Vive Kielce

Łomża Vive Kielce is a Polish professional men's handball team based in Kielce, founded in 1965. The club plays in the Superliga and is a regular competitor of the EHF Champions League.[1][2] Seventeen times Polish Champion, sixteen times Polish Cup winner and one time EHF Champions League (2016) winner.[3]

Łomża Vive Kielce
Full nameŁomża Vive Kielce
Nickname(s)Iskra
Founded1965 (1965)
ArenaHala Legionów
Capacity4,200
President Bertus Servaas
Head coach Talant Dujshebaev
LeagueSuperliga
EHF Champions League
Club colours   
Home
Away
Website
Official site

Achievements

Domestic
  • Polish Cup
    (x16): 1985, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019

International

History

December 1965 is considered as the date of establishment of the handball club in Kielce. To know better real club history it is necessary to recall the times before Second World War. In the 1935 at the arms factory Granat in Kielce was established the Sports-Educational Society Granat. After the Second World War the arms factory Granat changed name to Metal Factory Kielce (ZMK), and it was established the sports club Stal ZMK. In the 1957 sports club Stal ZMK changed the name to sports club Iskra the same as the name of precise factory, which was established instead of former metal factory Kielce. Precise factory Iskra belonged to sports federation Stal, banding together the metal and metallurgic works.[4]

In December 1965 many-section Sports Club „Iskra” took over the players from the team TKKF, active at the Metal Works KZWM SHL and established the handball team. After 5 years of competition "the seven" of Iskra was promoted to III Central League, and a year later to II League. At the end of first season in II League Iskra came third. In the season 1972/73 it came fifth. In spring 1973 the two Kielce sports clubs: "SHL" and "Iskra" declared ready to join in order to establish one powerful sports club. On 10 July 1973 they united. The new club was named Korona Kielce and was registered as Kielce Sports Association „Korona”. The mother works of two former clubs: FŁT "Iskra" and "Polmo SHL" became its patrons. The new club began its activity in four sections: football, handball, bicycle and motorcycle. The direct patron of handball section, consisting of the former players of Sports Club "Iskra" became metal factory FŁT "Iskra".

In March 1975 the handball team from Kielce, already called MKS „Korona”, was promoted for the first time to the Championship of Poland. Unfortunately making their debut they fall a class below. In 1978 the club promoted again to the highest league, and after the season it came eighth. In 1979 Korona achieved its first success. It got the bronze medal in the Championship of Poland. Afterwards the Kielce players fell down to the lower league, but in 1984 they promoted again to the group of the best teams in the country. In 1985 Korona was awarded with the Cup of Poland, which was the greatest success since the beginning of its activity. Since 1985 the club has their own sports hall for 1,600 spectators in Krakowska Street. Since the second half of 1989 the club Korona suffered serious organizational and financial problems. The subsidies from patron works FŁT "Iskra" and "Polmo - SHL" got worse each year.

Hala Legionów

In spring 1991 the persons actively engaged in handball decided to separate from Korona. On 18 April 1991, a new one-section handball club came into being. It returned to its original name: Iskra Kielce. The Metal Works "Iskra" supported it only by sponsoring and maintaining the sports hall. In spite of difficult beginning it began the "golden era" and the series of greatest triumphs of Kielce team. In the years 1992-1999 Iskra was doubtless the best Polish team. In the years 1992-1994 "Iskierka" was twice the champion of the country and in 1995 it was the was vice-champion, fighting desperately against Petrochemia Płock. The situation was quite similar during the final of Polish Cup, when Iskra came second. This position gave the team the right to start in the Cup of Cup Winner's competition. At this time the club achieved some successes in European cup competitions. In 1995 Kielce team lost a battle in the quarter-final of PZP. In 1997 during the Federation Cup Competition Kielce team was eliminated barely in the quarter-final. They lost two-game competition against future winner of this cup – the German THW Kiel. But the greatest success of that time was the promotion to the EHF Champions League. In 1999 Iskra as the first men'S handball team promoted to this competition of prestige, beating a champion of Sweden. In the Champions League the team obtained 6 points and came third in their group. In 2000 the team won the Polish Cup and in 2001 the bronze medal in the Championship of Poland. The season 2001/2002 wasn't good. Iskra came barely fifth in the league. The Kielce team played in the final of the Polish Cup, after desperate fight they lost a game against KS Warszawianka.

The most important change in 2002 was taking over of the club by Bertus Servaas – businessman, the owner of Vive Textile Recycling enterprise. When he was the President of the Club (its name was already "Vive") it was again the champion of Poland, beating its greatest contestant – Wisła Płock. In 2006 the team could play for the first time in the new sports hall which could take 3,000 spectators. Today this many-functions facility's name is "The Hall of Legions". (Hala Legionów). Since that time all games have been played there till today. It has been established the successful team who achieves good positions in Europe.

Season by season

European record
Season Competition Round Club 1st leg 2nd leg Aggregate
2020–21 EHF Champions League Group Stage
Group A		 SG Flensburg-Handewitt 30–31
MOL-Pick Szeged 26–23
Elverum Håndball 31–22
Meshkov Brest 34–27
Paris Saint-Germain 35–33
Porto Sofarma 32–32
Vardar 1961 33–29 36–29

Team

Current squad
Squad for the 2020–21 season

Transfers
Transfers for the 2021–22 season
Transfers for the 2022–23 season

Coaching staff

Coaches
Kiełek – Vive's mascot.
Head coaches
From To Nat Name
1989 1995  POL Edward Strząbała
1995 1998  KAZ Giennadiy Kamelin
1999 1999  POL Włodzimierz Harbuz
1999 2001  KAZ Giennadiy Kamelin
2001 2002  POL Marek Smolarczyk
2002 2003  BLR Aleksander Malinowski
2003 2004  POL Daniel Waszkiewicz
2004 2005  BLR Aleksander Malinowski
2005 2005  POL Edward Strząbała
2005 2007  POL Zbigniew Tłuczyński
2007 2007  POL Aleksander Litowski
2007 2008  BLR Aleksander Malinowski
2008 2014  POL Bogdan Wenta
2014  ESP Talant Dujshebaev

Notable former players

References
  1. "LOMZA VIVE KIELCE". European Handball Federation. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  2. "Marka Łomża sponsorem tytularnym Mistrzów Polski!". kielcehandball.pl (in Polish). 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  3. "Osiągnięcia". PGE Vive Kielce. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  4. History of the Handball Club in Kielce
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