Poznan Double: Day 2. Lech Poznan - Radomiak Radom (2-0)

Stadion Poznan,
July 30, 2023
Ekstraklasa

I took first half a day to explore Poznan and I really enjoyed it. The only drawback (and a significant one) was that the entire historic centre is one huge excavation site nowadays. Apparently, the renovations have been going on for quite a while and I could not see the market square or any adjacent street. Well, there is always next time and, besides, Poznan has a lot to offer besides just the main square.

Whenever I can, I always try to walk to the stadium. It always augments the whole match-going experience. The stadium in Poznan is quite far from the centre, though it’s still inside the city and is surrounded by buildings and residential infrastructure and not just parking lot and highways wasteland. Took about an hour but it was a very interesting experience that helped me get more familiar with Poznan.

Lech Poznan is one of the top clubs of Poland. Historic and unlike their Warta neighbors, it’s still relevant today. They were champions of 2022 and went all the way up to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, which is a huge achievement for any Polish team. And, most importantly, Lech has a massive fanbase. Together with Legia and Widzew, they are undeniably the leaders attendance (I’m too lazy to fact-check this myself, but I’m confident that this is true). And, as this was a first home game of the season, I was sure the stadium would be significantly filled.

About an hour before kickoff, the area around the stadium was buzzing. For years, Lech was assigned to the railways of Poland, earning their nickname Kolejarz (Railwayman) There is an old locomotive train in front of the gates that symbolizes their past and it is an attraction by itself.

The ground itself is very interesting to me. Reminds you of a large concrete armadillo with lots of cool and quirky elements inside. But even the best grounds are nothing without fans and the atmosphere they create. And Poznan stadium is perfect in this regard. Yes, It has a huge stand behind the goal that is always filled by the fans with choreos, tifos and all that. The most outstanding feature here is how loud, passionate and involved are the regular fans that occupy other stands. At some point a regular fan not far from my seat just lit the pyro and stood with it while nobody bothered him and no overzealous stewards came running by. The game might have had the best atmosphere I ever witnessed in Poland. And the tifos were just exceptional, I’m glad I took the good camera.

Radomiak had about 50 people at the game, who entered their sector fashionable late as usual in Poland. Quite naturally they could not make any substantial noise compared to the rest of the stadium. It was not their day as the game was an easy win for Lech.

I decided to have another lengthy walk after the game, and this time I walked a different route that took me to Jezyce district. It’s absolutely wonderful and I highly recommend visiting it.