Polish Football Clubs - Polonia Warszawa, 5 zl

The first 5-zloty collector’s coin from the Polish Football Clubs series

Obverse:
A stylised image of the contours of a football. In the centre, against its background, the image of the eagle established as the state emblem of the Republic of Poland. Around the eagle, a semi-circular inscription: RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA (THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND). At the bottom the year of issue: 2011. Underneath an inscription: 5 ZŁ. Under the eagle, on the right-hand side, the symbol of the mint: M/W.

Reverse:
A stylised image of a player in football attire. At the right-hand side, the emblem of Polonia Warsaw football club. Above a semi-circular inscription: 1911–2011. On the left-hand side, a semi-circular inscription: POLONIA WARSAW.

Coin designer: Grzegorz Pfeifer

Polonia Warszawa is one of the oldest prize-winning football clubs in Poland. In 2011 it is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The club from Warsaw is among the pioneers of football in Poland.

The most important achievements of the club are the titles of the Champion of Poland received in 1946 and 2000. Polonia football players are also called the “Black Shirts”; the nickname comes from the colour of the players’ attire, very uncommon for football teams.

Polonia Warsaw had many outstanding football players. The greatest legend of the club is Władysław Szczepaniak (1910–1979), who remained faithful to the club throughout his entire career. He was a member of the Polish national football team for nearly 20 years and participated in 18 matches as the captain of the red-and-white team. He also took part in the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 and world championships in France in 1938. Another captain of the national team was Jerzy Bułanow (1903–1980), Polonia’s defender originating from the “white” Russian emigration.

More recently, Polonia’s greatest achievement was the championship of Poland, vice-championship of Poland and the Polish Cup, all at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The team repeatedly took part in European cups, and in 2000 only one goal in a match with Panathinaikos (2:2 and 1:2) separated them from qualifying to the Champions League. At present, Polonia Warsaw is one of the major teams of the Polish Ekstraklasa.
Jacek C. Kamiński Polonia Warsaw Football Club
The fragment comes from the prospectus of the National Bank of Poland