ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź are the oldest sports club in Łódź and one of the city's two great football clubs, whose rivalry with Widzew has shaped local football for decades. A group of sports enthusiasts began organising the club in 1908, and the Łódzki Klub Sportowy was formally registered on 14 August 1909. ŁKS were also among the co-founders of the first Polish League in 1927.
The club's golden era came in the post-war years. In 1957 the Rycerze Wiosny (Knights of Spring) won their first trophy, the Polish Cup, and a year later, in 1958, claimed their first Polish championship. Fans then waited four decades for a second title, which came in 1998 under coach Marek Dziuba. That success opened the door to Champions League qualifying, where in the second round ŁKS faced reigning English runners-up Manchester United, managed by Alex Ferguson and featuring Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Roy Keane. After losing 0-2 at Old Trafford, ŁKS held United to a 0-0 draw at home on 26 August 1998 - the only match in the entire 1998/99 campaign in which the eventual Champions League winners failed to score or win.
Many players who went on to represent Poland wore the club's colours, including Marek Saganowski and Tomasz Kłos. Now known as two-time Polish champions, ŁKS play in their distinctive white-red-white colours at the stadium on Unii Lubelskiej Avenue, where generations of Łódź supporters have watched the team over the decades.