FC Universitatea Cluj

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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 Costantea
Head coachIoan Sabău
LeagueLiga I
2022–23Liga I, 10th of 16
WebsiteClub website
Current season

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.

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

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 a 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 CâmpeanuVasile 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, competing 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.

2007–08 Liga I season, first season of Liga I in last 8 years for "U" Cluj was a tough one, the club didn't manage very well the promotion and at the end of a tumultuous season the club finished on 18th place, the last one, with only 17 points, returning to Liga II.[17]

2008–09 Liga II season was a transition one and "U" 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 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 on the eighth place, far away from the relegation area.

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 or Tony were bought by the club and the objective was qualification in the UEFA Europa League. Șepcile Roșii finished only on 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 becoming 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 will return at "U" Cluj.[22] At the end of the 2012–13 season a new problem shaken the already disturbed environment of "U" Cluj. 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 contest the decision at CAS and won, assuring his 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]

2014–15 Liga I season was a reorganization one, 6 teams relegated instead of 4, in 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 5-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 will 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 2 years and a half 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] 2015–16 Liga II season was a season 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]

Summer of 2016 it 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. Than 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 IVCluj 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

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

"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

"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 and UTA Arad.

Universitatea's fans have a good friendship with Dinamo's fans, the main rivals of 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 Poli Timișoara or Rapid București, these teams being the few that already had fan-groups.[44]

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

Cups

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

Players

First-team squad

As of 13 March 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
2 DF Brazil BRA Thalisson
3 DF Romania ROU Bogdan Mitrea (4th captain)
4 MF Ivory Coast CIV Kevin Doukouré
5 MF Romania ROU Luca Nagy
6 MF Romania ROU Darius Suciu
8 MF Brazil BRA Roger
9 FW Romania ROU Filip Ilie (on loan from Sport Team București)
10 MF Romania ROU Dan Nistor (3rd captain)
11 FW Romania ROU Dragoș Tescan
12 GK Romania ROU Iustin Chirilă
15 FW Romania ROU Eneas Horvat
16 DF Romania ROU Ștefan Opriș
17 DF Romania ROU Andrei Pițian
18 MF Romania ROU Marco Rus (on loan from Coventry City)
19 FW Romania ROU Daniel Popa
20 FW Romania ROU Valentin Gheorghe
21 MF Italy ITA Marco Fossati
22 DF Romania ROU Tudor Pojar
23 GK Bulgaria BUL Plamen Iliev
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 MF Croatia CRO Ante Roguljić (on loan from Universitatea Craiova)
25 DF Argentina ARG Lucas Masoero
26 DF Romania ROU Dorinel Oancea
27 MF Romania ROU Alexandru Chipciu (Captain)
28 MF Romania ROU Paul Crișan
30 GK Lithuania LTU Edvinas Gertmonas
32 FW Argentina ARG Federico Anselmo
33 GK Romania ROU Andrei Gorcea
41 DF Romania ROU Alin Techereș
42 MF Romania ROU Alexandru Bota
43 DF Romania ROU Alin Chinteș
60 FW Romania ROU Ianis Gorgota
71 MF Romania ROU Ștefan Pănoiu (on loan from Rapid București)
77 DF Romania ROU Andrei Peteleu (on loan from CFR Cluj)
93 DF Romania ROU Răzvan Călugăr
94 MF Romania ROU Ovidiu Bic (Vice-captain)
96 MF Romania ROU Robert Silaghi
97 FW Romania ROU Alin Baciu
98 MF Romania ROU Gabriel Simion

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK Romania ROU Manuel Ţăranu (at CSM Bacău)
GK Romania ROU Patrick Kis (at ACS Târgu Mureș)
DF Romania ROU Iustin Neacșu (at ACS Târgu Mureș)
DF Romania ROU Rareș Uțiu (at Gloria Bistrița)
DF Romania ROU Tudor Vomir (at Unirea Alba Iulia)
DF Romania ROU Alexandru Fărăgău (at Gloria Buzău)
MF Romania ROU Maximilian Larionesi (at Gloria Bistrița)
MF Romania ROU Raul Nistor (at Unirea Alba Iulia)
MF Romania ROU Matei Moraru (at Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț)
MF Romania ROU Ciprian Călugăr (at Unirea Dej)
MF Romania ROU Rareș Scocîlcă (at Zalău)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Romania ROU Raul Rotund (at 1599 Șelimbăr)
MF Romania ROU Daniel Todoran (at ACS Târgu Mureș)
MF Romania ROU Septimiu Kolbasz (at Minerul Ocna Dej)
MF Romania ROU Alin Văsălie (at Mioveni)
MF Romania ROU Cosmin Meșter (at Zalău)
MF Romania ROU David Molnar (at Zalău)
FW Romania ROU Albert Hofman (at Unirea Dej)
FW Romania ROU Denis Mâneran (at CS Beliu)
FW Romania ROU Vlad Moraru (at ACS Târgu Mureș)
FW Romania ROU Eric Vînău (at Bihor Oradea)

Club officials

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period Kit manufacturer Period Shirt partner
2009–2014 United States Nike 2010–2015 Romania Romprest
2014–2019 Germany Erima
2017– Romania IRUM
2019– Germany Adidas 2020– Romania Superbet

Records and statistics

European cups all-time statistics

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 Austria 0–1 logo Știința Cluj
Știința Cluj logo 2–0 Austria Wiener Neustädter
Round 2
Știința Cluj logo 0–2 Spain Atlético Madrid
Atlético Madrid Spain 4–0 logo Știința Cluj
1972–73 UEFA Cup
Round 1
Știința Cluj logo 4–1 Bulgaria Levski Sofia
Levski Sofia Bulgaria 5–1 logo Știința Cluj
1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup
Group stage
HB Tórshavn Faroe Islands 0–0 Universitatea Cluj logo
Universitatea Cluj logo 0–1 Norway Tromsø
Germinal Ekeren Belgium 4–1 Universitatea Cluj logo
Universitatea Cluj logo 2–3 Switzerland Aarau

History by season

Key

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  – Romania Nicolae Bonciocat 4
1922–23 5th 12 4 3 5 13 8 11  – Romania Nicolae Bonciocat/Aurel Guga 4
1923–24 1st 12 8 2 2 20 10 18  – Finals QF Romania Nicolae Bonciocat 6
1924–25 1st 14 10 4 0 27 6 24  – Finals QF Romania Nicolae Bonciocat 5
1925–26 2nd 18 11 4 3 43 26 26  – Romania Nicolae Bonciocat 14
1926–27 1st 10 7 2 1 21 8 16  – Finals SF Romania Aurel Blaj 8
1927–28 2nd 10 4 4 2 37 14 12  – Romania Vasile Giurgiu 14
1928–29 2nd 13 8 1 4 34 18 17  – Romania Vasile Giurgiu 8
1929–30 1st 11 8 2 1 32 16 16  – Finals SF Romania 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 Romania Grațian Sepi 10 Foundation of the Romanian Football
League system
1933–34 3rd 14 8 1 5 33 17 17 F Romania Grațian Sepi 14
1934–35 4th 22 12 1 9 36 34 25 R16 Romania Silviu Ploeșteanu/Cornel Orza 8
1935–36 12th[59] 22 7 2 13 29 53 16 SF Romania Ion Păunescu 8
1936–37 9th 22 8 2 12 38 62 18 QF Romania Janos Szaniszlo 13
1937–38 6th 18 7 2 9 33 50 16 R32 Romania Petre Truță/Petru Draga 8
1938–39 Div B 3rd 18 9 3 6 30 21 21 p Romania Emil Țiereanu 13
1939–40 2nd 18 14 1 3 63 22 29 p Romania Paul Wieser 25
1940–41 Div A 11th 24 8 1 15 42 58 17 p Romania 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 Romania Hariton Dascălu 22
1943–44 4th[60] 13 7 1 5 32 27 15  – Romania 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  – Romania Hariton Dascălu 17
1947–48 4th 30 14 6 10 54 48 34 R16 Romania Hariton Dascălu 18
1948–49 12th 26 7 5 14 31 50 19 F Romania Sever Coracu 10 C.S.U. Cluj
1949 Autumn Cup 5th[60] 10 3 4 3 13 13 10  – Romania Iosif Lutz 4
1950 Div B 1st 22 14 6 2 47 16 34 R16 Romania Silviu Avram 12 Știința Cluj
1951 Div A 6th 22 8 5 9 32 36 21 R32 Romania Silviu Avram 10
1952 5th 22 7 7 8 24 23 21 R16 Romania Alexandru Moldovan/Miron Dragoman 6
1953 8th 21 7 4 10 24 31 18 SF Romania Silviu Avram 12
1954 5th 26 11 6 9 32 32 28 R32 Romania Miron Dragoman 9
1955 7th 24 8 7 9 27 35 23 R32 Romania Miron Dragoman 9
1956 12th 24 6 5 13 22 48 17 R16 Romania Miron Dragoman 6
1957 Spring Cup 3rd[60] 12 6 2 4 25 23 14  – Romania Horațiu Moldovan 8
1957–58 Div B 1st 26 17 3 6 58 23 37 p Romania Horațiu Moldovan 14
1958–59 Div A 11th 22 2 11 9 23 36 15 R16 Romania Horațiu Moldovan 6
1959–60 5th 22 7 10 5 34 32 24 QF Romania Viorel Mateianu 7
1960–61 4th 26 12 5 9 47 44 29 R32 Romania Viorel Mateianu/Paul Marcu 11
1961–62 7th 26 10 6 10 46 44 26 R32 Romania Paul Marcu 13
1962–63 4th 27 11 7 9 42 44 29 R32 Romania Mihai Adam 15
1963–64 9th 26 11 2 13 39 38 24 R32 Romania Ion Mureșan 11
1964–65 7th 26 9 6 11 40 38 24 W Romania Mihai Adam 18
1965–66 7th 26 8 10 8 34 35 26 R16 CWC 2R Romania Mihai Adam 8
1966–67 6th 26 9 8 9 31 30 26 R32 Romania Zoltán Ivansuc 9 Universitatea Cluj
1967–68 10th 26 10 5 11 36 37 25 R16 Romania Mihai Adam 15
1968–69 8th 30 13 4 13 47 39 30 QF Romania Vasile Oprea 18
1969–70 11th 30 9 10 11 40 37 28 R16 Romania Mihai Adam 11
1970–71 12th 30 10 9 11 36 35 29 SF Romania Mihai Adam 12
1971–72 3rd 30 16 5 9 39 27 37 R16 Romania Mihai Adam 10
1972–73 16th 30 7 9 14 25 50 23 QF UEFA 1R Romania Viorel Mureșan 6
1973–74 10th 34 12 9 13 35 37 33 QF Romania Viorel Mureșan 8
1974–75 12th 34 12 9 13 29 38 33 QF Romania Alexa Uifăleanu 7
1975–76 18th 34 8 3 23 30 45 19 R16 Romania Ion Batacliu 8
1976–77 Div B 12th 34 14 4 16 37 40 32 p Romania Septimiu Câmpeanu 7
1977–78 3rd 34 21 5 8 71 27 47 p Romania Vasile Vidican 16
1978–79 1st 34 21 4 9 73 23 46 R32 Romania Septimiu Câmpeanu 19
1979–80 Div A 12th 34 14 4 16 44 43 32 R16 Romania Septimiu Câmpeanu 24
1980–81 14th 34 14 4 16 47 57 32 R16 Romania Septimiu Câmpeanu 19
1981–82 16th 34 11 8 15 34 49 30 R16 Romania Septimiu Câmpeanu 11
1982–83 Div B 3rd 34 19 3 12 61 26 41 R32 Romania Nicolae Bucur 14
1983–84 2nd 34 25 1 8 78 25 51 p Romania Cornel Fâșic 21
1984–85 1st 34 20 10 4 68 23 50 p Romania Septimiu Câmpeanu 11
1985–86 Div A 7th 34 14 5 15 51 52 33 R16 Romania Septimiu Câmpeanu 12
1986–87 10th 34 14 4 16 54 47 32 R32 Romania Septimiu Câmpeanu 12
1987–88 10th 34 11 7 16 39 54 29 R32 Romania Septimiu Câmpeanu 11
1988–89 14th 34 11 8 15 43 55 30 R32 Romania Zoltán Kádár 9
1989–90 13th 34 10 9 15 40 60 29 R32 Romania Imre Bíró 9
1990–91 18th 34 5 6 23 26 67 16 R16 Romania Marian Alexandru 6
1991–92 Div B 1st 34 26 7 1 82 10 57[61] p Romania Nicolae Ilea 16
1992–93 Div A 11th 34 14 2 18 43 51 30 QF Romania Marius Predatu 14
1993–94 12th 34 11 9 14 39 42 31 SF Romania Marius Predatu 13
1994–95 12th 34 13 4 17 39 42 43 SF Romania Marius Predatu 9
1995–96 9th 34 14 6 14 41 40 48 R32 IT GS Romania Radu Sabo 12
1996–97 15th 34 11 6 17 52 67 39 QF Romania Ovidiu Maier 8
1997–98 13th 34 11 7 16 42 40 40 R32 League Cup F Romania Marius Popescu 9
1998–99 17th 34 4 4 26 19 92 16 R16 Romania Marius Predatu 5
1999–00 Div B 17th 34 6 6 22 30 76 24 4R Romania Daniel Dăscălescu/Adrian Trușcă 5
2000–01 Div C 1st 28 20 5 3 65 19 65 p Romania Alexandru Păcurar 11
2001–02 Div B 10th 30 11 7 12 51 40 40 p Romania Ciprian Prodan 12
2002–03 9th 28 8 10 10 48 44 34 p Romania Dan Codreanu 14
2003–04 6th 30 15 7 8 49 28 52 p Romania Răzvan Cociş 12
2004–05 7th 28 12 4 12 41 33 40 R16 Romania Emil Jula 11
2005–06 3rd 28 15 9 4 44 16 54 4R Romania Dorin Goga 9
2006–07 L2 1st 34 21 9 4 49 21 72 R32 Romania Radu Sabo 10
2007–08 L1 18th 34 4 11 19 32 58 23 R16 Romania Dorin Goga 8
2008–09 L2 14th 34 11 12 11 37 33 43[61] R32 Romania Flavius Băd 9
2009–10 2nd 32 20 7 5 60 24 67 4R Romania Valentin Lemnaru 13
2010–11 L1 8th 34 13 8 13 48 54 47 R16 Romania Claudiu Niculescu 13
2011–12 7th 34 11 14 9 46 37 47 R32 Romania Adrian Cristea 8
2012–13 12th 34 10 8 16 39 55 38 R32 Romania Viorel Dinu 9
2013–14 11th 34 11 7 16 29 46 40 R32 Romania Valentin Lemnaru 13
2014–15 15th 34 8 11 15 29 41 35 F League Cup QF Cameroon Justin Mengolo 5
2015–16 L2 10th 26 13 5 8 30 15 44 R32 Romania 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 Romania Brian Lemac 48
2017–18 L3 1st 28 24 2 2 88 16 74 R16 Romania Dorin Goga 16
2018–19 L2 3rd[63] 38 25 7 6 85 26 82 R16 Romania Cristian Gavra 22
2019–20 14th 23 5 12 6 29 26 27 R16 Romania Dorin Goga 5
2020–21 11th 20 10 2 8 24 20 29 QF Israel Idan Golan 5
2021–22 3rd[64] 29 18 3 8 47 23 57 Fourth round Moldova Alexandru Boiciuc 6
2022–23 L1 10th 30 8 10 12 25 37 34 F Senegal Mamadou Thiam 9
9 5 1 3 12 9 33[65]

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

Source:[66][67]

References

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  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.
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  52. ^ Board of directors
  53. ^ Technical staff
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  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. ^ Points halved after the regular season.
  66. ^ "Labtof seasons". Labtof. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  67. ^ "4everucluj seasons". 4everucluj. Retrieved 30 May 2021.

External links