The Polish Cup final was a great chance for Gornik to win a double. GKS Katowice, the other finalist, was relatively smallish club – they had good season, but Gornik outclassed them. Tradition was also on the side of Gornik, but the final proved class and tradition wrong. GKS Katowice annihilated Gornik 4-1.
Gornik lost the Cup and no double for them. Second row from left: Cebrat, Dankowski, Urban, Komornicki, Ossowski, Majka
Crouching: Gunia, Zgutczyński, Matysik, Kostrzewa, Iwan.
Why they lost so badly? Perhaps because of the relative decline of Polish football in the 1980s – Gornik had the best squad in the country, but compared to the stars of the previous decade, the players were not all that great. Iwan, who was expected to become the next great Polish star, failed to fulfill expectations. A motivated tough opponent could beat this squad occasionally and Cup finals are just such an occasion.
GKS Katowice really made history – they did not play top league football all that often nd never won anything before. This was their best season in history so far and eventually a beginning of their golden period. One is tempted to say that the big difference between GKS and Gornik was Jan Furtok – Iwan was somewhat stuck and not getting better, but Furtok was up and coming. Of course, a single player rarely is the sole reason for success – GKS had good and ambitious squad. Well deserved first trophy, whetting their appetites for more. The fans were jubilant, naturally – success at last!
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