December 30, 2020
The 2020/21 regular season of the Romania Liga 1 has now reached its winter break, with the final match before the break being played on December 22nd.. The season is scheduled to recommence on January 10th, its shortest interval in recent history, with the restart typically being the first or second week of February.
History
The Romanian League was first played for in 1909/10 with Steaua Bucharest/FCSB being the most successful team with 26 titles. Next come Dinamo Bucharest with 18 titles. Of teams still in existence, the next successful after these are UTA Arad with 8 titles and then CFR Cluj with 6 wins.
For sponsorship reasons the competition is currently known as the Casa Liga 1.
The National Side
The Romania national side are currently ranked 37th in the world, just below Paraguay, Mexico and Morocco but above South Korea, Russia and Hungary, making them 20th best in Europe. They did get as high as 7th in 1997 but dropped as low as 56th in 2006 and 2007. Their average position since the FIFA world rankings were created is 24th. The local nickname for the national side is the Tricolours.
Romania’s best performance in the World Cup was in 1994 where they reached the quarter finals. Having previously defeated Argentina in the knock-out stages they were eliminated on penalties by Sweden after a 2-2 draw.
Their best performance in the Euros was in 2000 where they were eliminated 0-2 by Italy in the quarter finals after qualifying from their group with a 3-2 win over England, famous for a reckless penalty given away by Phil Neville with 3 minutes left to play.
In the recent Euro 2020 qualifying campaign Romania finished a poor 4th in their group, achieving the double over the Faroe Islands and Malta, but losing twice to Spain and Sweden and drawing twice with Norway. However, thanks to their previous results in the Nations League they were entitled to a play-off with Iceland, which they lost 1-2 in Reykjavik.
Romania’s 2020/21 Nations League campaign was also pretty non-descript, with a 3-2 win in Austria, two 1-1 draws with Northern Ireland, and defeats in Norway ( 0-4 ) and at home to Austria ( 0-1 ). A 3-0 home win was awarded over Norway due to Covid amongst the Norwegian squad.
Of the squad for the Nations League matches in November, three were playing in both Italy and Turkey, two were playing in Greece, and one each in Poland, Russia and Hungary. Forward George Puskas is playing for Reading in the English Championship. Of players playing domestically, 4 were with FCSB, three with CFR Cluj, and one each with Astra Giurgiu, Sepsi OSK, Universitatea Craicova and UTA Arad. From other squads in the past 12 months, Ianis Hagi ( son of Georghe Hagi ) is with Glasgow Rangers, ex Tottenham player Vlad Chiriches is now with Sassuolo and ex-Anderlecht Nicolae Stanciu is now with Slavia Prague
Of the 14 players to have plied their trade in the English Premiership the best known are probably Dan Petrescu ( ex Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford & Southampton ), Illie Dimitrescu ( ex-Tottenham ), Adrian Mutu ( ex-Chelsea ), Gheorghe Popescu ( ex-Tottenham ), Florian Raducioiu ( ex-West Ham ) and Vlorel Moldovan ( ex-Coventry ). Florin Andone might have had more of a career at Brighton and Hove Albion if it weren’t for a his poor disciplinary record…………..
Whilst the record cap holder for Romania is ex-Koln and Wolfsburg midfielder Florin Monteanu with 134 caps ( and goal against England in their famous 3-2 win ) perhaps the most distinguished footballer to come from Romania is Gheorghe Hagi. Also known as the Maradona of the Carpathians, Hagi played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, was part of the Steaua Bucharest side that reached the 1989 European Cup Final as well as starring in the 1990 and 1994 World Cup Finals and Euro 1996. Hagi won 134 caps and scored 35 goals, the joint record holder with Adrian Mutu.
League Structure
Typically, the season is played between mid July to mid May, with a break from mid-December to early February. However, due to the Covid Pandemic the 2020/21 season only commenced on August 21st, with the winter break condensed to make up for time.
The Romania Liga 1 league is currently ranked 28th by UEFA which enables the winners to qualify for First Qualifying Round of the Champions League. Three sides qualify for the Europa Conference, which will be the winners of the Romanian Cup and the side finishing 2nd. The remaining place will go to the next highest placed side if they beat the winner of the play-off round ( see below ).
The league consists of 16 sides who play each other twice for a 30 game regular season. The top 6 will play each other twice in a Championship round. The other 10 sides enter the play-off round and play each other once. The best two sides of the play-off round will play each other for the right for a match against the side in the last European qualification place in the Championship round times.
The bottom two sides of the play-off round are automatically relegated, with the sides finishing 13th and 14th facing two legged play-offs against the sides finishing 3rd and 4th in Liga 2.
The Second level Liga 2 consists of 21 sides in 2020/21, who play a 40 regular match season. The top 6 will play each other once in a promotion round with the top 2 sides being automatically promoted, with the third and fourth sides going into the promotion play-offs. The bottom 6 sides will be demoted to the third level of football in Romania.
Attendances
All matches since the Covid resumption have been played behind closed doors.
In 2019/20 prior to the Covid suspension in March, the average attendance in the league was 3,613, with Universitatea Craiova being the best supported side with an average of 13,030. Next came Steaua Bucharest with 7,522, followed by Dinamo Bucharest ( 4,931 ) and CFR Cluj ( 4,071 )
How To Watch
Highlights are available on both the Look Sport and Fotbal Romania YouTube channels, with the occasional match streamed live. Live streams are broadcast on Bet365.com.
The league website ( www.lpr.ro ) has a whole host of information and statistics.
Last Season
CFR Cluj were the 2091/20 champions, finishing 5 points clear of Universitatea Craovia. Astra Giurgiu were a distant third 11 points behind, but failed to get the requisite license to play in UEFA competitions, enabling fourth placed FC Botosani to play in the Europa League. FCSB qualified by winning the Romanian Cup for the 24th time, beating Sepsi 1-0 in the final with a 65th minute goal from Denis Man.
Due to Covid restrictions and postponements, no sides were automatically relegated, with the top two sides from Liga II ( UTA Arad & Arges Pitesti ) promoted to increase the size of Liga 1 from 14 to 16 sides. Chindia Targoviste finished bottom of the play-off round but won a two legged play-off against Mioveni to remain in Liga 1.
Summary Of The Season
The season began on Friday 21st August with newly promoted Arges Pitesi losing 2-3 at home to Botosani.
Universitatea Craiova started the season strongly with a first day 1-0 win at Sepsi, thanks to late winner that looked well offside
and led the table after 5 rounds with a 100% record, with Cluj having dropped points in goal-less draws at home to Sepsi and Chindia and FCSB suffering defeats at Voluntari and Politechnica Iasi.
U Craiova suffered a shock 0-1 home defeat to Academica Clinceni in round 8 which reduced the gap to FCSB and Cluj to three points, and another 0-1 home defeat in round 10 to Chindia, enabled FSCB to draw level. A 1-2 home defeat to Gaz Metan Medias in round 9 left Cluj lying 3 points behind at this stage.
With U Craiova drawing 0-0 at Botosani and Cluj losing 0-1 at home to Arad, FCSB’s 3-2 win at Gaz Metan Medias at the end of November saw them go to the top of the table for the first time at the end of round 11.
Round 13 saw Cluj get back in to the title race with a 2-0 home win over FCSB in which Cluj keeper Balgradean made a string of outstanding saves and together with the woodwork, a soft penalty conceded and a defensive mistake consigned FCSB to defeat. U Craiova’s 2-1 win at Arad enabled them to regain top spot again.
U Craiova were completely outplayed in a 0-2 home defeat to FCSB a week later, Dennis Man scoring both goals with perfectly timed runs to stay onside, so the leadership changed again.
A 2-1 win for Cluj at Dinamo Bucharest meant the top three were separated by 3 points.
The last round of matches before the winter break saw FCSB being held to a 1-1 home draw by Sepsi in a feisty encounter which saw the Sepsi coach sent off at half-time after an incident with FCSB defender Valentin Cretu. Steaua keeper Daniel Vlad made a number of fine saves to deny Sepsi taking all three points, and the visitors all had a stonewall penalty appeal turned down. FCSB nearly claimed the victory in added on time though but Sepsi keeper Roland Niczuly made a smart reaction save, with the follow-up being cleared off the line.
Neither Cluj and U Craiova were able to take advantage, playing out a controversial 0-0 draw. U Craiova appeared to have been deprived of a late winner when Ovidiu Bic’s 20 yard shot hit the bar and looked to have bounced down over the goal-line before being grabbed by Cluj keeper Balgradean. However, there is no VAR or goal-line technology being used in Romania and it was a close shave for Cluj !
Performances In European Club Competitions This Season
Champions CFR Cluj won their first Champions league tie with a 2-0 win in Malta over Floriana before being eliminated in a penalty shoot-out by Dinamo Zagreb after a 2-2 draw. Dropping down to the Europa League, wins in Sweden over Djurgardens ( 1-0 ) and at home to KuPS of Finland ( 3-1 ) secured qualification to the group stages.
Despite a 2-0 victory at CSKA Sofia, and home draws with Young Boys and CSKA, two defeats to Roma and in Switzerland to Young Boys meant third place and elimination.
In the Europa League Universitatea Craiova suffered a disappointing 1-2 loss in Georgia to Lokomotiv Tbilisi. FC Botosani achieved a 2-1 in Kazakhstan against Ordabasy before slumping to a 0-1 defeat at home to Shkendija of North Macedonia.
FCSB’s European campaign was a lot more eventful. After a routine 3-0 home win at home to Shirak of Armenia, a dramatic penalty shoot-out win after a 6-6 after extra time in Serbia against 9 man TSC Backa Topola followed. However, a lame 0-2 home defeat to Slovan Liberec resulted in departure from European competition for another year.
Club By Club Guide :
FCSB ( Steaua Bucharest )
Location : Bucharest
Stadium : Arena Nationale ( capacity 55,834 )
Title Wins : 26 ( last one 2014/15 )
Colours : All Red
Current members of National Squad : Dennis Man ( forward – 6 caps ), Florin Tanase ( forward – 5 caps ), Valentin Cretu ( defender – 2 caps ), Iulian Cristea ( defender – 3 caps )
Former members of National Squad : Florinel Coman ( forward – 4 caps ), Sergiu Bus ( ex Sheffield Wednesday forward ), Dragos Nedelcu ( centre-back – 2 cap ), Gabriel Enache ( right-back – 2 caps )
Foreign Players : Aristidis Soiledis ( Greek left-back )
Odd Facts : Due to a long standing legal case following privatisation of Army assets in a post Ceausescu privatisation scheme, the club is now officially known as FCSB rather than Steaua Bucharest.
Steaua were winners of the European Cup in 1985/86, famously beating Barcelona in a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw in Seville, with Helmuth Duckadam saving all 4 Barcelona penalties. They were also runners-up in 1988/89, losing 0-4 to AC Milan with Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit scoring two a-piece.
FCSB have won 6 out of 7 home matches, with only Sepsi getting a draw, in the last match before the winter break. Away from home FCSB have won 4 out of 7 but lost at Voluntari ( 1-2 ), Politechnia Iasi ( 2-5 ) and Cluj ( 0-2 ). However, they did register an important 2-0 win at Universiatatea Craiova.
FCSB have been relying almost totally on Romanian talent, with Greek defender Siledis playing just 90 minutes in the season. At the halfway break Dennis Man was the league top
scorer with 12 goals, with Florin Tanase joint second highest with 9 goals.
Florinel Coman, last season’s top scorer with 12 goals, has missed 10 weeks
through injury and has scored once in 7 appearances. Roma, Fenerbache and
Feyenoord are rumoured to be interested in signing Man, with FCSB reportedly
wanting 15M Euros for him !
CS Universitatea Craiova
Location : Craiova ( 230km west of Bucharest ), the sixth largest city in Romania
Stadium : Ion Oblemeco ( capacity 30,983 )
Title Wins : 4 ( last one in 1990/91 )
Colours : White Shirts, Blue Shorts
Current members of National Squad : Dan Nistor ( midfield – 6 caps )
Former members of National Squad : Nicusor Bancu ( left-back – 17 caps ), Mihai Balasa ( defender – 8 caps ), Paul Papp ( right-back – 18 caps ), Alexandru Mateiu ( midfield – 1 cap ), Andrei Ivan ( midfield – 7 caps ), Alexandriu Cicaldau ( midfielder – 10 caps ), Marius Constantin ( centre-back – 4 caps ),
Foreign Players : Mirko Pigliacelli ( Italian keeper ), Reagy Ofosu ( German winger ), Elvir Koljic ( Bosnian forward – 4 caps ), Antoni Ivanov ( Bulgarian midfielder ), Stephane Acka ( Ivorian defender ), Ivan Manut ( Croatian forward ),
U Craiova are unbeaten away from home, with 6 wins and 2 draws from 8 matches, with only Botsano and Cluj getting 0-0 draws.. However, poor home form has seen losses to Academia Clinceni ( 0-1 ), Chindia Targoviste ( 0-1 ) & FCSB ( 0-2 ) and Italian coach Cristiano Bergodi ( ex-Lazio player ) was sacked in early November.
Alexandriu Cicaldau is the again top scorer with 6 goals, after finding the net 14 times last season.
CFR 1907 Cluj
Location : Cluj Napoca ( 450km north-west of Bucharest ), the fourth most populous city in Romania, with a significan minority of Hungarian community.
Stadium : Constantin Radulescu ( capacity 23,500 )
Title Wins : 6 ( including the last three )
Colours : All Maroon
Current members of National Squad : Cristian Manea ( defender – 10 caps ), Camora ( defender – 2 caps )
Former members of National Squad : Andrei Burca ( defender – 4 caps ), Ciprian Deac ( midfield – 26 caps ), Alexandre Chipciu ( midfield – 46 caps ), Ovodiu Hoban ( midfield – 30 caps ), Cristian Balgradean ( keeper – 1 cap )
Foreign Players : Soares ( Brazilian midfielder ), Luis Aureilo ( Portuguese midfielder ), Damjan Dokovic ( Croatian midfielder ), Billel Omrani ( French forward ), Michael Pereira ( French winger ), Grzegorz Sandomierski ( ex Blackburn Rovers Polish midfielder - 3 caps ), Syam Ben Youssef ( ex Leyton Orient Tunisian midfielder – 48 caps ), Matoe Susic ( Bosnian right-back 5 caps ), Ivan Zunic ( Croatian centre-back ),Gabriel Dubeljuh ( Croatian forward ), Paulo Vinicius ( Brazilian defender ), Jakub Vojtus ( Slovak forward ), Mike Cestor ( Congolese defender ), Mario Rondon ( Venezuelan forward – 13 caps )
Odd Fact : CFR ( Caile Ferate Romane ) translates as Romanian Railways
Away from home Champions Cluj have only dropped points in a 1-1 draw with Viitorul and registered 6 wins on the road. It has been a different story at home, and although FCSB were beaten 2-0, there were defeats to Gaz Metan ( 1-2 ) and Arad ( 0-1 ), as well as three 0-0 draws ( against Sepsi, Chindia and U Craiova ). Only 6 goals have been scored in 8 home matche. On the other hand, they have kept 9 clean sheets and only conceded 6 goals in total. Coach Dan Petrescu was sacked after the shock Cup defeat in Iasi at the end of November
Cepran Deac is the top scorer on 4 ( having scored 14 last season ). Forward Alexandru Paun has appeared in all 15 matches so far, but nine times as a substitute. Gabriel Debeljuh was signed from Hermannstadt after 12 goals last season, and although he scored 3 times in Europe, he has only found the target twice in the league.
Sepsi OSK
Location : Sfantu Gheorghe ( 200km north of Bucharest ), where 74% of the population are ethnic Hungarians
Stadium : Municipal ( capacity 5,200 )
Title Wins : Nil
Colours : Red and White stripes, Red shorts
Current members of National Squad : Bogdan Mitrea ( midfield/centre-back – 1 cap ),
Former members of National Squad : Florin Stefan ( midfield – 1 cap ),
Foreign Players : Panagiotis Deligiannidis ( Greek right-back ), Jesus Fernando ( Spanish keeper ), Admir Bajrovic ( Swedish forward ), Boubacar Fofana ( Guinea midfielder – 18 caps ), Pavol Safranko ( ex-Dundee United Slovak forward ), Bryan Nouvier ( French winger ), Peter-Gal Andrezly ( Slovak midfielder ), Anass Achahbar ( Dutch midfielder ), Rachid Bouhenna ( ex-Dundee United Algerian centre-back ), Adnan Aganovic ( Croatian winger ), Radoslav Dimitrov ( Bulgarian full-back – 4 caps )
Odd Fact : Sepsi is part of the Hungarian name for the town of Sfantu Gheorghe.
Sepsi started the season slowly, with an unlucky home loss to U Craiova ( 0-1 ) and then three draws to lie 13th after Round 4. However, four consecutive wins started the move up the table, with the only other defeat coming in Clinceni ( 0-2 ). Sepsi have drawn at Cluj and FCSB and have also won 4 times on the road but made a shock Cup exit at Second Division Turris Turnu ( 0-1 ). Pavol Safranko has 4 goals and Adnan Aganovic has appeared in all 15 matches to-date.
Academica Clinceni
Location : Clinceni ( a village 16km south-west of Bucharest )
Stadium : Clinceni ( capacity 4,500 )
Title Wins : Nil
Colours : All Blue
Former members of National Squad : Florin Gardos ( ex-Southampton centre-back – 13 caps ), Cristian Tanase ( winger – 41 caps ), Raul Rusescu ( midfield – 10 caps )
Foreign Players : Amir Balali ( Albanian centre-back ), Georgi Pashov ( Bulgarian right-back – 3 caps ), Asen Chandarov ( Bulgarian midfielder ), Alexandru Boicuic ( Moldovan forward – 4 caps ), Mladen Jutric ( Austrian centre-back ), Denis Ventura ( Slovak midfielder ), Tsvetelin Chunchukov ( Bulgarian forward – 2 caps ), Juan Cascini ( Argentinian midfielder ), Eugeniu Cebotaru ( Moldovan midfielder – 64 caps )
Odd Facts : In 2013 the club was relocated to Clinceni from Buftea, 20km north-west of Bucharest, but moved again the following season to Pitesti, 120km north of Bucharest. However, one season later they had moved back to Clinceni.
Another team to start the season slowly, with only one win in the opening 7 encounters but 5 wins and three draws since saw them move up to 5th. Academica have lost just twice, both at home ( Cluj 1-2, FCSB 0-2 ) and are unbeaten in 7 away matches, although that does include 5 draws. The Cup saw Academica crash out 1-2 at Second Division Farul Constanta.
Keeper Octavian Valceanu and right-back Georgi Pashov have been ever present, with midfielder Eugan Cebotaru leading the scoring chart with 3 in 14 matches.
Chindia Targoviste
Location : Targoviste ( 80km north-west of Bucharest )
Stadium : Eugen Popoescu ( capacity 12,500 ) but are currently playing in Ploiesti and Giurgiu whilst their stadium is being renovated.
Title Wins : Nil
Colours : Dark Blue with Red trim
Foreign Players : Blaise Yameogo ( Burkina Faso forward – 1 cap ), Valmir Berisha ( Swedish striker ), Tomas Diaz ( Argentinian forward ), Vadim Rata ( Moldovan midfielder ), Bourama Fomba ( Malian defender )
Odd Facts : The club is named after the Chindia Tower, built in the 15th century by Vlad the Impaler, who was the inspiration for the Dracula story. The football club was formed in 2010 by a consortium that included Romanian legend Gheorghe Popsecu ( ex-Barcelona, PSV and Tottenham )
After surviving via the relegation play-offs last season, Chindia have vastly improved so far this season. With a 5-5-5 playing record and 12 goals both scored and conceded, Chindia have been a model of consistency, both home and away. The best result was the 0-0 at Cluj, and they finished the first half of the season with a win and three draws to climb in the top 6. Daniel Florea leads the way with 4 goals in 15 appearances, and defender Andrei Pitian and forward Cristian Negut have also appeared in all the matches so far.
FC Botosani
Location : Botosani ( 440km north of Bucharest )
Stadium : Municipal ( capacity 7,782 )
Title Wins : Nil
Colours : All Red
Former members of National Squad : Mihai Roman ( winger – 10 caps ),
Foreign Players : Hamidou Keyta ( French striker ), Jonathan Rodriguez ( Argentinian midfielder ), Mahmoud Al-Mawas ( Syrian midfielder – 68 caps ), David Babunski ( Macedonian midfielder – 9 caps ), Hidajet Hankic ( Austrian keeper ), Stefan Askovski ( Macedonian wing-back – 3 caps ), Sekou Camara ( Guinean midfielder ), Youssef Toutouh ( Danish midfielder ), Hervin Ongenda ( French forward ), Realdo Fili ( Albanian midfielder ), Christopher Braun ( German right-back ), Enriko Papa ( Albanian midfielder ), Marcel Holzmann ( Austrian defender )
After their 4th place finish in 2019/20, Botosani started the new season well with victories over Arges and Poli followed by draws with Dinamo and Academica. A run of 5 defeats in 6 saw them slump to 11th of the table, although 4 draws and a win since lifted them to 7th. Hamidou Keyta with 9 goals is the second highest scorer in the division.
UTA ( Uzina Textila Arad ) Arad
Location : Arad ( 580km north-west of Bucharest )
Stadium : Francisc van Neuman ( capacity 12,700 )
Title Wins : 6 ( last one 1969/70 )
Colours : Red and White stripes, Red Shorts
Current members of National Squad : Cristian Albu ( midfielder )
Former members of National Squad :Ioan Hora ( forward – 2 caps ),
Foreign Players : Simon Rrumbullaku ( Albanian left-back ), Erico ( Brazilian centre-back ),
Newly promoted, UTA started the season impressively to be in 5th place after Round 9. The only defeat came at home to Poli ( 2-3 ), but wins at Dinamo ( 1-0 ) & Botosani ( 2-3 ), and at home to Chindia ( 1-0 ) were claimed in addition to 5 draws. However, the last 4 matches before the winter close-down were all lost ( FCSB 0-3 away, U Craiova 1-2 home, Sepsi 0-3 away & Astra 0-6 at home ).
Vlad Morar and Adrian Hora were joint top scorers with 3 each, and Cristian Albu and Simon Rrumbullaku played in every game.
FC Viitorul Constanta
Location : Ovidiu ( 230km east of Bucharest ), just outside Constanza, the 5th largest city in Romania, on the Black Sea coast.
Stadium : Viitorul ( capacity 4,554 )
Title Wins : 1 ( 2016/17 )
Colours : Light Blue shorts, Black shorts
Former members of National Squad : Valentin Cojocaru ( keeper ), Gabriel Iancu ( forward – 4 caps ), Cosmin Matei ( winger – 2 caps ), Romario Benzar ( right-back – 19 caps ), Aurelian Chitu ( forward – 2 caps ), Adrian Stoian ( winger – 2 caps )
Foreign Players : Damien Dassaut ( French right-back ), Bradley de Nooijer ( Dutch centre-back ), Victor Fernandez ( Spanish winger ), Angel Martinez ( Spanish left-back ),Ely Fernandes ( Cape Verde forward ), Jon Gaztanaga ( Spanish centre-back ),Kevin Luckassen ( ex Ross County and Northampton Dutch forward ), Josemi Casteneda ( Spanish midfielder )
Odd Fact : Founded by Gheorghe Hagi in 2009 and noted for its Youth Academy. Hagi was manager of the side for 6 seasons before stepping aside prior to the start of this season. He remains the club’s owner.
They lost two of their first three matches before an unbeaten run of 7 took them to 6th place, although they are currently on a run of one point in 4 matches. Luckassen is the top scorer with 6 goals in 13 games and midfielder Alexandru Matan was ever present. Gabriel Iancu was the league’s top scorer in 2019/20 with 18 goals but has missed part of this season, playing only 9 matches and scoring 4 times.
Astra Giurgiu
Location : Giurgiu ( 65km north of Bucharest )
Stadium : Anton Anastasovici ( capacity 8,200 )
Title Wins : 1 ( 2015/16 )
Colours : Black and White Stripes, White Shorts
Current members of National Squad : David Lazar ( keeper – 1 cap )
Former members of National Squad : Constantin Budescu ( midfield – 13 caps ), Valerica Gaman ( midfield – 14 caps ), Mihat Radut ( midfield – 2 caps )
Foreign Players : Hugo Sousa ( Portuguese centre-back ), Risto Radunovic ( Montenegrin left-back – 5 caps ), Daniel Groavac ( Bosnian centre-back – 4 caps ), Sebastien Wuthrich ( Swiss midfielder ), Dinu Graur ( Moldovan defender – 15 caps ), Shlomi Azulay ( Israeli forward ), David Bruno ( Portuguese right-back ), Luban Crepulja ( Croatian midfielder ), Mattia Montini ( ex Bari Italian forward ), Sulejman Krpic ( Bosnian forward – 4 caps ).
After a third place finish in the 2019/20 season, Astra started the new season with just one point in their first 7 matches. They were still bottom after Round 11 but an unbeaten run in the last 6 matches, in which 12 points were gathered, saw them move away from the relegation places at half-way. The last two matches were a 3-0 home win over Gaz Metan and a 6-0 win at Arad.
Constantin Budescu contributed 6 goals, and Daniel Groavac and Luban Crepulja were ever present. Their top scorer in 2019/20, Denis Alibec, is now playing for Kayserispor in Turkey after playing in 5 matches this season.
FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti
Location : Bucharest
Stadium : Stadium Dinamo ( capacity 15,400 )
Title Wins : 18 ( the last 2006/07 )
Colours : Red and White stripes, Red Shorts
Former members of National Squad : Paul Anton ( midfield – 10 caps )
Foreign Players : Tomas Meijas ( ex Middlesborough Spanish keeper ), Juan Camara ( Spanish winger ), Magaye Gueye ( ex Everton & Millwall French midfielder ), Adam Nemec ( ex-Genk and Kaiserslautern Slovak forward - 43 caps ), Diego Fabbrini ( ex-Watford, Millwall & Birmingham Italian midfielder – 1 cap ), Janusz Gol ( Polish midfielder – 8 caps ), Ante Puljic ( Croatian centre-back ), Aleix Garcia ( ex-Manchester City Spanish midfielder )
Odd Facts : Dinamo reached the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1983/84 ( losing 1-3 on aggregate to Liverpool ), and the semi-finals of the 1989/90 European Cup-Winners Cup ( losing to Anderlecht 0-2 on aggregate )
The fallen giants started with only one win in their
first 10 matches, although 10 points out of the last 15 moved them away from
the bottom two. Dinamo are already on
their third manager of the season. Spanish midfielder Borja Valle scored 5
goals in 9 goals, including probably the goal of the season from 10 yards
inside his own half against Botosani, but has since left the club. Rumours on Twitter circulate that the players have not been paid and could become free-agents if outstanding salaries are not paid early in January.
Gaz Metan Medias
Location : Medias ( 330km north-west of Bucharest )
Stadium : Gaz Metan ( capacity 7,814 )
Title Wins : Nil
Colours : All White
Foreign Players : Yuri Matias ( Brazilian centre-back ), Ondrej Baco ( Czech centre-back ), Francisco Junior ( Guinea-Bissau midfielder – 7 caps ), Nasser Chamed ( Comoros winger – 15 caps ), Tomas Smola ( Czech forward ), Yves Pambou ( Congolese midfielder – 2 caps ), Roberto Romeo ( Italian winger ), Nicolao Dumitru ( ex Nottingham Forest & Napoli Italian forward ), Ze Manuel ( Portuguese winger ), Idrisa Sambu ( Portuguese winger ), Moussa Sanoh ( ex Crawley Town Dutch midfielder ), Ricardo Valente ( Portuguese forward ), Bryan Alceus ( Haitian forward – 13 caps ),
Gaz Metan had an up and down first half of the season, recording wins at Cluj, Arad and Poli but lost 4 times at home. Dumitru top scored with 7 goals. Keeper Alexandru Buzbuchi and defender Ionut Larie were ever-present so far.
AFC Hermannstadt
Location : Sibiu ( 275km north-west of Bucharest )
Stadium : Municipal ( capacity 5,000 ) although matches since the start of October have been played in Medias
Title Wins : Nil
Colours : All White with a Red Shoulder Band
Foreign Players : Baba Alhassan ( Ghanaian midfielder ), David Caiado ( Portuguese winger ), Jo Santos ( Brazilian forward ), Ousmane Viera ( Ivorian defender – 19 caps ), Cristiano ( Portuguese keeper ), David Mayoral ( Spanish winger ), Angel Bastos ( Spanish right-back ), Romario Pires ( Brazilian midfielder ), Bright Addae ( Ghanaian midfielder - 1 cap ), Fabio Fortes ( Portuguese forward ), Stanley Eibers ( Dutch winger ), Soni Mustivar ( Haitian midfielder – 20 caps ), Goran Karanovic ( Swiss striker )
Odd Fact : Hermannstadt is the German name for the town of Sibiu.
FC Hermannstadt started with just one loss in their first 7 games, but their form quickly declined with only one win in their next 7. Veteran defender Ionut Stoica appeared in all 14 matches, whilst Mayoral was top scorer with 3 goals.
FC Voluntari
Location : Voluntari ( 13km north of Bucharest )
Stadium : Anghel Iondanescu ( capacity 4,600 )
Title Wins : Nil
Colours : All White or all Blue
Former members of National Squad : Adrina Popa ( winger – 22 caps ),
Foreign Players : Marcos Lavin ( Spanish keeper ), Igor Armas ( Moldovan defender – 57 caps ), Pablo de Lucas ( Spanish defender ), Jefte Betancor ( Spanish forward ), Eric ( Brazilian midfielder ), Anderson ( Brazilian forward ), Marcelo Lopes ( Portuguese midfielder ), Ricardinho ( Portuguese right-back ), Gregoire Puel ( French right-back ), Milan Kocic ( Slovenian left back )
Odd Fact : Founded in 2010, Voluntari won the Romanian Cup in 2016
After 3 rounds Voluntari proudly sat in third place with 7 points and home wins over Gaz Metan Medias and FCSB ( both 2-1 ) although a run of just one win in their last 9 matches left them in a relegation play-off place at the end of the year. A 0-6 home defeat in the Cup to Gaz Metan also occurred during this poor run.
CSM Politehnica Iasi
Location : Iasi (400km north of Bucharest ), the second largest city in Romania, and former capital of the Moldova region
Stadium : Emil Alexandrescu ( capacity 11,390 )
Title Wins : Nil
Colours : Blue and White Stripes, White Shorts
Former members of National Squad :Andrea Cristea ( forward - 10 caps ),
Foreign Players : Rodny Lopes ( Cabo Verde right back – 1 cap ), Nikos Baxevanos ( Greek – centre-back ), Donaldo Acka ( Albanian midfielder ), Juan Passaglia ( Argentine midfielder ), Dzenan Zajmovic ( Bosnian forward ), Florian Vanzo ( Belgian winger ), Levante Bosz ( Hungarian keeper ), Joseph Mensah ( Ghanaian midfielder ), Manuel de Iriondo ( Argentine midfielder ), Platini ( Cabo Verde midfielder – 22 caps ), Lucas Chacana ( Argentine forward ), Gai Assulin ( Isreali midfielder – 1 cap ), Nicandro Breeveld ( Surianamese forward ), Ionas Brinza ( Moldovan keeper )
Poli started the season with 3 wins out of 5, including a 5-2 triumph over FCSB. A run of 9 games without a win followed, until a 1-0 at FC Hermannstadt in the last round before the winter break
Defending is an obvious problem, with 35 goals conceded in 15 matches, but 36 year old Andrea Cristea has notched 6 goals. Poli did beat Cluj 1-0 in the Romanian Cup though.
FC Arges Pitesti
Location : Pitesti ( 120km north-west of Bucharest )
Stadium : Nicolae Dobrin ( capacity 15,000 ), named after a legend of the 1970’s team
Title Wins : Two ( last one 1978/79 )
Colours : Violet and White stripes, white shorts
Former members of National Squad : Andrei Prepelita ( midfield – 14 caps ),
Foreign Players : David Meza ( Paraguayan midfielder ), Mediop Ndiaye ( Seneglese forward ), Alexsander Maes ( ex-Beerschot Belgian winger ), Antun Palic ( Croatian midfielder ), Sergio Marakis ( Portuguese midfielder ), Luka Maric ( Croatian centre-back ), Cephas Malele ( Swiss forward ), Sylvain Deslandes ( ex-Wolves forward ), Clement Corturier ( French winger )
Odd Facts : The club’s nickname is the White and Violet Eagles. After eliminating AEK Athens, Arges played Nottingham Forest in the 1979/80 European Cup, with Forest winning 4-1 on aggregate. The club were declared bankrupt in 2013, but the reformed side have since worked their way up through the league, resulting in promotion to Liga 1 last season.
Newly promoted Arges got off to a disastrous start, taking just one point in their first 6 games. A run of two home wins ( 1-0 Astra and 2-1 Voluntari ) and a draw at Viitorul temporarily took them out of the bottom 2. However, 6 games without a win left them bottom at the end of the year. Arges also suffered a disappointing Cup exit, losing 0-1 at Second Division Viitorul Targu Jiu.
Ex-Palermo Angolan born Swiss striker Malele scored 6
goals in 11 games, whilst defender Mihai Leca was the only ever-present in the
first 15 games of the season.
