Gwardia Opole
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Gwardia Opole is a men's handball club from Opole, Poland, that plays in the Superliga.
The current name of the club is Corotop Gwardia Opole due to sponsorship reasons.
History
The team was founded in 1945. In 1962, it was promoted to the first league. In the debut season in the top league, the club took 4th place. In the 1963/1964 season, the team led by Edward Hyla won the bronze medals in the Polish Championship (behind AZS Katowice and Sparta Katowice).
In the following years, Gwardia continued to play in the first league, but they were relegated in 1980. They returned to the top league after one year, where they won the 2nd league by eight points ahead of second-placed Posnania Poznań. In the 1981/1982 season, they were relegated to the second league again, where they spent the next ten years.
The Opole team returned to the first league in the 1992/1993 season - again only for one year - when coached by Henryk Zajączkowski. The club was in the third division in the 1997/1998 season, where it played for three consecutive years. In the 2002/2003 season, the Opole team won the second division and returned to the top division after 10 years. In the 2003/2004 season, the team won only two and drew three, thus relegating it to the first league. In the years 2004-2013, Gwardia played in the first league. In this period, he achieved second place twice (2006/2007, 2010/2011) and third place twice (2007/2008, 2011/2012). In the 2012/2013 season, when Marek Jagielski was the coach, the team won the first division and got promoted to the Superliga. In the 2013/2014 season, the team won five, drew one and lost 16, finishing 11th and relegated to the First Division. During the season, in December 2013, there was a change of coach: Marek Jagielski was replaced by Tadeusz Jednoróg.
In 2014, Rafał Kuptel became the new coach of Opole. In the 2014/2015 season, Gwardia dominated the second division: they won all 26 of their matches, thus once again promoted to the Superliga. The team's new home, the "Okraglak" hall, was handed over in September 2017, and since 2018 the facility has been called the Stegu Arena. In the 2017/2018 season, the team debuted on the international cup circuit, when they were eliminated in the third round against RD Koper of Slovenia in the EHF Cup. In the 2018/2019 season, Opole finished the regular season in 4th place. In the semifinals of the playoffs, they lost to the favorite Vive Kielce (32:31; 28:37). However, a one-goal victory (32:31) in the first meeting was a sensation: Gwardia's victory ended Kielce's 103-match winning streak since March 2016. In the race for 3rd place, Gwardia faced MMTS Kwidzyn. He lost the first match 25:26, but won the rematch 26:24 and won the bronze medal of the Polish championship. The team's top scorers in the 2018/2019 season: Patryk Mauer (149 goals), Mateusz Jankowski (120 goals) and Antoni Łangowski (116 goals). For the third time in a row, Adam Malcher received the award for the best goalkeeper in the league, and for the second time in a row, Rafał Kuptel was recognized as the best coach in the Superliga.
Crest, colours, supporters
Kits
| HOME | |
|---|---|
| 2017–18 | 2018–20 |
| AWAY | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 |
| THIRD | |
|---|---|
| 2017–18 | 2019–20 |
Sports Hall information
- Arena: - Stegu Arena
- City: - Opole
- Capacity: - 3378
- Address: - Oleska 72, 45-222 Opole, Poland.
Management
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Poland Paweł Dołhańczuk |
| Sports Director | Poland Tomasz Wróbel |
Team
Current squad
Squad for the 2025–26 season
| Goalkeepers 01 Poland Jakub Ałaj 33 Poland Dawid Balcerek 40 Poland Fabian Sowiak Left wingers 22 Poland Michał Milewski 23 Poland Kacper Aksamit 88 Poland Daniel Jendryca Right wingers 07 Poland Mateusz Wojdan 14 Poland Szymon Romanowski Line players 66 Montenegro Admir Pelidija 75 Poland Kelian Janikowski | Left backs 06 Poland Filip Wrzesiński 10 Poland Bartosz Kowalczyk 21 Poland Jakub Luksa Centre backs 05 Poland Fabian Sosna 09 Poland Piotr Zawadzki 17 Poland Maciej Zarzycki 73 Poland Bartłomiej Rugała Right backs 37 Poland Dominik Antoniak 99 Poland Oliwier Kamiński |
Transfers
Transfers for the 2025–26 season
| Joining Poland Bartosz Kowalczyk (CB) from Poland MKS Kalisz Poland Maciej Zarzycki (CB) from Poland KS Azoty-Puławy Poland Kelian Janikowski (LP) from Poland KS Azoty-Puławy Poland Dawid Balcerek (GK) from Poland KPR Legionowo Poland Fabian Sowiak (GK) (from Poland ASPR Zawadzkie) Poland Bartłomiej Rugała (CB) (from Poland SMS ZPRP Kielce) Poland Dominik Antoniak (RB) (from Poland AZS AWF Biała Podlaska) | Leaving Poland Andrzej Widomski (RB) to North Macedonia RK Eurofarm Pelister Poland Pawel Stempin (LP) to Poland MMTS Kwidzyn Poland Mateusz Lellek (GK) (to ?) Poland Adam Malcher (GK) (retires) Poland Antoni Łangowski (LB) (retires) Poland Marek Hryniewicz (RW) (retires) Poland Janusz Wandzel (LP) on loan at Poland Śląsk Wrocław Poland Piotr Jędraszczyk (CB) loan back to Poland Industria Kielce |
Previous squads
| 2018–2019 Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shirt No | Nationality | Player | Birth Date | Position |
| 1 | Poland | Mateusz Zembrzycki | (1997-03-18)18 March 1997(age 29) | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Poland | Michał Lemaniak | (1997-02-15)15 February 1997(age 29) | Right Winger |
| 5 | Poland | Karol Siwak | (1997-08-29)29 August 1997(age 28) | Left Winger |
| 7 | Poland | Maciej Zarzycki | (1998-07-26)26 July 1998(age 27) | Central Back |
| 8 | Poland | Antoni Łangowski | (1990-04-19)19 April 1990(age 35) | Left Back |
| 10 | Poland | Jan Klimków | (1998-12-21)21 December 1998(age 27) | Line Player |
| 12 | Poland | Dawid Skrzypczyk | (1998-04-23)23 April 1998(age 27) | Goalkeeper |
| 13 | Lithuania | Mindaugas Tarcijonas | (1984-09-20)20 September 1984(age 41) | Line Player |
| 14 | Poland | Kamil Mokrzki | (1991-10-29)29 October 1991(age 34) | Central Back |
| 16 | Poland | Adam Malcher | (1986-05-21)21 May 1986(age 39) | Goalkeeper |
| 17 | Poland | Jędrzej Zieniewicz | (1997-04-02)2 April 1997(age 29) | Right Back |
| 18 | Poland | Mateusz Jankowski | (1988-03-22)22 March 1988(age 38) | Line Player |
| 19 | Poland | Przemysław Zadura | (1988-04-26)26 April 1988(age 37) | Right Back |
| 20 | Poland | Wiktor Kawka | (1996-03-28)28 March 1996(age 30) | Left Back |
| 21 | Poland | Patryk Mauer | (1998-09-02)2 September 1998(age 27) | Right Winger |
| 22 | Poland | Michał Milewski | (1998-09-10)10 September 1998(age 27) | Left Winger |
| 23 | Poland | Mateusz Morawski | (1997-05-12)12 May 1997(age 28) | Central Back |
| 27 | Poland | Dariusz Skraburski | (2000-02-27)27 February 2000(age 26) | Left Back |
Honours
- Polish Superliga: Bronze (2): 1964, 2019
- Polish Cup: Bronze (3): 2017, 2018, 2019
EHF ranking
As of 13/1/2025
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 227 | Ukraine HC ZTR Zaporizhzhia | 7 |
| 228 | Turkey İzmir BSB SK | 7 |
| 229 | Spain Helvetia Anaitasuna | 6 |
| 230 | Poland Gwardia Opole | 6 |
| 231 | Slovenia RK Prevent Slovenj Gradec | 6 |
| 232 | Germany ThSV Eisenach | 6 |
| 233 | Hungary Budakalász FKC | 6 |
Former club members
Notable former players
The list includes players who have played at least once for their national team or spent at least 10 years with the team.
Goalkeepers
- Poland Władysław Fąfara
- Poland Paweł Malaka (1960–1976)
- Poland Adam Malcher (2003–2005, 2013–)
- Poland Andrzej Mientus (1976–1979)
- Poland Sebastian Suchowicz (2015)
- Poland Sławomir Szmal (1996–1997)
- Poland Robert Wasilewski (1982–1988, 2000–2003)
- Poland Mateusz Zembrzycki (2014–2016, 2017–2020)
- Croatia Vladimir Božić (2013)
Right wingers
- Poland Patryk Mauer (2017–2022)
Left wingers
- Poland Gerard Piechota (1973–1990)
Line players
- Poland Piotr Czaczka (1978–1982)
- Poland Mateusz Jankowski (2014–2019)
- Poland Jan Klimków (2017–2022)
- Poland Andrzej Sokołowski (1964–1968)
- Lithuania Mindaugas Tarcijonas (2015–2019)
- Montenegro Admir Pelidija (2024–)
Left backs
- Poland Kacper Adamski (2016–2017)
- Poland Antoni Łangowski (2015–2019, 2022–)
- Poland Piotr Przybecki (1987–1991)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivan Milas (2015–2016)
Central backs
- Poland Piotr Jędraszczyk (2023–)
- Poland Kamil Mokrzki (2014–2020)
- Poland Maciej Zarzycki (2017–2022)
Right backs
- Poland Piotr Adamczak (2013–2014)
- Poland Ignacy Bąk (2016–2017)
- Poland Szymon Działakiewicz (2019–2021)
- Poland Jerzy Klempel (1970–1971)
- Poland Sebastian Rumniak (2014–2018)
- Poland Przemysław Zadura (2010–2012, 2016–2022)
- Croatia Nikola Kedžo (2015)
- Ukraine Roman Chychykalo (2022–2024)
Former coaches
| Seasons | Coach | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2013–2014 | Tadeusz Jednoróg | Poland |
| 2014–2023 | Rafał Kuptel | Poland |
| 2023– | Bartosz Jurecki | Poland |