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The 2019–20 Liga I (also known as Casa Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons) was the 102nd season of the
Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
, 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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
clubs, which began in July 2019 and was scheduled to end in June 2020. Suspended in March 2020 because of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Romania Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
, the season resumed on 13 June and effectively ended on 5 August. It was the fifth season to take place since the play-off/play-out rule had been introduced.
CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...
were two-time defending champions, and they successfully defended their title once more. Universitatea Craiova competed for the trophy until the final fixture of the championship play-offs, and ultimately finished as runner-ups, while
FCSB Fotbal Club FCSB (), formerly named and still sometimes referred to as FC Steaua București, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the Liga I, the top flight of the Romanian football le ...
were unable to claim a top three spot in the table for the first time since the 2010–11 season. Because of the aforementioned situation created by the pandemic, it was decided that no club would be relegated directly. Instead, the 14th-placed team would take part in the promotion/relegation play-offs, which resulted in no club being relegated at all.


Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

The derby between
FCSB Fotbal Club FCSB (), formerly named and still sometimes referred to as FC Steaua București, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the Liga I, the top flight of the Romanian football le ...
and Universitatea Craiova on 8 March 2020 was played without spectators because of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Four days later, all football leagues and competitions were suspended by the
Romanian Football Federation The Romanian Football Federation (; FRF) is the governing body of football in Romania. They are headquartered in the capital city of Bucharest and affiliated with FIFA and UEFA since 1923 and 1955 respectively. The Federation organizes the men's ...
until 31 March in regard to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Romania Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
. In May, it was announced that the Liga I would restart on the second weekend of June. The first match meant to be played at the resumption was Universitatea Craiova versus
FC Botoșani Asociația Fotbal Club Botoșani (), commonly known as FC Botoșani or simply Botoșani, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Botoșani, Botoșani County, that competes in the Liga I. In 2013, twelve years after being ...
, on 12 June at 20:00
EEST Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) is one of the names of the UTC+03:00 time zone, which is 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in some European and Middle Eastern countries, which makes it ...
(
UTC+3 UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a UTC offset, time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours ahead of the Coordinated Universal Time, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Following the ISO 8601 standard, ...
), but was postponed after the latter club's doctor tested positive for the virus. This was the second game announced to be postponed on the same day after
Dinamo București 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 Yekaterin ...
versus Chindia Târgoviște, which was scheduled for 13 June. Nevertheless, the season resumed with three other matches on 13 June. After the restart, many matches were postponed due to
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
cases that appeared inside the teams. At the end the season, two matches were cancelled in the play-off after Coronavirus cases from
Astra Giurgiu Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club last based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spe ...
and five matches were canceled in the play-out, after the emergence of the same issue at
Dinamo București 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 Yekaterin ...
. The final league tables were approved without these matches and it was announced that only the last place, Chindia Târgoviște, would play a promotion/relegation play-off, with the rest of the teams being spared from relegation and the format being changed from 14 teams to 16 teams starting with the next season.


Teams

The league consists of 14 teams: twelve teams from the
2018–19 Liga I The 2018–19 Liga I (also known as Liga 1 Betano for sponsorship reasons) was the 101st season of the Liga I, the top professional league for Romanian association football clubs. The season began on 20 July 2018 and ended on 2 June 2019, being t ...
and two new teams from the
2018–19 Liga II The 2018–19 Liga II (also known as 2018–19 Liga II Casa Pariurilor) was the 79th season of the Liga II, the second tier of the Romanian football league system. The season began on 4 August 2018 and ended on 1 June 2019. A total of 20 teams co ...
. Teams promoted to the Liga I The first club to be promoted was
Academica Clinceni Club Sportiv LPS HD Clinceni, commonly known as Clinceni and formerly as ''Academica Clinceni'', is a Romanian Association football, football Club (organization), club based in Clinceni, Ilfov County, currently playing in the Liga IV - Ilfov Cou ...
, following their 2–1 win against Argeș Pitești on 24 May 2019. Academica will play in the
Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
for the first time in their history. The second club to be promoted was Chindia Târgoviște, following their 4–1 win against Luceafărul Oradea on 25 May 2019. AFC Chindia will play in the
Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
for the first time in their history, but the city of
Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște'') is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River. Târgoviște was ...
, returned in the
Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
after 21 years of absence, where it was last represented by
FCM Târgoviște Fotbal Club Municipal Târgoviște (), commonly known as FCM Târgoviște, was a Romanian football team based in Târgoviște, Dâmbovița County, founded in 1948 and disbanded in 2018. Known under several names throughout its history — ''Met ...
, named between 1996 and 2003 as ''CF Chindia'', club that was also the first club of the city and which was replaced by the new club (AFC Chindia) after some internal conflicts. Teams relegated to the
Liga II The Liga 2, most commonly 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 football season. It is currently Sponso ...
The first club to be relegated was
Concordia Chiajna Clubul Sportiv Concordia Chiajna, commonly known as Concordia Chiajna, is a Romanian professional Association football, football football team, club based in Chiajna, Ilfov County, which competes in the Liga II. Founded in 1957, the team's best ...
, which were relegated on 22 May 2019 following a 0–2 defeat against
Dunărea Călărași Dunărea may refer to: * Dunărea, the Romanian name for the river Danube in Central Europe * Dunărea (river), a tributary of the Danube in Constanța County, Romania * Dunărea, a village in the commune Seimeni, Constanța County, Romania See a ...
, ending their 8-year stay in the top flight. The second club to be relegated was
Dunărea Călărași Dunărea may refer to: * Dunărea, the Romanian name for the river Danube in Central Europe * Dunărea (river), a tributary of the Danube in Constanța County, Romania * Dunărea, a village in the commune Seimeni, Constanța County, Romania See a ...
, which were relegated on 2 June 2019 following a 1–2 defeat against
FC Hermannstadt Asociația Fotbal Club Hermannstadt (), commonly known as FC Hermannstadt, Hermannstadt, or familiarly as Sibiu (), is a Romanian professional Association football, football Club (organization), club based in the city of Sibiu, Sibiu County, tha ...
, ending their 1-year stay in the top flight.


Venues


Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
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
2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defea ...
and
2020–21 UEFA Europa League The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League was the 50th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 12th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Villarreal defeated Manchester United i ...
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.


Championship play-off table


Championship play-off 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.


Relegation play-outs table


Relegation play-outs results


Positions by round


Promotion/relegation play-offs

The 14th-placed team of the Liga I faces the 3rd-placed team of the
Liga II The Liga 2, most commonly 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 football season. It is currently Sponso ...
.


Season statistics


Top scorers

:''Updated to matches played on 16 June 2020.''


Hat-tricks


Clean sheets

:''Updated to matches played on 9 March 2020.'' -->


Discipline

:''As of 9 March 2020''


Player

*Most yellow cards: 9 ** Bradley Diallo ( Chindia Târgoviște) **
Bogdan Țîru Bogdan Ionuț Țîru (; born 15 March 1994) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga I club Farul Constanța. International career In November 2016 Țîru received his first call-up to the senior Romania squad ...
( Viitorul Constanța)1 ** Valentin Mihăilă ( Universitatea Craiova) ** Nicandro Breeveld ( Politehnica Iași) 1
Bogdan Țîru Bogdan Ionuț Țîru (; born 15 March 1994) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga I club Farul Constanța. International career In November 2016 Țîru received his first call-up to the senior Romania squad ...
was transferred to
Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish professional football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the 42nd Infantry Regiment Reserve Battalion in Bi ...
during the winter transfer window.

*Most red cards: 3 ** Răzvan Tincu ( Sepsi OSK)


Club

*Most yellow cards: 81 ** Politehnica Iași *Most red cards: 6 **
FCSB Fotbal Club FCSB (), formerly named and still sometimes referred to as FC Steaua București, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the Liga I, the top flight of the Romanian football le ...
**
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 ...


Attendances


Champion squad


Awards


Liga I Team of the Season


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liga I, 2019-20 2019-20 2019–20 in Romanian football ro Association football events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic