Fotbal Club Voluntari (), commonly known as FC Voluntari or simply Voluntari, 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 ...

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

based in

Voluntari Voluntari () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located at a distance of 1 km from the northern border of Bucharest (on the DN2 road towards Urziceni) and is thus frequently viewed as a suburb of Bucharest. The population ...

Ilfov County Ilfov () is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of Communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like suburbs ...

, which competes in the

Liga I 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 ...

. Founded in 2010, it has been playing since the 2015–16 season in the Liga I, the highest tier of the Romanian league system. Voluntari claimed its first major honour the following campaign, after defeating

Astra Giurgiu Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spent th ...

in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

of the Cupa României final, and went on to win the Supercupa României the same year. Voluntari's home ground is the Anghel Iordănescu Stadium, which has a capacity of 4,600 people.

History

Early years

FC Voluntari was founded in the summer of 2010 and enrolled directly in the

Liga III The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. Its name was changed from Divizia C to Liga III before the start of the 2006–07 season. It was the first in this format (six series of 18 t ...

, after acquiring the berth of Petrolul Berca. During their debut season in the third league, ''Ilfovenii'' finished in sixth place with Romeo Bunică as a head coach, and repeated the performance the next season with

Bogdan Andone Bogdan Ioan Andone (born 7 January 1975) is a Romanian Association football, football Manager (association football), manager of Cypriot club Apollon Limassol FC, Apollon Limassol and former professional player. After spending most of his caree ...

in charge. The 2012–13 season began with poor performances and after five rounds Andone was replaced by Bunică, who led the team to the seventh place.

Adrian Iencsi Adrian Mihai Iencsi (born 15 March 1975 in Piatra Neamț) is a Romanian former football player and currently a manager. As a footballer, he enjoyed spells at Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ, Rapid București, FC Spartak Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Apollon L ...

led Voluntari to winning the 2013–14 Liga III ''en fanfare'', but despite the

Liga II The Liga 2, most often spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07. It is currently Sponsor (commercial), sp ...

promotion, Iencsi was sacked and replaced for the next year by Ilie Poenaru. There, they had notable performances against Farul Constanța and CF Brăila, and then qualified to the

from the first place via the promotion play-offs.

Promotion to the first division

Voluntari earned promotion for the first time in their history to

, the highest tier of

Romanian football Football is the most popular sport in Romania.. The Romanian Football Federation ( ro, Federaţia Română de Fotbal or FRF), a member of UEFA, is the sport's national governing body. History The pre-war period The Bucharest architect Gheor ...

, at the end of the 2014–15 campaign. Its debut season was difficult, as many technical and administrative changes led the club to the relegation zone. Finishing 12th, the team faced a promotion/relegation play-off against

UTA Arad Uta or UTA may refer to: Universities *University of Texas at Arlington, in the United States * University of Tarapacá, in Chile *University of Tampere, in Finland Sports * FC UTA Arad, a Romanian football club based in the town of Arad * A ...

, which it won 3–1 on aggregate and maintained its place in the Liga I. With experienced players such as

Vasile Maftei Vasile Maftei (born 1 January 1981) is a Romanian retired footballer who played as a defender. He was best known for his leadership qualities, becoming captain for Rapid București, Unirea Urziceni, Concordia Chiajna and Voluntari. Although pri ...

Florin Cernat Florin Lucian Cernat (born 10 March 1980) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and playmaker. He made 14 appearances for the Romania national team scoring two goals. Club career Oțelul Galați & Dinamo B ...

Laurențiu Marinescu Laurențiu Nicolae Marinescu (born 25 August 1984) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a midfielder. In August 2010 he signed a contract with Steaua București alongside teammates from Unirea Urziceni: Galamaz, Vilana, Apostol, Bil ...

in the starting eleven, Voluntari improved itself in the 2016–17 season, finishing in ninth place and avoiding a second consecutive promotion/relegation play-off. During that year, the club achieved its biggest achievement so far by winning the Cupa României over

, being the first major trophy in its brief history.

Stadium

The club plays its home matches at the 4,600-seater

Stadionul Anghel Iordănescu Stadionul Anghel Iordănescu is a multi-use stadium in Voluntari, Ilfov county, Romania. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of FC Voluntari Fotbal Club Voluntari (), commonly known as FC Voluntari or simply Voluntar ...

. Attendances are usually modest, as Voluntari is considered a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and many of its citizens are inclined to support clubs from the capital instead.

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

**Winners (1): 2014–15 *

**Winners (1): 2013–14

Cups

* Cupa României **Winners (1): 2016–17 **Runners-up (1): 2021–22 * Supercupa României **Winners (1):

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Players

First team squad

Out on loan

Club officials

Board of directors

* Last updated: 6 September 2022 * Source:

Current technical staff

* Last updated: 6 September 2022 * Source:Technical staff
/ref>

Domestic records and statistics

Notable former players

;Romania * Ionuț Balaur * Dragoș Balauru * Adrian Bălan *

Mihai Căpățînă Mihai Cristian Căpățînă (born 16 December 1995) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga I club Universitatea Craiova. Career statistics Club Honours Voluntari *Cupa României: 2016–17 *Supercupa R ...

Gabriel Tamaș Gabriel Sebastian Tamaș (; born 9 November 1983) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga II club Concordia Chiajna. Tamaș started out as a senior at FC Brașov in the 1998–99 season, and is a journeyman w ...

Petre Ivanovici Petre Daniel Ivanovici, born on 2 March 1990, is a Romanian professional footballer known for his role as a midfielder. As of the last available information, he is actively contributing to the sport by playing for the Romanian club CS Minaur Ba ...

* Costin Lazăr *

* Florin Acsinte *

Daniel Pancu Daniel Gabriel Pancu (; born 17 August 1977) is a Romanian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder or a forward. Club career Pancu began his playing career at FC Politehnica Iași. He made his debut in the Romanian Fir ...

Dinu Todoran Dinu Marius Todoran (born 8 September 1978) is a Romanian Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder for teams such as FC Petrolul Ploiești, Petrolul Ploiești, FCV Fa ...

Florin Maxim Florin Sandu Maxim (born 2 March 1981) is a Romanian former professional footballer and currently a manager. He usually played as a left-back, but also played as a left midfielder for teams such as Aurul Brad, Unirea Alba Iulia, Sportul Studen ...

* Costin Curelea *

* Daniel Novac * Alexandru Tudorie * Mihai Voduț * Gabriel Deac * Mircea Bornescu * Marius Briceag *

Alexandru Răuță Alexandru Ilie Răuță (born 17 June 1992) is a Romanian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder, defensive midfielder for Liga Leumit club Ihud Bnei Shefa-'Amr F.C., Ihud Bnei Shefa-'Amr. Club career He joined ...

* Ion Gheorghe ;Argentina *

Nicolás Gorobsov Nicolás Martín Gorobsov (born 25 November 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. After starting out in Argentina, he went on to compete professionally in Italy and Romania. Gorobsov operates primarily as a cen ...

;Brazil * Eric de Oliveira ;Bulgaria *

Bozhidar Mitrev Bozhidar Mitrev ( bg, Божидар Митрев; born 31 March 1987 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian retired professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Mitrev began his career at PFC L ...

;Croatia *

Hrvoje Spahija Hrvoje Spahija (born 23 March 1988, in Šibenik) is a Croatian association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for NK Vodice. Club career A centre-back, Spahija, a native of Šibenik, Croatia, passed t ...

;DR Congo * Wilfred Moke ;Greece *

Thanasis Papazoglou Athanasios Papazoglou ( el, Αθανάσιος Παπάζογλου; born 30 March 1988), commonly known as Thanasis Papazoglou, is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a striker for Gamma Ethniki club Thermaikos. Club career Aris Pa ...

;Haiti *

Jean Sony Alcénat Jean Sony Alcénat (born 23 January 1986), nicknamed Tiga, is a Haitian former professional association football, footballer who played as a right-back. Club career Aigle Noir and Leixões Alcénat was born in Port-au-Prince. In his country, he ...

;Netherlands *

John Goossens John Goossens (born 25 July 1988) is a Dutch former professional footballer who mainly played as a defensive midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several positions in midfield, and even as a left winger. Since his retirement from fo ...

;Spain * Pablo de Lucas * Jefté Betancor ;Tunisia *

Aïssa Laïdouni Aïssa Bilal Laïdouni ( ar, عيسى بلال العيدوني; born 13 December 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Ferencváros. Born in France, he plays for the Tunisia national team. ...

References

External links

* * *
Club profile on UEFA's official websiteClub profile on LPF's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voluntari Association football clubs established in 2010 Football clubs in Ilfov County Liga I clubs Liga II clubs Liga III clubs 2010 establishments in Romania