Ekstraklasa
Stadion MOSIR w Mielcu
It's hard to believe now but Stal Mielec is actually one of the biggest Polish football clubs out there. Stal were among the elite in the 70s along with Silesian clubs and those were the best times of the Polish football. Grzegosz Lato was the undisputed star of the famous Poland national team of 1974 and Stal was the only Polish club he ever played for. Unfortunately, just as with many other giants of those days, Stal suffered a lot since, but finally they are back in Ekstraklasa.
You gotta admire how such a modest provincial town produced such a good football team. Mielec has just around 60 thousand people. It is in the south-east of Poland, about 150 km from Krakow. However, Mielec is not on the convenient train line that runs through larger cities of Tarnow and Rzeszow, that's why it's a bit harder to reach. It was an early kickoff on Saturday and there was a convenient direct bus to Krakow. But there was not much else for the return trip. The railway station is shut down. I could not even get to closer cities like Tarnow or Debica and considered taking a bus opposite direction to Rzeszow so I could then catch a train to Krakow from there. Thankfully, there was just one unadvertised bus back to Krakow that took some side roads which took almost 3 hours back and I had to leave the game earlier.
I did not have much time to see the city and the stadium was very close to the station but I definitely liked what I saw in Mielec. It is a very neat and tidy little town. There may be not many historic sites but everything is kept really. Everything about the town was really pleasant even in horrible rainy weather. I went to have a bite before the game to a café held run an Englishman called Kevin and his Polish wife. I had a traditional fish and chips and I must say I really enjoyed it. Would highly recommend Kuchnia Kevina to anyone who comes to Mielec, especially as it's just a quick walk from Stal ground.
The ground has seen the heyday of the team in the 70s but it was reconstructed since then. The adjacent athletic hall is still being built. There is a running track but it does not really impede the viewing. I actually liked the stadium, it's very compact, just 2 stands but it has its own character. And the best thing is that you can freely roam anywhere, the stewards are not really stopping you. You can watch the game from your seat or stand in the corners. Lots of fans were simply standing in the upper rows. And I tried Lezajsk beer for the first time even though it's freely available basically in any store in Poland but here it is somewhat local as the town of Lezajsk is less than 100 km away.
There was something distinct in the stadium in Mielec. There was not much of the usual alpha male aggression that you can easily find at any football ground in Poland. It even seemed that the fans did not even swear that much compared to other games I've seen elsewhere. Indeed, things are very pleasant in Mielec. There was a lot of call-and-response chanting between the two stands. A moderate contingent of Gliwice fans showed up late for the beginning of the game but somehow they did not take any active part in supporting their team. They mostly stood silently watching the game and did not even bring any banners or visuals.
As for the game, the home team was always second best. They had a few moments but Piast was simply better and played smarter football. The first goal was checked for offside and it was the longest VAR review I've ever seen. It took ages for the refs to decide that the goal stands. Then Piast scored another one in the added time for the first half, and it was clear that it should probably be enough. I left with about 20 minutes to spare to catch the last bus to Krakow and the score did not change with 3 points going all the way to Gliwice.
Overall, a great trip. I was happy to tick off another Ekstraklasa ground and I really liked what I saw in Mielec.
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