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Asociația Sportivă Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj (), commonly known as Universitatea Cluj or simply U Cluj, 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 the city of
Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
,
Cluj County Cluj County () is a county () of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat is Cluj-Napoca. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Kolozs megye''. Under the Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name (Kolozs County, ) existed s ...
, that competes 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 ...
. Founded in 1919 by doctor Iuliu Hațieganu, Universitatea Cluj has spent more than half of its history in the top flight, but never became national champion. It has played six
Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
finals under four names, and won the trophy in the 1964–65 season after a 2–1 defeat of Dinamo Pitești. Once considered the most important side in the region of
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
, its status has been threatened in the 21st century by the success of
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 ...
, with whom it contests the Cluj derby. Universitatea players and fans are nicknamed ''Șepcile roșii'' ("the Red Caps") after the red berets worn by students of the Cluj University of Medicine. The team traditionally plays in white and black
kits KITS (105.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "Live 105") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock radio format known as "Live 105". The studios ...
, although variations of red, maroon and gold have been used in the past. Its home ground is Cluj Arena, which was opened in 2011 and can host around 30,000 spectators.


History

The ''Universitatea'' sports club of Cluj was founded on 23 November 1919 by the "Sports Society of University Students" (abbreviated to "U"), the press from Cluj wrote an announcement that day:"With patriotic warmth for every young Romanian university student to hold on to a holy duty to join the sports lists that are at the University's Secretariat". Its first chairman was Professor Iuliu Hațieganu, a physician and politician who in 1932 said:"Our goal is not to create champions, but healthy people. Not record, but harmony, not hate, but camaraderie; not personal victory, but the victory of the nation; don't speculate, but sacrifice". On 16 May 1920, the team played its first game, a 3–1 win over Gloria Arad with goals scored by Crâsnic II, Târla and Vatian, the first 11 being: Mihai Tripa – Aurel Guga, Eugen Metainu – Brutus Ratiu, Ioan Nichin, Petrila Petica, Arcadie Crâsnic I – Sabin Vatianu, Eugen Crâsnic II, Sabin Târla, Nicolae Gruescu. In addition to participating in the first regional championships, "U" stands out as the first Romanian team to perform in an international tournament. It happened in 1923, Cluj playing with some of the most important teams from France, Italy and Yugoslavia: 0–5 Stade Francaise, 4–2 with Lyon, 3–0 with Grenoble Etudiant Club, 0–1 with Politehnica Turin and 1–2 with HAŠK Zagreb. In the early years of its existence "U" Cluj played in local competitions; at the time there was no national football championship in Romania. The team played against Chinezul Timișoara in the 1923 final of the Mara Cup, losing 0–2. "U" played in the Romania national football championship
Divizia A 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 ...
from 1932. In their first season "U" finished first in its group and played the championship final against Ripensia Timișoara (0–0 and 3–5). In the first season of the Romanian Cup, in 1933–34, "U" reached the final, losing against Ripensia Timișoara (0–5). The first notable
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
of "U" Cluj was Mircea Luca who took the captain armband in 1941, in the hardest period of the club's history, as in 1940, the team moved from
Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
to
Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...
as a result of the
Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all of Maramureș and part of Cri ...
, when the northern part of
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
was ceded to
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
. In 1945, after the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the return of the northern part of Transylvania to Romania, "U" returned to its home in Cluj. During these years some players left to play for
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
teams but Luca refused to do so, also the team's biggest performance was the reaching of the 1942 Cupa României final, which however was lost in front of Rapid București. After the war in which some of the club's players died, the team had to earn its right to play in Cluj, by playing against Ferar Cluj who during the war competed in the Hungarian league under the name ''Kolozsvár AC'', finishing on the third place in one season and had more experienced and international footballers. According to historian Gheorghe Bodea who was at the game, the differences between the two teams could be seen since the players entered the field as the ones of Ferar had modern new equipment while the players of "U" appeared in equipment that was five years old. Bodea also claims that the game was dominated at first by Ferar but Universitatea resisted with Luca being the leader of the defense, at one moment in the game he got his arch broken during an aerial duel, teammate Sever Coracu bandaging him in order to continue the game. With Luca taking care of the defense and Coracu of the offense, "U" Cluj won with 4–0, Luca being named "Man of the match". In December 2007 in an interview for the ''
Gazeta Sporturilor Gazeta Sporturilor () is a Romanian sports website, originally founded in 1924 as a daily newspaper. It was the third-oldest daily newspaper in Europe, with 99 years of uninterrupted publication, before issuing its last edition on 31 October 2023. ...
'' newspaper, Luca said:"Only I know how I gathered them for a match with Ferar (...) They had a strong team, as Cluj never had, one like a racing horse. We won that match 4–0, one that I care a lot about and that ended Ferar's hegemony in Transylvania". 290px, In 1946, the name of the club was changed to '' Știința Cluj'' (''Science Cluj'') and in the summer of the same year, the Victoria Cluj in order to earn the right to play in the 1946–47 Divizia A">Romanian Football Federation decided that they had to play a play-off against FC Victoria Cluj">Victoria Cluj in order to earn the right to play in the 1946–47 Divizia A season. The first leg ended 1–1, but ''The Red Caps'' won the second leg with 3–1, thus earning their right to play in the first league where they would stay for the following three seasons, relegating in 1949. During this period the team also reached the 1949 Cupa României final for the third time, but it was beaten by CSCA Bucureștinow called Steaua București (1–2). File:Știința Cluj 1965.jpg, left, 290px, At the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, the manager of Știința Cluj was Ștefan Kovácsa famous Romanian coach who later became the manager of
Ajax Amsterdam Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...
. In 1964–65, ''Știința Cluj'' defeated with 2–1 Dinamo Pitești with goals scored by Câmpeanu and Ivansuc and won the
Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
under coach Andrei Sepci who used the following players in the final: Simion Moguț – Paul Marcu, Traian Georgescu ( c), Paul Grăjdeanu, Remus CâmpeanuVasile Alexandru, Mircea Neșu – Nicolae Szabo, Zoltán Ivansuc, Mihai Adam,
Ioan Suciu Ioan Suciu (December 4, 1907 – June 27, 1953) was a Romanian bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church, born into a clerical family in Blaj. Suciu studied in Rome, Italy first at Sant'Atanasio and then at the ''Pontificium Institutum Internation ...
. In the following season, the club made its debut in European competitions, participating in the
1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1965–66 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup club football tournament was won by Borussia Dortmund in an extra-time final victory over Liverpool at Hampden Park in Glasgow. West Ham United were the defending champions, but were eliminat ...
, eliminating Austrian team, Wiener Neustadt with 3–0 on aggregate in the first round, the goals being scored by Ivansuc (2) and
Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...
but they got eliminated in the following round by
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
. In 1966, the name of the team was changed back to "Universitatea". At the end of the 1971–1972 season, "U" was in the best position in the Romanian Championship Divizia A after the Second World War; it finished third in the league table, with the same number of points as the second placed team UTA Arad. In 1998, "U" reached the final of Cupa Ligii but lost to FCM Bacău. In 1999, "U" was relegated into the second Romanian division, Divizia B and in 2000 it was relegated for the first time in its history into the third division, Divizia C. It played one season in the third division, and in 2001 it was promoted back to Divizia B. The manager of the team at the time was the ex-Romanian international, Ioan Ovidiu Sabăuwho started playing football in the 1980s at "U" Cluj.In the 2005–06 Divizia B season, the new objective became promotion to the first league. Under coach Leo Grozavu, who often played highly defensive football, the team made many nil draws and the team lost second place (promotion play-off) by a point, though in the last match days they won 4–0 with the first place and the third, and 3–2 (after leading 3–0) with the second place. In the beginning of the 2006–07 Liga II season (Divizia B was renamed to Liga II in this season), a new manager, Adrian Falubwho had never coached before but had played over 220 matches for "U" Cluj in the first leaguewas hired. Under his lead, the team had a poor early season and only reached eighth position. Yet, the moment passed and the team reached first position, often separated by over 6 points from the next position. On 19 May 2007, virtual promotion was achieved after a 0–0 draw against second place contender Dacia Mioveni. Three weeks before the final match day, "U" ended its 8-year spell in the lower divisions, returning to the first league for the 52nd season in its history. File:Echipa U Cluj sarbatorind promovarea in Liga I in 2007.jpg, 250px, "U" Cluj players celebrating the promotion 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 ...
in 2007 The 2007–08 Liga I season, the first season of
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 ...
in the last eight years for "U" Cluj was a tough one. The club did not manage the promotion very well, and at the end of a tumultuous season the club finished in 18th place, the last one, with only 17 points, returning to
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 2008–09 Liga II season was a transition one and "U" was saved from relegation to
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 ...
in the last round, after a 3–0 victory against Arieșul Turda while the main contra-candidate ACU Arad ended only 1–1 at home against Bihor Oradea, a match which was followed by a major scandal. Bihor Oradea accused ACU Arad of trying to fix the match, a victory being enough for the team from Arad to save from relegation. In the summer of 2009 "U" Cluj was taken over by Florian Walter, owner of Romprest Service which is one of the leaders of the facility management sector in Romania. After only one season under the ownership of Walter, "U" Cluj was promoted to
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 ...
finishing second in the 2009–10 Liga II season. In the new season, "U" Cluj demonstrated that was much better prepared from an administrative and sports point of view and managed to finish 2010–11 Liga I season in eighth place, far away from the relegation area. The 2011–12 Liga I season brought "U" to another area of its existence. Well known and valuable players like Mircea Bornescu, George Galamaz, Gabriel Boștină, Marian Cristescu, Ovidiu Hoban, Gheorghe Grozav, Laurențiu Marinescu and Tony were bought by the club and the objective was qualification in the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
. ''Șepcile Roșii'' finished only in seventh place and failed to achieve the objective, but they got the best ranking of the club in the last 26 years. In the summer of 2012, Florian Walter left "U" Cluj and became the owner of Petrolul Ploiești. Together with his departure, most valuable players left also the club and signed with the team from
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 ...
. Left without the main financier, ''Alb-Negrii'' attempted to form a squad of competitive players with little money. In February 2013 club debts grew worrying and "U" went into insolvency. Despite all the financial problems the team saved from relegation, finishing 12th at the end of 2012–13 season. In the spring of 2013 Florian Walter announced that he would return at "U" Cluj. At the end of the 2012–13 season a new problem shook the already disturbed environment of "U" Cluj. The license committee refused to license the club for the 2013–14 Liga I season and decided to relegate it to
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 ...
. ''Șepcile Roșii'' contested the decision at CAS and won, assuring their presence in the next season of
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 ...
. 2013–14 season it would once again be one without claims for "U" due to financial problems that the club had. Also Florian Walter no longer seemed interested in investing too much in the team. With all the problems ''Studenții'' managed again to save from relegation, finishing 11th. The 2014–15 Liga I season was a reorganization one, with six teams relegated instead of four, in an attempt to reduce
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 ...
teams from 18 to 14. "U" Cluj struggled with its few resources until the very end, but at the end of the season the club was placed on 15th position and relegated to
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 ...
after its five-year spell in Liga I. 300px, Chart showing the progress of U Cluj's league finishes from 1932 to 2017 The relegation in the Liga II was a real disaster for "U"'s already shaky financial situation. The club made a squad full of young players from the academy hoping that through the ambition of the young players and a miracle the team would promote back in Liga I after only one season of Liga II. That was the only solution for saving the club, which was at that moment in insolvency for two and a half years and with an owner, Florian Walter, present only as a name in the papers, without investing in the club anyway and also being in international tracking for tax evasion and money laundering. The 2015–16 Liga II season was one of extremes for "U" Cluj. In the first part of the championship the team had run over expectations and had great chances of promotion. But after the winter break the financial situation become worse and the team started to have bad results which ended with a qualification in the play-out tournament, without any chances of promotion. This moment was a crucial one; without any motivation the team ended the championship on tenth place and relegated to
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 ...
. The summer of 2016 meant a new beginning for "U". With a sporting society in insolvency, with big chances of bankruptcy and an owner arrested for tax evasion and money laundering, there was no other solution than the formation of a new club.
Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
Municipality, which is the owner of "U" Cluj logo and record, terminated the lease agreement with the company of Florian Walter. Then Cluj-Napoca Municipality together with
Babeș-Bolyai University The Babeș-Bolyai University ( , , commonly known as UBB) is a public research university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Established in 1581 as Academia Claudiopolitana, it underwent several reorganizations over the centuries, eventually taking ...
and "U" Cluj Supporters Association started a new project entitled ''ACSF Alb-Negru al Studenților Clujeni'' (ACSF White-Black of the Students from Cluj) a name that was given to the new team, because the society administered by Florian Walter was not yet bankrupt and the name of ''FC Universitatea Cluj'' could not belong to two companies. After the foundation of the new team
Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
Municipality rented "U" logo and record to the new society. The team was enrolled in
Liga IV Liga IV is the fourth level of the Romanian football league system and is run in all 41 counties and in the Municipality of Bucharest. It was known as the Regional Championship, County Championship, Divizia C – County Phase and Divizia D. Its ...
Cluj County Cluj County () is a county () of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat is Cluj-Napoca. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Kolozs megye''. Under the Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name (Kolozs County, ) existed s ...
, Ioan Ovidiu Sabău has been named team manager and Marius Popescu the new coach. ''Șepcile Roșii'' also signed with a lot of valuable players like Octavian Abrudan, Alexandru Păcurar, Dorin Goga or Gabriel Giurgiu. Together with them in the team have been added the most talented players of "U" Cluj Football Academy and the objective was the promotion. The project was a real success and ''Studenții'' won
Liga IV Liga IV is the fourth level of the Romanian football league system and is run in all 41 counties and in the Municipality of Bucharest. It was known as the Regional Championship, County Championship, Divizia C – County Phase and Divizia D. Its ...
without any problems, winning 26 matches and making only a draw in a match against Sticla Arieșul Turda. Also the team achieved the number of 1,000 contributing members and a lot of development projects are planned. On 29 September 2016 Walter's society, ''FC Universitatea Cluj'', has gone bankrupt leaving the name free. But the bankruptcy occurred after the starting of the 2016–17 Liga IV season, so the name remained ''ACSF Alb-Negru al Studenților Clujeni'' for that season. On 11 May 2017 was announced officially that from the 2017–18 season the team will return to the old name, ''FC Universitatea Cluj'' and also the
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
team will evolve under the same brand.


Stadium

Cluj Arena at night Ion Moina Stadium, the first football and athletics stadium in
Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
, was built between 1908 and 1911 and had a capacity of 1,500. The official inauguration in 1911 was a game between a Cluj team and Galatasaray Istanbul. It was the first game in Europe for Galatasaray; the Cluj team won 8–1. In 1961, new U-shaped stands were built and the capacity of the stadium became 28,000. In 2000, most of the stands were declared structurally unsafe for hosting supporters and were closed, leaving the stadium with a capacity of 12–13,000. In late 2008, the old "Ion Moina" Stadium was demolished, and building works begun for the Cluj Arena. The last official game at the old stadium was played on 22 November 2008; Universitatea drew 0–0 in their Liga II game with Mureșul Deva. During the construction works for the new stadium, Universitatea played its home games in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 Liga II seasons at the Clujana Stadium and its home games in the 2010–11 Liga I season at the Cetate Stadium in
Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...
, Gloria Stadium in Bistrița and Gaz Metan Stadium in
Mediaș Mediaș (; , , Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš''/''Medwisch'', ) is the second largest municipiu, town and municipality in Sibiu County, Transylvania, central Romania. Geography Mediaș is located in ...
. On 11 October 2011, the first match at the new Cluj Arena stadiuma friendly between Universitatea and the Russian team Kuban Krasnodarwas played and Kuban won 4–0; the game was also the retirement match for one-club man, Cristinel Pojar who played a few minutes for "U". The first official match at the new stadium was played; Universitatea won the Liga I game against FC Brașov 1–0 on 16 October 2011.


Support

"U" Cluj supporters during a First Division game (season 2011–12) "U" has many supporters in
Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
, but also in some other parts of Romaniaespecially in
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
. One of the reasons for the team's popularity is that Cluj-Napoca has some of Romania's most important universitiesincluding the
Babeș-Bolyai University The Babeș-Bolyai University ( , , commonly known as UBB) is a public research university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Established in 1581 as Academia Claudiopolitana, it underwent several reorganizations over the centuries, eventually taking ...
, the largest in the country with more than 45,000 students. The history of U's fanatic supporters began in the 1970s, when fan-groups started to appear on the stadium. First, in 1972 appeared ''Amicii U'', one of the first supporters groups in Romania. The group started to compose songs along with Music Academy's students and wear accessories like the well-known red hats or pins with the club's crest. Those years, ''Slavă ție studenție'' was composed, being nowadays club's anthem. After the fall of communist regime, the
Ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...
idea arrived in Romania. First ultras group founded was Vecchia Guardia in 1996, followed by Ultra Curva Groapa in 1997 and Ultras 19 in 2004. "U" Cluj fans during a Liga 1 promotion game against Dinamo Bucharest in 2022 Some of the present-day ultras groups of "U" Cluj are Groparii, VG (Vecchia Guardia), BOYS, MADS, FPU (The Few The Proud The Ultras), Potaissa, PPS (Prezenti pentru simbol), MNST (Mănăștur). . The fanaticism sometimes led to violence, some violent episode being in 1979 when Sportul Studențesc won the match with "U" due to poor referee decisions. After the match, supporters began to shout ''thieves'' in front of the stadium and the
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
started to fight the angry fans. Other episode happened in 2008, when CFR fans went to one of the main squares of the city to celebrate a Dinamo victory over Steaua, that advantage their team to win the league that year. Some Universitatea fans went to the square and had a fight with the rivals before police intervention.


Rivalries and friendships

File:Uclujsuporteri.jpg, "U" Cluj supporters during a Second Division game against
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 ...
in 2003 Universitatea have a rivalry with local city team
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 ...
. The animosity between the teams is one of the oldest in Romanian football. The first incidents between fans of the two sides occurred in the 1920s. A particularly violent episode took place during a derby played in 1924, when the stadium had to be evacuated because of a large-scale fight between supporters. Universitatea won the match 2–1. Other episodes of this rivalry are: in 2005, upset by the fact that Universitatea lost a match against UTA Arad, "U" fans injured CFR players at the Sport Hotel in
Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
; in 2008, following a derby, CFR won and obtained its first league title and Universitatea relegated in
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 ...
, but this match was preceded by a corruption scandal, because Steaua București's owner, Gigi Becali, offered "U" staff one million euros for defeating CFR. The second-most important rivalry is against
FC Rapid București Fotbal Club Rapid 1923, commonly known as Rapid București () or simply as Rapid, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in Bucharest, that competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1923 by employees of the Grivi� ...
due serious clashes between fans in 2006, 2011, 2019. Another rivalries are Steaua București, Farul Constanța, UTA Arad,
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 ...
, Petrolul Ploiești and SSU Politehnica Timișoara. Universitatea's fans have a good friendship with Dinamo's fans, the main rivals of Steaua,
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
Rapid Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...
. Dinamo friendship started in the mid-1990s, both
ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...
groups being linked with the "mentality, fanaticism and
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
side", although in the 1970s and 1980s, "U" supporters had friendships with other important clubs fans, like Politehnica Timișoara or Rapid București, these teams being the few that already had fan-groups.


Honours


Domestic


Leagues

* Divizia A / Liga I **Runners-up (1): 1932–33 * Divizia B / Liga II **Winners (6):
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
, 1957–58, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1991–92, 2006–07 **Runners-up (3): 1939–40, 1983–84, 2009–10 * Divizia C / Liga III **Winners (2): 2000–01, 2017–18 *
Liga IV Liga IV is the fourth level of the Romanian football league system and is run in all 41 counties and in the Municipality of Bucharest. It was known as the Regional Championship, County Championship, Divizia C – County Phase and Divizia D. Its ...
Cluj County Cluj County () is a county () of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat is Cluj-Napoca. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Kolozs megye''. Under the Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name (Kolozs County, ) existed s ...
**Winners (1): 2016–17 *
Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
**Winners (1): 1964–65 **Runners-up (5): 1933–34, 1941–42, 1948–49, 2014–15, 2022–23 * Cupa Ligii **Runners-up (1):
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...


Players


First-team squad


Out on loan


Club officials


Board of directors

* Last updated: 14 August 2024 * Source:


Current technical staff

* Last updated: 13 August 2024 * Source:


Shirt sponsors and manufacturers


Records and statistics


European cups all-time statistics


History by season


Key

* Pos = Final position * P = Played * W = Games won * D = Games drawn * L = Games lost * GF = Goals For * GA = Goals Against * Pts = Points * Div A / L1 =
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 ...
* Div B / L2 =
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 ...
* Div C / L3 =
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 ...
* L4 =
Liga IV Liga IV is the fourth level of the Romanian football league system and is run in all 41 counties and in the Municipality of Bucharest. It was known as the Regional Championship, County Championship, Divizia C – County Phase and Divizia D. Its ...
* p = Preliminary round * 1R = Round 1 * 2R = Round 2 * 3R = Round 3 * 4R = Round 4 * 5R = Round 5 * PO = Play-off Round * GS = Group stage * R32 = Round of 32 * QF = Quarter-finals * R16 = Round of 16 * SF = Semi-finals * F = Final The players in bold were the top goalscorers in the division.


Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries at junior and/or senior level on through the time's passing. Additionally, these players have also had a significant number of caps and goals accumulated throughout a certain number of seasons for the club itself as well. ; One-club men * Traian Georgescu * Mircea Luca * Cristinel Pojar * Zsolt Szilágyi ;Romania * Octavian Abrudan * Mihai Adam * Dan Anca * Laur Aștilean * Imre Bíró * Mircea Bornescu * Aurel Boroș * Gabriel Boştină * Dan Bucşa * Remus Câmpeanu * Septimiu Câmpeanu * Horațiu Cioloboc * Raul Ciupe * Sever Coracu * Marcel Coraş * Nicolae David * Anton Doboş * Bogdan Dolha * Vasile Dobrău * Francisc Dican * Adrian Falub * Ioan Filip * George Florescu * Romulus Gabor * Vasile Gain * Dorin Goga * Aurel Guga * Elemer Hirsch * Ovidiu Hoban * Octavian Ionescu * Zoltán Ivansuc * Emil Jula * Vasile Jula * Marcel Lăzăreanu ;Romania * Valentin Lemnaru * Srdjan Luchin * Paul Marcu * Viorel Mateianu * Alpar Meszaros * Bogdan Mitrea * Sebastian Moga * Laurențiu Moldovan * Lică Movilă * Andrei Mureșan * Alexandru Mustățea * Zsolt Muzsnay * Cătălin Necula * Mircea Neşu *
Claudiu Niculescu Claudiu Iulian Niculescu (born 23 June 1976) is a Romanian football coach and former striker, currently in charge of Liga II club CSM Slatina. Club career Early career Claudiu Niculescu was born in Slatina and started playing football at th ...
* Cornel Orza * Emil Petru * Silviu Ploeșteanu * Adrian Popa * Octavian Popescu * Marius Predatu * Florin Prunea * Ioan Sabău * Radu Sabo * Graţian Sepi * Andrei Sepci * Lazăr Sfera * Rareş Soporan * Constantin Ștefan *
Ioan Suciu Ioan Suciu (December 4, 1907 – June 27, 1953) was a Romanian bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church, born into a clerical family in Blaj. Suciu studied in Rome, Italy first at Sant'Atanasio and then at the ''Pontificium Institutum Internation ...
*
Alexandru Suciu Alexandru Suciu (born 29 October 1960) is a Romanian former international footballer who played as a midfielder. International career Suciu played one friendly game for Romania in 1985 when coach Mircea Lucescu send him on the field in the 46th ...
* Marius Suller * János Székely * Emil Szolomajer * Gabriel Tamaș * Alexa Uifăleanu * Bogdan Unguruşan * Călin Zanc * Dorin Zotincă ;Belgium * Martin Remacle ;Brazil * Fábio Bilica * Gabriel Machado * Romário Pires ;Bulgaria * Plamen Iliev ;Cape Verde * Kay ;Cyprus * Paraskevas Christou ;Guinea * Habib Baldé ;Italy * Marco Fossati ;Montenegro * Milan Jovanović ;Nigeria * Anthony Nwakaeme ;Poland *
Łukasz Szukała Łukasz Szukała (born 26 May 1984) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. After starting out his career at Metz B in France, Szukała went on to compete professionally in Germany, Romania, Saudi Arabia and Tur ...
;Portugal * Sérgio Ribeiro * Nuno Viveiros ;Senegal * Gaston Mendy ;Slovakia * Robert Veselovsky ;South Korea * Park Jae-hong


Former managers

Source: * Adalbert Kovács (1932) * Otto Eckhardt (1933) * Adalbert Molnár (1933–34) * Fritsch (1934–35) * Iosif Kovács (1935–36) * Otto Eckhardt (1936) * Janos Szaniszló (1937) * Adalbert Kovács (1937–38) * Janos Szaniszló (1938) * Onoriu Chețanu (1938) * Ferenc Nyúl (1938–39) * Janos Szaniszló (1939–40) * Iosif Kovács (1940–41) * Onoriu Chețanu (1941–42) * Maertens (1942–1944) * Markos Imre (1946) *
Nicolae Kovács Nicolae Kovács (, 29 December 1911 – 7 July 1977) was a Romanian-Hungarian football player and coach. He was a dual international football player and played both for Romania and Hungary. He played in 116 matches and scored 43 goals for Clu ...
(1946–47) * Nicolae Munteanu (1947–48) *
Ștefan Cârjan Ștefan Cârjan (10 May 1909 – 18 November 1978) was a Romanian football left winger and manager. Life and career He was born in Bucharest, in the Dracului neighborhood. Cârjan played over 20 years for Unirea Tricolor București, winning ...
(1948) * Andrei Sepci (1949) * Iuliu Baratky (1949–51) * Gheorghe Bărbulescu (1951) * Ștefan Kovács (1952–53) * Vasile Gain (1953) * Ștefan Kovács (1954–55) * Petre Rădulescu (1955) * Ștefan Kovács (1956) * Nicolae Munteanu (1956) * Nicolae Szoboszlay (1957) * Ștefan Kovács (1957–58) * Virgil Mărdărescu (1958–59) * Andrei Sepci (1959–61) * Neța Gheorghe (1961–62) * Constantin Rădulescu (1962–63) * Andrei Sepci (1963) * Mircea Luca (1964) * Andrei Sepci (1964–66) * Eugen Mladin (1966–67) * Nicolae Szoboszlay (1967) * Constantin Teașcă (1968) *
Ștefan Cârjan Ștefan Cârjan (10 May 1909 – 18 November 1978) was a Romanian football left winger and manager. Life and career He was born in Bucharest, in the Dracului neighborhood. Cârjan played over 20 years for Unirea Tricolor București, winning ...
(1969–70) * Silviu Avram (1970) * Andrei Sepci (1970–71) * Vasile Băluțiu (1971) * Ștefan Onisie (1971–73) * Mircea Luca (1973) * Silviu Avram (1973–74) * Vasile Băluțiu (1974–75) * Paul Popescu (1975–76) * Constantin Rădulescu (1976–77) * Petre Moldoveanu (1977–78) * Toader Pop (1979) * Gheorghe Staicu (1980–81) * Angelo Niculescu (1981–83) * Constantin Ardeleanu (1983) * Remus Vlad (1983–85) * Alexa Uifăleanu (1985) * Remus Vlad (1985–88) * Cornel Dinu (1989) * Dan Anca (October 1989 – March 1990) * Ștefan Sameș (1990) * Ion Ciocan (1990) * Vasile Iordache (1990) * Ioan Sdrobiș (1991–92) * Remus Vlad (1992–93) * Dan Anca (1993–94) * Ioan Andone (1994–95) * Dan Anca (1995–97) * Adrian Coca (1997) *
Cornel Țălnar Cornel Țălnar (born 9 June 1957) is a Romanian former football player and manager. Club career Țălnar, nicknamed "Țânțarul" (The Mosquito), was born on 9 June 1957 in Bărăbanț, Alba County and started to play football at the junior sq ...
(1997–98) * Tiberiu Poraczky (1998) * Dan Anca (Dec 1998–99) * Marcel Lăzăreanu (1999) * Grigore Boca (1999) * Alexa Uifăleanu (1999) * Zoltan Iașko (1999) * Petre Gigiu (2000) * Mircea Cojocaru (2000) * Ioan Ovidiu Sabău (2000–01) * Mihai Marian (2001) * Cristian Mustacă (2001) * Vasile Gheorghe (2002) * Dan Anca (2002) * Vasile Gheorghe (2002) * Dan Anca (2002–03) * Ioan Ovidiu Sabău (2003) * Mircea Cojocaru (2003 – 4 July 2004) * Marin Ion (July 2004 – 5 July 2005) *
Leontin Grozavu Leontin "Leo" Florian Grozavu (born 19 August 1967), is a Romanian football manager and former professional player who played as a defender, currently in charge of Liga I club Botoșani. Club career Grozavu played professionally football with ...
(July 2005–06) * Francisc Dican (2006) * Adrian Falub (1 July 2006 – 7 October 2007) * Gheorghe Mulțescu (19 October 2007 – 16 December 2007) * Alpar Meszaros (8 January 2008 – 20 August 2008) * Marius Popescu (August 2008) * Dorinel Munteanu (26 August 2008 – 26 October 2008) * Gheorghe Mihali (October 2008 – 9 April 2009) * Marius Popescu (2009) * Dorinel Munteanu (2009 – 30 June 2009) * Carmelo Palilla (July 2009 – 9 August) * Marius Popescu (August 2009) *
Cornel Țălnar Cornel Țălnar (born 9 June 1957) is a Romanian former football player and manager. Club career Țălnar, nicknamed "Țânțarul" (The Mosquito), was born on 9 June 1957 in Bărăbanț, Alba County and started to play football at the junior sq ...
(29 August 2009 – 4 October 2009) * Cristian Dulca (5 October 2009 – 2010) * Viorel Hizo (2010) * Cristian Dulca (2010) * Marian Pană (16 June 2010 – 8 November 2010) *
Claudiu Niculescu Claudiu Iulian Niculescu (born 23 June 1976) is a Romanian football coach and former striker, currently in charge of Liga II club CSM Slatina. Club career Early career Claudiu Niculescu was born in Slatina and started playing football at th ...
(November 2010) * Ionuț Badea (19 November 2010 – 14 March 2012) *
Claudiu Niculescu Claudiu Iulian Niculescu (born 23 June 1976) is a Romanian football coach and former striker, currently in charge of Liga II club CSM Slatina. Club career Early career Claudiu Niculescu was born in Slatina and started playing football at th ...
(14 March 2012 – 23 July 2012) * Cristian Dulca (26 July 2012 – 1 October 2012) * Marius Popescu ''(interim)'' (1 October 2012 – 8 November 2012) * Marius Șumudică (9 November 2012 – 15 November 2012) * Marius Popescu (15 November 2012 – 1 February 2013) * Ionel Ganea (1 February 2013 – 30 September 2013) * Gheorghe Barbu ''(interim)'' (2 October 2013 – 23 October 2013) * Mihai Teja (23 October 2013 – 4 September 2014) * George Ogăraru (4 September 2014 – 2 March 2015) * Adrian Falub (2 March 2015 – 30 June 2015) * Marius Popescu (27 July 2015 – 27 October 2015) * Mihai Teja (29 October 2015 – 9 April 2016) * Zsolt Szilágyi (2016) * Ovidiu Sărmăşanc (2016) * Marius Popescu (1 July 2016 – 16 September 2017) * Adrian Falub (20 September 2017 – 18 October 2018) * Mircea Cojocaruc (19 October 2018 – 8 December 2018) * Bogdan Lobonț (8 December 2018 – 14 June 2019) * Cristian Dulca (20 June 2019 – 2 September 2019) * Adrian Falub (4 September 2019 – 14 September 2020) * Costel Enache (17 September 2020 – 10 May 2021) * Erik Lincar (11 May 2021 – 24 August 2022) * Eugen Neagoe (25 August 2022 – 31 December 2022) * Ioan Ovidiu Sabău (1 January 2023 – 30 May 2023) * Anton Petrea (9 June 2023 – 24 August 2023)


References


Further reading

* *


External links

*
Club profile
on UEFA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Universitatea Cluj Sport in Cluj-Napoca Association football clubs established in 1919 Football clubs in Cluj County Liga I clubs Liga II clubs Liga III clubs Liga IV clubs University and college association football clubs in Romania 1919 establishments in Romania