Cracovia 1-2 Piast Gliwice, Friday 7th August 2015

Cracovia 1-2 Piast Gliwice (att. 7,416)

Welcome to ....

Different year, same ‘mistake’. You have to be registered with the club to get a match ticket in Poland, so you can’t expect to rock up 10 minutes before the game and see kick-off. Still, they were (slightly) more efficient here than at Pogon Szczecin and I was in by the half hour mark. Even better, I hadn’t missed any goals.

Note the two queues.

As I queued once to get a ticket (to be told to join another queue to be registered first), before joining the first queue again, I had plenty of time to consider where to sit. I thought my currency conversion skills were off when I worked out the prices were between £2.50-£6. F*** it. At that price, I’ll have the finest seat in the stadium, please. Upper tier, halfway line. ‘One’ he says. ‘Yes, just one, thanks’. ‘No, no. One ZLOTY’. Ticket guy could see the confusion on my face. ‘Introductory price for registering.’ Wow! I’m in for about twenty pence.

You have been warned!

The last time I was in Krakow (about 6 years ago), Cracovia’s ground was in a real state, all rust and decay. In contrast, Wisla’s two new stands were gleaming and a third side of the stadium was about to be rebuilt. Cracovia’s ground has since been knocked down and a new stadium has risen on its ashes. It’s now a small yet beautiful stadium ideal for a side of their standing. In contrast, Wisla’s stadium already looks tired and in need of a lick of paint.

You can see Wisla's stadium in the distance.

Stadion Cracovii is what Doncaster Rovers COULD have built had their stadium designers had any vision at all. The main stand here is two-tiered while the rest has one. Behind the ultras’ end (Sektor D) there are executive boxes (as well as in the upper tier where I sat) while the opposite end had a large chunk of seating cut out for the kids to play in. Watch the footie while keeping an eye on the kids (or letting someone else do it for you). Brilliant.

The kids' sector.

I was expecting the vast majority of Cracovia’s support to be in Sektor D, but perhaps the loud tannoy of the cheerleader is offputting. Fans were smattered all round the stadium, with half of the far side looking busy with the fans remaining defiantly standing (like Sektor D) despite the seats. Occasional chants would rise from this stand too and occasionally the whole ground joined in. Certainly a better atmosphere than the team deserved!

The away end.

Cracovia took the lead a few minutes before half time. A nothing ball into the box was headed in by the centre forward, from Senegal. Why are Africans so over represented in minor European leagues? It’s never the left back, rarely the keeper. It’s gotta be the centre forward or mercurial attacking type. Still, good header, albeit out of the blue.

Cracovia ultras

At half time I went for a beer and kombasa (sausage). Service was prompt and I was soon back in my seat, in front of the (limited) press crew. Unlike most of the ultras, who were still under the stand, probably trying to cool off having been jumping around in the sun and Polish heat. They were still there 55 seconds into the second half when Piast equalised. A slick one-touch move found the right winger free and he pulled it back to be sidefooted into and empty net. Easy. And three minutes later Piast had won it, a whipped in left foot curler flicked in superbly by an onrushing centre forward. Even some home fans applauded. They also thought there was plenty of time to come back. Both sides tried to play football, but it was all in slow motion. And while Cracovia threw men forward towards the end, Piast couldn’t take advantage of numerous breaks.

How the average Cracovian felt at full time.

At the end, having spent barely any money at all, I thought I’d peruse the ‘fanshop’/market stall of goodies under the Sektor D stand. No such luck; I had to exit a particular way and officious stewarding brought back memories of Erzegirbirger Aue t’other year: yes, you may come and see the game, but now the game is over, you must leave. Do not pass go, do not go to the club shop. Turn around and go back whence you came.

Cameraman

The Damage:
PLZ 1 ent
PLZ 7 beer (x2)
PLZ 10 kombasa (sausage)
= PLZ 25 (£4.21!!!!!!!)

The Tunes:
Django Django (Django Django)
Dimension Intrusion (Fuse)

Up here to my seat.

Fans to my right.

Fans to my left.

Sunset over Cracovii.

Home time!

Full time, 1-2.

You are here.

All crisp and modern.

Back of the stand on 'Focha' street.  

One way to pay the rent...

Ticket booth

There's something I love about the simplicity of it all.

Back of VIP stand.

How it used to look..the old fence is still there.

Pogon Szczecin 0-0 Piast Gliwice, Monday 11th August 2014

Pogon Szczecin 0-0 Piast Gliwice, Ekstraklasa, att. 7,583

Nice day for it (pre-match queueing)

Should I have had that shower back at the hotel?  Dunno.  Did that 10 minutes cost me an hour, much like going to work in London - leave 10 mins later and you get to work an hour later?

I arrived in Szczecin (no, I can't pronounce it either, though under German rule it was 'Stettin'.  See also Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech) sometime after 4:30, for a 6pm KO.  I picked up a map, saw where the stadium was and thought 'no worries'.  So I had my shower then headed for the stadium.  Yes, I was late, but only by minutes.  I was in the queue for tickets by 6:05pm. Mind, it was a bigger queue than I'd anticipated - how come so many others had left it this late?

Bizarre roof...

Time ticked by.  You could hear the crowd inside the stadium chanting, you could hear the occasional ref's whistle.  But the queue(s) barely moved.  There were different signs for each queue and what with my Polish being up there with my Swahili, I had no idea what meant what.  There was something about 'karta' in my queue, which brought to mind previous Polish matches and needing a membership card (Ruch Chorzow) or being sold a ticket on production of my passport (everywhere else).

Look-out tower?  Exec boxes?  Old folks' home?

Half time came and went, unlike the queues.  We edged towards the ticket booths - a small trap of a window behind metal railings.  And once near the front, the 'problem' became apparent.  Every individual had to have their photo taken and every piece of their human existence entered into a computer (in my case, twice - typical IT probs) before your credit card sized membership card was spat out and you'd be allowed to buy a match ticket.

I know how he felt.

'Which part of the stadium would you like to be in?' I was asked by a pretty young lady in perfect English.  She had a lovely voice.  'The cheapest', I said, given that there was barely half an hour of said game left.

The turnstiles were close by and I found myself behind the goal in the ultras section.  The smell of dope was pungent, though not unpleasant.  The cheerleader screamed into his mic, the drummer banged his drum and a thousand or so ultras chanted in unison.

There's something not right here...

The rest of the stadium occasionally joined in, though a goal might have helped (it finished 0-0). Pogon missed a couple of great chances in the limited action I saw.

Despite the blow of arriving so late (had I missed anything though?), I'd still recommend a visit, cos the stadium itself is unique.  When I saw the stadium plan outside, I thought it was missing a part, but it wasn't.  The stadium really is horseshoe shaped, with one stand not even running parallel to the pitch, so at one end, you are quite a way from the action.  Then there's the stand opposite, with the oddest roof I've seen in a while.  It looks huge yet only covers a small amount of seating.  Hopefully Szczecin gets alot of sun, cos this was the only cover in the ground.

Give it up for...Ringo on drums!

As for behind the goals, at one end, a sea of nothingness, a bare space filled by vehicles, while the home end is on a curve.  No running track (maybe there used to be one?) but a steep terrace covered in seats. Not a bad view, if you're high enough up.  You actually enter the area from the top of the terrace, car parks and football pitches spreading out behind.

The club shop had a variety of stuff but no badges.  Fans wore an array of t-shirts I liked, none of which were on sale amongst the official tat.

Pogon Ultras

Szczecin itself?  Utterly forgettable city centre and 'stare miesto'.  I really wouldn't bother unless you had a good excuse.  (Is 'football' a good enough excuse?  Perhaps not if you're a Piast Gliwice fan and the match is on a Monday night, on telly - cos I never saw any of 'em).

ps, I had one lucky escape.  In my keenness to get in, I forgot to pick up my passport.  After the match, all the windows were closed and I was starting to get a little worried.  Thankfully, a rap on the window and the ticket lady appeared.  She knew who it was and what it was for.  Phew!

Attendance: 7,583

The Damage:
31 Plz ent (£6)

The Tunes:
Total Life Forever (Foals)
An Awesome Wave (Alt-J)
Black Sunday (Cypress Hill)

Final Score.  I missed nowt.

To the left...

Towards the Tree End (not really).

That stand again

And from behind...

Old ticket booths.  Beautiful.

Sunset over Stadion Miejskiimienia Floriana Krygiera.  Beautiful.