A dream of Warszawianka - part 1 (2023/24). Miracle.

Important! This is an English language version of my career, intended for users of the Mój Football Manager portal outside Poland. The only minor exception is the screenshots, as the text remained in Polish. At this point, I would like to thank Anna Mróz, who is a research manager at one of the best (top three!) universities in the world. I am of course referring to the famous Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London. Ania has a PhD, and about 30 scientific publications. To summarise - she is an extremely competent person, whose presence on our portal and the support she provides is a real honour. Thank you! I have lived in Great Britain for over 15 years, and I think my knowledge of English is really good, but I do not feel 100% confident in all grammatical nuances. That is why I am very grateful to Ania, who helped me with translating the text. During the consultation, we changed some things, because - as you all know - "football" English is not always the same as the everyday language. Any possible mistakes are therefore my fault. Mahdi Z-ca Redaktora Naczelnego, Sponsor MFM - rok 2025, Wicemistrz Polski FM 15, Mistrz Polski FM 17, FM 19, FM 20, FM 21 i FM 22, 3. miejsce w Polsce FM 18, Typer Sezonu 2020/21 - 2.m, Typer Sezonu 2021/22 - 3.m, Menedżer Miesiąca Komentarzy: 11036 Grupa: Root Admin Ranga: Ojciec Założyciel Ranga sponsorska: Sponsor Strategiczny Dołączył: 2015-03-20 Poziom ostrzeżeń: 0

Translation: dr Anna Mróz.

Anna is a Research Manager at The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, United Kingdom.

I would like to thank Anna for her selfless help. And everything else.

Łukasz "Mahdi" Czyżycki

Only Polish footballers and Polish staff‭ ‬-‭ ‬the first flag 

On August‭ ‬20,‭ ‬1939,‭ ‬Warszawianka lost to Wisła Kraków‭ ‬2:4.‭ ‬The last goal for the only Warsaw club that has never been relegated from the top division was scored by‭ ‬19-year-old Stanisław Baran.‭ ‬A week later,‭ ‬the talented right winger debuted for the national team.‭ ‬Poland defeated the World Cup'38 runners-up,‭ ‬Hungary,‭ ‬4:2‭! ‬It must be remembered that Baran was already‭ ‬an unused‭ ‬substitute in the squad for the‭ ‬1938‭ ‬World Cup‭!

Warszawianka was supposed to play their next match in Lviv,‭ ‬against Pogoń.‭ ‬Unfortunately,‭ ‬the game did not take place.‭ ‬In‭ ‬1939,‭ ‬the league was not completed for apparent reasons.‭ ‬Stanisław Baran turned out to be a footballing veteran and he played for ŁKS until‭ ‬1958.‭ ‬On the other hand,‭ ‬Warszawianka waited almost‭ ‬84‭ ‬years to once again make an appearance in the top division,‭ ‬from which,‭ ‬de facto‭ ‬-‭ ‬as I have already mentioned‭ ‬-‭ ‬they were never relegated‭!

How it happened that the Pride of Warsaw was again where its place was described in the introduction.‭ ‬At this point,‭ ‬I should only thank our chairman Leśnodorski for allowing me to share our five-year plan with you:

On July‭ ‬22,‭ ‬2023,‭ ‬we visited Łódź to face Widzew.‭ ‬A new chapter in the club's history began from that day on‭! ‬The teams took to the pitch in the following lineups:

There was no point in pretending that the hosts didn’t have a significant advantage.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬they only scored a goal in the‭ ‬73rd minute,‭ ‬and it was from a penalty kick.‭ ‬Sebastian Kerk,‭ ‬a German,‭ ‬crossed from a free kick,‭ ‬and our stopper,‭ ‬Konrad Plewa,‭ ‬allegedly pushed away the Czech Marek Hanousek in an aerial fight for the ball.‭ ‬The fouled player took a penalty himself.‭ ‬Dorian Ciężkowski dove low to his left,‭ ‬and the ball landed in the opposite corner.

My players fought until the end and were rewarded in the‭ ‬89th minute‭! ‬Adrian Mierzejewski took the free kick.‭ ‬In the penalty area,‭ ‬the substitute,‭ ‬Marcel Zylla,‭ ‬jumped higher than the Albanian Shehu and headed the ball to the seventh meter.‭ ‬From there,‭ ‬Plewa,‭ ‬who was completely unmarked,‭ ‬drove the ball into the goal guarded by Rafał Gikiewicz.

This was the dawn of a new era in the history of Warszawianka.

Eight days later,‭ ‬our stadium,‭ ‬Luxenburg Arena,‭ ‬was officially opened.‭ ‬12,960‭ ‬fans sat in the stands,‭ ‬including‭ ‬12,000‭ ‬from Warsaw.‭ ‬They were curious about the new project.‭ ‬Later,‭ ‬unfortunately,‭ ‬attendance hovered around just‭ ‬2,000‭ ‬fans,‭ ‬not counting the match with Legia,‭ ‬but that's a separate story.

The first appearance did not win us many fans.‭ ‬Ruch won‭ ‬2:1,‭ ‬and the honorary goal for Warszawianka was scored by the debutant Konrad Budek,‭ ‬who came on for Krystian Nowak in the‭ ‬74th minute.‭ ‬The goal was scored after Furman took a free kick.‭ ‬Budek lost his marking and struck flawlessly with his left foot.

Describing the team's beginnings,‭ ‬it should be noted that victory came in the fourth round.‭ ‬We beat ŁKS away,‭ ‬and the strikers finally scored the goals‭! ‬The first was by Jarosław Niezgoda in the‭ ‬3rd minute,‭ ‬and the second was by the substitute Filip Piszczek in the‭ ‬71st.‭ ‬The left-back,‭ ‬Adrian Klimczak,‭ ‬provided two assists.‭ ‬Interestingly,‭ ‬he was a former player of...‭ ‬ŁKS.‭ ‬We also had the first penalty kick in this match‭ – ‬unfortunately,‭ ‬it was missed.‭ ‬Aleksander Bobek saved Adrian Mierzejewski's shot.

We achieved our first home victory in the‭ ‬9th round,‭ ‬beating Korona Kielce‭ ‬1-0.‭ ‬Tymoteusz Klupś scored the goal.

It must be admitted that initially things were tough for us,‭ ‬and we even found ourselves in the relegation zone for a while.‭ ‬The team lost a lot of matches,‭ including at home to Lech‭ (‬1:4‭) ‬and Pogoń‭ (‬0:3‭)‬.‭ ‬That was understandable.‭ However,‭ ‬I struggled to understand how it was possible to lose to Stal Mielec at Luxenburg Arena...

The highlight of the autumn was the derby match with Legia.‭ ‬Unfortunately,‭ ‬we lost‭ ‬0:2.‭ ‬An interesting fact was that the stadium was full,‭ ‬but out of‭ ‬14,500‭ spectators,‭ ‬10,150‭ ‬were Legia fans‭!

After the autumn part of the season,‭ ‬thanks to victories such as‭ ‬4:1‭ ‬away against Piast‭ (‬important,‭ ‬because it was the first hat-trick by Tymek Klupś in our recent history‭!) ‬and‭ ‬2:1‭ ‬against Zagłębie Lubin,‭ ‬we were in a safe‭ ‬13th place.

We also had a pretty decent career in the Polish Cup.‭ ‬Our most significant success in this competition was eliminating Pogoń Szczecin in the second round.‭ ‬Konrad Plewa scored the only goal and we won 1:0.‭ ‬And that was two days after a‭ ‬0:3‭ ‬defeat in the league with the same team‭! ‬Earlier,‭ ‬we were better than Avia Świdnik‭ (‬although old stager,‭ ‬Patryk Małecki,‭ ‬scored the goal‭)‬.‭ ‬In contrast,‭ ‬in the third round,‭ ‬we beat Podbeskidzie‭ ‬2:0.‭ ‬Both goals were scored by Marcel Kroczek,‭ ‬who became the youngest scorer in our‭ (‬post-war‭) ‬history at the age of‭ ‬17‭ ‬years and‭ ‬273‭ ‬days.

It is also worth mentioning that Jarosław Niezgoda has been injury-free for an exceptionally long time.‭ ‬Unfortunately,‭ ‬he was prone to injuries.‭ ‬This time he‭ was lucky ‬until November‭ ‬13th when he got injured during the match against Zagłębie.

After the autumn part of the season,‭ ‬we had a seven-point lead over the relegation zone.‭ ‬It seemed to me that this was a reasonably safe advance.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬my concern was the number of minutes played by U-22 domestic players.‭ ‬In‭ ‬the first part of the season we only had 198‭ ‬minutes,‭ ‬which was by far the weakest result in the entire league.‭ ‬Our financial situation was quite tense‭ (‬we barely made ends meet with the smallest salary budget compared to our rivals‭)‬.‭ ‬Therefore,‭ ‬I did not feel like paying a fine of around‭ ‬320,000‭ ‬euros after the season.‭ ‬I took steps to make those magical‭ ‬3,000‭ ‬minutes a reality.

First of all,‭ ‬I said goodbye to Michał Masłowski.‭ ‬He wasn’t performing well‭ (‬not a single goal or assist‭)‬,‭ ‬and he earned‭ ‬21,000‭ ‬euros a year.‭ ‬It may not seem like much,‭ ‬but for us,‭ ‬every penny counted.‭ ‬GKS Jastrzębie took him in.

I loaned two young players for free (however, I paid their full wages). They immediately breakthrough into starting eleven and helped fulfil the Polish FA (PZPN) regulation.‭ ‬They were Legia's right-back,‭ ‬Franciszek Saganowski,‭ ‬only‭ ‬17‭ ‬years old,‭ ‬and Zagłębie Lubin's defensive midfielder,‭ ‬Filip Kocaba,‭ ‬who was‭ ‬19.‭ ‬The first replaced Paweł Sasin,‭ ‬who was over forty,‭ ‬and the second took place of‭ ‬38-year-old Łukasz Piątek.

Spring started unexpectedly well,‭ ‬as we won away against Śląsk Wrocław‭ ‬1-0.

One of our veterans,‭ ‬Adrian Mierzejewski,‭ ‬scored the goal.‭ ‬But then came a dramatic downfall.

The home defeat by ŁKS,‭ ‬a team we had beaten away,‭ ‬already raised concerns.‭ ‬I was very focused on the Polish Cup,‭ ‬but in the quarter-finals we lost to Jagiellonia‭ ‬0:1‭ ‬-‭ ‬Taras Romanczuk scored the goal.‭ ‬In the league,‭ ‬the light at the end of the tunnel was an easy‭ ‬4:0‭ ‬on the pitch of Cracovia,‭ ‬but then we started to fall dangerously.‭ ‬The team went eight matches without a win,‭ including six defeats.‭ ‬We lost to Zagłębie Lubin‭ ‬1:2‭ ‬and Korona Kielce‭ ‬0:6‭! ‬And they were almost inevitable relegation...‭ ‬The defeat in Kielce was especially inexplicable.

The spectre of relegation began to threaten us.‭ ‬The long-awaited‭ (‬over two months‭!) ‬victory finally came in the penultimate round.‭ ‬And it was immediately imposing,‭ ‬6:0‭ against Piast Gliwice‭!

But that could prove to be insufficient‭! ‬Before the last round,‭ ‬the situation was such that we had to face Legia Warszawa.‭ ‬On the other hand,‭ ‬Widzew Łódź,‭ who were only two points behind us,‭ ‬hosted Ruch Chorzów.‭ ‬The Blues were no longer playing for anything.‭ ‬So,‭ ‬in the event of our defeat by Legia,‭ ‬which was very likely,‭ ‬any victory would keep Widzew in the league‭! ‬And Zagłębie Lubin,‭ ‬which had an equal head-to-head record with Warszawianka,‭ ‬but a better goal difference,‭ ‬was still in the game...‭ ‬Relegation was staring us in the face‭! ‬I was concerned‭! ‬I hadn't been in a situation where I was fighting to stay in the league for many years...‭ ‬Here's the situation before the last round:

I had problems with the lineup.‭ ‬The following players couldn’t play:‭ ‬goalkeeper Ciężkowski‭ (‬injury‭)‬,‭ ‬fullbacks Saganowski‭ (‬Legia reserved this when signing the loan agreement‭)‬,‭ ‬and Klimczak‭ (‬cards‭)‬.

However,‭ ‬the match with The Militarians started in the best possible way‭! ‬In the‭ ‬30th second,‭ ‬Jarosław Niezgoda received a through ball from Kocaba and beat Hładun‭! ‬I dreamed this result would last as long as possible,‭ ‬but time was dragging on mercilessly.‭ ‬Finally,‭ ‬the‭ ‬43rd minute came.‭ ‬Kapustka took a corner kick,‭ ‬Bursztyn intervened uncertainly in the area,‭ ‬and Steve Kapuadi headed the ball into our goal.‭ ‬The score was tied at half-time.

A few minutes after the halftime ‬-‭ ‬misfortune...‭ ‬Kapustka took another corner kick,‭ ‬and after his cross,‭ ‬the referee checked on VAR whether Krystian Nowak pushed Kapustka.‭ ‬Unfortunately,‭ ‬it was also a penalty kick.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬Jakub Bursztyn saved the Ukrainian Kharatin's shot‭!!!

But Legia finally scored a goal.‭ ‬In the‭ ‬70th minute,‭ ‬17-year-old Mateusz Szczepaniak stabbed us straight in the heart...‭ ‬Legia didn't have to‭ ‬-‭ ‬neither victory nor defeat changed their position in the table.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬they showed us no mercy...‭ ‬We lost.

I felt like a beaten dog,‭ ‬I was sure we'd been relegated....‭ ‬In the meantime....‭ ‬Here are the results of the last round:

Widzew lost at home to Ruch,‭ ‬and Zagłębie to Stal‭!!!

It was a miracle,‭ ‬an absolute miracle‭!

It was also crucial for us that the limit of‭ ‬3,000‭ ‬minutes played by youth players was met before the last round.

League:

Players / Position / Appearances / Goals / Assists / Average Rating:

plus a player who left during the season:

Polish Cup:

Players / Position / Appearances / Goals / Assists / Average Rating:

plus a player who left during the season:

All official competitions.
Players / Position / Appearances / Goals / Assists / Average Rating:

plus a player who left during the season:

Captains:

D. Furman‭ – ‬32‭ (‬31‭ ‬from the beginning of the match)
A. Mierzejewski‭ – ‬10‭ (‬5‭)
M. Masłowski‭ – ‬3‭ (‬1‭)
Ł. Piątek‭ – ‬3‭ (‬1‭)
F. Piszczek‭ – ‬1‭ (‬0‭)

Hat-tricks:

L: 26.11.2023 - T. Klupś (vs Piast Gliwice) 

Missed penalties:

L:‭ ‬13.08.2023‭ – ‬A.‭ ‬Mierzejewski (‬vs ŁKS‭)‬,‭ ‬saved by A.‭ ‬Bobek
L:‭ ‬05.11.2023‭ – ‬J.‭ ‬Niezgoda (‬vs Górnik Zabrze‭)‬,‭ ‬saved by D.‭ ‬Bielica

Saved penalties:

L:‭ ‬13.04.2024‭ – ‬J.‭ ‬Bursztyn (‬vs Lech Poznań‭)‬,‭ ‬scorer: E.‭ ‬Andersson
L:‭ ‬25.05.2024‭ – ‬J.‭ ‬Bursztyn (‬vs Legia Warszawa‭)‬,‭ scorer: I.‭ ‬Kheratin

Penalties scored:

PP:‭ ‬26.09.2023‭ – ‬D.‭ ‬Furman‭ (‬vs Avia Świdnik‭)
L:‭ ‬16.12.2023‭ – ‬A.‭ ‬Mierzejewski‭ (‬vs Widzew Łódź‭)

Free kicks:

L:‭ ‬28.04.2024‭ – ‬A.‭ ‬Mierzejewski‭ (‬vs Pogoń Szczecin‭)

Appearances for the senior Poland national team:

-

WARSZAWIANKA - season after season
(season, league, Polish Cup, Polish Super Cup, Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Warszawianka top scorer - all competitions)

(season, finances + / -, debt, average attendance  ↑ ↓ )

WINNERS OF THE MAIN TROPHIES IN POLAND
(the number of triumphs in the competition is listed in brackets; only my game world was considered, not the real history)

(season, league, top scorer, Polish Cup, Polish Super Cup)

POLISH FOOTBALL CLUBS IN EUROPEAN CUPS

WINNERS OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CLUB TROPHIES
(the number of triumphs in the competition is listed in brackets; only my game world was considered, not the real history)

(season, Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Super Cup)