2008–09 I liga
# 2008–09 I liga

The 2008–09 I liga was the 61st season of the second tier domestic division in the Polish football league system since its establishment in 1949 and the 1st season of the Polish I liga under its current title (new name). Formerly, the league was known as the II liga (while the current II liga was known as the III liga). The league was operated by the Polish Football Association (PZPN).

The league was contested by 18 teams who competing for promotion to the 2009–10 Ekstraklasa. The regular season was played in a round-robin tournament. The champions and runners-up will receive automatic promotion. At the other end, the bottom four teams face automatic demotion to the II liga, while the fate of the 13th and 14th-place finishers will be decided by playoffs.

The season began on 26 July 2008, and concluded on 5 June 2009. After the 19th matchday the league will be on winter break between 16 November 2008 and 13 March 2009.

## Changes from last season

Promotion and relegation from 2007–08 season.

### Ekstraklasa & I liga

Relegated from 2007–08 Ekstraklasa (former I liga) to I liga (former II liga)

* Zagłębie Lubin
* Korona Kielce
* Widzew Łódź

### I liga & II liga

Promoted from 2007–08 third tier (former III liga) to I liga (former II liga)

* Górnik Łęczna
* GKP Gorzów Wielkopolski
* Dolcan Ząbki
* Flota Świnoujście

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Widzew Łódź | 34 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 55 | 23 | +32 | 72 | |
| 2 | Zagłębie Lubin (P) | 34 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 68 | 33 | +35 | 69 | Promotion to Ekstraklasa |
| 3 | Korona Kielce (P) | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 51 | 37 | +14 | 61 | Promotion to Ekstraklasa |
| 4 | Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 60 | 29 | +31 | 59 | |
| 5 | Znicz Pruszków | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 58 | |
| 6 | Górnik Łęczna | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 49 | 36 | +13 | 57 | |
| 7 | Flota Świnoujście | 34 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 53 | |
| 8 | Dolcan Ząbki | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 49 | |
| 9 | Warta Poznań | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 46 | |
| 10 | Wisła Płock | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 44 | |
| 11 | GKS Katowice | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 37 | 42 | −5 | 44 | |
| 12 | Stal Stalowa Wola | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 33 | 34 | −1 | 43 | |
| 13 | GKS Jastrzębie (O) | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 41 | Qualification to play-off |
| 14 | GKP Gorzów Wielkopolski (O) | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 39 | 54 | −15 | 36 | Qualification to play-off |
| 15 | Motor Lublin (R) | 34 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 21 | 36 | −15 | 32 | Relegation to II liga |
| 16 | Tur Turek (R) | 34 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 29 | 56 | −27 | 30 | Relegation to II liga |
| 17 | Odra Opole (R) | 34 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 22 | 51 | −29 | 25 | Relegation to II liga |
| 18 | Kmita Zabierzów (R) | 34 | 3 | 12 | 19 | 11 | 57 | −46 | 21 | Relegation to II liga |

* ↑ The PZPN Emergency Committee at its meeting on 15 July 2009 recognized as binding the decision of the Football Association of Poland of 2 April 2008, regarding the transfer of Widzew Łódź to a lower class. Therefore, the team will start the 2009/2010 season again in the first league. Due to this, Korona Kielce received a direct promotion to Ekstraklasa, and the playoffs for Ekstraklasa were canceled.
* ↑ Kmita Zabierzów withdrew from the league in February 2009 as a result of financial difficulties.

## I liga qualification play-offs

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Gawin/Ślęza Wrocław (II) | 0–6 | GKP Gorzów Wielkopolski | 0–5 | 0–1 |
| Start Otwock (II) | 1–2 | GKS Jastrzębie | 1–1 | 0–1 |

Source: 90minut.pl (in Polish)

## Season statistics

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Iliyan Mitsanski | Zagłębie Lubin | 26 |
| 2 | Marcin Robak | Widzew Łódź | 20 |
| 3 | Krzysztof Chrapek | Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała | 18 |
| 4 | Łukasz Cichos | Tur Turek / Korona Kielce | 12 |
| 4 | Szymon Pawłowski | Zagłębie Lubin | 12 |
| 6 | Michał Goliński | Zagłębie Lubin | 11 |
| 7 | Adrian Paluchowski | Znicz Pruszków | 10 |
| 7 | Przemysław Oziębała | Widzew Łódź | 10 |
| 9 | Andradina | Korona Kielce | 9 |
| 9 | Piotr Dziuba | Flota Świnoujście | 9 |
