Polska Light And Shade — Terrace Edition

Words: Alex Webber:

Images: Alex Webber

Cover Image: Alex Webber (Ruch Chorzow)

Alex Webber will go that extra mile to capture the light and shade of Polish football.

Here he chronicles some of his favourite shots.

Czuwaj Przemysl

There are plenty of scenic grounds in Poland, but Czuwaj Przemysl punches through the impossible to present something truly extraordinary. Built in the 1930s, it takes its style from the Zakopane form of architecture that trended in Poland’s mountain resorts in the pre-war years – think pointy towers, intricate lace-like wooden carvings and steep, slanty roofs. Given that Przemysl is one of the most remote cities in Poland, visits here feel all the more rewarding for the journey you endure to reach it.

Gornik Wojkowice

Gornik’s ground takes the word decrepit to a different, unexplored level – entering for the first time, the sensation is of stepping into a lost Jurassic world. The stadium is called the “Millennium”, but it’s difficult say which millennium they may be referring to. It’s one of the most remarkable grounds I’ve seen.

MKS Cracovia

As a Brit, the novelty of a good pyro show will never fade, and this one was a spectacular effort put on as part of celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of Cracovia’s Ultra group. Polish clubs are heavily entwined in a baffling system of alliances and rivalries that make little sense to the outsider – in this photo, it’s actually visiting Ajax fans that are pictured, lending their support to their friends from Cracovia’s ultras scene.

KKS Kalisz

We’ve all stood in the pissing rain in the name of football, but this match remains one of the cruellest I’ve been to. After, I remember short-cutting through a pitch-black park back to Kalisz’s historic Old Town, only to find myself hopelessly lost in a storm that felt more akin to standing under a waterfall. Taking shelter in a bush, I found myself experiencing that momentary doubt of faith – knowing that my mates were all back in Warsaw in a warm pub having a whale of a time, and thinking here I am on my own looking like I’ve been trapped in a swamp. I started laughing like a maniac. In that moment, I realised I wouldn’t swap this game for the world.

Sokol Pniewy

I love a weird stadium, and Sokol Pniewy deliver just that courtesy of a crazy triple-decker stand that you can feel creaking and groaning as you make your way up to the highest tier. Now playing in the seventh step of Polish football, the stand is a relic from their glory years – coinciding with Poland’s political transition, this tiny club won five promotions on the spin to end up in the top flight. Composed of plywood, rusting bits of metal, clapboard and steep ladder-like stairwells, it’s a miracle of engineering and looks more like some rickety shanty structure you’d find lining an East Asian railway.

Gornik Wojkowice

This match – I think sixth or seventh tier from memory – was contested by two neighbouring clubs whose fans support Zaglebie Sosnowiec as their principal team. As such, this game was played in a celebratory spirit. There couldn’t have been more than 350 people present, but the place was rocking!

RKS Grodziec

This ground would be otherwise unmemorable were it not for the backdrop, a derelict cement factory that could easily serve as the set for a reboot of Robocop or Bladerunner. Although free to enter the ground, many people – myself included – prefer the view offered up the steep, wooded hill that looms behind one of the goals.

Motor Lublin

Always a prelude to a spectacular pyro show, the flag drops that occur at the bigger games are often carefully staged and beautifully choreographed. In this one, Motor Lublin presented a display alluding to their principals: ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’, a direct dig at their opponents that day, Wisla Krakow, a team whose firm has figured highly in the news following a notorious ‘supergrass’ case. As if to underline the inescapable oddities of Polish football, this match was played at a 2.30 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon, despite being Motor’s biggest game of the season.

Gryf Wejherowo

The biggest prize for a team’s fans is the colours of their counterparts – their flags, shirts, scarves and suchlike. You do not surrender them lightly, for the next time the sides meet you can expect the other to ceremonially torch them as a final statement of superiority. These are intense moments, and the hatred enough to send electric currents through the body.

Hetman Zamosc

I have an obsession with the away ends found in Poland’s lower leagues, and more often than not they look more like some leftover from a Victorian era freak show. This one at Zamosc is typical of the enclosures away fans will find themselves shunted into – or not as the case may be. In this case, the visiting fans from Chelm found themselves locked out by the police.

Moto Jelcz Olawa

Though a fifth tier game, this match attracted hooligans from the length and breadth of Poland (and even beyond – even Hungary’s Ferencvaros were present). It also attracted a huge number of storm chasing photographers who had made the journey knowing that this would be lively. So it proved, with the match abandoned with less than 30 minutes on the clock. Amid the chaos, I love this photo – it sort of reminds me of the “here’s Johnny” moment in The Shining.

Ruch Radzionkow

I’m often asked who I support in Poland, and the truth is I respect literally every club I visit. Some stand out more than others though, and I have a real admiration for the lads down at Ruch Radzionkow, a fifth tier club with a small but tight-knit group of fans whose loyalty can’t be questioned. Pictured is my first trip there, back in 2019 I think, a game that saw their Ultras celebrating their 15th year of formation. It was an experience that encapsulated everything I love about the lower leagues, and included a pyro show of such power that passing motorists must have thought the stadium was ablaze.

Alex’s website can be found at www.alexwebber.life

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