Wisła's European adventure in a nutshell

Wisła Kraków bid farewell to European competition with dignity, guaranteeing fans not only in Krakow but throughout football in Poland an incredible experience. Let's go down this road again!

First up: KF Llapi

Wisła Kraków's European adventure in the 2024/25 season was full of excitement, twists, and challenges. The team, led by Kazimierz Moskal, entered the competition in the first qualifying round of the Europa League, facing KF Llapi from Kosovo in a two-legged tie. The first leg took place in Kraków, and the White Star needed just two minutes to get the ball rolling. Igor Sapała opened the match with a goal, and Angel Rodado closed it out. Wisła traveled to Kosovo with a two-goal advantage.

The return match – played in Kosovo – brought Wisła another victory, this time 2-1. Although the hosts from Llapi tried to close the gap, Wisła maintained control of the match. Ángel Rodado opened the scoring, and Giannis Kiakos added a second goal for the Kraków side late in the match. Although Llapi responded with a goal from Tahiri, the opposition were unable to turn the tide. Wisła, winning 4-1 on aggregate, confidently advanced to the next round of qualifying.

A difficult journey against Rapid Vienna

The second-round draw paired Wisła Kraków with Rapid Vienna. This two-legged tie proved to be a much tougher challenge for the Kraków team. The first leg, played in Poland, ended in a 1-2 defeat for Wisła. Although the Polish team fought with ambition, the visitors from Vienna took the lead through Jansson's goal and then extended their lead with a goal from Seidl. The White Star only responded late in the match with a goal from Marc Carbó, but it wasn't enough to avoid defeat at home. The 1-2 scoreline before the second leg left the Kraków team in a difficult position.

The return match proved to be a painful one for Wisła. Rapid dominated from the opening minutes, scoring six goals. Burgstaller (three), Beljo, Raux-Yao, and Lang were among the scorers. The R22 side could only respond with a consolation goal from Ángel Rodado. The match ended 1-6, and the Kraków team had to accept elimination from the Europa League after a 2-8 aggregate scoreline.

Time for the Conference League

After being eliminated from the Europa League, Wisła continued their struggles in the third qualifying round of the Conference League. Their opponents were Spartak Trnava of Slovakia. In the first leg, the White Star quickly took the lead thanks to a goal from – well, obviously – Ángel Rodado. Despite a promising start, Spartak dominated the second half, scoring three goals – twice from Ďuriš and twice from Azango – giving the hosts a 3-1 victory. This result, again, did not inspire optimism ahead of the competition in Kraków.

The second leg proved to be a tense and historic match. Knowing they needed to make up ground, Wisła played an attacking game. In the 43rd minute, Rodado converted a penalty, giving hope. In the 60th minute, Piotr Starzyński made it 2-0, and Uriga's 98th-minute goal in extra time seemed to seal the victory. However, Spartak responded in the 106th minute, again through Ďuriš, forcing a penalty shootout. Wisła won the penalty shootout by a remarkable 12-11 score, thus advancing to the fourth round of the Conference League qualifying round.

Wisła's final opponent in this cup campaign was Belgian side Cercle Brugge. The first leg in Krakow ended in a heavy 6-1 defeat. Cercle Brugge quickly took the lead thanks to goals from Mindy and Somers in the first 11 minutes. Ravych, Denkey, Ouattara, and Olaigbe added further goals. Ángel Rodado scored the only goal for the Krakow team, but it was only a consolation.

The second leg brought a surprising twist, but ultimately, they narrowly missed out on advancing… The Kraków team played with heroic determination and ambition, which translated into the final score. Wisła defeated Cercle Brugge 4-1, overcoming a significant portion of the deficit from the first leg. Goals came from Uryga, Kiss, and Gogół, with Łukasz Zwoliński sealing the victory in stoppage time. Despite their excellent performance and impressive victory, the aggregate score was 7-5 in favor of Cercle Brugge, meaning Wisła were eliminated from European competition this season…

Ángel Rodado was, of course, Wisła's hero and top scorer in this competition. The Spanish striker scored six goals in eight matches. Wisła's captain, Alan Uryga, was the second-highest scorer, scoring two goals in this competition. Others who scored in Europe included Igor Sapała, Giannis Kiakos, Marc Carbo, Piotr Starzyński, Tamas Kiss, Patryk Gogół, and Łukasz Zwoliński.

The squad that represented White Star in Europe:
Goalkeepers
#1 Kamil Broda – 4 Matches
#28 Patryk Letkiewicz
#31 Anton Chichkan – 4 Matches

Defenders
#4 Rafał Mikulec – 8 Matches
#5 Joseph Colley – 4 Matches
#6 Alan Uryga – 8 Matches/2 Goals
#25 Bartosz Jaroch – 8 Matches/1 Assist
#26 Igor Łasicki - 1 Match
#30 Giannis Kiakos – 6 Matches/1 Goal
#52 Jakub Krzyżanowski - 1 Match
#54 Kuba Wiśniewski - 1 Match
#55 Arkadiusz Ziarko
#75 Kacper Skrobański
#97 Wiktor Biedrzycki – 4 Matches

Helpers
#7 Igor Sapała - 3 Matches/1 Goal
#8 Marc Carbo – 8 Matches/1 Goal
#10 Frederico Duarte – 4 Matches
#11 Mateusz Młyński - 2 Matches
#13 Tamas Kiss – 4 Matches/1 Goal
#17 Jesus Alfaro – 2 Matches/1 Assist
#19 Olivier Sukiennicki – 8 Matches/1 Assist
#20 Karol Dziedzic – 3 Matches
#21 Patryk Gogół - 8 Matches/1 Goal/1 Assist*
#22 Piotr Starzyński - 5 Matches/1 Goal
#41 Kacper Duda
#50 Mariusz Kutwa – 6 Matches
#80 Dawid Olejarka
#77 Angel Baena – 8 Matches/2 Assists

Attackers
#9 Angel Rodado – 8 Matches/6 Goals/1 Assist*
#99 Łukasz Zwoliński - 5 Matches/1 Goal

These are the current top scorers of Wisła in the history of European competitions:
23 – Maciej Żurawski
21 – Tomasz Frankowski
12 – Paweł Brożek
8 – Tomasz Kulawik
7 – Kazimierz Kmiecik, Kalu Uche
6 – Marcin Kuźba, Ángel Rodado

*Assist statistics based on the official UEFA.com website