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FC Universitatea Cluj

(Redirected from U Cluj)
This article is about the football club. For the sports club, see CS Universitatea Cluj-Napoca.

Asociația Sportivă Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj (Romanian pronunciation: [universiˈtate̯a kluʒ]), commonly known as Universitatea Cluj or simply as U Cluj, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I.

Universitatea Cluj
Full nameAsociația Sportivă Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj
Nickname(s)
  • Șepcile roșii (The Red Caps)
  • Studenții (The Students)
  • Alb-negrii (The White and Blacks)
Short nameU Cluj
Founded23 November 1919; 104 years ago (1919-11-23)
as Societatea Sportivă a
Studenților Universitari
2016; 8 years ago (2016) (refounding)
as ACSF Alb-Negru al Studenților Clujeni
GroundCluj Arena
Capacity30,201[1]
OwnersCluj-Napoca Municipality
Babeș-Bolyai University
U Cluj Supporters Association
ChairmanRadu Constantea
Head coachIoan Sabău
LeagueLiga I
2023–24Liga I, 10th of 16
Websitefcuniversitateacluj.ro
Current season

Founded in 1919 by doctor Iuliu Hațieganu, Universitatea Cluj has spent more than half of its history in the top flight, but never became national champion. It has played six Cupa României finals under four names, and won the trophy in the 1964–65 season after a 2–1 defeat of Dinamo Pitești. Once considered the most important side in the region of Transylvania, its status has been threatened in the 21st century by the success of CFR Cluj, with whom it contests the Cluj derby.

Universitatea players and fans are nicknamed Șepcile roșii ("the Red Caps") after the red berets worn by students of the Cluj University of Medicine. The team traditionally plays in white and black kits, although variations of red, maroon and gold have been used in the past. Its home ground is Cluj Arena, which was opened in 2011 and can host around 30,000 spectators.

History

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The Universitatea sports club of Cluj was founded on 23 November 1919 by the "Sports Society of University Students" (Romanian: Societatea Sportivă a Studenților Universitari—abbreviated to "U"), the press from Cluj wrote an announcement that day:"With patriotic warmth for every young Romanian university student to hold on to a holy duty to join the sports lists that are at the University's Secretariat".[2][3] Its first chairman was Professor Iuliu Hațieganu, a physician and politician who in 1932 said:"Our goal is not to create champions, but healthy people. Not record, but harmony, not hate, but camaraderie; not personal victory, but the victory of the nation; don't speculate, but sacrifice".[4] On 16 May 1920, the team played its first game, a 3–1 win over Gloria Arad with goals scored by Crâsnic II, Târla and Vatian, the first 11 being: Mihai Tripa – Aurel Guga, Eugen Metainu – Brutus Ratiu, Ioan Nichin, Petrila Petica, Arcadie Crâsnic I – Sabin Vatianu, Eugen Crâsnic II, Sabin Târla, Nicolae Gruescu.[4] In addition to participating in the first regional championships, "U" stands out as the first Romanian team to perform in an international tournament. It happened in 1923, Cluj playing with some of the most important teams from France, Italy and Yugoslavia: 0–5 Stade Francaise, 4–2 with Lyon, 3–0 with Grenoble Etudiant Club, 0–1 with Politehnica Turin and 1–2 with HAŠK Zagreb.[4]

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 Romania 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). In the first season of the Romanian Cup, in 1933–34, "U" reached the final, losing against Ripensia Timișoara (0–5).

The first notable captain of "U" Cluj was Mircea Luca who took the captain armband in 1941, in the hardest period of the club's history, as in 1940, the team moved from Cluj-Napoca to Sibiu as a result of the Second Vienna Award, when the northern part of Transylvania was ceded to Hungary.[5][6][7][8] 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.[5][7][8] During these years some players left to play for Bucharest teams but Luca refused to do so, also the team's biggest performance was the reaching of the 1942 Cupa României final, which however was lost in front of Rapid București.[4][5][8][9] After the war in which some of the club's players died, the team had to earn its right to play in Cluj, by playing against Ferar Cluj who during the war competed in the Hungarian league under the name Kolozsvár AC, finishing on the third place in one season and had more experienced and international footballers.[5][6] According to historian Gheorghe Bodea who was at the game, the differences between the two teams could be seen since the players entered the field as the ones of Ferar had modern new equipment while the players of "U" appeared in equipment that was five years old.[5][6] Bodea also claims that the game was dominated at first by Ferar but Universitatea resisted with Luca being the leader of the defense, at one moment in the game he got his arch broken during an aerial duel, teammate Sever Coracu bandaging him in order to continue the game.[5][6] With Luca taking care of the defense and Coracu of the offense, "U" Cluj won with 4–0, Luca being named "Man of the match".[5][6] In December 2007 in an interview for the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper, Luca said:"Only I know how I gathered them for a match with Ferar (...) They had a strong team, as Cluj never had, one like a racing horse. We won that match 4–0, one that I care a lot about and that ended Ferar's hegemony in Transylvania".[10]

In 1946, the name of the club was changed to Știința Cluj (Science Cluj) and in the summer of the same year, the Romanian Football Federation decided that they had to play a play-off against Victoria Cluj in order to earn the right to play in the 1946–47 Divizia A season.[6] The first leg ended 1–1, but The Red Caps won the second leg with 3–1, thus earning their right to play in the first league where they would stay for the following three seasons, relegating in 1949.[6] During this period the team also reached the 1949 Cupa României final for the third time, but it was beaten by CSCA București—now called Steaua București (1–2).[11]

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 defeated with 2–1 Dinamo Pitești with goals scored by Câmpeanu and Ivansuc and won the Cupa României under coach Andrei Sepci who used the following players in the final: Simion Moguț – Paul Marcu, Traian Georgescu (c), Paul Grăjdeanu, Remus Câmpeanu – Vasile Alexandru, Mircea Neșu – Nicolae Szabo, Zoltán Ivansuc, Mihai Adam, Ioan Suciu.[4][12][13] In the following season, the club made its debut in European competitions, participating in the 1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup, eliminating Austrian team, Wiener Neustadt with 3–0 on aggregate in the first round, the goals being scored by Ivansuc (2) and Adam but they got eliminated in the following round by Atlético Madrid.[14][15][16]

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,[citation needed] 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 second 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 eighth position. Yet, the moment passed and the team reached first 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.

Name Period
Societatea Sportivă a Studenților Universitari Cluj 1919–1940
Universitatea Cluj-Sibiu 1940–1945
Știința Cluj 1946–1948
CSU Cluj 1948–1950
Știința Cluj 1950–1966
Universitatea Cluj 1966-1994
AS FC Universitatea Cluj 1994–2015
ACS Alb-Negru al Studenților Clujeni 2016–2017
FC Universitatea Cluj 2017–present
 
"U" Cluj players celebrating the promotion in the Liga I in 2007

The 2007–08 Liga I season, the first season of Liga I in the last eight years[when?] for "U" Cluj was a tough one. The club did not manage the promotion very well, and at the end of a tumultuous season the club finished in 18th place, the last one, with only 17 points, returning to Liga II.[17]

The 2008–09 Liga II season was a transition one and "U" was saved from relegation to Liga III in the last round, after a 3–0 victory against Arieșul Turda while the main contra-candidate ACU Arad ended only 1–1 at home against Bihor Oradea, a match which was followed by a major scandal. Bihor Oradea accused ACU Arad of trying to fix the match, a victory being enough for the team from Arad to save from relegation.[18]

In the summer of 2009 "U" Cluj was taken over by Florian Walter, owner of Romprest Service which is one of the leaders of the facility management sector in Romania.[19] After only one season under the ownership of Walter, "U" Cluj was promoted to Liga I finishing second in the 2009–10 Liga II season.

In the new season, "U" Cluj demonstrated that was much better prepared from an administrative and sports point of view and managed to finish 2010–11 Liga I season in eighth place, far away from the relegation area.

The 2011–12 Liga I season brought "U" to another area of its existence. Well known and valuable players like Mircea Bornescu, George Galamaz, Gabriel Boștină, Marian Cristescu, Ovidiu Hoban, Gheorghe Grozav, Laurențiu Marinescu and Tony were bought by the club and the objective was qualification in the UEFA Europa League. Șepcile Roșii finished only in seventh place and failed to achieve the objective, but they got the best ranking of the club in the last 26 years.

In the summer of 2012, Florian Walter left "U" Cluj and became the owner of Petrolul Ploiești. Together with his departure, most valuable players left also the club and signed with the team from Ploiești.[20] Left without the main financier, Alb-Negrii attempted to form a squad of competitive players with little money. In February 2013 club debts grew worrying and "U" went into insolvency.[21] Despite all the financial problems the team saved from relegation, finishing 12th at the end of 2012–13 season.

In the spring of 2013 Florian Walter announced that he would return at "U" Cluj.[22] At the end of the 2012–13 season a new problem shook the already disturbed environment of "U" Cluj. The license committee refused to license the club for the 2013–14 Liga I season and decided to relegate it to Liga II.[23] Șepcile Roșii contested the decision at CAS and won, assuring their presence in the next season of Liga I.[24] 2013–14 season it would once again be one without claims for "U" due to financial problems that the club had. Also Florian Walter no longer seemed interested in investing too much in the team. With all the problems Studenții managed again to save from relegation, finishing 11th.

"Universitatea Cluj won and lost when no one expected. Even its victory in the Cupa României is the result of some calendar coincidences, when the students found the maximum form through the laws of chance. "U" tried several times to be more more than it can. It tried to forget what it was. It tried, in the last resort, to stop being "U", sacrificing the lovely black horseshoe on its student chest, in the name of wanting to be what it could never be. Universitatea Cluj will always be just a champion of unsettled enthusiasms. Can there be a more beautiful title?"

–Former "U" Cluj captain, Mircea Luca's analysis about the club[4]

The 2014–15 Liga I season was a reorganization one, with six teams relegated instead of four, in an attempt to reduce Liga I teams from 18 to 14. "U" Cluj struggled with its few resources until the very end, but at the end of the season the club was placed on 15th position and relegated to Liga II after its five-year spell in Liga I.

 
Chart showing the progress of U Cluj's league finishes from 1932 to 2017

The relegation in the Liga II was a real disaster for "U"'s already shaky financial situation. The club made a squad full of young players from the academy hoping that through the ambition of the young players and a miracle the team would promote back in Liga I after only one season of Liga II.[25] That was the only solution for saving the club, which was at that moment in insolvency for two and a half years and with an owner, Florian Walter, present only as a name in the papers, without investing in the club anyway and also being in international tracking for tax evasion and money laundering.[26]

The 2015–16 Liga II season was one of extremes for "U" Cluj. In the first part of the championship the team had run over expectations and had great chances of promotion. But after the winter break the financial situation become worse and the team started to have bad results which ended with a qualification in the play-out tournament, without any chances of promotion. This moment was a crucial one; without any motivation the team ended the championship on tenth place and relegated to Liga III.[27]

The summer of 2016 meant a new beginning for "U". With a sporting society in insolvency, with big chances of bankruptcy and an owner arrested for tax evasion and money laundering, there was no other solution than the formation of a new club. Cluj-Napoca Municipality, which is the owner of "U" Cluj logo and record, terminated the lease agreement with the company of Florian Walter. Then Cluj-Napoca Municipality together with Babeș-Bolyai University and "U" Cluj Supporters Association started a new project entitled ACSF Alb-Negru al Studenților Clujeni (ACSF White-Black of the Students from Cluj) a name that was given to the new team, because the society administered by Florian Walter was not yet bankrupt and the name of FC Universitatea Cluj could not belong to two companies. After the foundation of the new team Cluj-Napoca Municipality rented "U" logo and record to the new society.[28] The team was enrolled in Liga IV–Cluj County, Ioan Ovidiu Sabău has been named team manager and Marius Popescu the new coach. Șepcile Roșii also signed with a lot of valuable players like Octavian Abrudan, Alexandru Păcurar, Dorin Goga or Gabriel Giurgiu. Together with them in the team have been added the most talented players of "U" Cluj Football Academy and the objective was the promotion.[29] The project was a real success and Studenții won Liga IV without any problems, winning 26 matches and making only a draw in a match against Sticla Arieșul Turda. Also the team achieved the number of 1,000 contributing members and a lot of development projects are planned.[30][31][32]

On 29 September 2016 Walter's society, FC Universitatea Cluj, has gone bankrupt leaving the name free.[33] But the bankruptcy occurred after the starting of the 2016–17 Liga IV season, so the name remained ACSF Alb-Negru al Studenților Clujeni for that season. On 11 May 2017 was announced officially that from the 2017–18 season the team will return to the old name, FC Universitatea Cluj and also the basketball team will evolve under the same brand.[34][35]

Stadium

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Cluj Arena at night

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.[36]

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 and Kuban won 4–0; the game was also the retirement match for one-club man, Cristinel Pojar who played a few minutes for "U".[37][38][39][40][41] The first official match at the new stadium was played; Universitatea won the Liga I game against FC Brașov 1–0 on 16 October 2011.[42]

Support

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"U" Cluj supporters during a First Division game (season 2011–12)

"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 Babeș-Bolyai University, the largest in the country with more than 45,000 students.[43]

The history of U's fanatic supporters began in the 1970s, when fan-groups started to appear on the stadium. First, in 1972 appeared Amicii U, one of the first supporters groups in Romania. The group started to compose songs along with Music Academy's students and wear accessories like the well-known red hats or pins with the club's crest. Those years, Slavă ție studenție was composed, being nowadays club's anthem.[44] After the fall of communist regime, the Ultras idea arrived in Romania. First ultras group founded was Vecchia Guardia in 1996, followed by Ultra Curva Groapa in 1997 and Ultras 19 in 2004.

 
"U" Cluj fans during a Liga 1 promotion game against Dinamo Bucharest in 2022

Some of the present-day ultras groups of "U" Cluj are Groparii, VG (Vecchia Guardia), BOYS, MADS, FPU (The Few The Proud The Ultras), Potaissa, PPS (Prezenti pentru simbol), MNST (Mănăștur). .[45]

The fanaticism sometimes led to violence, some violent episode being in 1979 when Sportul Studențesc won the match with "U" due to poor referee decisions. After the match, supporters began to shout thieves in front of the stadium and the police started to fight the angry fans.[44] Other episode happened in 2008, when CFR fans went to one of the main squares of the city to celebrate a Dinamo victory over Steaua, that advantage their team to win the league that year. Some Universitatea fans went to the square and had a fight with the rivals before police intervention.

Rivalries and friendships

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Main article: Cluj derby
 
"U" Cluj supporters during a Second Division game against CFR Cluj in 2003

Universitatea have a rivalry with local city team CFR Cluj. The animosity between the teams is one of the oldest in Romanian football.[46] The first incidents between fans of the two sides occurred in the 1920s.[46] 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 lost a match against UTA Arad, "U" fans injured CFR players at the Sport Hotel in Cluj-Napoca;[47] 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.[48]

The second-most important rivalry is against FC Rapid București due serious clashes between fans in 2006, 2011, 2019. Another rivalries are Steaua București, Farul Constanța, UTA Arad, FCSB, Petrolul Ploiești and SSU Politehnica Timișoara.

Universitatea's fans have a good friendship with Dinamo's fans, the main rivals of Steaua, FCSB and Rapid. Dinamo friendship started in the mid-1990s, both ultras groups being linked with the "mentality, fanaticism and nationalist side",[49] although in the 1970s and 1980s, "U" supporters had friendships with other important clubs fans, like Politehnica Timișoara or Rapid București, these teams being the few that already had fan-groups.[44]

Honours

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Domestic

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Leagues

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Cups

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Junior Teams

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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

Players

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First-team squad

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As of 24 September 2024[50][51]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF   ROU Bogdan Mitrea (4th captain)
5 DF   ARG Lucas Masoero
6 DF   ROU Iulian Cristea
7 MF   ROU Robert Silaghi
8 MF   ROU Dorin Codrea
9 FW   TUN Adel Bettaieb
10 MF   ROU Dan Nistor (Vice-captain)
11 FW   ARM Artur Miranyan
12 GK   ROU Denis Moldovan
13 FW   CMR Franck Tchassem
16 DF   SUI Jasper van der Werff
17 DF   ESP Daniel Lasure
18 DF   ROU Andrei Ștefan
19 MF   ROU Răzvan Oaidă
20 MF   ROU Alexandru Bota
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF   ROU Mario Șfaiț
22 MF   MDA Vadim Rață
23 MF   ROU Ovidiu Popescu
24 DF   ROU Radu Boboc
26 DF   ROU Dorinel Oancea
27 MF   ROU Alexandru Chipciu (Captain)
30 GK   LTU Edvinas Gertmonas
33 GK   ROU Andrei Gorcea
66 DF   ROU Ștefan Opriș
77 FW   ROU Vladislav Blănuță (on loan from FC U Craiova)
93 FW   SEN Mamadou Thiam
94 MF   ROU Ovidiu Bic (3rd captain)
97 FW   ROU Alin Baciu
98 MF   ROU Gabriel Simion

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   ROU Patrick Kis (at CSM Târgu Mureș)
11 MF   ROU Antonio Suciu (at Minaur Baia Mare)
— GK   ROU Iustin Chirilă (at Voluntari)
— DF   ROU Luca Podea (at Gloria Bistrița)
— DF   ROU Alin Chinteș (at Unirea Ungheni)
— DF   ROU Alexandru Fărăgău (at SCM Zalău)
— DF   ROU Darius Mureșan (at Unirea Dej)
— DF   ROU Rareș Uțiu (at Unirea Dej)
— DF   ROU Iustin Neacșu (at Unirea Dej)
— MF   ROU Tudor Pojar (at Unirea Dej)
— MF   ROU Matei Moraru (at FC U Craiova)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF   ROU Tiago Mureșan (at Unirea Dej)
— MF   ROU Raul Nistor (at Unirea Alba Iulia)
— MF   ROU Darius Nistor (at Unirea Alba Iulia)
— MF   ROU Ciprian Călugăr (at Unirea Dej)
— MF   ROU Rareș Scocîlcă (at CSM Vaslui)
— MF   ROU Daniel Todoran (at CSM Târgu Mureș)
— FW   ROU Luca Nagy (at SCM Zalău)
— FW   ROU Vlad Moraru (at Unirea Dej)
— FW   ROU Eric Vînău (at Unirea Ungheni)
— FW   ROU Albert Hofman (at Oțelul Galați)

Club officials

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Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

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Period Kit manufacturer Period Shirt partner
2008–2009   Lotto 2008–2009
2009–2014   Nike 2010–2015   Romprest
2014–2019   Erima
2017–   IRUM
2019–   Adidas 2020–   Superbet

Records and statistics

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European cups all-time statistics

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Competition S P W D L GF GA GD
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup / European Cup Winners' Cup 1 4 2 0 2 3 6 –3
UEFA Europa League / UEFA Cup 1 2 1 0 1 5 6 –1
UEFA Intertoto Cup 1 4 0 1 3 3 8 –5
Total 3 10 3 1 6 11 20 –9
1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup
Round 1
Wiener Neustädter   0–1   Știința Cluj
Știința Cluj   2–0   Wiener Neustädter
Round 2
Știința Cluj   0–2   Atlético Madrid
Atlético Madrid   4–0   Știința Cluj
1972–73 UEFA Cup
Round 1
Știința Cluj   4–1   Levski Sofia
Levski Sofia   5–1   Știința Cluj
1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup
Group stage
HB Tórshavn   0–0 Universitatea Cluj  
Universitatea Cluj   0–1   Tromsø
Germinal Ekeren   4–1 Universitatea Cluj  
Universitatea Cluj   2–3   Aarau

History by season

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Key

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Champions Runners-up Third place Promoted Relegated

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

Season League Cup European Cup Other Top Goalscorer(s)[54] Notes Name[55]
Division[56][57][58] Pos P W D L GF GA Pts Name Goals
1921 District 5th 5 1 2 2 6 11 4  – Universitatea Cluj
1921–22 4th 14 6 1 7 16 21 13  –   Nicolae Bonciocat 4
1922–23 5th 12 4 3 5 13 8 11  –   Nicolae Bonciocat/Aurel Guga 4
1923–24 1st 12 8 2 2 20 10 18  – Finals QF   Nicolae Bonciocat 6
1924–25 1st 14 10 4 0 27 6 24  – Finals QF   Nicolae Bonciocat 5
1925–26 2nd 18 11 4 3 43 26 26  –   Nicolae Bonciocat 14
1926–27 1st 10 7 2 1 21 8 16  – Finals SF   Aurel Blaj 8
1927–28 2nd 10 4 4 2 37 14 12  –   Vasile Giurgiu 14
1928–29 2nd 13 8 1 4 34 18 17  –   Vasile Giurgiu 8
1929–30 1st 11 8 2 1 32 16 16  – Finals SF   Vasile Giurgiu 12
1930–31 1st 9 7 1 1 31 9 15  – Grațian Sepi 7
1931–32 1st 9 5 4 0 28 0 9  – Grațian Sepi 9
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/Cornel Orza 8
1935–36 12th[59] 22 7 2 13 29 53 16 SF   Ion Păunescu 8
1936–37 9th 22 8 2 12 38 62 18 QF   Janos Szaniszlo 13
1937–38 6th 18 7 2 9 33 50 16 R32   Petre Truță/Petru Draga 8
1938–39 Div B 3rd 18 9 3 6 30 21 21 p   Emil Țiereanu 13
1939–40 2nd 18 14 1 3 63 22 29 p   Paul Wieser 25
1940–41 Div A 11th 24 8 1 15 42 58 17 p   Hariton Dascălu 14 Moved to Sibiu due to
Second Vienna Award		 Universitatea Cluj-Sibiu
1941–42 Bessarabia Cup SF[60] 3 2 0 1 13 6 – F
1942–43 War Championship 8th[60] 22 7 6 9 48 51 20 QF   Hariton Dascălu 22
1943–44 4th[60] 13 7 1 5 32 27 15  –   Hariton Dascălu 11
1944–45 No championship  –  –  –  –  –  –  – –  –  –  – Universitatea Cluj
1945–46 District 1st 5 4 1 0 19 5 9  –
1946–47 Div A 9th 26 11 3 12 54 47 25  –   Hariton Dascălu 17
1947–48 4th 30 14 6 10 54 48 34 R16   Hariton Dascălu 18
1948–49 12th 26 7 5 14 31 50 19 F   Sever Coracu 10 C.S.U. Cluj
1949 Autumn Cup 5th[60] 10 3 4 3 13 13 10  –   Iosif Lutz 4
1950 Div B 1st 22 14 6 2 47 16 34 R16   Silviu Avram 12 Știința 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   Alexandru Moldovan/Miron Dragoman 6
1953 8th 21 7 4 10 24 31 18 SF   Silviu Avram 12
1954 5th 26 11 6 9 32 32 28 R32   Miron Dragoman 9
1955 7th 24 8 7 9 27 35 23 R32   Miron Dragoman 9
1956 12th 24 6 5 13 22 48 17 R16   Miron Dragoman 6
1957 Spring Cup 3rd[60] 12 6 2 4 25 23 14  –   Horațiu Moldovan 8
1957–58 Div B 1st 26 17 3 6 58 23 37 p   Horațiu Moldovan 14
1958–59 Div A 11th 22 2 11 9 23 36 15 R16   Horațiu Moldovan 6
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/Paul Marcu 11
1961–62 7th 26 10 6 10 46 44 26 R32   Paul Marcu 13
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   Ion Mureșan 11
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   Zoltán Ivansuc 9 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   Viorel Mureșan 6
1973–74 10th 34 12 9 13 35 37 33 QF   Viorel Mureșan 8
1974–75 12th 34 12 9 13 29 38 33 QF   Alexa Uifăleanu 7
1975–76 18th 34 8 3 23 30 45 19 R16   Ion Batacliu 8
1976–77 Div B 12th 34 14 4 16 37 40 32 p   Septimiu Câmpeanu 7
1977–78 3rd 34 21 5 8 71 27 47 p   Vasile Vidican 16
1978–79 1st 34 21 4 9 73 23 46 R32   Septimiu Câmpeanu 19
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   Nicolae Bucur 14
1983–84 2nd 34 25 1 8 78 25 51 p   Cornel Fâșic 21
1984–85 1st 34 20 10 4 68 23 50 p   Septimiu Câmpeanu 11
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   Zoltán Kádár 9
1989–90 13th 34 10 9 15 40 60 29 R32   Imre Bíró 9
1990–91 18th 34 5 6 23 26 67 16 R16   Marian Alexandru 6
1991–92 Div B 1st 34 26 7 1 82 10 57[61] p   Nicolae Ilea 16
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 Predatu 13
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   Marius Predatu 5
1999–00 Div B 17th 34 6 6 22 30 76 24 4R   Daniel Dăscălescu/Adrian Trușcă 5
2000–01 Div C 1st 28 20 5 3 65 19 65 p   Alexandru Păcurar 11
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[61] 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[62]
2016–17 L4 1st 28 27 1 0 167 9 82 2R Cluj County Phase W   Brian Lemac 48
2017–18 L3 1st 28 24 2 2 88 16 74 R16   Dorin Goga 16
2018–19 L2 3rd[63] 38 25 7 6 85 26 82 R16   Cristian Gavra 22
2019–20 14th 23 5 12 6 29 26 27 R16   Dorin Goga 5
2020–21 11th 20 10 2 8 24 20 29 QF   Idan Golan 5
2021–22 3rd[64] 29 18 3 8 47 23 57 4R   Alexandru Boiciuc 6
2022–23 L1 10th 30 8 10 12 25 37 34 F   Mamadou Thiam 9
9 5 1 3 12 9 33[65]
2023–24 10th 30 10 12 8 35 38 42 SF   Dan Nistor 11
9 3 3 3 12 10 33[65]

Notable former players

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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.

For a list of all former and current Universitatea Cluj players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:FC Universitatea Cluj players.

Former managers

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Source:[66][67]

References

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  1. ^ "Universitatea Cluj – Site-ul oficial al echipei de fotbal FC Universitatea Cluj". Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  2. ^ "102 ani de "U" Cluj, în alb și negru. "Studenții" sunt o pată marcantă în fotbalul românesc, iar 23 noiembrie e o dată gravată în sufletul suporterilor: "Din lupta perseverentă și dârză a părinților Simbolului, se scria prima filă din povestea Universității"" [102 years of "U" Cluj, in black and white. "Students" are a significant stain in Romanian football, and November 23 is once engraved in the souls of the fans: "From the persevering and daring fight of the Symbol's parents, the first page of the University's story was written"] (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Șampanie în Ardeal! CFR și U Cluj sunt înființate în aceeași zi" [Champagne in Transylvania! CFR and U Cluj are established on the same day] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Istorie" [History]. Fcucluj.ro. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Viața și moartea doctorului Luca. Citește emoționanta și incredibila poveste a ultimului simbol al lui "U"" [The life and death of Dr. Luca. Read the exciting and incredible story of the last symbol of "U"] (in Romanian). Clujeanul.gandul.ro. 29 July 2008. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Mircea Luca profile" (in Romanian). 4everucluj.ro.
  7. ^ a b ""U" Cluj. Dr Mircea Luca revine acasă" ["U" Cluj. Dr Mircea Luca is coming home] (in Romanian). Transilvaniareporter.ro. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "Mircea Luca, o viață dedicată Universității" [Mircea Luca, a life dedicated to Universitatea] (in Romanian). Fcucluj.ro. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Romanian Cup – 1941–1942". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Moartea unei legende" [The death of a legend] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Romanian Cup – 1948–1949". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  12. ^ ""U" Cluj ne reamintește astăzi de Traian Georgescu căpitanul studenților la finala câștigată în 1965" ["U" Cluj reminds us today of Traian Georgescu, the captain of the students at the final won in 1965.] (in Romanian). Clujcapitala.ro. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 1964–1965". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Wiener Neustädter SC (old) vs Știința Cluj 0 – 1". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Știința Cluj vs 1. Wiener Neustädter SC (old) 2 – 0". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Universitatea Cluj. Fixtures & Results 1965/1966". WorldFootball. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Scapa cine poate". 5 May 2008.
  18. ^ "ACU-i ACU' – Sorin Cigan şi preşedintele ACU Arad, săltaţi de DNA".
  19. ^ http://ziuadecj.realitatea.net/sport/walter-noul-presedinte-executiv-al-u-cluj--20023.html [dead link]
  20. ^ http://sptfm.ro/2012/06/03/florian-walter-a-plecat-la-petrolul-dar-inca-mai-ia-jucatori-pentru-clubul-pe-care-nu-l-a-vandut/ [dead link]
  21. ^ "Oficial! U Cluj a intrat în procedura de insolvenţă!".
  22. ^ "Florian Walter lasă Petrolul și se întoarce la "U" Cluj!".
  23. ^ "Rapid București şi "U" Cluj nu au primit licenţă pentru Liga 1".
  24. ^ "Fotbal: U Cluj a câştigat apelul la TAS şi va evolua în Liga I".
  25. ^ ""U" Cluj, ultima echipă din Liga 2 care a dat start pregătirii.** Marius Popescu și Zsolt Szilagyi sunt noii antrenori. Cel mai în vârstă jucător din lot are 22 de ani". 28 July 2015.
  26. ^ "UPDATE. Comunicat oficial Poliţia Română: Florian Walter este arestat în Emiratele Arabe Unite. Florian Walter a primit rezidenţă în Dubai şi nu mai poate fi extrădat". 15 July 2015.
  27. ^ "Adio, "U". Universitatea Cluj a retrogradat in liga a treia, dar are sanse mici sa joace acolo in sezonul urmator: Tarlungeni 3–1 "U" Cluj".
  28. ^ "OFICIAL | "U" Cluj a ieșit de sub aripa Walter, după 7 ani.** Astăzi se va naște noul club, susținut de primărie și universități". 11 August 2016.
  29. ^ http://sptfm.ro/2016/09/07/goga-abrudan-pacurar-si-giurgiu-s-au-intors-la-cluj-pentru-juca-liga-4-la-noul-u/ [dead link]
  30. ^ ""U" Cluj s-a impus clar la Viile Dejului și e sigură de calificarea la barajul pentru liga a treia". Archived from the original on 29 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  31. ^ "Record inimaginabil. "U" Cluj, aproape de cifra 1000 la numărul de "socios"". Archived from the original on 30 April 2017.
  32. ^ "Hagi îi inspiră. U Cluj își contruiește Academie pe modelul "Regelui". Cel care va coordona proiectul a stat o săptămână la Viitorul: "S-a interesat de organizare, de metodele de pregătire, de tot"".
  33. ^ "Oficial! Universitatea Cluj a intrat în faliment".
  34. ^ "FC Universitatea Cluj 1919: O singură iubire pentru clujeni!". 11 May 2017.
  35. ^ "FC Universitatea Cluj 1919, același nume pentru fotbal și baschet". 11 May 2017.
  36. ^ "Universitatea Cluj – Muresul Deva 0–0". 22 November 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  37. ^ "Fanii lui "U" vor să îi organizeze un meci de retragere lui Cristi Pojar "Sînt onorat și emoţionat"" ["U" fans want to organize a retirement game for Cristi Pojar "I am honored and excited"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  38. ^ "Povestea impresionantă a lui Cristi Pojar! A jucat numai la "U", suferind 7 operații la genunchi" [Cristi Pojar's impressive story! He played only at "U", undergoing 7 knee operations] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  39. ^ ""Generaţia de Aur" vine la inaugurarea Cluj Arena. Meci de retragere pentru Cristi Pojar" [The "Golden Generation" comes to the inauguration of Cluj Arena. Retirement match for Cristi Pojar] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  40. ^ "Universitatea Cluj, umilită la meciul de inaugurare a noului stadion" [Universitatea Cluj, humiliated at the inauguration match of the new stadium] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  41. ^ "Rusii si-au batut joc de inaugurarea Cluj Arena! Cristi Pojar nici nu a atins mingea" [The Russians made fun of the inauguration of Cluj Arena! Cristi Pojar didn't even touch the ball] (in Romanian). Stiridecluj.ro. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  42. ^ "Universitatea Cluj vs. Braşov - 16 October 2011 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  43. ^ "First 10 romanian universities". Gândul. 25 June 2007. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  44. ^ a b c "Poveștile fanilor lui "U" Cluj în anii '70: Fotbalul, formă de rezistență anticomunistă". 22 January 2018.
  45. ^ "Names of Ultras". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  46. ^ a b Vocea.biz (31 August 2014). "U Cluj – CFR 1907, povestea celei mai lungi rivalităţi din fotbalul românesc – Ştiri de ultimă oră". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  47. ^ "Fanii lui "U" Cluj i-au batut mar pe fotbalistii de la CFR Ecomax Cluj". Adevărul.
  48. ^ "TOP 10 rivalități din fotbalul românesc". ProSport. 10 June 2010.
  49. ^ "Frăţia Cu Dinamo, Povestea Care Uneşte Şi Dezbină Deopotrivă!". 27 April 2014.
  50. ^ "Echipa" [Squad] (in Romanian). fcuniversitateacluj.ro. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  51. ^ "FC UNIVERSITATEA CLUJ" (in Romanian). Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  52. ^ Board of directors
  53. ^ Technical staff
  54. ^ "Universitatea Cluj all-time goalscorers" (in Romanian). 4everucluj.ro. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  55. ^ RomanianSoccer.ro, (r). "Evolutia denumirilor echipelor de-a lungul anilor". Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  56. ^ "Universitatea Cluj – statistics". Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  57. ^ "All Universitatea Cluj seasons" (in Romanian). 4everucluj.ro. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  58. ^ "Romania 1921". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1921/22". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1921/22". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1922/23". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1923/24". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1924/25". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1925/26". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1926/27". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1927/28". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1928/29". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1929/30". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
    "Romania 1931/32". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  59. ^ Won the Relegation play-off against ILSA Timișoara (5–1 agg)
  60. ^ a b c d e Unofficial championship.
  61. ^ a b Deducted two points.
  62. ^ Points halved after the regular season, after the results with the last two teams are canceled. Entered the play-out with 16 points.
  63. ^ Lost the Promotion play-off against FC Hermannstadt (1–2 agg)
  64. ^ Win the Promotion play-off against Dinamo București (3–1 agg)
  65. ^ a b Points halved after the regular season.
  66. ^ "Labtof seasons". Labtof. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  67. ^ "4everucluj seasons". 4everucluj. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
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