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U Craiova 1948 Club Sportiv, commonly known as Universitatea Craiova (), CS U Craiova, or simply U Craiova, is a Romanian professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team based in
Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
, Dolj County, which competes in the Liga I, the top tier of the Romanian league system. Initially founded in 1948 as the football section of the CSU Craiova sports club, it was part of the club until 1991, when its berth in the league championship was taken by
FC U Craiova FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...
following
privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
. Between 1948–1991, Universitatea had won four national titles and five national cups. In the next two decades, FC U was reorganised several times and disaffiliated, which led to it being retroactively deemed an unofficial successor to the old entity. In 2013, the sports club reinstated its football department, which asserted the history and trophies of the original Universitatea Craiova. They have since been backed up by several court orders and the Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal, but the record remains subject of legal dispute with another reestablished FC U team. In
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
"the White and Blues" won the Cupa României, representing their first trophy following refoundation, and in
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
won their first
Supercupa României The Supercupa României ( en, Romanian Supercup) is a Romanian football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994, ...
. On the European stage, Universitatea Craiova's best performances are reaching the semi-finals of the
1982–83 UEFA Cup The 1982–83 UEFA Cup was the 12th edition of the UEFA Cup. It was won by Belgian club Anderlecht on 2–1 aggregate over Portuguese club Benfica. Association team allocation A total of 64 teams from 31 UEFA member associations participate in ...
and the quarter-finals of the
1981–82 European Cup The 1981–82 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won for the only time by Aston Villa in the final against Bayern Munich. The final is remembered mainly for the performance of young stand-in goalkeeper Nigel Spink who made a ...
. They were the first Romanian team to reach the semi-finals of a UEFA tournament and remain the only one to have knocked out at least one club from each of five strongest countries in European football—England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The Students play their home matches at the
Stadionul Ion Oblemenco The Stadionul Ion Oblemenco is a football stadium in Craiova, Romania. The all-seater stadium opened in 2017 and has a capacity of 30,983, the fourth largest football ground in Romania. It is in the immediate vicinity of the new Sala Polivalent ...
, which has a capacity of 30,929. They hold several rivalries, the most notable being the one with
FC Dinamo București Fotbal Club Dinamo București (), commonly known as Dinamo București or simply Dinamo, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in Bucharest. Founded in 1948, they have spent almost List of unrelegated association f ...
.


History


Early years of football in Craiova (1921–1958)

Football in the city of
Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
began in 1921 when the first two teams were founded: Craiovan Craiova and Rovine Grivița Craiova. In 1940, the two sides merged in what resulted to be one of the most successful Romanian clubs of the
Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
, FC Craiova, who were the first team of the city that won the Romanian football championship. However, the 1942–43 title is not recognized officially by FRF and LPF. Immediately after the foundation of the first university education institution – the Institute of Machines and Electric Devices – a group of teachers and students founded CSU Craiova in 1948, a sports club with athletics, volleyball, handball, table tennis, chess, and football sections. Under the coordination of the Ministry of Public Education and the National Union of Students in Romania, the football team UNSR Craiova (''Uniunea Națională a Studenților din România'') was formed and enrolled in the county championship. The first official match was held at Filiași on 5 September 1948, with "the Students" being defeated 6–3. These football players dressed the white-blue shirt: Dumitrescu – Rădulescu, Mihăilă I, Carli – Ozon, Mihăilă II – Sabin, Ilie, Bădescu, Tudor, and Serghi; all under the command of head coach N. Polojinski. In 1950, the football section changed its name from UNSR Craiova to CSU Craiova, the same name as its parent club. In 1951, CSU Craiova defeated with 6–0 Constructorul Craiova, a local rival, in what was going to be the first official match played in
Cupa României The Cupa României ( en, Romanian Cup) is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. I ...
. In 1953, the club was renamed to Știința Craiova; one year later at the
promotion play-off Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or ...
hosted in Arad, Știința, coached by Nicolae Oțeleanu, promoted for the first time in its history at the level of the second echelon.. The club relegated back to Divizia C after only one season and remained at that level until 1958.


Universitatea, a rising team (1958–1970)

In 1958, Știința was promoted for the second time in the second league after a fight on the knife edge in the third series of Divizia C against Unirea Râmnicu Vâlcea. At the end of the season, both teams finished with 34 points, but with the advantage of direct matches for the white and blue team. In the first season after promotion, Craiova placed 13th out of 14. Several wins have been made in the next seasons: 1959–60 (10th), 1960–61 (2nd), 1961–62 (4th), 1962–63 (4th). The 1963–64 Divizia B season had a four-way fight for promotion in the first series of the second league. At the end, the Students won the promotion, but tied for second place with Metalul Târgoviște (one point ahead, third place). Poiana Câmpina had two points over fourth place,
Dinamo Bacău A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinb ...
. This historical act was signed by head coach
Nicolae Oțeleanu Nicolae Pascu Oțeleanu (6 January 1908 - 5 May 1970) was a Romanian football defender and manager and also a World War II veteran. Life and career Nicolae Oțeleanu played football as a defender at Sparta București, Sportul Studențesc Buc ...
and the following players: Dumitrescu, Vasilescu, Geleriu, Lungan, Deliu, Bărbulescu, Tetea, Ganga, Anton, Lovin, Onea, Vişan, Stanciu, Papuc, C.Stesnescu, A.Stenescu. The first
Divizia A The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...
season was challenging for who were saved from relegation in the last rounds with just one point more than the first relegated team,
Minerul Baia Mare CS Minaur Baia Mare, commonly known as Minaur Baia Mare, simply as Baia Mare or unofficially as ''Minerul Baia Mare'', is a Romanian football club, based in Baia Mare, Maramureș County, northern Romania, founded in 1948. It currently plays in ...
. The end of the next season found Știința ranked eighth, the middle of the standing, and they were already putting the first bases of a team able to issue claims to the title. In the summer of 1966, the club was renamed from Știința Craiova to Universitatea Craiova. Nevertheless, supporters continued to include in their chants and their encouragements the name ''Știința''. Universitatea supporters tend to chant ''Hei, hei, hai Știința!'' at times of loss. As Universitatea followed seasons of contrasting results, in some of them, the team delighted the audience in others less, but has remained in the first division, regardless of the situation: 1966–67 (third), 1967–68 (11th), 1968–69 (seventh), 1969–70 (4th).


"The Champion of a Great Love" (1970–1979)

Craiova started the 1970s with a team built around Ion Oblemenco, Petre Deselnicu, Teodor Țarălungă, Lucian Strâmbeanu and Dumitru Marcu, among others. The start of the decade had the club in sixth place at the end of the 1970–71 season and eighth place at the end of the 1971–72. In the 1972–73 season, they finished at the same number of points with Dinamo București, but lost the championship on
goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
. The season coined a new nickname, "the Champion of a Great Love", a nickname created by the poet Adrian Păunescu, a big fan of the team from Bănie, named Dinamo only as the champion of the country, indicating that Craiova lost the title. In the 1973–74 season, the title fight was again between Universitatea and Dinamo. Craiova won the title by a point from Dinamo, with Craiova becoming the first university team to win a national title in Europe. Dinamo was considered to be the pet team of the
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
regime, which often influenced the results as well and after the last season's incidents, Universitatea was increasingly seen as a representative of the people and simple man in the struggle with the communist regime, of pure football and football played on the pitch against the one dominated by arrangements and influences, so the nickname had gained a reputation. The squad that won the first title was coached by Constantin Cernăianu and Constantin Oțet and had the following players included: Oprea, Manta
Niculescu Niculescu is a Romanian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Bogdan Niculescu-Duvăz, politician and architect *Cezar Niculescu, basketball player *Claudiu Niculescu, soccer player *Dan Niculescu, basketball player *Margareta Niculesc ...
, Bădin, Deselnicu, Velea, Strâmbeanu, Ivan, Niță,
Balaci Balaci is a commune in Teleorman County, Muntenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgari ...
, Berneanu, Țarălungă, Oblemenco, Bălan, Pană, Boc, Ștefănescu, Marcu, Stăncescu, Kiss, Chivu, Negrilă and Constantinescu. The 1974–75 season brought a first UEFA European Cup presence against Swedish team Åtvidaberg, who lost 3–4 on aggregate but ranked third place at the end of the championship. The 1975–76 season had the team rank sixth place and announcing a generational change. For the last season of Ion Oblemenco, the team from Craiova won the Romanian Cup for the first time in its history in a final against Steaua București. In the
Divizia A The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...
, the team finished in third place. With the generational exchange made, Universitatea continued to impress in 1978 by defending its Romanian Cup trophy, won a year before against Olimpia Satu Mare and a sixth place in the league. The 1978–79 season ended with fourth place and in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Fortuna Düsseldorf eliminated the team in the first round.


''Craiova Maxima'' (1979–1991)

''Craiova Maxima'' (The Maximum Craiova) was the second generation of Universitatea. It was a squad composed of many players who grew up close to the first golden team and formed the basis of the
Romania national football team The Romania national football team ( ro, Echipa națională de fotbal a României) represents Romania in international men's football competition and is administered by the Romanian Football Federation ( ro, Federația Română de Fotbal), al ...
including: Ilie Balaci, Rodion Cămătaru, Costică Ștefănescu, Zoltan Crișan,
Ion Geolgău Ion Geolgău (born 20 February 1961) is a former Romanian football midfielder and manager. Club career Ion Geolgău was born in Pielești, Dolj County. On 7 November 1976, being 15 years and 9 months old, Geolgău made his Divizia A debut under ...
,
Aurel Beldeanu Aurel "Aurică" Beldeanu (born 5 March 1951), is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Dobroești, Ilfov County Beldeanu started his football career at Progresul București and played almost 100 matches ...
, Costică Donose and Silviu Lung, among others. At the end of the 1979–80 season, it was crowned the champion of Romania for the second time. The squad consisted of Boldici,
Lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...
Negrilă, Tilihoi, Ștefănescu, Ungureanu,
Balaci Balaci is a commune in Teleorman County, Muntenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgari ...
, Beldeanu, Crişan, Donose, Cămătaru, Geolgău, Cârțu, Irimescu, Purima and Ciupitu – with coaches Valentin Stănescu and Ion Oblemenco. Universitatea's UEFA Cup campaign eliminated
Wiener SC The Wiener Sport-Club, sometimes abbreviated as WSC, was established in 1883 in Vienna, Austria and is one of the country's oldest athletics clubs. Their traditional home is in the Dornbach quarter of the city ( 17th district). History At vari ...
and Leeds United until it was beaten in the third round by German football club
Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...
, 1–2 on aggregate. In the 1980–81 season, the team was managing the historical double, the cup, and the championship. As a result of this performance, the students qualified for the
1981–82 European Cup The 1981–82 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won for the only time by Aston Villa in the final against Bayern Munich. The final is remembered mainly for the performance of young stand-in goalkeeper Nigel Spink who made a ...
, where ''Craiova Maxima'' became more and more visible by eliminating Olympiacos and KB, being stopped in the quarter-finals by
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
, 1–3 in aggregate, a historical performance for the Romanian football at that time. The long-standing presence in the European Cups affected the team, which finished only on second place. They later qualified in the UEFA Cup throughout the 1982–83 season, being the first team in the history of Romania that qualified in a European Cup semi-finals. Under the management of Constantin Oțet and Nicolae Ivan, the team took out Fiorentina ( Serie A runners-up), Bordeaux, and
Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...
. In the semi-final, Universitatea encountered Benfica, two times European champions and three times
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
finalists at that time. After two draws, the Portuguese side advanced to the final on aggregate away goals. In the Divizia A, the team finished again in second place. Throughout the rest of the 1980s, Universitatea Craiova ranked in the following places: 1983–84 (3rd), 1984–85 (4th), 1985–86 (3rd), 1986–87 (5th), 1987–88 (5th), 1988–89 (5th), and 1988–89 (3rd). The team had a constant presence in the European Cups eliminating teams such as Real Betis, Olympiacos, AS Monaco and Galatasaray, but they never got past the third round. The Students also lost a Romanian Cup final in 1985, 1–2 against Steaua București. In 1991, CS Universitatea Craiova had its last Romanian cup. Prunea, Mănăilă, Săndoi, Ad. Popescu, Mogoşanu, Ciurea, Olaru,
Cristescu Cristescu is a Romanian surname. Notable people with it include: * Constantin Cristescu, Romanian General * Daniel Cristescu, Romanian football defender * Eugen Cristescu, Romanian secret police head * Gheorghe Cristescu, Romanian socialist * Mar ...
,
Zamfir Zamfir is both a Romanian given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Cristina Zamfir (born 1989), Romanian handballer * Gheorghe Zamfir (born 1941), Romanian pan-flute musician * Mircea Zamfir (born 1985), Romanian gy ...
,
Badea ''Passiflora quadrangularis'', the giant granadilla, barbadine (Trinidad), grenadine (Haiti), giant tumbo or badea (), is a species of plant in the family Passifloraceae. It produces the largest fruit of any species within the genus ''Passiflo ...
, Pigulea, Agalliu, Craioveanu and
Neagoe Neagoe or Neagoie is a Romanian surname of Bulgarian origin - a variation of the medieval male Bulgarian name ''Няголь'' (Niagolь), modern ''Niagol''. The name is derived from the Old Bulgarian and Old Slavic word ''neaga'' (care, nurture) an ...
were the last players that have kissed the championship trophy, along with coaches
Sorin Cârţu Sorin may refer to any one of the following: People *Sorin (given name), a Romanian masculine name * Edward Sorin (1814–1893), American priest, founder of the University of Notre Dame and St. Edwards University *Herbert I. Sorin (1900–1994), Ne ...
and Ștefan Cioacă.


FC Universitatea Craiova (1991–2011)

In 1991, Universitatea Craiova conquered its last national title and Romanian Cup, under the management of
Sorin Cârțu Sorin Cârțu (born 12 November 1955) is a former football striker and football coach. Cârțu won two Romanian Championships and four Romanian Cups with Universitatea Craiova. As a coach, he succeeded to win in the 1990–91 season with Univ ...
. However, in the same year, the CS Universitatea Craiova sports club dissolved its football section, and Fotbal Club Universitatea Craiova continued its tradition until the early 2010s – until 1994, the club was still controlled by the
Ministry of National Education Ministry of National Education can refer to: * Ministry of National Education (Algeria) * Ministry of National Education (Colombia) * Ministry of National Education (France) * Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs ( Greece) * Minist ...
. FC U won a Romanian Cup in 1993 and reached three finals, in 1994, 1998, and 2000. There was faulty management during the 1990s and early 2000s; additionally, the fall of communism led to the 2005 relegation, when 41 consecutive years of Divizia A were celebrated. On 20 July 2011, the club was temporarily excluded by the
Romanian Football Federation Romanian Football Federation (), also known by its acronym FRF, is the sports governing body, governing body of association football, football in Romania. They are headquartered in the capital city of Bucharest and affiliated to FIFA and UEFA sinc ...
for failing to withdraw their dispute with former coach Victor Pițurcă from a civil court, as per article 57 of the FRF statute which states that the Football Federation solves all the sports lawsuits. However, the article allows disputes regarding
employment contract An employment contract or contract of employment is a kind of contract used in labour law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. The contract is between an "employee" and an "employer". It has arisen out of the old ...
s to be adjudicated in civil court. The exclusion decision was approved by the FRF General Assembly on 14 May 2012. All of the squad players were declared free agents and later signed with other clubs.


Rebranding (2013–present)

On 20 July 2011, the Romanian Football Federation decided to disaffiliate with FC Universitatea Craiova, but the decision was found controversial in court. Consequently, in the summer of 2013, local authorities of Craiova, supported by Pavel Badea and associated with Club Sportiv U Craiova SA (CS U), reestablished the football section of CS U Craiova. CS U claimed that it owns all of the Universitatea honours, and that the sports club did not offer its records to FC U Craiova, which was considered a new club; this was confirmed in justice in June 2016 and reaffirmed by LPF in November 2017. CS Universitatea Craiova is the rightful owner of the brand and records – accepting the
1992–93 Cupa României The 1992–93 Cupa României was the 55th edition of Romania's most prestigious football cup competition. The title was won by FC U Craiova against Dacia Unirea Brăila. Format The competition is an annual knockout tournament. First round prop ...
, claimed but not officially part of CS U's honours. On 14 August 2013, CS Universitatea Craiova was provisionally affiliated to the Romanian Football Federation, following complications with a licensing file. After resolving the issues, the club was introduced in Liga II, the second tier of the Romanian league system. Universitatea made its season debut on 27 August, with a 6–1 success over Pandurii II Târgu Jiu in the fourth round of the Romanian Cup. In the 2013–14 Liga II season, CS Universitatea Craiova and FC U Craiova met in two direct matches, which hid the true identities of the clubs. CS Universitatea Craiova promoted back to Liga I in 2014 after 23 years of absence, while FC U Craiova was permanently excluded, but later reappeared under the name of FC U Craiova 1948 in 2017. After the promotion, Universitatea ended the 2014–15 campaign in fifth place. This result was followed by eighth place in the 2015–16 season and a fourth place at the end of the 2016–17 season, the latter ensuring return to European competitions. The comeback in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League was Italian side A.C. Milan, with Craiova leaving the competition after 0–3 on aggregate. On 27 May 2018, Universitatea won its first trophy since its reinstatement after beating second tier club
Hermannstadt Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cib ...
in the Cupa României final. The game ended 2–0 and was hosted by the Arena Națională in Bucharest. One month later, the Romanian Football Federation approved an application to rename the society from Club Sportiv U Craiova SA to U Craiova 1948 Club Sportiv SA. As the winner of Cupa României, Craiova subsequently took part in the
2018 Supercupa României The 2018 Supercupa României was the 20th edition of the Supercupa României, the annual super cup in Romania. The game was contested by the winners of the previous season's Liga I and Cupa României competitions, CFR Cluj and Universitatea Crai ...
, which they lost 0–1 to CFR Cluj on home ground. Two years later on 3 August 2020, in a home ground game against CFR Cluj, Universitatea Craiova came close to winning its first national league since the 1990–91 season.
Dan Nistor Dan Nicolae Nistor (born 6 May 1988) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga I club CS Universitatea Craiova. After starting out in the lower leagues, Nistor totalled over one hundred Liga I matches for Pandurii ...
opened the scoring for Craiova in the 11th minute, but their title contenders won the final fixture of the season 3–1, thus becoming champions for the third consecutive year.


Grounds


Stadionul Ion Oblemenco (1967)

Stadionul Ion Oblemenco The Stadionul Ion Oblemenco is a football stadium in Craiova, Romania. The all-seater stadium opened in 2017 and has a capacity of 30,983, the fourth largest football ground in Romania. It is in the immediate vicinity of the new Sala Polivalent ...
(Ion Oblemenco Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium in Craiova, and it was originally named Central Stadium. It was used mostly for football matches and would hold up to 25,252 people before it was demolished in 2015. The stadium was opened on 29 October 1967, with the national teams of Romania and Poland tying after scoring two goals each. It hosted many matches during the Craiova Maxima era, such as the 1981–82 European Cup quarterfinal against
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
and the 1982–83 UEFA Cup semi-final against Benfica. Following the death of Universitatea Craiova legend Ion Oblemenco in 1996, the stadium was renamed in his honour. In 2008, the stadium underwent a major renovation, and in 2015 was entirely demolished.


Renovated Stadionul Ion Oblemenco

The new Ion Oblemenco Stadium, with a capacity of 30,929 seats, was inaugurated on 10 November 2017 with a friendly match between Universitatea Craiova and Czech club Slavia Prague.


Support

Universitatea Craiova has many fans in
Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
, especially in the region of Oltenia; in Romania, they are third-most supported team in the country after FCSB and Dinamo București, as shown in a 2016 survey. Many ultras groups exist, but in 2013, a strong division among the fans occurred due to the uncertainty regarding the true identities of the two clubs which claim the record of Universitatea. Sezione Ultra' 2000 and Utopia from Peluza Nord chose to support CS Universitatea Craiova, while Praetoria and Ultras 2004 from Peluza Sud 97 chose
FC U Craiova FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...
. Later in 2017, Ultras Craiova 2004 left FC U and decided to remain neutral. After some time, given the fact that CS Universitatea Craiova acquired most of the records, many new groups were founded: ''Peluza Nord Craiova:'' ''North Lions'', Vechiul Spirit Ultras, Nord Oltenia, Gruppo Sibiu, Gruppo Capitala, Ponsiona and UNU MAI UNIT. In March 2018, FC U Craiova supporters attending a friendly game between Romania and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
at the
Stadionul Ion Oblemenco The Stadionul Ion Oblemenco is a football stadium in Craiova, Romania. The all-seater stadium opened in 2017 and has a capacity of 30,983, the fourth largest football ground in Romania. It is in the immediate vicinity of the new Sala Polivalent ...
booed CS U player Alexandru Mitriță upon being substituted out. They also broke chairs, and as a response, CS U fans symbolically used insecticide to "get rid of the stench" left over by Peluza Sud 97 ultras.


Rivalries

Universitatea Craiova is rivals with Dinamo București. It first developed at the end of the 1972–73 season; the two finished with an equal number of points in the national championship, but Dinamo was awarded the title due to having a slightly superior goal difference. Știința also has less intense rivalries with three other clubs from the
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
: Steaua București, FCSB, and
Rapid București Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascad ...
. Throughout time, the club had local competition with sides such as Extensiv Craiova and, from 2013, FC U Craiova, the aforementioned entity that claims the Universitatea record. The 2010s also saw the start of a minor rivalry against Pandurii Târgu Jiu, another team from Oltenia.


Honours

Note: As of November 2017, LPF attributes all Universitatea Craiova trophies won between 1948 and 1991 to this entity. The ownership of these honours is disputed with
FC U Craiova 1948 U Craiova 1948, commonly known as FC U Craiova 1948 or FC U Craiova, is a Romanian professional football club based in Craiova, Dolj County, which competes in the Liga I. It is along with CS Universitatea Craiova one of the two entities asserti ...
, which acted as the continuation of Universitatea Craiova after the sports club dissolved its football section in 1991. Another court order from 2018 suggested that neither of the current clubs actually hold the original honours. On 10 July 2023 Timisoara Court of Appeal, established that the historical record achieved until the end of 1990/1991 season belongs to CSU Craiova.


Domestic


Leagues

* Liga I **Winners (4): 1973–74, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1990–91 **Runners-up (4): 1972–73, 1981–82, 1982–83, 2019–20 * Liga II **Winners (2): 1963–64, 2013–14 **Runners-up (1): 1960–61 * Liga III **Winners (1): 1957–58


Cups

*
Cupa României The Cupa României ( en, Romanian Cup) is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. I ...
**Winners (7): 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1990–91, 2017–18,
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
**Runners-up (2): 1974–75, 1984–85 *
Supercupa României The Supercupa României ( en, Romanian Supercup) is a Romanian football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994, ...
**Winners (1):
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
**Runners-up (1):
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...


Players


First team squad


Out on loan


Club officials


Board of directors

* Last updated: 31 August 2023 * Source:


Current technical staff

* Last updated: 29 July 2023 * Source:


Records and statistics


European cups all-time statistics


League history


Notable former players

;Romania *
Sebastian Achim Sebastian Zoltán Achim (born 2 June 1986) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a defender.Mihai Bălașa Mihai Alexandru Bălașa (born 14 January 1995) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for Liga I side Sepsi OSK as a defender. Club career Viitorul Constanța Bălașa made his professional debut for Viitorul Constanța on 20 August ...
* Alexandru Băluță * Cristian Bălgrădean * Cristian Bărbuț *
Ovidiu Bic Ovidiu Alexandru Bic (; born 23 February 1994) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Universitatea Cluj. Club career On 5 January 2018, Bic signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with CS Universitatea Craiova. Hon ...
*
Marius Briceag Marius Ionuţ Briceag (born 6 April 1992) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ekstraklasa club Korona Kielce. Career statistics Club ;Notes Honours Club Universitatea Craiova *Cupa României: 2017–18 *S ...
* Andrei Burlacu * Alexandru Cicâldău *
Marius Constantin Marius Marcel Constantin (born 25 October 1984) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga I team FC Argeș Pitești. Club career Rapid București Constantin was transferred to Rapid from FC Brașov in 2004. Vasl ...
*
Costin Curelea Costin Romeo Curelea (born 11 July 1984) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a striker and currently he is an assistant coach at CFR Cluj. Career In his first league match for Sportul Studenţesc, a Liga II game against Dacia Mioven ...
*
Andrei Dumitraș Andrei Ioan Dumitraș (born 23 January 1988) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a right back or centre back for Liga III club Bucovina Rădăuți. Club career Dumitraș started his football career in 2005, playing for Laminor ...
*
Viorel Ferfelea Viorel Ferfelea (born 26 April 1985) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a midfielder for clubs such as: Sportul Studențesc, Universitatea Craiova or ASA 2013 Târgu Mureș, among others. He played in Liga I for Sportul Studențesc ...
*
Cristian Ganea Cristian George Ganea (; born 24 May 1992) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Super League Greece club Panathinaikos. After emerging through the Spanish football system, Ganea returned to Romania at age 21 and ...
*
Florin Gardoș Florin Gardoș (; born 29 October 1988) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Early life Gardoș was born in the city of Satu Mare in Romania. Club career Gardoș started his senior career with Concord ...
* Valerică Găman *
Andrei Hergheligiu Andrei Mihai Hergheligiu (born 21 March 1992) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga III club Corvinul Hunedoara. He also played for Liga I teams such as Politehnica Iaşi, CS Universitatea Craiova or FC Hermannst ...
*
Simon Măzărache Simon Moise Măzărache (born 10 January 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga III side ARO Muscelul Câmpulung.Valentin Mihăilă * Alexandru Mitriță *
Dan Nistor Dan Nicolae Nistor (born 6 May 1988) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga I club CS Universitatea Craiova. After starting out in the lower leagues, Nistor totalled over one hundred Liga I matches for Pandurii ...
* Paul Papp *
Mihăiță Pleșan Mihăiță Păunel Pleșan (born 19 February 1983) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. Club career Mihăiță Pleșan was born on 19 February 1983 in Moldova Nouă, Romania and he started playing jun ...
* Mihai Roman II * Dacian Varga *
Bogdan Vătăjelu Bogdan Ilie Vătăjelu (born 24 April 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a winger. Club career Early career Vătăjelu is a product of the Steaua București youth academy and made his professional debut wi ...
;Albania * Kamer Qaka ;Argentina * Pablo Brandán ;Brazil * Gustavo Vagenin * Madson ;Bulgaria *
Radoslav Dimitrov Radoslav Bonchev Dimitrov ( bg, Радослав Бончев Димитров; born 12 August 1988) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga I club Botoșani. Career Dimitrov began his football career at the L ...
*
Valentin Iliev Valentin Iliev Valov ( bg, Валентин Илиев Валов; born 11 August 1980) is a Bulgarian football manager and former professional player. Personal life Iliev's father, Iliya Valov, was goalkeeper for CSKA and Bulgaria's national ...
*
Apostol Popov Apostol Popov ( bg, Апостол Попов; born 22 December 1982) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer and currently assistant manager of CSKA 1948 III. Career Early career Popov began his career with Spartak Plovdiv and made his f ...
*
Hristo Zlatinski Hristo Zlatinski ( bg, Христо Златински; born 22 January 1985) is a Bulgarian professional footballer, who currently plays in the Bulgarian Third League with Lokomotiv Plovdiv II. Career Zlatinski started his career in his home t ...
;Cape Verde *
Kay The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own ...
* Nuno Rocha ;Côte d'Ivoire * Stephane Acka ;Croatia *
Renato Kelić Renato Kelić (born 31 March 1991) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre back. Honours Slovan Liberec * Czech First League: 2011–12 Universitatea Craiova *Cupa României: 2017–18 *Supercupa României runner-up: 2018 ...
;Germany *
Reagy Ofosu Reagy Baah Ofosu (born 20 September 1991) is a German professional footballer who plays as a winger for Liga I club UTA Arad. Career Ofosu became the Slovak champion with Spartak Trnava in 2017–18 season. On 8 January 2023, Ofosu joined Sau ...
;Ghana * Isaac Donkor ;Italy *
Mirko Pigliacelli Mirko Pigliacelli (born 30 June 1993) is an Italian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club Palermo F.C., Palermo. Club career Pigliacelli is a graduate of the A.S. R ...
* Fausto Rossi ;Jordan *
Tha'er Bawab Tha'er Fayed Al Bawab ( ar, ثائر فايد بواب; born 1 March 1985) is a Jordanian footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club AD Villaviciosa de Odón. He spent most of his professional career in Spain and Romania. Club career ...
;Lithuania * Giedrius Arlauskis ;Moldova *
Nicolae Calancea Nicolai Calancea (also known as Nicolae Calancea; born 29 August 1986) is a Moldovan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for FC Sfântul Gheorghe Suruceni, Sfântul Gheorghe. ...
;Portugal * Tiago Ferreira ;Serbia * Uroš Ćosić ;Spain * Juan Cámara ;Switzerland *
Matteo Fedele Matteo Fedele (born 20 July 1992) is a Swiss professional Association football, footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Maltese club Ħamrun Spartans F.C. Club career Fedele is a youth exponent from FC Sion. He made his Swiss Super Lea ...
*
Ivan Martić Ivan Martić (born 2 October 1990) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Romanian club Universitatea Craiova. Club career St. Gallen and loan to Schaffhausen Martić started his career in Swiss club St. Gallen, debut ...


Universitatea Craiova players at final tournaments


2015 Africa Cup of Nations

*
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
Kay The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own ...
*
Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...
Nuno Rocha


Notable former managers


Romania

* Gabi Balint, Gavril Balint * Gheorghe Mulțescu * Eugen Neagoe * Victor Pițurcă * Emil Săndoi


Greece

* Marinos Ouzounidis


Italy

* Cristiano Bergodi * Devis Mangia


Notes


References


External links

*
Club profile on UEFA's official websiteClub profile on LPF's official website
() * {{DEFAULTSORT:Universitatea Craiova CS Universitatea Craiova, Football clubs in Dolj County 1948 establishments in Romania Sport in Craiova Organizations based in Craiova Association football clubs established in 1948 Liga I clubs Liga II clubs University and college association football clubs in Romania University of Craiova, CS