To date there were very few matches that drew larger crowds in Europe. And even fewer that would see the stake so low as the qualifying game between Górnik Zabrze and Austria Wien, watched by some 120,000 people.

Only several stadiums across Europe have history as impressive as Stadion Śląski in Chorzow in terms of attendance records. Obviously no match for Wembley, Hampden Park, Santiago Bernabeu or Estadio da Luz, the Silesian Stadium – as is its English name – set an all-time high for any game played in Poland.

Yesterday saw 49^th anniversary of the European tie between Górnik Zabrze and Austria Vienna. On Sept 18^th 1963 the two teams, then renowned football brands in Europe, met in the very early, qualifying stage of European Cup at Stadion Śląski.

Despite low rank of the game a stunning number of 120,000 people decided to watch it live inside the ground. This number is even more impressive when we consider that, for example, much larger Santiago Bernabeu saw similar crowds (124,000 in 1957) only in the final game of the same tournament.

And even more, Stadion Śląski at that time could hold up to 80,000 people, which means it was filled in 150% that day, a number never to be repeated.

Oh, the game ended 1:0 for Górnik who advanced to the next round just to lose to another big firm of those days, Dukla Prague.