On December 19th 1921 a football match between Hungary and Poland was an historic event for the Poles. Even though Hungary won the match, the game helped Poland establish its national football team in the tense political aftermath of World War One.
Once an ancient kingdom, from the years 1772 to 1795, Poland was partitioned by its three neighbours; Russia, Hapsburg Austria and Prussia. As the result of the partitions, Poland disappeared from the map of Europe for 123 years. Despite several insurrections, the Poles did not manage to win back their independence throughout the 19th century. In the fall of 1918, when WW1 came to an end, several Central European nations, including Poland, regained independence.
The newly re-established country quickly started to organize not only its administration but also its sports organisations. Envoys of several football clubs, which had previously existed under either, Prussian, Russian, or Austrian rule, met in Warsaw on 20th and 21st December 1919, thus establishing the Polish FA.
In the years 1919 and 1920, Poland fought several wars with its neighbours. Under the circumstances, no soccer games took place. Only when these conflicts were over, starting in spring of 1921, did the first games for the Championships of Poland take place, with the KS Cracovia club winning the first title.
In spite of the war, Cracovia's football team did not cease its activities and Cracovia's great play in games against some elite teams of Hungarian football helped convince the Hungarians to invite Poland for an international friendly in 1921 (it should be mentioned that in this first historical match of Poland, there were seven Cracovia players in the starting lineup).
To establish itself among other European football federations, Polish officials started to look for a potential opponent for a friendly international game. This was not easy as relations with almost all neighbours were strained due to the recent conflicts. Also, as the Polish national team had never before appeared as such on the field, other nations were simply not interested in playing with an unknown opponent.
Polish officials asked Austria whether the FA would be interested in a friendly international match, but never received a response. They were considering playing either FRance and Sweden, but in 1921 the Hungarians came forward with an offer, asking whether Poland would like to face their national team around Christmas of 1921. This was happily accepted by the Poles, as Hungary was regarded as a strong team.
In November 1921, Polish officials and Coach Pozsonyi chose 22 players who became the members of the first Polaish national team. These players took part in a few warm-up games in Krakow and after a few weeks, 13 players were chosen. These athletes, who in most cases did not know each other, boarded the train on 16 December, and after a 36-hour journey in 3rd class cars, reached Budapest.
The game took place on 18 December 1921, at the Hungaria Stadium in Budapest. For the Hungarians, this was just another friendly game. Since 1902, their national team had already played about 80 international matches, so the hosts did not treat this match in a special way. For the Poles however, it was a historic 90 minutes; for the first time ever, 11 players were to appear on the field dressed in jerseys emblazoned with the white eagle of Poland.
8,000 spectators showed up, which was a disappointment; at previous games there usually were up to 30,000 supporters. This may have been due to the weather, as the ground was slushy. As a result of the weather, the turf was wet and muddy, which proved to be an advantage for the Poles. The Hungarians, famously regarded as first-quality dribblers, were unable to play their fast, energetic style.
In the 18th minute, Jenő Szabó of Hungary scored what would be the only goal of the game. The Hungarians had another chance to score in the 41st minute, but a penalty kick missed the goal. From what can be gathered, the home team should have scored more goals than one, but the Poland's goal keeper, Jan Loth of Polonia Warszawa) played an extraordinary game.
The final blow of the referee, the Czech-German Karl Grätz, was welcomed with relief by both sides. The Hungarians were happy because they had won, while the Poles were pleased because the defeat to a renowned opponent was not as severe as some had predicted, and the match had helped to establish them on the international football scene.
Cracovia's stadium. An important date was on July 24, 2020, when the team won the national cup for the first time, in 73 years. On 9 October 2020, Cracovia was victorious in the 2020 Polish Super Cup. Unquestionably, the most famous fan of the team was Karol Józef Wojtyła, who, even after having been named Pope John Paul II,would often ask visitors from Poland about Cracovia. 
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