The 2018–19 Liga I (also known as Liga 1 Betano for sponsorship reasons) was the 101st season of 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 ...
, the top professional league for Romanian
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
clubs. The season began on 20 July 2018 and ended on 2 June 2019, being the fourth to take place since the play-off/play-out rule has been introduced.
Dunărea Călărași and
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 ...
joined as the promoted clubs from the
2017–18 Liga II.
CFR Cluj
Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club'', wh ...
managed to defend the title for the first time in their history, while
FCSB
Fotbal Club FCSB (), commonly known as FCSB, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the top flight of the Romanian league system, the Liga I.
The original ''Steaua București'' footb ...
became the first team in the country to finish as runner-ups for four consecutive seasons in a row.
Teams
The league consists of 14 teams: twelve teams from the
2017–18 Liga I and two new teams from the
2017–18 Liga II.
Teams promoted to the Liga I
The first club to be promoted was
Dunărea Călărași, following their 3–1 win against
Ripensia Timișoara on 5 May 2018. Dunărea will play 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 ...
for the first time in their history.
The second club to be promoted was
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 ...
, following their 1–1 draw against
Chindia Târgoviște on 13 May 2018. Hermannstadt will play 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 ...
for the first time in their history, but the city of
Sibiu
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 Ci ...
, which had many different teams over time, returned 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 ...
after six years of absence, where was last time represented by
Voința Sibiu.
Teams relegated to 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 ...
The first club to be relegated was
Juventus București, which were relegated on 22 May 2018 following a 1–3 defeat against
Concordia Chiajna, ending their 1-year stay in the top flight.
The second club to be relegated was
Poli Timișoara __NOTOC__
Poli can refer to:
Food
* '' Puran Poli'', a poli made up of wheat flour and puran (sweet cooked gram paste)
* A Marathi name for '' chapati'', a bread made up of wheat flour
Organisations
* FC Timişoara Romanian first league football ...
, which were relegated on 2 June 2018 following their 1–0 win against
Concordia Chiajna, ending their 3-year stay in the top flight.
Venues
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Managerial changes
Regular season
In the regular season the 14 teams will meet twice, a total of 26 matches per team, with the top 6 advancing to the Championship round and the bottom 8 qualifying for Relegation round.
Table
Results
Positions by round
Championship play-offs
The top six teams from Regular season will meet twice (10 matches per team) for places in
2019–20 UEFA Champions League
The 2019–20 UEFA Champions League was the 65th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 28th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
Bayern Munich ...
and
2019–20 UEFA Europa League
The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
Sevilla defeated Inter Milan in the fin ...
as well as deciding the league champion. Teams start the Championship round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season.
Table
Results
Positions by round
Relegation play-outs
The bottom eight teams from regular season met twice (14 matches per team) to contest against relegation. Teams started the Relegation round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season. The winner of the Relegation round finished 7th in the overall season standings, the second placed team – 8th, and so on, with the last placed team in the Relegation round being 14th.
Table
Results
Positions by round
Promotion/relegation play-offs
The 12th-placed team of the Liga I faced the 3rd-placed team of 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 ...
.
Season statistics
Top scorers
:''Updated to matches played on 2 June 2019.''
1 Alexandru Mitriță was transferred to New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
during the winter transfer window.
Hat-tricks
Clean sheets
:''Updated to matches played on 2 June 2019.''
-->
Discipline
:''Updated 2 June 2019''
Player
*Most yellow cards: 15
**
Alexandru Răuță (
Voluntari)
*Most red cards:
3
**
Emmanuel Culio (
CFR Cluj
Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club'', wh ...
)
Club
*Most yellow cards:
130
**
Concordia Chiajna
*Most red cards:
8
**
Astra Giurgiu
**
FCSB
Fotbal Club FCSB (), commonly known as FCSB, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the top flight of the Romanian league system, the Liga I.
The original ''Steaua București'' footb ...
**
Gaz Metan Mediaș
GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (russian: ГАЗ or Го́рьковский автомоби́льный заво́д, , Gorky Automobile Plant) is a Russian automotive manufacturer located in Nizhny Novgorod, formerly known as Gorky (Го� ...
Attendances
Champion squad
Awards
Liga I Team of the Regular Season
Liga I Team of the Championship Play-offs
Liga I Team of the Season
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liga I, 2018-19
2018-19
2018–19 in Romanian football
ro