When you think of Polish football, the first names to come to mind are likely to be Gornik Zabrze, Wisla Krakow and Legia Warsaw.

Gornik are the most successful club in the country's history with a record haul of 14 titles, while the championship race has been dominated in recent years by Wisla (winners in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005) and Legia (2002 and 2006). Polonia Warsaw, champions in 2000, are the only other side to have finished top of the Ekstraklasa over the past seven years.

However, all bets are off this year in the top flight with outsiders GKS Belchatow having emerged from nowhere to mount a serious challenge for the title. At the halfway point in the season, the club hailing from a city with a population of only 60,000 around 30 miles south of Lodz lead defending champions Legia Warsaw by three points at the top of the Ekstraklasa table.

Gorniczy Klub Sportowy Belchatow, to give the club its full name, are on course to shock Poland's football establishment and achieve the greatest ever success in the club's short history. GKS were founded on 26 November 1977 and have yet to win a championship trophy. They have reached the Polish cup final twice (1996 and 1999) but finished as runners-up on both occasions.

GKS experienced a gradual rise through the ranks before eventually reaching the top flight in 1992, since when the outfit have yo-yoed between the first and second divisions. Although 2005 marked Belchatow's fourth season in the premier division, prior to then the side had only managed to avoid relegation once, in 1995/96, when they recorded a stunning run of results in the second half of the season to retain their top flight status.

Back then, the small-town side endured an abysmal start to the season and were already twelve points adrift at the winter break, with all the signs pointing to an immediate return to the second division. However, a barnstorming performance after the break completely turned around a season that seemed to be doomed to abject failure. GKS won nine of their last 13 matches and consigned Pogon Stettin to the second division thanks to their better head-to-head results. 

Matusiak hits the heights
The club have enjoyed a similar vein of success during the current season, having recorded nine wins, three draws and only three defeats in 15 fixtures so far. Belchatow are also the highest scoring side in the entire league, with 31 goals. Ahead of the winter break, coach Orest Lenczyk's men had won four games in a row, including an impressive 4-2 home win over Wisla Krakow.

One of the vital ingredients in the club's success has been the form of striker Radoslaw Matusiak, who already has a tally of nine goals and is the top scorer in the Ekstraklasa. The 24-year-old previously played for LKS Lodz and Wisla Plock before switching to Belchatow in 2005/06 and immediately establishing himself in the first team. He recorded a tally of 17 goals and four assists in his first season.

Thanks to his impressive performances at the start of this campaign, Matusiak has also caught the eye of  new national coach Leo Beenhakker . Under Beenhakker's stewardship, the 24-year-old won his first cap at the start of qualification for UEFA EURO 2008 and quickly justified the Dutchman's trust, scoring two goals in his first four international appearances. In the European Championship qualifier against Belgium in Brussels, it was Matusiak who struck the winner in his side's  1-0 victory .

The outstanding form of the young striker at league and international level has attracted a number of suitors to the sleepy town of Belchatow, with several Italian clubs said to be interested in engaging the services of Poland's rising star. However, GKS are by no means a one-man team and coach Lenczyk has other players on whom he can rely. Matusiak's strike partner Mariusz Ujek, for example, boasts a running tally of five goals, and Lukasz Gargula has four goals to his name at the break and also celebrated his debut in the Polish national side.

With 15 games to play, there is still a long way to go but if Matusiak and Co can continue their form from the first half of the season, GKS Belchatow will have an excellent chance of claiming their first ever national championship.