Wisła Kraków 1-2 Lech Poznań
Stadion Miejski
Att: 17,263 (2,000 away)
07/12/14
When booking the trip this was seen as the 'grand finale' game. Our final evening with Kraków and a game between two heavyweights in Polish football. We'd decided for this game we'd wanted to sit in the stands, as we were somewhat intrigued as to the Polish approach to games and how they reacted in the stands. As such having woken early on Sunday morning it was a short walk to Stadion Miejski to purchase of tickets. For those unfamiliar with Polish football, to purchase a match ticket you need to hold on you a Karta Kibica for each team. The process to obtain this was relatively straightforward. When entering the ticket office, head straight on and up the stairs. A form is given to you to fill in and you que to be seen. From there your photo is taken and 10pln (£2) handed over. In return you get you card and head down to the actual ticket office.
We'd decided to sit bang on halfway, meaning our tickets were the second most expensive in the ground at 55pln (£11). Having got them, we made our way round the ground before deciding to get the tram back into the city for a proper walk around. Despite hearing good things about Kraków's old town, I was somewhat taken aback by just how nice it was. It couldn't have been further, in terms of architecture, from Katowice. With tickets in hand it also meant we could leave it slightly later in getting to the ground. Arriving we didn't make the usual dash to the club shop, rather it was round the back of the home end to find the infamous Wisla Sharks to see if they had a stall selling merchandise. We were in luck with scarfs and stickers purchased inside the rather impressive, if intimidating, clubhouse. A short walk round to the entrance to take in the ground.
As a reserve stadium for Euro 2012, it has undergone significant redevelopment in recent years bringing it to a capacity of just over 33,000. I guess the ground can be cut diagonally in that the stands mirror one another. Each side are two tiered stands, split in the middle by executive boxes. It was somewhat disappointing how far away they are from the pitch, but the view was good none the less. In front of our stand was a reminder of just how stringent security now is in Poland, with security cameras prominent and faced into the crowd.
Either end are single-tiered stands. To our right housed the home ultras, with the roof providing an echo that made them sound somewhat louder than they may have been in other grounds. To one corner of the stand to our left were the 2,000 or so away fans. They were entertaining throughout, including doing the infamous 'Poznań.' To top it off, with around 10 minutes left, a surfer went up and what followed was a decent sized pyroshow. Not long after the visitors had turned the game around to lead for the first time, meaning there was a fair bit of mayhem in the away end!
We'd decided to sit bang on halfway, meaning our tickets were the second most expensive in the ground at 55pln (£11). Having got them, we made our way round the ground before deciding to get the tram back into the city for a proper walk around. Despite hearing good things about Kraków's old town, I was somewhat taken aback by just how nice it was. It couldn't have been further, in terms of architecture, from Katowice. With tickets in hand it also meant we could leave it slightly later in getting to the ground. Arriving we didn't make the usual dash to the club shop, rather it was round the back of the home end to find the infamous Wisla Sharks to see if they had a stall selling merchandise. We were in luck with scarfs and stickers purchased inside the rather impressive, if intimidating, clubhouse. A short walk round to the entrance to take in the ground.
As a reserve stadium for Euro 2012, it has undergone significant redevelopment in recent years bringing it to a capacity of just over 33,000. I guess the ground can be cut diagonally in that the stands mirror one another. Each side are two tiered stands, split in the middle by executive boxes. It was somewhat disappointing how far away they are from the pitch, but the view was good none the less. In front of our stand was a reminder of just how stringent security now is in Poland, with security cameras prominent and faced into the crowd.
Either end are single-tiered stands. To our right housed the home ultras, with the roof providing an echo that made them sound somewhat louder than they may have been in other grounds. To one corner of the stand to our left were the 2,000 or so away fans. They were entertaining throughout, including doing the infamous 'Poznań.' To top it off, with around 10 minutes left, a surfer went up and what followed was a decent sized pyroshow. Not long after the visitors had turned the game around to lead for the first time, meaning there was a fair bit of mayhem in the away end!