KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
Full nameKlub Sportowy Zakładów Ostrowieckich
Nickname(s)Pomarańczowo-czarni (The-orange-and-black),
Kszoki
Founded11 August 1929 (1929-08-11)
GroundMiejski Stadion Sportowy "KSZO" w Ostrowcu Św.,
Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Poland
Capacity8,500[1]
ChairmanPiotr Chorab
ManagerRafał Wójcik
LeagueIII liga, group IV
2022–234th of 18

KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkʂɔ ɔsˈtrɔvjɛt͡s ɕfjɛntɔˈkʂɨskʲi]) is a Polish football club based in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Poland. It was founded on 11 August 1929.

History

Initially, a club called Ostrovia existed in the city. It was established between 1922 and 1924 and dissolved in 1926. KSZO was established in 1929. The construction of the club's stadium began in 1931 and finished in 1934. As a result of the Nazi invasion of Poland, the club's activities ceased in 1939.

The club activities resumed in 1945. Between 1949 and 1956, the club was called Stal.

In 2012, the club declared bankruptcy. The same year, it was reorganized under the same name and badge.

League history

KSZO joined the C klasa, the lowest level of regional leagues in Poland at the time, in 1932 gaining promotion to B klasa the same year. In 1934, the club was promoted to A klasa, the top regional level. In 1937, it was moved to the Kraków Regional Football Association as the regional association based in Kielce the club hitherto belonged to was disbanded.

Having resumed activity after World War II, the club participated in lower-level regional leagues. In 1950, KSZO (then called Stal) was merged with another local club, Związkowiec. The management of the steelworks decided to focus on building a better football team.[2] From the 1960s until the early 1980s, KSZO took part in third-level competitions several times. However, the club wasn't able to advance further or maintain their place for more than a few seasons.

In the early 90s, the steelworks became more committed to financing the club's activities. In 1990, the club was promoted to the III liga, the third level of Polish association football at the time, once again. Five seasons later, KSZO was promoted to the second tier for the first time.

In 1995/96, the first season after promotion to the eastern group of II liga, KSZO finished 13th out of 18 teams, avoiding relegation by just 3 points. However, at the end of the following season, the club was ranked second behind Petrochemia Płock and won promotion to the top tier of Polish football.

1997/98, the first season of KSZO in Ekstraklasa ended in relegation as the club only managed to finish 17th out of 18 teams.

Having returned to the second level, KSZO was fourth in the eastern group 1998/99. Next season, both groups were merged to create one 24-team second division. That year, KSZO was 12th. In 2000/01, the club finished second behind RKS Radomsko and was promoted to the top tier for the second time.

The 2001/02 season was played according to an unusual formula, the teams being divided into two groups ("A" and "B") of 8 teams each. Top four teams from each group advanced to the "championship group", the bottom four proceeded to the "relegation group". At the end of the first stage of the season, KSZO was ranked 6th out of 8 in group A which meant it took part in the "relegation group". There, KSZO finished 5th out of 8, which meant 13th place at the end of the season. Playoff matches against Górnik Łęczna followed, both of which were won by KSZO.[3]

In 2002/03, after a promising start, financial problems became more and more apparent. In addition to that, a conflict between the club management and the players, that ended in most players from the first team refusing to play and leaving the club, had a detrimental effect on the club's result. A completely new squad was formed based on players from junior teams and lower-level clubs but it proved to be inadequate for the top tier. Not managing to earn even a single point during the spring round, the club was directly relegated, ultimately being ranked 15th, ahead of only Pogoń Szczecin - a club that was also experiencing major difficulties at the time.

KSZO started the 2003/04 season at the second tier but withdrew at the halfway stage of the season, its results being annulled.[4] Due to huge debts, the association underwent liquidation.

The club was then recreated on the basis of another second-tier club, KS Stasiak Ceramika Opoczno. From that point onwards, the club took part in second division matches as KSZO SSA (sports p.l.c.) finishing mid-table for three seasons in a row. However, in 2007, the club was expelled from the second division (effectively relegated to the third level) and fined because its former chairman, Mirosław Stasiak, was accused of bribery.

KSZO finished the 2007/08 season in sixth place despite having 6 points deducted due to the aforementioned corruption accusations. Due to the reorganization of the Polish football leagues, the club was moved to the eastern group of the new II liga, which still was the third tier. KSZO won its group without losing a single match at home and was promoted to the second tier, now called I liga, again. In 2009/10, KSZO finished 8th out of 18 teams. However, the following season, the club was ranked only 16th, losing the relegation battle by a single point. KSZO participated in third-tier matches in 2011/12 but withdrew after 20 out of 30 legs and was therefore ranked last.[5] This marked the end of KSZO SSA.

In 2011, the new club, called KSZO 1929, was formed and joined the regional group of the klasa okręgowa, the sixth level of Polish association football the same year and won promotion. The following season, KSZO 1929 won the fifth-level competition and was promoted to the III liga, group IV (the fourth division), where the club has been playing since.

2020–21 Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski season

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
7 Podhale Nowy Targ 40 18 11 11 58 49 +9 65
8 Wólczanka Wólka Pełkińska 40 18 8 14 74 58 +16 62
9 KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski 40 19 4 17 63 50 +13 61
10 Siarka Tarnobrzeg 40 17 8 15 59 53 +6 59
11 Cracovia II 40 15 9 16 56 49 +7 54
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: 90minut.pl
Rules for classification: 1. Number of points reached in the entire series of games; 2. Number of points reached in direct matches; 3. Goal difference in direct matches; 4. Goal difference in direct matches – away goals counted twice; 5. Goal difference in the whole series of games; 6. Number of goals scored in the entire series of games.

Fans

Although KSZO supporters' nickname is Świętokrzyscy Rozbójnicy, i.e. the Holy Cross (a reference to the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship) Reavers, they are known for outstanding atmosphere and high attendance during the matches.

KSZO fans have a fellowship with fans of Lech Poznań (since 1992) and Arka Gdynia (since 2004). There are good relations with fans of Wisła Sandomierz and Powiślanka Lipsko. They used have friendships with Stal Sanok and Slovan Liberec.

Their biggest rivals are regional opponents Korona Kielce with whom they contest the Holy Cross Province derby. Other rivals include Hutnik Nowa Huta and Stal Stalowa Wola with whom they contest the steelworks derbies[6][7] They also have a strong dislike of Radomiak Radom.[8]

Players

Current squad

As of 14 March 2023[9]

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 Poland POL Karol Szymkowiak
2 DF Poland POL Radosław Sylwestrzak
3 DF Poland POL Mateusz Zając
4 DF Brazil BRA Matheus Camargo
5 MF Poland POL Jakub Pawlik
6 DF Poland POL Kacper Dereń
8 FW Ukraine UKR Kostyantyn Cherniy
11 MF Poland POL Dariusz Brągiel
16 MF Poland POL Tomasz Persona
17 MF Ukraine UKR Artur Dumanyuk
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Ukraine UKR Illya Tymoshenko
21 MF Poland POL Michał Nawrot
27 MF Poland POL Dawid Zalewski
29 MF Poland POL Bartosz Żurek
33 DF Poland POL Patryk Domagała
34 FW Poland POL Kamil Grudziński
GK Poland POL Jakub Burek
FW Poland POL Arleison Martinez
MF Poland POL Franciszek Lipka
DF Ukraine UKR Oleksiy Maydanevych

Famous players

Player who have played in the top-flight

See also

References

  1. "Stadion – KSZO 1929".
  2. "Historia Klubu". Oficjalny serwis KSZO S.S.A. Ostrowiec Św. (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  3. Paweł Mogielnicki. "Baraże o udział w I lidze". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  4. "II liga 2003/2004". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  5. "II liga 2011/2012, grupa: wschodnia". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  6. "Strona główna".
  7. "Hutnicze derby - zapowiedź meczu Stal Stalowa Wola - KSZO Ostrowiec - WP SportoweFakty". 14 August 2009.
  8. "Ekipy - KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski".
  9. http://kszo1929ostrowiec.pl/team/kszo/
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