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Gdańsk Derby
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The "Gdańsk Derby" (Polish: Derby Gdańska) is the name given to describe football matches between teams in Gdańsk, Poland. While this term can be used for any team in Gdańsk historically this term has been used for games involving Gedania Gdańsk, Lechia Gdańsk and Stoczniowiec Gdańsk, historically the three biggest teams in the city of Gdańsk. Lechia Gdańsk is both the most successful team in Gdańsk as well as the most successful team in the derby. Through most of the derby's history, the derby has been played in the second and third divisions, with more recent Gdańsk Derbies being played in the regional divisions. There has never been a Gdańsk Derby in the top division as Lechia Gdańsk are currently the only team from Gdańsk to have ever played in the Ekstraklasa.
![]() The typical colours worn by the historic three teams involved in the Gdańsk Derby Gedania (left), Lechia (center), Stoczniowiec (right) | |
Location | Gdańsk, Poland |
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Teams | |
First meeting | 9 September 1945 (1945-09-09) Lechia Gdańsk 9-1 WKS 16 Dywizji |
Latest meeting | 11 November 2023 Portowiec 3–8 Stoczniowiec |
Next meeting | 8/9 June 2024 (Stoczniowiec vs Portowiec) |
Stadiums | Stadion KS Gedania Gdańsk Stadion Gdańsk Stadion Piłkarski Stadion Jaguar Gdańsk |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 144 (known games) - involving; Lechia (69), Gedania (69), Stoczniowiec (65), Portowiec (35), Jaguar (21), MOSiR (10), Milicyjny (4), Flota Nowy Port (4), 16 Dywizji (3), Płomień (3), Pogoń (2), Bałtyk (1), Pocztowy (1), Flotylla (1) |
Most wins | Lechia (41) |
All-time series | Lechia: 41 Gedania: 21 Stoczniowiec: 18 Portowiec: 11 Jaguar: 10 MOSiR: 3 Milicyjny: 1 Flota Nowy Port: 1 Płomień: 1 |
Largest victory | WKS 16 Dywizji 0-13 Lechia (30 September 1945) |
The first post-war football match in Gdańsk was played by Milicyjny KS Pogoń, playing against Soviet soldiers who were stationed in Gdańsk at the time. The first recorded competitive post-war derby was between Lechia Gdańsk and WKS 16 Dywizji on 9 September 1945 with Lechia winning the game 9-1. It is also the same two teams who hold the record for the biggest win in the derby, with Lechia winning away at WKS 16 Dywizji 13–0 on 30 September 1945. The record for the highest scoring game was contested between Lechia Gdańsk and Płomień Gdańsk on 9 December 1945, with the game finishing as an 11–4 win to Lechia. Lechia also holds the record for documented fixtures, having played in at least 69 Gdańsk Derbies also holding the record for the most wins with 41. Stoczniowiec Gdańsk hold the record for having the documented most draws, while Gedania hold the record for the most documented defeats in the derby.
At least 14 teams have played in the Gdańsk Derby, with the derby having been played more than 100 times since 1945. The majority of the teams who featured in the derby in the 1940s only experienced short spells of playing in the league, most likely due to their sports clubs closing down or merging with other clubs. Gedania Gdańsk, Lechia Gdańsk and Stoczniowiec Gdańsk are seen as the big three teams in the derby due to all three teams being created in 1945 and being among the few teams to not be dissolved which resulted in the teams playing each other often over the following decades. The only other two teams who are now able to play in the Gdańsk Derby are Jaguar Gdańsk and Portowiec Gdańsk, both teams being formed after the other three and having had much lower levels of success in the leagues.
Lechia are considered the biggest team in Gdańsk by some margin. This is due to them being the only team from Gdańsk to play in the Ekstraklasa and having won the Polish Cup twice, most recently in 2019. Stoczniowiec would be seen as Gdańsk's second biggest team due to the number of years they spent in the second and third divisions. In recent years however they have struggled in the lower divisions and have funded themselves as one of the lowest ranked teams in Gdańsk. Gedania have also struggled in recent years and have only seen success outside of the regional leagues during the 1945-51 period of their history. Portowiec has often only played in the regional leagues other than short spells in the third division during the 1970s and 1980s. The youngest team of those listed, Jaguar Gdańsk, has slowly been rising up the leagues and has been involved in many Gdańsk Derby's in recent years.