Polish football league kicks off centenary season with title contenders and new talent

Poland's Ekstraklasa football league launches its centenary season this Friday, marking 100 years of competition. The league's 100th anniversary will be celebrated with a match between Legia and Wisła Kraków, two of the founding clubs from 1927. The game is scheduled for April 3, exactly 100 years after the league's first round.

Legia Warsaw enters the season with a clear objective: the Polish championship. Despite a disappointing exit from European competitions, the team's sole focus on the league could be an advantage. New coach Marek Papszun, who joined in the winter, aims to restore Legia's former glory. "Thirteen players have left us, we have significantly rejuvenated the squad," Papszun stated. "I am very pleased that we managed to do this relatively smoothly. It's hard to be indifferent when players like Juergen Elitim, Radovan Pankov, or Jean-Pierre Nsame depart. But that's life, it's behind us. Today, we are a better team than at the end of last season. That's my feeling."

Legia faces stiff competition for the title. Challengers include Górnik Zabrze, Raków Częstochowa, and Jagiellonia Białystok. Widzew also harbors ambitions, having made the summer's most high-profile transfer by signing striker Karol Świderski from Panathinaikos Athens for one million euros.

The league also welcomes back several players who have spent time abroad. Bartosz Bereszyński returns to Motor Lublin after a decade in Italy. Cracovia has loaned Filip Marchwiński from Lecce, whose promising career was hampered by injury. Mateusz Lis, voted the best goalkeeper in the Turkish league last season, has returned to his boyhood club Lech Poznań.

This season will also be unique with three teams from Krakow competing for the first time in over 30 years: Cracovia, Wisła Kraków, and Wieczysta. Wisła returns after a four-year absence, but Wieczysta's rapid ascent from a local club to the top tier has generated significant interest. Notable foreign signings include Mahir Emreli on loan at Raków and Terry Yegbe, a defender bought by Lech for 3 million euros. Górnik Zabrze has signed Peter Federico, a winger who came through Real Madrid's youth system and has three senior appearances for the club.

“

Thirteen players have left us, we have significantly rejuvenated the squad. I am very pleased that we managed to do this relatively smoothly. It's hard to be indifferent when players like Juergen Elitim, Radovan Pankov, or Jean-Pierre Nsame depart. But that's life, it's behind us. Today, we are a better team than at the end of last season. That's my feeling.