Górnik Zabrze - summary of the 2024/25 season

Górnik Zabrze is a club where every competition is more than just matches. It is about emotions, history, expectations and a daily struggle for identity. The 2024/25 season was supposed to be a step forward. A moment when the "Tricolors" would return to the league salons. Instead, the fans got a rollercoaster of emotions, interspersed with flashes of hope and long shadows of disappointment. In Zabrze, no one is satisfied with mediocrity. Ninth place in the Ekstraklasa and 47 points is a result that in many clubs would be accepted without euphoria, but with acceptance. Not here. In a club that has won the Polish championship 14 times, every season without cups is a wasted opportunity.

The summer transfer window, traditionally for Górnik, was full of personnel changes. Key players such as Dani Pacheco, Lawrence Ennali and Daniel Bielica left the team, which caused serious concerns among fans. However, the club reacted quickly, bringing in promising and numerous reinforcements - including Luka Zahovic, Adam Buksa, Patrik Hellebrand, Lukas Ambros, Yosuke Furukawe and Taofeek Ismaheel. These transfers were to compensate for losses and bring new quality, although, as time has shown, not all of them lived up to expectations.

The beginning of the campaign was disjointed. The team led by coach Urban started the league campaign with a loss to Lech (0:2) and a nervous draw with Puszcza (2:2). These matches set the tone for the following weeks. The "Tricolors" were dominated by nervousness, and the hastily assembled team clearly struggled with a lack of cohesion. It was not only in the Ekstraklasa that the Zabrze team performed poorly. In the Polish Cup, Górnik was eliminated in the first match, losing after a dramatic clash with Radomiak Radom. The match, lost after extra time, was full of refereeing controversies - two goals of the "Tricolors" were canceled after VAR intervention due to microscopic offsides, which caused frustration among fans and players. But then came the moments that reminded us what Górnik can be at its best. The breakthrough came after the derby match with GKS Katowice, won 3:0 in front of full stands and spectacular supporters. This victory gave the impetus to better play. At the end of the year, Górnik recorded an impressive series of six wins in seven consecutive matches, including against Widzew Łódź (2:0), Piast Gliwice (1:0), Korona Kielce (4:2) and the St. Barbara's Day match with Lech Poznań (2:1). At the end of the autumn round, no one was talking about the fight for survival – talks about Europe began.

Winter swept away dreams as quickly as they came. The departure of Damian Rasak and several key players left the team with serious gaps. Additionally, Kamil Lukoszek, who was in great shape in the autumn, suffered a complicated and long-term injury . In response to these events, several new players were brought to Zabrze - Sondre Liseth, Filip Prebls, Matus Kmet , Ousmane Sow. The transfers were supposed to give a new impulse, but the effects were mediocre. No one became a hero. And in football, especially in Zabrze, heroes are needed.

Spring was cold not only in terms of weather, but also football-wise. Terrible effectiveness in attack, chaos in defense and the lack of a leader who would revive the team in key moments, sank the team. It was not only the winter novices who failed, but above all the summer offens