CSM Focșani (football)

Club Sportiv Municipal Focșani, also known as CSM Focșani, or simply Focșani, is a Romanian football team based in Focșani, Vrancea County, which competes in the Liga III, the third tier of the Romanian football.

The team represents the men's football section of the multi-sport club CSM Focșani, which also include men's basketball, men's handball, athletics, volleyball, martial arts, judo, chess, tennis, table tennis, shooting sports and taekwondo sections.

The team was founded in 1953 as Spartac Focșani and, over its history, adopted various names such as Progresul, Rapid, Fructexport, Acord, Diplomatic, and — most popular among Romanian football fans — Unirea.

History

The team was founded in 1953 as Spartac Focșani and initially competed in the Bârlad Regional Championship. In its debut season, under the guidance of coach Constantin Humis, Spartac won the Regional Championship but narrowly missed promotion, finishing 2nd in the Series I of the promotion play-off held at Ploiești.

However, with the expansion of the second division in the following season, four group winners and eight additional teams were promoted to Divizia B, including Spartac. Assigned to Series III, Spartac narrowly avoided relegation by finishing 10th out of thirteen teams, just three points above the relegation line.

In 1955, the team was rebranded as Progresul and had a promising start under the new name, finishing 4th in the Series II. However, the following season saw a drop to 10th place, under the leadership of Mihai Alexandrescu.

In 1957, the team adopted the name Unirea Focșani. This change did not immediately improve the team's performance, as Unirea finished 12th in the 1957–58 season and 13th the following season under coach Valentin Stănescu, narrowly avoiding relegation due to another expansion of the second division. In the 1959–60 season, competing in the Series I, Unirea ended in 11th place.

In 1960, the team was rebranded again, this time as Rapid Focșani, and achieved 10th-place finishes in both the 1960–61 and 1961–62 seasons. However, by the end of the 1962–63 season, the team finished 13th and was relegated to Divizia C after eight consecutive seasons in the second division.

The team went through several name changes in the following years. Under the name Fructexport from 1963 to 1966, finishes included 8th ( 1963–64), 4th ( 1964–65), and 5th ( 1965–66). The name Unirea was re-adopted until 1970, with the team finishing 5th (1966–67), 12th (1967–68), 2nd ( 1968–69), just three points behind Metalul Plopeni, and 13th ( 1969–70). Another rebranding as Automobilul followed from 1970 to 1972, finishing 13th ( 1970–71) and 4th ( 1971–72).

In 1972, the team returned to the name Unirea and, under coach Zoltan David, achieved a 4th-place finish in the 1972–73 season, followed by a 1st-place finish in the 1973–74 season, marking a return to the second division after an eleven-year absence.

However, the following three seasons in Divizia B proved challenging. Under Constantin Marinescu's guidance, Unirea had a mid-table 9th-place finish in the 1974–75 season, but the team’s performance began to decline. In the 1975–76 season, Marinescu was replaced by Gheorghe Făiniță after just eleven rounds. Unfortunately, Făiniță's impact was minimal; despite his efforts to stabilize the team, they struggled throughout the season, ultimately finishing 14th and narrowly avoiding relegation due to goal difference.

The situation deteriorated further in the following season. Făiniță was dismissed after only seven rounds and replaced by Mihai Macri. However, the team was unable to find consistent form, resulting in relegation to Divizia C after finishing 15th.

After relegation to the third division, the team was renamed Unirea IDSMSA Focșani, reflecting the sponsorship of the ''Intreprinderea de Dispozitive, Ștanțe, Matrițe și Scule Așchietoare ()''. Zoltan David was brought back as head coach, leading the team to a runner-up finish in the fourth Series IV of Divizia C in the 1977–78 season, seven points behind leaders Chimia Brazi. The team also had a strong run in the Cupa României, reaching the Round of 32 before being eliminated in a narrow 0–1 defeat to FC Argeș.

In the 1978–79 campaign, the group from Milcov made a determined push for promotion, overtaking CSU Galați and their local rivals Dinamo Focșani. The team clinched the top position in the third series and secured promotion to Divizia B. Coached by Vasile Stancu, the squad included players such as Ion Paraschiv, Stan Gheorghiu, Nicolae Zaiț, Aurel Pastia, Sorin Galan, Octavian Anghel, Marian Sima, Cristian Costea, Victor Manolache, Mircea Chioveanu, C. Liciu, Ionel Ouatu, Mihai Oprișan, and Constantin Rusu.

After returning to Divizia B, Unirea quickly became a strong contender in the second division, achieving some of their best results during this period. In his first season back, the team, led by Vasile Stancu, secured a solid 4th place finish, one of their best finishes in Divizia B.

In 1980, Unirea Focșani merged with local rivals Dinamo CPL Focșani to strengthen the club financially and improve the quality of the team. Following the merger, the club was renamed Unirea Dinamo Focșani. Aristide Ghiță was appointed as the new head coach, with Gh. Cernat as his assistant. The team finished the 1980–81 season in 3rd place, repeating this result in the 1981–82 season. The squad included players such as S. Gheorghiu, I. Paraschiv, Negoi, Gheorghe, O. Anghel, N. Zaiț, Gaitan, M. Chioveanu, Radu, A. Pastia, Gh. Burleanu, Argăseală, C. Liciu, Brumaru, Ghica, C. Rusu, V. Manolache, M. Sima, Negoescu, and Drăgan.

Ghiță remained in charge for the 1982–83 season, leading Unirea Dinamo Focșani to an 11th-place finish. The following season, after a brief departure, he returned as head coach in the 1983–84 campaign, taking over from Stan Gheorghiu after twenty-three rounds and once again guiding the team to an 11th-place finish.

However, the 1984–85 season marked a downturn. Ghiță was replaced after thirteen rounds by Vasile Stancu, who lasted until the twenty-seventh round before making way for Cristian Cristea. The team finished last and was relegated to the third division. In the Cupa României, Unirea reached the Round of 32 but was eliminated after a 0–2 defeat to Sportul Studențesc.

In the 1985–86 season, Unirea Dinamo Focșani secured promotion back to Divizia B by winning Series II of Divizia C under the leadership of Cristian Costea. The team also performed well in the Cupa României, reaching the Round of 32 for the second consecutive time, where it lost 1–2 to Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea.

Upon returning to Divizia B, the team, still coached by Costea, achieved a 6th-place finish in 1986–87 and improved to 5th the following season. In the 1988–89 season, Costea was replaced after four rounds by Dumitru Chiriță, who remained in charge until the twenty-eighth round, when Costea returned to the helm. The team went on to secure an impressive 3rd-place finish.

During its tumultuous history CSM Focșani had a lot of ups and downs and also another two refounding moments, in 2002 and 2006, but the highest level achieved by the team was only Liga II.

Than the team was dissolved again in the summer of 2013, but only at senior level. In the summer of 2016, the senior team was refounded and enrolled in Liga IV – Vrancea County.

The team began the 2023–24 season with Octavian Grigore as head coach, but he left two rounds before the first stage ended, with the team mathematically qualified for the play-off round of the series. Călin Moldovan was appointed as the new head coach and finished 2nd in the first stage of Series II, maintaining this position after the play-off round, thus qualifying for the promotion play-offs. In the first round, Focșănenii eliminated Bucovina Rădăuți (2–0 and 1–1) but lost in the second round to Metalul Buzău (2–1 and 0–2). CSM Focșani were given a second chance, alongside three other teams that lost in the second round. The team from Vrancea made a dramatic comeback, defeating SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea 3–2 in the semi-final, with Zaharia scoring the decisive goal in extra time, before winning 2–0 against CS Dinamo București at Milcovul Stadium, securing a return to the second division after 16 years of absence.

Ground

The team played its home matches at Tineretului Stadium until 1974, when it moved to Milcovul Stadium, a multi-use venue in Focșani, which has a capacity of 8,500 seats. The stadium's name comes from Milcov River and holds 8,500 people.

Honours

Liga III
*Winners (5): 1973–74, 1978–79, 1985–86, 1998–99, 2006–07
*Runners-up (4): 1968–69, 1977–78, 2021–22, 2023–24

Liga IV – Vrancea County
*Winners (1): 2016–17

Bârlad Regional Championship
*Winners (1): 1953

Players

First-team squad

Club officials

Board of directors

Current technical staff

Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or significant caps for CSM Focșani.

;Romania

* Mihai Barbu
* Valentin Borș
* Marius Bratu
* Octavian Bucătaru
* Sorin Colceag
* Ionuț Constantinescu
* Ciprian Dinu
* Petrache Gurguiatu
* Edward Iordănescu
* Claudiu Juncănaru