski |
| 2020–21 | | 10/19 | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 50 | 58 | 60 | -2 | | 12 Wojciech Reiman |
| 2021–22 | | 1/18 | 34 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 77 | 75 | 35 | +40 | Promoted | 11 Damian Michalik |
| 2022–23 | Second tier | 6/18 | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 51 | 57 | 44 | +13 | Lost the promotion play-offs | 10 Damian Michalik |
| 2023–24 | | 11/18 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 48 | 53 | 60 | -7 | | 8 Adler Da Silva |