By Mark Szczuka, Prost Roving European war correspondent
The Holy War (Friday 5 August)
The Holy War (also known as the Krakow Derby) between KS Cracovia and Wisła Kraków is one of the most intense football rivalries in Europe. Cracovia and Wisła are the two oldest clubs in Poland that are still in existence and were both formed in 1906. Their stadiums are less than a mile apart but they are far from friendly neighbors!
As I neared Cracovia’s stadium for the 191st match between these sides on the evening of Friday 5 August, I was greeted by the noise of a series of very loud firecrackers. The noise continued to increase as I got closer. And then suddenly when I turned a corner I found the source of all the noise – about 800 Wisla fans (almost all wearing black) walking across a field towards the Cracovia stadium from their own on the other side. They were surrounded by several hundred riot police, who were obviously keen to avoid any possibility of confrontation with the fans of the home side. On arriving at the stadium the Wisla fans were held inside a gated pen, much to their annoyance – they managed to tear down one of the barriers but the riot police fired water cannons to keep them inside! After throwing a few bottles and other objects at the police, things eventually quietened down enough for them to be let inside the stadium.
Cracovia got off to the perfect start by scoring in the first 2 minutes of the match with a contender for goal of the season with a curling shot from outside the box into the top corner of the net. They extended their lead just before half time and just before the home fans unveiled a very impressive banner which blocked the view for all the fans behind the goal for the last few minutes of the first half! Just as well they hadn’t unfurled the banner a few minutes earlier or they would have missed seeing the 2nd goal! Wisła scored a consolation goal 2 minutes from the end of the match but by then it was all but finished as a contest.
A few interesting facts about the clubs:
1) Pope John Paul II was a massive fan of Cracovia
2) Wisła holds the European football record for home games without a loss in a row. They went a staggering 5 years and 73 matches without losing a single match at home between Sept 2001 and Nov 2006.
3) Dariusz Wdowczyk is Wisła Kraków’s current manager – he played in defense for Poland for 8 years as well as for Glasgow Celtic from 1989 to 1994
