Steaua Bucureşti
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| FC Steaua Bucureşti | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Fotbal Club Steaua Bucureşti | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Ros-Albaştrii ("Red-Blues") Militarii ("Army men") |
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| Founded | June 7, 1947 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Ghencea Stadium, Bucharest, Romania |
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| Capacity | 27,063 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  George Becali |
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| Head Coach | Cosmin Olăroiu |
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| League | Liga I | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | Divizia A, 1st | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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FC Steaua Bucureşti is a Romanian football club based at Ghencea Stadium, Bucharest, Romania. It was founded on June 7, 1947 as ASA Bucureşti (Asociatia Sportivă a Armatei - English The Army Sport Association). The club changed its name several times before settling on Steaua (English: "The Star") in 1961.
Being the only Romanian football team and the first in Eastern Europe, to win the European Champions Cup in 1986, having also won the European Super Cup in 1987, Steaua is the most successful and the most popular football club in Romania. Alongside the two European trophies, they have also won 23 National Football Championships, 20 Romanian Cups and 5 Romanian Super Cups
The club is historically known as the Romanian Army sports club. The football department separated from the Romanian Ministry of National Defence in 1998, and the only links to the Army right now are the historical tradition and their home ground, Ghencea Stadium, which still belongs to the Ministry of National Defence but has been leased on a 49 year long period to the football club.
Since 2002, the club has been run by Romanian businessman George Becali, who purchased a majority stake and turned it into an SA (Romanian PLC).
The other sections of CSA Steaua Bucureşti are Rugby, Ice Hockey (autonomous – Hochei Club Steaua Suki Bucureşti), Handball, Water Polo, Basketball (only a youth section at present), Volleyball, Athletics, Swimming, Gymnastics, Boxing, Paddling, Shooting, Weightlifting, Fencing, Tennis and Judo. Also in existence is Clubul Sportiv Steaua Wu-Shu (Martial Arts), run by current FC Steaua owner George Becali, with no link to CSA Steaua.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early Years (1947-1949)
On, June 7, 1947, at the initiative of several officers of the Romanian Royal House, the first Romanian sports club of the Army was born through a decree signed by General Mihail Lascăr, High Commander of the Romanian Royal Army. The club was to be called ASA Bucureşti (Asociaţia Sportivă a Armatei Bucureşti – English: Army Sports Association), with a single section, that of football, and its leadership was entrusted to General-Major Oreste Alexandrescu. The decision had been adopted on the ground that several officers were already playing for different teams, which was premise to a good nucleus for forming a future competitive team. With this squad, Coloman Braun-Bogdan, the first coach in the club’s history, went to a sustained training camp in the mountain resort of Sinaia. Although shirts, boots and balls were missing, atmosphere inside the team was rather optimistic. Thanks to sustained efforts, in the shortest possible time the club soon acquired the first training suits, navy green, duck material of, and the first shirts, blue. The big surprise however were the 40 pairs of boots the club had purchased for the 20 selected players.
With the squad gathered in record time, ASA was preparing itself for the Romanian second league promotion play-offs. However, the new Communist government that had come to power in 1945 and assumed total control of the country at the end of 1947 stated that every sports association in the country was now to be linked to a certain State Department, Ministry or company. However, this was not the case for first league club, Carmen Bucureşti, owned by wealthy industrialist Dumitru Mociorniţă, who saw his team excluded from the championship and later on dissolved, its place in the 1st league being now taken by newly-formed ASA.
The team's first official competition was the 1947-48 Romanian Football Championship season, in which they finished 14th. Their first official match was played in Bucharest against Dermata Cluj and ended 0-0. The team managed to avoid relegation after a play-out with seven other teams.
On June 5, 1948, through Order 289 of the Ministry of National Defence, ASA became CSCA (Clubul Sportiv Central al Armatei – English: Central Sports Club of the Army), after which performances began to roll.
In 1949, CSCA won its first trophy in history, the Romanian Cup, after defeating CSU Cluj (current Universitatea Cluj) 2-1 in the final. Because of the championship’s move to a Soviet-inspired spring-fall system, which lasted from 1950 to 1956, CSCA played that fall in an unofficial competition called "The Autumn Cup", held in six different groups, without a final tournament, and won one of them.
[edit] CCA Golden Team (1950-1961)
In March 1950, CSCA changed its name to CCA (Casa Centrală a Armatei, English: "Central House of the Army").
Under the new name, the club would enter the high-life of Romanian football by winning their first Championship - a Cup Double in 1951, not before conquering their second national cup one year earlier after trailing 3-1 past Flamura Roşie Arad. The first title was achieved on goal average (which was then used as a second criterion instead of goal difference), while the cup by disposing 3-1 of Flacăra Mediaş in the final. Two subsequent titles followed consecutively after that year and another one in 1956, thanks to a squad that now comprised Iosif Petschovsky, a great player also recognized for his high spirit of Fair-Play. The team also won the Romanian Cup in 1952 (2-0 v Flacăra Ploieşti) and 1955 (6-3 v Progresul Oradea - current FC Bihor Oradea).
The 1950s were years of great domestic performances, ones in which the club’s first Golden Team crystallized itself, a team which sometimes confused itself with the National Team of Romania itself, with players such as goalkeeper Ion Voinescu, defenders Vasile Zavoda and Alexandru Apolzan, midfielders Ştefan Onisie and Tiberiu Bone or strikers Gheorghe Cacoveanu, Gheorghe Constantin, Ion Alecsandrescu, Francisc Zavoda and Nicolae Tătaru directed by Technical Consultant Virgil Economu and coaches Ilie Savu and Ştefan Dobay. 1956 was one of the CCA’s most prestigious years, when, apart from winning the title, the team enterprised a tournament in England where they beat Luton Town FC 4-3 (which they had already beaten 5-1 in a friendly in Bucharest one year earlier), drew against Arsenal FC 1-1 and Sheffield Wednesday FC 3-3 and lost 5-0 in front of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Also, on April 22, 1956, the Romanian national team beat Yugoslavia 1-0 in Belgrade with a team comprised only by CCA players.
1957 was the year when Romania switched back to the fall-spring system and in whose spring CCA participated in the Danube Cup, being knocked out by MTK Budapest in the first round. That year, the team also made their first European Cup appearance, outpassed by BV Borussia Dortmund in the European Champions Cup after a 3rd match play-off in Bologna.
[edit] A New Star (1961-1985)
In 1961, after having won the previous two national titles, CCA changed names once again (for the final time) to CSA Steaua Bucureşti (Clubul Sportiv al Armatei Steaua – English: Army Sports Club Steaua). The name Steaua is Romanian for The Star and was adopted because of the presence, just like in any other Eastern-European Army team, of a red star (turned yellow now, to symbolize Romania's tri-colour red, yellow and blue flag) on their badge.
On April 9, 1974, Steaua’s current home, Ghencea Stadium, was inaugurated with a friendly match opposing OFK Beograd that ended 2-2. The arena was something new for Post-War Romania, as it was built especially for football, with a capacity of 30,000 and with no athletics track. Up to that date, Steaua had played its home matches on either two of Bucharest’s largest stadiums, Republicii and 23 August (present-day Lia Manoliu Stadium).
Internally, fierce rivalry with teams like Dinamo Bucharest, Petrolul Ploieşti and UTA Arad made it harder and harder for the military team to reach the title, the 1970s and 1980s seeing them win the title only three times under their new name (1967-68, 1975-76, 1977-78). However, during that same period, Steaua won eight National Cups (1961-62, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1975-76 and 1978-79), finally being nicknamed The cup specialists.
The first half of the 1980s was a very poor period for the club, as no trophies were won for six years. However, several prodigies were transferred, such as Helmuth Duckadam, Ştefan Iovan, Miodrag Belodedici, Marius Lăcătuş, Victor Piţurcă, Mihail Majearu, Gavril Balint and Adrian Bumbescu, who would set the basis for the future team. However, these years of searching and frustration did no less than to foretell the amazing performances of the 1980s and 1990s.
[edit] Champions of Europe (1985-1989)
Under the leadership of coaches Emerich Jenei and Anghel Iordănescu, Steaua had an impressive Championship run in the 1984-85 season, which they eventually won after a six-year break. What followed was an absolutely astonishing European Cup season. After knocking-out Vejle BK, Honved FC, Kuusysi Lahti FC and RSC Anderlecht, they were the first ever Romanian team to make it into a European Cup final. On May 7, 1986, at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville, Spanish champions FC Barcelona were clear favourites, but after a goalless draw, legendary goalkeeper Helmuth Duckadam saved all four penalties taken by the Spaniards being the first ever Romanian to reach the Guinness Book for that matter, while Gavril Balint and Marius Lăcătuş transformed theirs to make Steaua the first Eastern-European team to conquer the supreme European trophy.
Gheorghe Hagi, Romanian all-time best footballer, joined the club a few months later, scoring the only goal of the match against Dinamo Kiev which brought Steaua an additional European Super Cup on February 24, 1987 in Monaco, just two months after having lost the Intercontinental Cup 1-0 to Argentinians CA River Plate in Tokyo.
Surprisingly for those who thought of these performances as an isolated phenomenon, Steaua remained at the top of European football for the rest of the decade, managing one more European Cup semifinal against SL Benfica (1987-88) and one more European Cup final in 1989, which was lost 4-0 in front of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard's AC Milan, next to their four more national titles (1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89) and four national cups (1984-85, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89). In addition, from June 1986 to September 1989, Steaua ran a record 104-match undefeated streak in the championship, which by that time was a new world record.
[edit] Post-Revolution Era (1990-2001)
The 1989 Romanian Revolution led the country towards a free open market and subsequently, several players of the great 1980s team left for other clubs in the West. Gheorghe Hagi went to Real Madrid CF for a record $ 4,300,000 fee which stands up to this day for the national championship, Marius Lăcătuş to AC Fiorentina, Dan Petrescu to Foggia Calcio, Silviu Lung to CD Logrones, Ştefan Iovan to Brighton & Hove Albion FC, Tudorel Stoica to RC Lens and so on.
Therefore, three years followed in which the club won only a national cup in the 1991-92 season. However, a swift recovery followed and Steaua managed a six consecutive championship streak between 1992-93 and 1997-98 to equalize the 1920s performance of Chinezul Timişoara and also three more cups in 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1998-99. Another record highly regarded by the fans was the eight year and six month long undefeatead streak in front of arch-rivals FC Dinamo Bucureşti, which counted 19 matches in both the championship and the Romanian Cup. Also, Dinamo have yet to beat Steaua at Ghencea in the league since September 1989.
At the international level, the club managed to reach the Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals in 1993, when they lost on away goals to Royal Antwerp FC, and also to make it to the UEFA Champions League group stage three years in a row between 1994-95 and 1996-97.
In 1998, following lobbying from the football department president, Marcel Puşcaş, the football club separated from the CSA (the entire sports club) and changed their name for the last time to Fotbal Club Steaua Bucureşti, being led by Romanian businessman Viorel Păunescu.
[edit] Gigi Becali Takeover (2002-Present)
Viorel Păunescu performed poorly as a president and soon the club was plunged into debt. Despite the title won in 2000-01, George Becali, another businessman, was offered the position of vice-president, in the hope that he would invest money in the club. George Becali eventually purchased 51% of the club’s shares in February 2002 and turned the governing company into SA (Romanian equivalent for PLC) on 1 March 2002. Even though contested by many because of his controversial character which saw him turn to politics further on, Becali has so far had inspired management plans for the club, also helped by Chief Executive Mihai Stoica.
In the summer of 2004, following a third consecutive year with no trophy won, former Italian glory Walter Zenga was appointed as head coach, becoming the first ever foreign Steaua technician. Following the appointment the results came immediately, as the team qualified for the UEFA Cup group stage and further on became the first Romanian team to make it to the European football spring since 1993 (also Steaua's performance), where they surprisingly outpassed holders Valencia CF after a dramatic penalty shootout at Ghencea. Zenga was sacked with three matchdays to go in the Divizia A, but Steaua eventually won the title, a performance repeated the following year, when, under coaches Oleg Protasov (July – December) and Cosmin Olăroiu (January – present), they also managed to make it to the UEFA Cup Semifinals (dramatically knocked out by Middlesbrough FC after having eliminated local rivals Rapid Bucureşti in an epic all-Romanian Quarter Final) and to win the Romanian Supercup (1-0 against the same AFC Rapid Bucureşti in July 2006), the latter being the club's 50th trophy in its 59 year-old history.
In the current season, after having successfully passed two qualifying rounds against ND Gorica and Royal Standard de Liege, Steaua reached the group stage of the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League, where they were drawn in Group E, together with Real Madrid CF, Olympique Lyonnais and FC Dynamo Kyiv. Steaua won its first group stage game at Dynamo Kyiv 4-1 and lost the following three against Lyon (0-3 home) and Real Madrid (1-4 home; 0-1 away).
[edit] Club's Milestones
- 1947: year of establishment (as ASA Bucureşti); first match in Divizia A (ASA - Dermata Cluj 0-0);
- 1948: change of name to CSCA Bucureşti;
- 1949: first trophy ever won (Romanian Cup, CSCA - CSU Cluj 2-1);
- 1950: change of name to CCA Bucureşti, first Romanian championship title;
- 1955: team's first international match (CCA - Luton Town 5-1);
- 1957: year of debut in the UEFA European competitions;
- 1961: change of name to CSA Steaua Bucureşti;
- 1971: 10th Romanian Cup (Steaua - Dinamo Bucureşti 3-2);
- 1974: Ghencea Stadium erection;
- 1984: 1000th match in the Divizia A (Steaua - CS Tîrgovişte 4-0);
- 1985: 10th championship title;
- 1986: European Cup triumph (Steaua - FC Barcelona 0-0/0-0/2-0);
- 1987: European Supercup triumph (Steaua - Dinamo Kiev 1-0);
- 1989: second European Cup final (AC Milan - Steaua 4-0);
- 1994: first Romanian Supercup triumph (Steaua - Gloria Bistriţa 1-0); first UEFA Champions League participation; 100th match in UEFA competitions (Steaua - Servette Geneve 4-1);
- 1998: football team separates from CSA Steaua, change of name to FC Steaua Bucureşti; 20th championship;
- 1999: 20th Romanian Cup triumph (Steaua - Rapid Bucureşti 2-2/2-2/6-4);
- 2006: 50th trophy in history (Romanian Supercup, Steaua - Rapid Bucureşti 1-0).
[edit] Badge and Colour History
ASA Bucureşti was founded by the Royal Army on 7 June 1947, at which date the club had no official badge and colours. As they went to a sustained training camp weeks later, the club purchased a set of blue playing shirts, a colour which was to remain official up until today. Instead, in their first season, ASA wore blue shirts, red shorts and yellow socks, to symbolize Romania's tri-colour flag.
As the communists took over the power on 30 December 1947, the Royal Army was transformed into the People's Army and ASA automatically with it. Being inspired by the Red Army, the new Ministry of Defence decided to add red to the already existing blue and to create a badge for the club, along with the change of name to CSCA. It was decided for an A-labeled red star (symbol of the Red Army) on a blue disc.
Two years later, the change of name to CCA brought with it a new badge comprised of the same red star labeled CCA surrounded by a crown of laurel. The all-present star motif on the badge finally had its saying over the new name of Steaua as up 1961. It was opted for a badge which, redesigned, remains up to this day the club's symbol: the red and blue striped background with a golden star in the middle, to symbolize to Romanian tri-colour flag. The shape for the emblem which Steaua has now was redesigned in 1975.
Following the 1989 revolution, the Army decided to break all links to the defunct communist regime, so in 1991 CSA Steaua had a last change of badge with an eagle also present on the Ministry of Defence coat of arms and also on Romania's. As FC Steaua appeared in 1998, the club added two yellow stars on top of the CSA Steaua signifying its 20 titles of champion won, along with the 'Fotbal Club' specification.
2003 was the year of the last change of badge, decided by the new Board of Administration run by George Becali, which was a return to the old badge of 1975-1991, redisigned with the two yellow stars on top.
[edit] Managers
see also Cat:Steaua Bucharest managers
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[edit] Notable Former Players
see also Cat:Steaua Bucharest players
- Goalkeepers: Ion Voinescu, Costică Toma, Vasile Iordache, Necula Răducanu, Helmuth Duckadam, Silviu Lung, Bogdan Stelea, Vasily Khomutovsky;
- Defernders: Vasile Zavoda, Alexandru Apolzan, Emerich Jenei, Florin Marin, Ştefan Iovan, Miodrag Belodedici, Adrian Bumbescu, Ilie Bărbulescu, Dan Petrescu, Gheorghe Popescu, Nicolae Ungureanu, Daniel Prodan, Iulian Filipescu, Anton Doboş, Mirel Rădoi, George Ogăraru
- Midfielders: Ştefan Onisie, Tiberiu Bone, Anghel Iordănescu, Tudorel Stoica, Mihail Majearu, Laszlo Bölöni, Gheorghe Hagi, Lucian Bălan, Basarab Panduru, Constantin Gâlcă, Ilie Dumitrescu, Iosif Rotariu, Nicolae Dică
- Strikers: Ion Alecsandrescu, Nicolae Tătaru, Francisc Zavoda, Gheorghe Constantin, Iosif Petschovsky, Gheorghe Tătaru, Marcel Răducanu, Victor Piţurcă, Marius Lăcătuş, Gavril Balint, Adrian Ilie, Ion Vlădoiu,Claudiu Răducanu, Adrian Neaga
[edit] Marius Lăcătuş
See also Marius Lăcătuş
Every team has a symbol and Marius Lăcătuş is Steaua's. Lăcătuş is an idol for Steaua's supporters. Nicknamed Fiara ("The Beast") for his commitment during the games, it was always a pleasure to watch him play. Even now, seven years after leaving the club as a player, the supporters chant his name at each game.
Lăcătuş played for Steaua between 1983 and 1990 and then again between 1993 and 2000. During his time with Steaua, Lăcătuş won ten Romanian championships. No other Romanian player has won more titles. In addition he won the European Cup in 1986, the European Supercup in 1987, played the European Cup final in 1989 and the Intercontinental Cup final in 1986. He was captain between 1994 and 1999.
At Steaua he always wore the number 7 shirt.
Lăcătuş also played for FC Braşov, AC Fiorentina, Real Oviedo and FC Naţional Bucureşti and coached FC Naţional Bucureşti, FC Farul Constanţa, FC Braşov, Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ and now is in charge at UT Arad. He was also assistant coach of Romania.
[edit] The Stadium
See also Ghencea Stadium
Steaua Bucharest plays its home matches at the Ghencea Stadium, a football stadium situated in South-Western Bucharest. Part of Complexul Sportiv Steaua, it was inaugurated on April 9, 1974 when Steaua played a friendly game against OFK Beograd, at which time it was the first football-only stadiums ever built in Communist Romania, with no track and field facilities. Thus, with the help of Steaua's noisy supporters, the stands located very close to the pitch, create an atmosphere unique in Romania and otherwise intimidating for the visiting team.
The original capacity was 30,000, however in 1991 when the plastic seats where installed, the capacity dropped to 27,063. The floodlighting system, with a density of 1400 luces, has been inaugurated in 1991.
Today, following two general renovations in 1996 and 2006 in order to host UEFA Champions League games, Ghencea is the most modern stadium in Romania offering some state-of-art facilities such as: a four-star establishment with all the facilities required for the team, internet for the press-room, 17 cameras for video surveillance, electrically heated pitch, an automated irrigation system, and a modern scoreboard capable of playing replays.
Romania is also a tenant. The first game the national team played in Ghencea was in March 1977 against Turkey. Since then other 59 games were played, the last one in October 2006 against Belarus.
[edit] Current Season
[edit] 2006-07 Squad
As of September 1, 2006
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[edit] Squad Changes ahead and during the 2006/07 Season
- In
- Valentin Badea - Signed from FC Vaslui - €1.1 million (together with Panait);
- Bogdan Panait - Signed from FC Vaslui - €1.1 million (together with Badea);
- Adrian Drida - Signed from CS Jiul Petroşani - undisclosed fee;
Klemi Saban - Signed from Maccabi Haifa FC - €0.25 million;- Gigel Coman - Signed from FCU Politehnica Timişoara - €0.7 million;
Cyril Théréau - Signed from R. Charleroi S.C. - €0.6 million;- Ovidiu Petre - Signed from FCU Politehnica Timişoara - €1 million;
- Stelian Stancu - Signed from Sportul Studentesc - €0.7 million;
- Out
- George Ogăraru - Transferred to AFC Ajax - €3.3 million
- Andrei Cristea - Transferred to FCU Politehnica Timişoara - €0.5 million
- Andrei Enescu - Transferred to Pandurii Târgu-Jiu - no fee
- Out on loan
- Valentin Simion - On Loan to UTA Arad
- Adrian Drida - On Loan to CS Jiul Petroşani
- Alin Liţu - On Loan to CS Jiul Petroşani
- Alexandru Tudose - On Loan to UTA Arad
- Daniel Bălan - On Loan to Omonia Nicosia
[edit] Management
- Manager: Cosmin Olăroiu
- Assistant Managers: Cătălin Necula, Dumitru Bolborea
- Goalkeeping Coach: Vasile Iordache
- Fitness Coach: Ferdinando Hippoliti
- Medic: Radu Paligora
- Masseurs: Constantin Teleaşă, Cătălin Fandel
[edit] Board Room
- Board of Administration President: George Becali
- Honorary President: Viorel Păunescu
- General Manager: Mihai Stoica
- Chief executive : Valeriu Argăseală
- Vice-President: Tea Sponte
- Economic Director: Iulian Ghiorghişor
- Public Relations Director: Paul Andone
[edit] Youth Centre Staff
- Youth Centre Manager: Leonard Strizu
- Physiotherapist: George Mărculescu
- Fitness Coach: Ciprian Prună
- Group Coaches: George Mărculescu, Adrian Bumbescu, Constantin Dumitriu, Lajos Sătmăreanu, Vasile Aelenei, Ştefan Sameş, Petre Mihai, Florea Voinea, Horea Codorean, Bogdan Iovan, Gigel Gheorghe
[edit] Team Honours
[edit] International
- European Cup: 1
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- 1985-86 0-0 (2-0 on penalties) vs FC Barcelona
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- 1987 1-0 vs Dynamo Kyiv
- European Cup runners-up: 1
- Intercontinental Cup runners-up: 1
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- 1986 0-1 vs River Plate
[edit] National
- Liga I: 23
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- 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959-60, 1960-61, 1967-68, 1975-76, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2000-01, 2004-05, 2005-06
- Romanian Cup: 20
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- 1948-49, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1961-62, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1975-76, 1978-79, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1987-88(*), 1988-89, 1991-92, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99
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- 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2006
(*) Steaua gave up the trophy in 1990
[edit] Support
[edit] The Old Days (1947-1995)
As Steaua is undoubtedly the most successful Romanian footbal team, they enjoy the biggest support among Romanian football fans. A survey conducted in 2004 suggested that the Ghencea-based team accounts for approximately 40% of all football lovers, about five million fans inside and outside Romania's borders. It is obvious that this large number of supporters is in large part to the club’s outstanding performances, both domestically and internationally.
However, at the beginning, being the club of the Army, Steaua drew its supporters mostly from people linked with the Army. The first waves of new fans came at the beginning of the 1950s, when CCA’s legendary golden team won the hearts of many people delighted by their spectacular play.
It was not until 1974 with the erection of the Ghencea Stadium in south-western Bucharest that the Steaua zones of supporters came to standardize themselves in the regions adjacent to the arena, subsequently covering the whole southern half of Bucharest, a city geographically divided by the Dâmboviţa River.
1986 is the year when Steaua began to become the most beloved club in the country. The extraordinary success in the European Cup of a fantastic team that was to remain among Europe’s finest for another three years turned everyone’s attention to the red and blues. Dinamo, up until then leader in fan support, increasingly lost ground to Steaua, currently counting about 10-15% of Romanian football lovers according to the 2004 survey.
[edit] Armata Ultra' (1995-2001)
The Steaua Ultras movement began on December 4, 1995, when the bases of Armata Ultra (AU), the first Ultras group from Bucharest (and the second in Romania), were set. For years, AU dominated the Ultra movement in Romania. It quickly reached an impressive number of 4,000 members, a record which stands up to this day for supporter groups in the country. Internal rules were very strict, both inside and outside matches: there was no smoking, no eating, no drinking, no sitting, only standing and chanting. Many saw the disappearance of AU something as the death of a legend and even compared it to the fall of the Roman Empire. This occurred in 2001, due to internal problems, when other small groups, which identified themselves with AU, appeared and gradually messed with their policy, style and way of life. These intrusions culminated with a conflict of their leader, Jean Pavel, with the Steaua Board of Administration. Even though extinct, Armata Ultra’s spirit still lives on in most Steaua fans and a great lot of them still identify themselves with AU[citation needed], as it probably was the strongest, most important ever Ultra group in Romania.
[edit] Present Days (2001-Present)
Currently Steaua's supporters are not lead by a single group. The tendency nowadays is to form several small groups who play their own part. The most important part of them are located in the Peluza Nord (North End), some others taking their place in the Peluza Sud (South End). Because of different attitudes towards the team and the game (PS are usually tougher and more severe in which regards the game and often not so patient), there have lately been quite a few conflicts between the two. The four groups at the PS (Ultras, Hunters, Vacarm, Stil Ostil) even officially ceased activity once because of these conflicts with the more numerous PN. Groups inside Peluza Nord include Tineretului Korp, Titan Boys, Nucleo, Gruppo Tei, Skins Berceni, Insurgenţii, Inseparabilii, Armata 47, Ultras Colentina, Gruppo Voluntari Est, Tradizione, Desant.
It is difficult to assign Steaua fans a certain style, as they do have the typical Italian style, common in different respects to all Romanian groups of fans, with lots of choreographies, banners, flags, doubleholders and flags swinging in the air but on the other hand still have serious Hooligan influences existent from the defunct Armata Ultra'. Therefore, they would mostly resemble the Western-European style, typical for fans such as those of AFC Ajax, Paris Saint-Germain FC, BV Borussia Dortmund, RSC Anderlecht, etc.
Concerning choreographic displays, Steaua have lately become the best in an unofficial ranking.[citation needed] Overshadowed for years by Dinamo's Nuova Guardia (as Armata Ultra’ did not assign great importance to this aspect), they lately came up with some very inspired and impressive displays.
[edit] Statistics
(*) include UEFA Champions League (**) up to and including the 2005 - 06 season (***) do not include the qualifying rounds results [edit] Records
[edit] Rivalries[edit] Rivalry with DinamoSteaua against FC Dinamo Bucureşti has been leading Romanian football derby in the last 50 years, as Steaua and Dinamo are the two most successful football teams in the country. It is also been and still is a match between the former clubs of the Romanian Army (Steaua) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Dinamo). Not once have there been famous clashes between different factions of supporters of them, in the streets as well as inside the stadium. The heyday was reached before a match kick-off in 1997, when Dinamo fans set a sector of Ghencea Stadium's South End (where they were assigned) on fire. Between October 1991 and April 2000, Steaua enjoyed their moment of glory, counting 19 undefeated official matches in front of their rivals, both in the championship and the cup. [edit] Rivalry with RapidThe second rivalry is with AFC Rapid Bucureşti. In the last years every single match between Steaua and Rapid has ended in serious clashes between fans fueled by racial adversities, as Steaua's supporters envision Rapid's neighbourhood, Giuleşti, as one inhabited by a serious percentage of Roma ethnics. Rivalry has become even fiercer since Steaua outpassed Rapid in an all-Romanian UEFA Cup quarter final in 2006. [edit] Other RivalriesMilder and historical rivalries are also with non-Bucharest teams such as FC Universitatea Craiova and FCU Politehnica Timişoara. [edit] Miscellaneous[edit] Highest Transfer Fees Received
[edit] Highest Transfer Fees Paid
[edit] Shirt Sponsors
[edit] Kit Manufacturers[edit] Trivia
[edit] Other Sports[edit] Handball (Men)The handball team of Steaua Bucharest won the European Cup in 1968 (13-11 vs Dukla Praha) and 1977 (21-20 vs CSKA Moskva) as well as the Challenge Cup in 2006 (21-26 and 34-27 vs SC Horta). They were also runners-up three times in the European Cup in 1971 (16-17 vs VfL Gummersbach), 1974 (16-17 vs VfL Gummersbach) and 1989 (24-30 and 23-37 vs SKA Minsk). As of 2006, the club's full name is CSA Steaua MFA Bucureşti, after their sponsor. The team has also won the Romanian Handball Championship (in seven players) 27 times in 1963, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2001 and the Romanian Handball Championship (in eleven players) seven times in 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957 and 1961 and the Romanian Cup six times in 1981, 1985, 1990, 1997, 2000 and 2001. They play their home matches at Lucian Grigorescu Sports Hall. The current coach is Radu Voina. The handball and ice-hockey teams are the fans' second favourite teams after the football one, and derby matches against HCM Constanţa and especially Dinamo are highly attended. Former players include such big names in the history of handball, as Ştefan Birtalan, Vasile Stângă, Cornel Oţelea and Cristian Gaţu. [edit] Ice HockeyCCA Bucureşti founded an Ice Hockey section in 1951. Hochei Club Steaua Suki Bucureşti has been an autonomous club since 2004, but still belongs to CSA Steaua. It is the most successful ice hockey team in Romania, having won the domestic league 41 times. They are the current champions inside a national competition comprised of only 6 teams and in which, besides them, only SC Miercurea Ciuc are especially relevant. Steaua plays SC Miercurea Ciuc in the final every year over a "best of 7" encounter. The derby match between Steaua and SC Miercurea Ciuc is the biggest ice hockey match in the country and one of an immense rivalry, as Steaua fans are mainly of Romanian nationality while Miercurea Ciuc's are mainly Hungarian. The ice-hockey team, along with the handball one, are the fans' second favourite teams after the football one. They play their home matches at the Mihail Flamaropol Ice Rink. The current coach is Marius Gliga. [edit] RugbyThe CSA Steaua Bucureşti rugby team won the domestic league 23 times since 1947. They are the current league title holders. Romanian rugby club teams do not participate in major European competitions because of the obvious value difference between them and the ones from the leading continental countries. Instead, a Romanian National Rugby Union team, comprised basically by Steaua players, participates every year in the European Challenge Cup as Bucuresti. The team plays its home matches at Ghencea II Field, inside the Steaua Sports Complex, right next to the football Ghencea Stadium. The current coach is Costică Florea. [edit] Basketball (Men)CSA Steaua won the Romanian Basketball Championship 21 times in 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991. After the Romanian Revolution, Baschet Club Steaua Bucureşti was the first basketball club in Romania to turn private. However, after only few years it went bankrupt. CSA Steaua currently runs only a youth club for basketball, under the name of Clubul Sportiv Şcolar Steaua Bucureşti (English: School Sports Club Steaua). [edit] Volleyball (Men)Steaua were European Cup runners-up twice in 1969 (against CSKA Sofia) and 1979 (against Cervena Hvezda Bratislava) and Cup Winners' Cup runners-up four times in 1977 (against Elektrotechnika Riga), 1981 (against Cervena Hvezda Bratislava), 1982 (against Avtomobilist Leningrad) and 1986 (against Panini Modena) Nationally, Steaua has been performing rather poorly lately being a mid-table team in the national first league. It had even been on the verge of extinction a few years ago when it moved to the town of Slatina. [edit] Water PoloEven though the Romanian national team has had some outstanding performances lately, club water polo has only a minor word to say in international competitions. Steaua are the current champions inside a national league with four professional teams, the rest being amateur. The team's official name is CSA Steaua Stirom Bucureşti (after their sponsors). [edit] External links
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