FC Universitatea Cluj

Universitatea Cluj

Full name	Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj
Nickname(s)	Șepcile roșii (The Red Caps) Studenții (The Students)
Short name	U Cluj
Founded	1919 (1919)
Ground	Cluj Arena
Ground Capacity	30,201[1]
Owners	Cluj-Napoca Municipality Babeș-Bolyai University "U" Cluj Supporters Association
Chairman	Radu Constantea
Manager	Marius Popescu
League	Liga IV
2015–16	Liga II, Seria II, 10th (relegated)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Active and former/defunct departments of CS Universitatea Cluj-Napoca
Football	Men's Handball	Women's Handball
Rugby	Men's Basketball	Women's Basketball
Hockey	Men's Volleyball	Women's Volleyball
Athletics	Tennis	Judo
Fencing	Figure skating	Speed skating
Swimming	Water polo	Skiing
Weightlifting	Mountaineering	Chess
Scrabble

Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj (Romanian pronunciation: [universiˈtate̯a kluʒ]) is a Romanian professional football club from Cluj-Napoca, founded in 1919 by Iuliu Hațieganu. The team plays in Romania's fourth league, Liga IV. Universitatea Cluj traditionally plays in white and black clothing, although variations of red, maroon and gold have been used—especially for away kits. U Cluj played for 89 years at the Ion Moina Stadium, and then moved into the new venue Cluj Arena, built on the site of the old stadium.

U Cluj are nicknamed Șepcile roșii ("The Red Caps") after the red berets worn by students from the University of Medicine in Cluj. They are traditionally considered to be the most important football club in Transylvania, although their status has recently been threatened by the success of their city rivals CFR Cluj.

The club has spent most of its history in the first league but have never become national champions. They have played in four Romanian Cup finals—each time under a different name—and won the trophy in the 1964–65 season.

History

The Universitatea sports club of Cluj was founded in September 1919 by the "Sports Society of University Students" (Romanian: Societatea Sportivă a Studenților Universitari—abbreviated to "U"). Its first chairman was Professor Iuliu Hațieganu, a physician and politician. In the early years of its existence "U" Cluj played in local competitions; at the time there was no national football championship in Romania. The team played against Chinezul Timișoara in the 1923 final of the Mara Cup, losing 0–2. "U" played in the Romanian national football championship Divizia A from 1932. In their first season "U" finished first in its group and played the championship final against Ripensia Timișoara (0–0 and 3–5).

Ripensia Timișoara winning the 1933–34 Romanian Cup against "U"

In the first season of the Romanian Cup, in 1933–34, "U" reached the final, losing against Ripensia Timișoara (0–5). In 1940, "U" moved from Cluj to Sibiu as a result of the Second Vienna Award, when the northern part of Transylvania was ceded to Hungary. In 1942, "U" played in the final of the Romanian Cup for a second time and lost against Rapid București (1–7). In 1945, after the end of the Second World War and the return of the northern part of Transylvania to Romania, "U" returned to its home in Cluj.

In 1946, the name of the club was changed to Știința Cluj (English: Science Cluj). In 1949, the team reached the final of the Romanian Cup for the third time, but it was beaten by CSCA București—now called Steaua București (1–2).

At the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, the manager of Știința Cluj was Ștefan Kovács—a famous Romanian coach who later became the manager of Ajax Amsterdam. In 1964–65, Știința Cluj won the Romanian Cup; this remained the greatest performance of the club for many years.

In 1966, the name of the team was changed back to "Universitatea". At the end of the 1971–1972 season, "U" was in the best position in the Romanian Championship Divizia A after the Second World War; it finished third in the league table, with the same number of points as the second placed team UTA Arad. In 1998, "U" reached the final of Cupa Ligii but lost to FCM Bacău. In 1999, "U" was relegated into the second Romanian division, Divizia B and in 2000 it was relegated for the first time in its history into the third division, Divizia C. It played one season in the third division, and in 2001 it was promoted back to Divizia B. The manager of the team at the time was the ex-Romanian international, Ioan Ovidiu Sabău—who started playing football in the 1980s at "U" Cluj.

In the 2005–06 Divizia B season, the new objective became promotion to the first league. Under coach Leo Grozavu, who often played highly defensive football, the team made many nil draws and the team lost second place (promotion play-off) by a point, though in the last match days they won 4–0 with the first place and the third, and 3–2 (after leading 3–0) with the 2nd place.

In the beginning of the 2006–07 Liga II season (Divizia B was renamed to Liga II in this season), a new manager, Adrian Falub—who had never coached before but had played over 220 matches for "U" Cluj in the first league—was hired. Under his lead, the team had a poor early season and only reached 8th position. Yet, the moment passed and the team reached 1st position, often separated by over 6 points from the next position. On 19 May 2007, virtual promotion was achieved after a 0–0 draw against second place contender Dacia Mioveni. Three weeks before the final match day, "U" ended its 8-year spell in the lower divisions, returning to the first league for the 52nd season in its history.

Stadium

old Ion Moina Stadium (1911–2008), the former home ground of U Cluj

Cluj Arena, the current home ground of U Cluj

Ion Moina Stadium, the first football and athletics stadium in Cluj-Napoca, was built between 1908 and 1911 and had a capacity of 1,500. The official inauguration in 1911 was a game between a Cluj team and Galatasaray Istanbul. It was the first game in Europe for Galatasaray; the Cluj team won 8–1. In 1961, new U-shaped stands were built and the capacity of the stadium became 28,000. In 2000, most of the stands were declared structurally unsafe for hosting supporters and were closed, leaving the stadium with a capacity of 12–13,000. In late 2008, the old "Ion Moina" Stadium was demolished, and building works begun for the Cluj Arena. The last official game at the old stadium was played on 22 November 2008; Universitatea drew 0–0 in their Liga II game with Mureșul Deva.^[2]

During the construction works for the new stadium, Universitatea played its home games in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 Liga II seasons at the Clujana Stadium and its home games in the 2010–11 Liga I season at the Cetate Stadium in Alba Iulia, Gloria Stadium in Bistrița and Gaz Metan Stadium in Mediaș.

On 11 October 2011, the first match at the new Cluj Arena stadium—a friendly between Universitatea and the Russian team Kuban Krasnodar—was played; Kuban won 4–0. On 16 October 2011, the first official match at the new stadium was played; Universitatea won the Liga I game against FC Brașov 1–0.

Supporters

”U” Cluj supporters during a First Division game

“U” has many supporters in Cluj-Napoca, but also in some other parts of Romania—especially in Transylvania. One of the reasons for the team’s popularity is that Cluj-Napoca has some of Romania's most important universities—including the Babes-Bolyai University, the largest in the country with more than 45,000 students.^[3]

The ultras groups of "U" Cluj are: VG (Vechia Guardia), Fazione Accademica, UCG (Ultra Curva Groapa), Ultras 19, Fanatics, Boys, Battaglione Gheorgheni, F.O.R.T. and others.^[4]

Rivalries

”U” Cluj supporters during a Second Division game

Universitatea have a rivalry with local city team CFR Cluj. The animosity between the teams is one of the oldest in Romanian football.^[5] The first incidents between fans of the two sides occurred in the 1920s.^[5] A particularly violent episode took place during a derby played in 1924, when the stadium had to be evacuated because of a large-scale fight between supporters. Universitatea won the match 2–1. Other episodes of this rivalry are: in 2005, upset by the fact that Universitatea was relegated to Divizia C, "U" fans injured CFR players at the Sport Hotel in Cluj-Napoca; in 2008, following a derby, CFR won and obtained its first league title and Universitatea relegated in Liga II, but this match was preceded by a corruption scandal, because Steaua București's owner, Gigi Becali, offered "U" staff one million euros for defeating CFR.^[6]

Current squad

As of 22 September 2016

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Cristian Man 4 DF Octavian Abrudan 6 DF Darius Irimie 7 MF Brian Lemac 8 MF Dan Fodor 9 FW Iuliu Hațiegan 10 MF Alexandru Păcurar 11 FW Adrian Pintea 12 GK Adrian Rus 13 DF Victor Manu 15 MF Rareș Cîndea

No. Position Player 17 DF Florin Fizeșan 18 FW Dorin Goga 23 FW Adrian Pop-Solovăstru 27 DF Andrei Pașca 28 MF Alin Arman 29 MF Gabriel Giurgiu (Captain) 30 MF Răzvan Moșuți 31 FW Cristian Kilin 32 DF Darius Hîmpea 33 GK Rareș Pop 77 MF Mădălin Bercea

Club officials

Board of directors Role Name Owner Cluj-Napoca Municipality Owner Babeș-Bolyai University Owner "U" Cluj Supporters Association Honorary President Remus Câmpeanu Executive President Radu Constantea Vice-President Cosmin Irimieș Team Manager Ioan Ovidiu Sabău

Current staff Role Name Manager Marius Popescu Assistant Manager Zsolt Szilágyi Goalkeeping Coach Emilian Dolha Club Doctor Dragoș Vălean

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit manufacturer	Period	Shirt partner
2009–2014	Nike	2009–2014
2014–	Erima	2014–2015	Romprest

Honours

Championships

"U" Cluj-Napoca League Position History

Liga I

• Runners-up (1): 1932–33

Liga II

• Winners (6): 1950, 1957–58, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1991–92, 2006–07
• Runners-up (3): 1939–40, 1983–84, 2009–10

Liga III

• Winners (1): 2000–01

Cups

Romanian Cup

• Winners (1): 1964–65
• Runners-up (4): 1933–34, 1941–42, 1948–49, 2014–15

League Cup

• Runners-up (1): 1998

Junior Teams

The “U” Cluj Under 21 and Junior teams have always ranked among the best in the country and have won several National Championship titles:

• The Under-21s were Romanian champions 3 times in: 1962–63, 1970–71, 1971–72
• The Under-21s were Romanian champions 8 times in: 1955, 1956, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1973–74, 2000–01

European record

Domestic record

Key

The players in bold were the top goalscorers in the division.

Seasons

Season	League									Cup	European Cup		Other		Top Goalscorer(s)		Notes	Name[7]
	Division[8]	Pos	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts						Name	Goals
1921–22	District	3rd	7	4	1	2	8	10	9	–								Universitatea Cluj
1922–23										–
1923–24		1st								–			Finals	QF
1924–25		1st	14	10	4	0	27	6	24	–			Finals	QF
1925–26		2nd	18	11	4	3	43	26	26	–
1926–27		1st	10	7	2	1	21	8	16	–			Finals	SF
1927–28		2nd								–
1928–29		2nd								–
1929–30		1st							16	–			Finals	SF
1930–31										–
1931–32		1st								–
1932–33	Div A	1st	12	8	2	2	24	15	18	–			Finals	F	Grațian Sepi	10	Foundation of the Romanian Football League system
1933–34		3rd	14	8	1	5	33	17	17	F					Grațian Sepi	14
1934–35		4th	22	12	1	9	36	34	25	R16					Silviu Ploeșteanu	8
1935–36		12th[9]	22	7	2	13	29	53	16	SF
1936–37		9th	22	8	2	12	38	62	18	QF					Silviu Ploeșteanu	8
1937–38		6th	18	7	2	9	33	50	20	R32
1938–39	Div B	3rd	18	9	3	6	30	21	21	p
1939–40		2nd	18	14	1	3	63	22	29	p
1940–41	Div A	11th	24	8	1	15	42	58	17	p					Sever Coracu	12	Moved to Sibiu due to Second Vienna Award	Universitatea Cluj-Sibiu
1941–42		SF[10]	3	2	0	1	13	6	–	F
1942–43		8th[10]	22	7	6	9	48	51	20	QF
1943–44		4th[10]	13	7	1	5	32	27	15	–					Sever Coracu	9
1944–45		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–					–	–		Universitatea Cluj
1945–46	District	1st								–
1946–47	Div A	9th	26	11	3	12	54	47	25	–					Sever Coracu	13
1947–48		4th	30	14	6	10	54	48	34	R16					Sever Coracu	8
1948–49		12th	26	7	5	14	31	49	19	F					Sever Coracu	10		C.S.U. Cluj
1950	Div B	1st	22	14	6	2	47	16	34	R16								Ştiinţa Cluj
1951	Div A	6th	22	8	5	9	32	36	21	R32					Silviu Avram	10
1952		5th	22	7	7	8	24	23	21	R16
1953		8th	21	7	4	10	24	31	18	SF
1954		5th	26	11	6	9	32	32	28	R32
1955		7th	24	8	7	9	27	35	23	R32
1956		12th	24	6	5	13	22	48	17	R16
1957	Div B	3rd	12	6	2	4	25	23	14	–
1957–58		1st	26	17	3	6	58	23	37	p
1958–59	Div A	11th	22	2	11	9	23	36	15	R16
1959–60		5th	22	7	10	5	34	32	24	QF					Viorel Mateianu	7
1960–61		4th	26	12	5	9	47	44	29	R32					Viorel Mateianu	11
1961–62		7th	26	10	6	10	46	44	26	R32					Petru Emil	8
1962–63		4th	27	11	7	9	42	44	29	R32					Mihai Adam	15
1963–64		9th	26	11	2	13	39	38	24	R32					Mihai Adam	10
1964–65		7th	26	9	6	11	40	38	24	W					Mihai Adam	18
1965–66		7th	26	8	10	8	34	35	26	R16	CWC	2R			Mihai Adam	8
1966–67		6th	26	9	8	9	31	30	26	R32					Mihai Adam	8		Universitatea Cluj
1967–68		10th	26	10	5	11	36	37	25	R16					Mihai Adam	15
1968–69		8th	30	13	4	13	47	39	30	QF					Vasile Oprea	18
1969–70		11th	30	9	10	11	40	37	28	R16					Mihai Adam	11
1970–71		12th	30	10	9	11	36	35	29	SF					Mihai Adam	12
1971–72		3rd	30	16	5	9	39	27	37	R16					Mihai Adam	10
1972–73		16th	30	7	9	14	25	50	23	QF	UEFA	1R
1973–74		10th	34	12	9	13	35	37	33	QF
1974–75		12th	34	12	9	13	29	38	33	QF
1975–76		18th	34	8	3	23	30	45	19	R16
1976–77	Div B	12th	34	14	4	16	37	40	32	p
1977–78		3rd	34	21	5	8	71	27	47	p
1978–79		1st	34	21	4	9	73	23	46	R32
1979–80	Div A	12th	34	14	4	16	44	43	32	R16					Septimiu Câmpeanu	24
1980–81		14th	34	14	4	16	47	57	32	R16					Septimiu Câmpeanu	19
1981–82		16th	34	11	8	15	34	49	30	R16					Septimiu Câmpeanu	11
1982–83	Div B	3rd	34	19	3	12	61	26	41	R32
1983–84		2nd	34	25	1	8	78	25	51	p
1984–85		1st	34	20	10	4	68	23	50	p
1985–86	Div A	7th	34	14	5	15	51	52	33	R16					Septimiu Câmpeanu	12
1986–87		10th	34	14	4	16	54	47	32	R32					Septimiu Câmpeanu	12
1987–88		10th	34	11	7	16	39	54	29	R32					Septimiu Câmpeanu	11
1988–89		14th	34	11	8	15	43	55	30	R32
1989–90		13th	34	10	9	15	40	60	29	R32					Imre Biro	9
1990–91		18th	34	5	6	23	26	67	16	R16
1991–92	Div B	1st	34	26	7	1	82	10	57[11]	p
1992–93	Div A	11th	34	14	2	18	43	51	30	QF					Marius Predatu	14
1993–94		12th	34	11	9	14	39	42	31	SF					Marius Popescu	6
1994–95		12th	34	13	4	17	39	42	43	SF					Marius Predatu	9
1995–96		9th	34	14	6	14	41	40	48	R32	IT	GS			Radu Sabo	12
1996–97		15th	34	11	6	17	52	67	39	QF					Ovidiu Maier	8
1997–98		13th	34	11	7	16	42	40	40	R32			League Cup	F	Marius Popescu	9
1998–99		17th	34	4	4	26	19	92	16	R16
1999–00	Div B	17th	34	6	6	22	30	76	24	4R					Daniel Dăscălescu Adrian Truşcă	5
2000–01	Div C	1st	28	20	5	3	65	19	65	p					Ioan Ovidiu Sabău	9
2001–02	Div B	10th	30	11	7	12	51	40	40	p					Ciprian Prodan	12
2002–03		9th	28	8	10	10	48	44	34	p					Dan Codreanu	14
2003–04		6th	30	15	7	8	49	28	52	p					Răzvan Cociş	12
2004–05		7th	28	12	4	12	41	33	40	R16					Emil Jula	11
2005–06		3rd	28	15	9	4	44	16	54	4R					Dorin Goga	9
2006–07	L2	1st	34	21	9	4	49	21	72	R32					Radu Sabo	10
2007–08	L1	18th	34	4	11	19	32	58	23	R16					Dorin Goga	8
2008–09	L2	14th	34	11	12	11	37	33	43[11]	R32					Flavius Băd	9
2009–10		2nd	32	20	7	5	60	24	67	4R					Valentin Lemnaru	13
2010–11	L1	8th	34	13	8	13	48	54	47	R16					Claudiu Niculescu	13
2011–12		7th	34	11	14	9	46	37	47	R32					Adrian Cristea	8
2012–13		12th	34	10	8	16	39	55	38	R32					Viorel Dinu	9
2013–14		11th	34	11	7	16	29	46	40	R32					Valentin Lemnaru	13
2014–15		15th	34	8	11	15	29	41	35	F			League Cup	QF	Justin Mengolo	5
2015–16	L2	10th	26	13	5	8	30	15	44	R32					Octavian Ursu	8
			10	3	3	4	11	13	28[12]
2016–17	L4	1st	14	13	1	0	82	5	40	2R			Cluj County Phase	SF	Brian Lemac	25

Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries at junior and/or senior level on through the time's passing. Additionally, these players have also had a significant number of caps and goals accumulated throughout a certain number of seasons for the club itself as well.

Former managers

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to CFM Universitatea Cluj.

• Universitatea Cluj official website
• FC Universitatea Cluj on Facebook
• Universitatea Cluj supporters web page
• Șepcile roșii (Red caps)
• Cronica Bestiala
• r3Lu's photos