Draw kings Piast Gliwice experience “extraordinary situation”

Vukovic team on course for records

Piast Gliwice only lost twice in the 2023/24 season, but the club is only in twelfth place in the Ekstraklasa: The “Piastunki” are not only the draw kings of Poland, but even of Europe. Two wins, twelve draws, two defeats, 14:14 goals: That’s the record for the Upper Silesians after 16 match days – a record is getting closer and closer.

On the one hand, Piast Gliwice is, along with league leaders Slask Wroclaw, the team with the fewest defeats and goals conceded, but on the other hand, only Ruch Chorzow (once) has won even less often and only LKS Lodz (eleven) has scored even fewer goals – both are promoted teams fighting to stay in the league from the start. But the red-blues are also only two points away from the relegation zone and are aiming for the top 5.

“We are a team that, on the one hand, draws, but also makes life difficult for everyone else,” said coach Aleksandar Vukovic, referring to the numerous draws. Experts and fans have long since identified the problem: there is a lack of a real goalscorer. Defensive midfielder Patryk Dziczek (25) is the most dangerous goal scorer with four goals. Piast Gliwice has already played 0-0 six times this season, and in all duels without the club’s participation there have only been four more clean sheets.

The “Piastunki” are heading towards an Ekstraklasa record. Pogon Stettin achieved the most draws in a season in 1993/94 with 19 points – so Gliwice is only seven draws away. Piast is also ahead in a European comparison. In the Romanian SuperLiga, newly promoted SC Otelul Galati has eleven draws, but has already played 17 games. In the Bundesliga, VfL Bochum leads the rankings with seven draws after twelve match days.

Draw kings Piast Gliwice: “Completely extraordinary situation”

“It’s not like we’re playing 0-0 defensively. We are still one of the teams that create the most clear scoring chances and we rarely allow such chances. I have the feeling that in many of these draws we were closer to winning,” explained Vukovic, who also admitted: “But this is a very extraordinary situation. Even as a fan, I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Vukovic and his team made headlines last season. The 44-year-old took over the position at Piast in October 2022 in the relegation zone, where Gliwice remained at the end of the first half of the season. A comeback followed in which the red-blues remained unbeaten in the last 13 games. Piast climbed to fifth place and narrowly missed the European Cup. Despite the series of draws, the Vukovic team’s record remains impressive: in the last 32 games, Gliwice only lost twice.

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