AFC Chindia Târgoviște
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Asociația Fotbal Club Chindia Târgoviște (), commonly known as Chindia Târgoviște or simply Chindia, is a Romanian professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club based in
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 ...
,
Dâmbovița County Dâmbovița County (; also spelt Dîmbovița) is a county () of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Târgoviște, the most important economic, political, administrative and cultural center of the county. It is a traditional administra ...
, that competes in 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 ...
. In 2010, as a result of quarrels between the owner of the original team of the city—last known as
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 ...
—and the Târgoviște Municipality, the latter chose to found a new entity in association with former international Gheorghe Popescu and former
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
Ion Crăciunescu. The club retains some elements from the now-dissolved FCM, such as the red and blue colour scheme and the " Chindia" name and crest used between 1996 and 2003. ''Micul Ajax'' participated for the first time in the Romanian top flight in the 2019–20 season, and the next year equalled FCM's best result in the competition by finishing seventh. Chindia Târgoviște mainly inherited the local fanbase of the disbanded side, and continued the football history of the city by playing its home matches at the Eugen Popescu Stadium, which was reconstructed and opened in 2023.


History


''FCM Târgoviște'' (1948–2010)

The first football team in the city was founded 1948 and had several names throughout its history, including ''Metalul Târgoviște'' (twice), ''Energia'', ''CS'', ''Oțelul'', ''Chindia'' and ''FCM''. Despite only spending nine seasons in the top division of Romanian football, the club had a notable generation of players in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which achieved the best ranking in the history of the club—a seventh place at the end of the 1978–79 championship. This "golden generation" included players such as Nicolae Dobrin and Silviu Dumitrescu. After being relegated in 1984, the club did not recover and only reached the first division again in 1996 under the name of ''CF Chindia''. Even if it was probably not as good as Dumitrescu's generation, this squad consisted of local players and earned the nickname ''Micul Ajax'' ("the Little Ajax") for its playing style. After the team faced financial issues and almost withdrew from the
Divizia B 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 football season. It is currently sponsored by Casa Pariu ...
championship in 2004, businessman Ghiorghi Zotic took over as owner. However, Zotic's relationship with the Târgoviște Municipality and supporters started to strain, and in March 2010 the Eugen Popescu Stadium rental agreement expired and was not extended. FCM Târgoviște then moved to the Alpan Stadium in Șotânga and started to decline completely; Zotic dissolved the club's senior squad in 2015, keeping only the women's football team. After one year, FCM Târgoviște enrolled in the sixth tier but was dissolved again after two seasons.


Rebirth as Chindia (2010–present)

On 11 August 2010, after the split between Zotic and the Târgoviște Municipality and supporters, the Municipality, together with Romanian former footballer Gheorghe Popescu and in association with former international
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
Ion Crăciunescu, set up a new football club named ''FC Chindia''. The club was first conceived as a football academy, similar to the model of the Gheorghe Hagi Football Academy within Viitorul Constanța. After only one season, the club was promoted to the Liga II, but after a seventh place at the end of the 2011–12 edition it relegated back to the
Liga III The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. It was founded in 1936 and was called Divizia C until 2006. An exception was the seasons 1992–93 to 1996–97, in which the league was call ...
. This relegation resulted in tensions within the club, with Popescu and Crăciunescu choosing to leave the project. Owned by Târgoviște Municipality and Dâmbovița County Council, Chindia returned to the second tier after two seasons, led from the bench by Nicolae Croitoru. After the second promotion to Liga II, Chindia became a more homogeneous team, consisting mostly of local players, as in the previous times of success of its predecessor (late 1970s, early 1980s and mid-1990s). "The Little Ajax" achieved a third place and then a fifth place, before missing out on promotion after a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off against
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 ...
at the end of the 2017–18 season. Finally, Chindia secured its promotion to Liga I at the end of the 2018–19 campaign by winning the second division outright. The promotion meant that the supporters were able to see a team from Târgoviște in the top flight again after 21 years of absence, the last time being when the defunct FCM Târgoviște played in the
1997–98 Divizia A The 1997–98 Divizia A was the eightieth season of Divizia A, the top-level football league of Romania. Teams League table Positions by round Results Top goalscorers Champion squad See also * 1997–98 Divizia B * 1997–98 Div ...
. Chindia finished its inaugural Liga I season on the last place in the table, but was spared from relegation after winning the promotion/relegation play-off against
Mioveni Mioveni () is a town in Argeș County, Romania, approximately north-east of Pitești. , it had a population of 29,317. The town administers four villages: Clucereasa, Colibași, Făgetu, and Racovița. History Mioveni was first mentioned in a ...
. The following year, the club equalled FCM's best result in the league championship by winning the relegation play-outs and coming seventh overall. In 2023, Chindia returned to the Liga II after four years by finishing the 2022–23 season on the 15th place overall.


Ground

The club plays its home matches on Eugen Popescu Stadium in Târgoviște, which has a capacity of 6,500 seats. Opened in 1982 and originally having a capacity of 12,500 seats, the stadium is situated 200 meters away from the Chindia Tower. In 2014, the second stand and half of the east end were closed for safety reasons, significantly reducing the arena's capacity. In the spring of 2019, due to team's performances and a potential (and ultimately secured) promotion to the top flight, the Târgoviște Municipality announced the renovation of the stadium for the amount of 16 million. During the renovation work, the team played its home matches on the Ilie Oană and
Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...
stadiums, from the nearby cities of
Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Ble ...
and
Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...
, respectively.


Support

Chindia Târgoviște has an important group supporters in the city and also in Dâmbovița County, the majority of them being past supporters of
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 ...
. The Chindia ultras faction is known as ''Cavalerii Cetății'' ("The Knights of the Fortress").


Rivalries

Chindia does not have many important rivalries, however, a local one between the old FCM and Flacăra Moreni was born before 1989, when the club from Moreni had the support of the
communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
. Tense matches and even incidents were also noted over time in the matches against Petrolul Ploiești and even if between the two clubs is not a proper rivalry, the supporters are not very friendly with each other. An unusual rivalry also appeared between 2010 and 2015, when on the occasion of six matches, Chindia played against the original FCM Târgoviște, the first club of the city, moved to Șotânga at the time. This encounter was similar to derbies such as ASU Politehnica Timișoara vs
ACS Poli Timișoara Asociația Club Sportiv Poli Timișoara (), commonly known as ACS Poli Timișoara, Poli Timișoara or simply ACS Poli, was a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Timișoara, Timiș County. The team was founded in 2012, the ye ...
or
CS Universitatea Craiova U Craiova 1948 Club Sportiv, commonly known as Universitatea Craiova (), CS U Craiova, or simply U Craiova, is a Romanian professional football club based in Craiova, Dolj County. It competes in the Liga I, the top tier of the Romanian league ...
vs FC U Craiova 1948, entities which assert to be successors of the same teams.


Honours


Domestic


Leagues

*
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 ...
**Winners (1): 2018–19 *
Liga III The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. It was founded in 1936 and was called Divizia C until 2006. An exception was the seasons 1992–93 to 1996–97, in which the league was call ...
**Winners (2):
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
, 2014–15 **Runners-up (1): 2013–14


Players


First team squad


Club officials


Board of directors

* Last updated: 25 September 2024 * Source:


Current technical staff

* Last updated: 8 February 2025 * Source:


League history


Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than 100 caps for AFC Chindia Târgoviște. ;Romania * Mihai Aioani * Alexandru Băluță * Cătălin Căbuz * Tiberiu Căpușă *
Daniel Celea Daniel Marinel Celea (born 6 July 1995) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga II club Chindia Târgoviște. Club career On 24 August 2020, he signed a three-year contract with Polish I liga club ŁKS Łódź. ...
* Cristian Cherchez * Denis Ciobotariu * Cristian Dancia * Marco Dulca * Denis Dumitrașcu * Georgian Honciu * Paul Iacob * Denis Ispas *
Liviu Mihai Liviu Mihai (born 17 May 1977) is a retired Romanian professional Association football, football player who played as a Forward (association football), striker mainly for Liga I side FCV Farul Constanța, Farul Constanța. References Externa ...
*
Sebastian Mladen Sebastian Mladen (born 11 December 1991) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defender or a defensive midfielder for Greek Super League club Panetolikos. Career statistics Club Honours ;Viitorul Constanța *Liga I: 2016 ...
* Cristian Neguț * Mihai Neicuțescu * Dragoș Pătru *
Daniel Popa Daniel Iliuță Popa (born 14 July 1995) is a Romanian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (football), forward for TFF First League club Gençlerbirliği S.K., Gençlerbirliği. Career statistics Club Hon ...
* Doru Popadiuc * Sorin Rădoi * Marian Vătavu * Bobi Verdeș * Mihai Voduț ;Burkina Faso * Blaise Yaméogo ;Burkina Faso * Nasser Chamed ;Croatia * Ivan Pešić ;Lithuania * Modestas Vorobjovas ;Moldova * Victor Bogaciuc * Maxim Cojocaru * Vadim Rață ;Sweden * Valmir Berisha ;Switzerland * Matteo Fedele


Notable former managers

* Eusebiu Tudor (2012–2013) * Costel Pană * Silviu Dumitrescu * Nicolae Croitoru *
Viorel Moldovan Viorel Dinu Moldovan (born 8 July 1972) is a Romanian football manager and former player. A former striker, Moldovan most successful years of his career were playing for Neuchâtel Xamax and Grasshoppers between 1996 and 1998 in Switzerland ...
* Anton Petrea * Emil Săndoi


References


External links

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