Podolski’s investment, rising coach, fervent fans: meet Gornik Zabrze, Monaco’s first European opponents | OneFootball

Gornik Zabrze, little known in France, face Monaco in Europe tonight, then again on 27 August. The Poles host first before the return at the Stade Louis-II. According to Nice-Matin, French winger Yvan Ikia Dimi, at the club since early 2026, helps introduce the club.

World champion in 2014, Lukas Podolski ended with five seasons at Gornik near his birthplace Gliwice, bought shares before retiring in July, and still lends his voice and presence.

Monaco are set for their first official outing, while Gornik approach their ninth. They began with the Polish Super Cup on 16 July and have played European qualifiers against Fenerbahçe and Ferencvaros, starting the league with three wins, strong at home but patchier away.

At 44, Slovak coach Michal Gašparík is viewed as a promising tactician, his style precise and a touch Italian. He moved from Spartak Trnava to Gornik, and the club are coming off a Polish Cup win and a second-place league finish.

The stands are famously hot, and Gornik’s ultras fit the reputation, with flares, chants and a fervour that lifts the team. Within Poland they can be placed behind Legia Warsaw and Lech Poznan, yet the local identity runs deep and tonight it should be boiling.

Recruitment is far from purely local. The XI for the 13 August tie with Ferencvaros featured 10 nationalities, for example two Poles, a German, a Czech, a Spaniard, a Dominican and a Portuguese. Poland international Kacper Urbanski, 21, has 11 caps and can operate as a six or an eight, while Ikia Dimi is joined by the ex-Burgien Bastien Donio, and defender Josema has played at Sochaux.

Source: Nice-Matin

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