Poland II Division

Poland. The championship was intriguing to its very end, but Second Division produced high drama and surprises too. Among the former top league members, the most famous of them Stal (Mielec), none succeeded to get promoted. The championship of Group 1 was the same as in the top league – 2 teams competed to the end. In Group 2 two teams also dominated the championship, but the race was decided a bit earlier than in Group 1. As for the participants, the Polish Second Division was like most second level leagues.

There were teams like Stal (Mielec), 5th in Group 2, with some fame, but down on their luck presently, but most clubs were little known.

Like Piast (Gliwice), 11th in Group 1, which is regular member of the the Polish top league now, but before 1990 they played only second-level football. However, Piast had a place in Polish football histroy – the previous year they played in the only Cup final featuring Second Division teams and lost to Lechia (Gdansk).

Yet, little known clubs won the two groups of the Second Division.

Lechia (Gdansk) was already having a good run – they won the Polish Cup the previous season and the good spell continued. Lechia, coming up from long obscurity, was entangled in dramatic race for the first place with better known Olimpia (Poznan). No other team was even remotely close to the leaders and the drama lasted to the very end – Lechia won the championship in the last round and got promoted .

If Lechia was a team noticed already and in any case a club with long history, apparently coming back, the winner of Group 2 was different.

Radomiak (Radom) never played top league football and perhaps was best known for the local derby with Bron (Radom). So, this season was great on all fronts – Bron was very weak and ended relegated to Third Division. Radomiak, on the other hand dominated Group 2 and finished first. Like Lechia, Radomiak had only one challenger, a former first division member – Polonia (Bytom). However, Radomiak outpaced its rival earlier and at least a round before the end of the championship they were unreachable champions. This was their best season ever – Second Division champions and going to play top league football for the first time in their history.