Raków Częstochowa

Raków Częstochowa

Full name	Robotniczy Klub Sportowy Raków Częstochowa Spółka Akcyjna
Nickname(s)	Medaliki (Medallions)
Founded	15 March 1921; 103 years ago (1921-03-15) (as Racovia)
Ground	Raków Municipal Stadium
Capacity	5,500
Owner	Michał Świerczewski
Chairman	Piotr Obidziński
Manager	Marek Papszun
League	Ekstraklasa
2023–24	Ekstraklasa, 7th of 18
Website	rakow.com
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Robotniczy Klub Sportowy Raków Częstochowa Spółka Akcyjna (commonly referred to as Raków Częstochowa, or simply Raków) is a Polish professional football club, based in Częstochowa, that competes in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of national football league system.

Sports club "Racovia" was established in 1921 in the village of Raków. The club dissolved in 1925 due to lack of registration. In 1927, the club was reactivated under the name of the Robotniczy Klub Sportowy (Workers Sports Club) Raków. A year later, the village became a district of Częstochowa.^[1] The club operated under the patronage of the Polish Socialist Party and was financially supported by the Częstochowa steelworks. In 1937, the club was promoted to Klasa A (third level). During the German occupation (World War II), the club did not function. In the years 1951–1955, a Raków Municipal Stadium with an athletics track was built. In the years 1962–1966, the football team competed in the second league.

On 9 July 1967, Raków lost 0–2 to Wisła Kraków in their first Polish Cup final appearance. In 1972, Raków's players reached the semi-finals of the Polish Cup, which they lost to Legia Warsaw. In the years 1978–1980, 1981–1984 and 1990–1994 the club played in the second league. In 1993, the junior team took 2nd place in the Football Junior Championships of Poland.^[2] In 1994, for the first time in club history, Raków were promoted to Ekstraklasa. They competed in the top-flight for four seasons until being relegated after the 1997–98 season. The club suffered back-to-back relegations in 1999–2000 and 2000–01, dropping down to the IV liga. The club finally made it to back to the Polish second division, I liga, in 2016.

The club won the I liga in 2018–19, earning promotion to Ekstraklasa for the first time in 21 years.^[3] In the same season, they impressed in the 2018–19 Polish Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the competition by beating the likes of Lech Poznań in the round of 32^[4] and Legia Warsaw in the quarter-finals.^[5] They finished the 2019–20 season in 10th place.

In the 2020–21 season, Raków finished the league season as runners-up. This was their highest ever league position in their history, and it secured their place in the newly formed UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers for the 2021–22 season, their maiden appearance in European football.^[6][7] Further success followed when Raków won the 2020–21 Polish Cup, their first major trophy, defeating I liga side Arka Gdynia in the final 2–1 on 2 May 2021. On 17 July 2021, Raków Częstochowa defeated reigning Ekstraklasa title holders Legia Warsaw on penalties to win the 2021 Polish Super Cup.^[8]

Their first ever appearance in European football was in the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League, facing Lithuanian team Sūduva, with the game finishing 0–0 (4–3 pens) after both legs.^[9] They faced Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan in the third qualifying round, beating them 1–0 on aggregate score.^[10] In the final qualifying round, they faced Belgian side Gent, which they beat 1–0 in the first leg,^[11] but lost 0–3 in the second leg, losing 1–3 on aggregate,^[12] eliminating them from the competition.

On 2 May 2022, Raków defeated Lech Poznań 3–1 and secured its second consecutive Polish Cup.^[13] In the race for the league title that season, Raków lost out to the same opponents by just five points, with the champions being decided on the penultimate day of the season. On 9 July 2022, Raków won their second consecutive Polish Super Cup with a 2–0 win over Lech Poznań.^[14] In the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying phase, the team defeated FC Astana (6–0 agg.) and FC Spartak Trnava (3–0 agg.), but lost to Slavia Prague (2–3 agg.) in the play-off round.

On 7 May 2023, Raków won the Ekstraklasa championship for the first time in their history,^[15] and thus qualified for the Champions League, where they reached the last qualifying round and faced FC Copenhagen from Denmark. Raków subsequently played in the Europa League that season, where they were knocked out in the group stages.

The club's alumni include Jakub Błaszczykowski, Jerzy Brzęczek and Jacek Magiera. Former Polish internationals such as Jacek Krzynówek and Tomasz Kiełbowicz also played for the club.

As of 18 September 2024^[16]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  POL Kacper Trelowski 2 DF  POL Ariel Mosór 3 DF  SRB Milan Rundić 4 DF  GRE Stratos Svarnas 5 MF  SWE Gustav Berggren 7 MF  CRO Fran Tudor 8 MF  USA Ben Lederman 9 FW  POL Patryk Makuch 10 MF  ESP Ivi 12 GK  SVK Dušan Kuciak 14 MF  SRB Srđan Plavšić 15 MF  COL Jesús Díaz (on loan from Stal Rzeszów) 18 FW  NOR Jonatan Braut Brunes (on loan from OH Leuven) 19 MF  POL Michael Ameyaw

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  BRA Jean Carlos 21 MF  POL Dawid Drachal 23 MF  HUN Péter Baráth (on loan from Ferencváros) 24 DF  CRO Zoran Arsenić (captain) 25 DF  ROU Bogdan Racovițan 26 DF  KEN Erick Otieno 29 FW  FIN David Ezeh (on loan from HJK) 30 DF  UKR Vladyslav Kocherhin 33 DF  POL Kamil Pestka 55 MF  POL Szymon Czyż 77 MF  POL Tobiasz Mras 84 MF  BRA Adriano Amorim 88 DF  CRO Matej Rodin 91 FW  POL Tomasz Walczak 97 MF  GRE Lazaros Lamprou

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW  POL Jakub Myszor (at Ruch Chorzów until 30 June 2025) 22 MF  POL Kacper Masiak (at GKS Jastrzębie until 30 June 2025) 31 GK  BIH Muhamed Šahinović (at Zemplín Michalovce until 30 June 2025)

No. Pos. Nation Player 39 GK  POL Jakub Mądrzyk (at Stal Mielec until 30 June 2025) 76 GK  POL Jakub Rajczykowski (at Wieczysta Kraków until 30 June 2025) — MF  POL Tobiasz Kubik (at GKS Tychy until 30 June 2025)

Players who have appeared for their respective national team at any time. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Raków.

• Ekstraklasa
  • Winners: 2022–23
  • Runners-up: 2020–21, 2021–22
• I liga (second division)
  • Winners: 1993–94, 2018–19
• II liga (third division)
  • Winners: 1962, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1989–90, 2016–17
• III liga (fourth division)
  • Winners: 1936–37, 1956, 2004–05

• Polish Cup
  • Winners: 2020–21,^[6] 2021–22
  • Runners-up: 1966–67,^[17] 2022–23
• Polish Super Cup
  • Winners: 2021,^[18] 2022
  • Runners-up: 2023

As of match played on 14 December 2023

Competition	Games	Wins	Draws	Losses	GS	GA	GD
UEFA Champions League	8	5	2	1	12	6	+6
UEFA Europa League	6	1	1	4	3	10	–7
UEFA Europa Conference League	13	8	3	2	14	6	+8
Total	27	14	6	7	29	22	+7

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
2021–22	UEFA Europa Conference League	2QR	Sūduva	0–0 (a.e.t.)	0–0	0–0 (4–3 p)
		3QR	Rubin Kazan	0–0	1–0 (a.e.t.)	1–0
		PO	Gent	1–0	0–3	1–3
2022–23	UEFA Europa Conference League	2QR	Astana	5–0	1–0	6–0
		3QR	Spartak Trnava	1–0	2–0	3–0
		PO	Slavia Prague	2–1	0–2 (a.e.t.)	2–3
2023–24	UEFA Champions League	1QR	Flora	1–0	3–0	4–0
		2QR	Qarabağ	3–2	1–1	4–3
		3QR	Aris Limassol	2–1	1–0	3–1
		PO	Copenhagen	0–1	1–1	1–2
	UEFA Europa League	GS	Atalanta	0–4	0–2	4th
			Sporting CP	1–1	1–2
			Sturm Graz	0–1	1–0

As of 16 August 2023.^[19]

Rank	Team	Points
243	Paide Linnameeskond	5.000
244	Milsami Orhei	5.000
245	Raków Częstochowa	5.000
246	Tobol	5.000
247	AIK	5.000

• Official website (in Polish)
• Unofficial website (in Polish)
• Raków Częstochowa at 90minut.pl (in Polish)