FC Rapid Bucureşti
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| FC Rapid Bucureşti | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | AFC Rapid Bucureşti | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Giulesteni, feroviari | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 25 June 1923 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Valentin Stănescu Stadium,Bucharest | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 19,100 (temporary: 10,000 - until Spring 2007) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Constantin Zotta |
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| Manager | Răzvan Lucescu |
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| League | Liga I | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | Divizia A, 2nd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Fotbal Club Rapid Bucureşti is a football club of Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in 1923 by a group of workers of the Griviţa workshops under the name of "Cultural and Sporting Association CFR" (in Romanian: Asociaţia culturală şi sportivă C.F.R.). Rapid won four Romanian championships (in the unofficial, war edition, of 1942, and then in 1967, 1999 and 2003) and twelve times the Romanian Cup. They were the first Romanian team to reach the finals of an European clubs competition, but their history isn't all bright, as Rapid were relegated a number of time during the Communist years. In 2006, Rapid became an incorporated company, its largest share-holder being George Copos, a wealthy Romanian businessman.
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[edit] Club history
[edit] 1923 - 1945
In September 1923, Teofil Covaci, Grigore Grigoriu, Geza Ginzer and other workers agreed the fusion between two amateur clubs, "CFR" (ex-"Rampa Militari") and "Excelsior". The team consisted mainly of railway workers in their spare time. After a few years, the team started competing in the first league in 1931.
During the pre-war years, Rapid was one of Romania's top teams, regularly winning the cup but never the campionship although they came close. Once Rapid lost the championship because of fair play. One of Rapid's players touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area during a decisive match against Venus Bucharest. Rapid needed a win to finish first in the league. In the first place the referee did not see the incident but when hearing the audience protest the referee asked the player if he touched the ball with his hand, the player admitting. Venus converted the penalty and managed to draw 1-1 and to finish first in the league.
The railway workers were not the selection pool anymore, but a strong supporting audience. Some players were also selected in the national team. During those years, but also during the war, the competitions' formats changed for various reorganisations and some of the performances Rapid achieved were never considered as official successes, a good example being the championship of 1942. The strangest of all might be the qualification in the final of the Mitropa Cup (precursor of the UEFA Champions League, also won by Inter Milan) at a moment when the competition was taking its last breath.
[edit] 1945 - 1970
The beginning of the communist regime brought a new series of teams and regulations, and Rapid, although luckier than other clubs (which were dismantled on the ground of bourgeoisie), went into a dark era. Repeated relegations mark an era that politically is described as Stalinization. The communist government of Romania wanted to align the country to the rest of the soviet nations from all points of view including sports. This is how the clubs of the army (CSCA, future Steaua) and of the minister of internal affairs (Dinamo) appeared. These two clubs constantly being aided by the intitutions they represented to obtain players by various, ocult measures and many of the championships in this period being decided before the first match was played. Rapid and other clubs were left without some of their most important players and could not compete against the darlings of the communist party. However, the ambition and determination of the players that remained sometimes proved to be enough to beat Steaua and Dinamo in the direct matches but never enough to win the league ( ambition not being enough to battle abusive refereeing ).
During the destalinisation and under Valentin Stănescu management, Rapid finally solved the issue of valuable transfers. It was the moment when the entire national team consisted of players and ex-players of Rapid. Rapid finally won the first championship officially recognised in 1967 ( making millions of supporters all over the nation happy) and also two titles in the lower-level inter-club Balkans Cup. Still, their occasional defeats against lower-level teams (such as the defeat against third division CIL Gherla), which are considered by the fans as a sign of the traditional bad luck, continued to plague their records.
[edit] 1970 - 1990
In the 1970s and 1980s, Rapid reached the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners Cup before getting worse and worse, becoming confined in the second league for 6 years in a row. Even with Stănescu as coach they couldn't do better than returning to the lower ranks of the first league. The club was slowly starved, with less and less money in a championship where the leading teams were competing at an European level (in 1986, one was winning Champions Cup, although claiming non-professionist status for their players). They narrowly avoided relegation in 1987 in the last match of the season.
[edit] 1990 to the present
In 1990 the fall of communism brought only partial solutions, until 1992 when Traian Băsescu, then-Minister of Transportation, appointed a new manager (Marcel Puşcaş) and a new coach (Mircea Rădulescu), both experienced, which had previously worked for the national team. In the UEFA Cup, Rapid was defeated by Internazionale (1-3 and 0-2). It was the moment when George Copos started managing the Rapid business, finding strong corporate sponsorships and winning political capital.
In the following years, the most important official honours were won ( two league championships a few FA cups and the most important European achievements ) especially due to a careful appointment of coaches. The most famous coach that managed Rapid is Mircea Lucescu, the man who transformed the club into a force in the Romanian championship again. However, the coach that won the most trophies for the club is Mircea Rednic. Nowadays, Rapid is managed by Răzvan Lucescu, Mircea Lucescu's son. After a few years during which their experience in European cups was limited, Rapid is starting to perform better, and, for the third time in the post-war history, in 2005-2006, due to UEFA Cup rules relaxation, the team has reached the spring, upper-level, phases of the European competitions, up to the quarter-finals. Rapid was stopped by Steaua Bucharest after a 1-1 draw at home and a 0-0 draw away.
[edit] Previous names
- Asociaţia culturală şi sportivă Căile Ferate Române (Romanian Railways cultural and sportive association) Bucureşti (1923-1937),
- F.C. Rapid Bucureşti (1937-1945),
- C.F.R. Bucureşti (1945-1950),
- Locomotiva Bucureşti (1950-1958),
- Rapid Bucureşti (1958-2004),
- F.C. Rapid Bucureşti (2004-present).
[edit] Supporters
Rapid has some of the most fanatic supporters in Europe, commonly known as Legione Granata (The Crimson Legion). Legione Granata is made up of firms residing in the North Terrace of the stadium (Ultras Unione, B'921, Official Hooligans, Inferno, Maniacs, Grant Ultras and so on).
Rapid's supporters have been organised in groups far before the other clubs. Travelling with the team for away matches being a custom since the first years of the club, local derbys being no exception. Immediatly after the fall of the communist regime, on 14 February 1990, the Rapid Supporters League was legally established, being the first official supporter organisation in Romania. Another unique organisation in Romania is the Rapid Aristocratic Club. The club's members are well-known artists, their purpose being spreading and defending Rapid's history and tradition.
Rapid's supporters are creating the most impressive spectacles in Romanian sport singing most of the time during matches and sometimes before the matches start. The most impressive moment in the Giulesti Stadium is when Rapid's anthem is being played at the beginning of each match and every supporter is standing on their feet, waving a flag in the colours of the club or displaying a white and crimson scarf and singing along.
Beetween 1945 and 1989 Rapid was, at least in the eyes of their own supporters, seen as a bastion against communism (represented in football by Steaua and Dinamo) becoming the most loved team in the country. Today Rapid has lost some of their support but remains a team which is loved all over the nation.
In the years of Rapid's existence the greatest virtue of this team and of their supporters was the patience and the ambition with which they fought against the communist gouvernment of Romania. If it were not for those who fought the system beetween 1945 and 1989 it is most likely that the Giulesti Stadium would have been destroyed and the team would have been disbanded. In the present day Rapid and their supporters are fighting a football federation that is still favouring the teams brought over by the Russian tanks.
Rapid has been awarded recently the prize for the most civilised supporters in Romania.
[edit] Rivalries
Rapid's greatest rivalries are with Steaua & Dinamo from Bucharest. Other rivalries are with Universitatea from Craiova and Petrolul from Ploiesti.
Matches beetween Rapid and Steaua or Rapid and Dinamo often end up with clashes beetween the rival supporters after or before the match in which the police force is caught in the middle.
Rapid supporters also have a very old friendship with supporters of the team Poli Timisoara.
[edit] Stadium
Current Name: Valentin Stănescu Stadium
The history of "The Giulesti Stadium" begins in the year 1934. On the 31 of March CFR begins the construction of a field on the Giulesti Road. The field would have a width of 65 m and a length of 105 m.
At first the mayor of Bucharest did not want to authorize the construction of the stadium because it did not fit in the sistematisation of the capital. Eventually the authorization was given and in April 1936 it was estimated that the stadium would be ready in September. The construction did begin in that year but it lasted more than two. The chief achitect was Gheorghe Dumitrescu.
The stadium was inaugurated on 10 June 1939. At the time, it was the most modern stadium in Romania, a smaller replica of Arsenal's Highbury Stadium with a capacity of 12160 seats. Among the guests at the opening ceremony King Carol II of Romania, Prince Mihai of Romania and Prince Paul of Greece.
The construction of the north stand was ended in the mid 90's, the capacity being increased to 19100 seats. The ground was changed in 2003, being considered the best in Romania. The floodlight was installed in the summer of 2000. The stadium got the name of "Valentin Stănescu" in 2001, in respect to the manager who won the first champion title for Rapid, and It is still commonly known as "The Giuleşti Stadium", by the name of the neighborhood it is located in. Landmarks near the stadium: Podul Grant, Giuleşti Theatre, Gara de Nord and Griviţa Railway Yards .
Currently, the stadium is in the middle of a repair process, that determines two stands to be completely shut - hence reducing its capacity to 10000 seats. The repairs are due to be finished in Spring 2007.
Near the stadium is the Sala Polivalenta Rapid (Rapid Polivalent Hall) which belongs to CS Rapid Bucharest (Rapid's sections for volleyball, handball, basketball and so on).
[edit] Major honours
- first Romanian team qualified in an European competition final: Central Europe Cup in 1940 (final against Ferencvaros Budapest never disputed because of the Second World War).
- Balkans Cup: 1963-1964, 1964-1965.
- quarter-finalist of the 2005-2006 UEFA Cup
- Romania Championship winners: 1966-1967, 1998-1999, 2002-2003.
- Spring Cup (Romanian unofficial championship in the spring off during transition from spring-to-fall competition to fall-to-spring): 1957.
- Bessarabia Cup (war-time Romanian national championship, unofficial): 1941-1942.
- Romanian Cup: 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1971-1972, 1974-1975, 1997-1998, 2001-2002, 2005-2006
- runners-up in the Romania Championship: 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1949, 1950, 1963-1964, 1964-1965, 1965-1966, 1969-1970, 1970-1971, 1997-1998, 1999-2000, 2005-2006.
- Romania Supercup: 1999, 2002, 2003.
- Romanian League Cup: 1994.
- Romanian second league winners: 1952, 1955, 1974-1975, 1981-1982, 1989-1990.
[edit] Anthem
- Lyrics: Adrian Păunescu
- Music: Victor Socaciu
In 1980, after an amateur football game played by the journalists of the Flacăra Magazine on the Giuleşti Stadium, two of them (Adrian Păunescu and Victor Socaciu) decided to reward the generosity of being accepted on the field. The lyrics were written in less than half an hour, while Victor Socaciu was finding the melody line. It was first rendered after only a few days at the stadium's loudspeaking station, at the beginning of the next official fixture.
Since then, four of the verses were removed, some to accommodate the clubs' name change and some because of their political connotations.
The anthem grew in popularity during the spring of 2006, along with the club's performance in the UEFA Cup. In the same period, a version sang by the players was released.
Here is the translated version of the official Rapid anthem:
- "We are everywere at home,
- The gates open in front of us,
- No team is as beautiful
- And loved like Rapid.
- Rapid, Rapid, fight if you love us, Rapid, Rapid, go go Rapid-Giuleşti!
- The heart beating in our chest,
- When needed, it's a cannon
- For only one justice,
- Let the best team win!
- Rapid, Rapid, fight if you love us, Rapid, Rapid, go go Rapid-Giuleşti!
- Don't give up for a moment,
- Learn this refrain,
- Our team's anthem,
- The voice of the train wheels.
- Rapid, Rapid, fight if you love us, Rapid, Rapid, go go Rapid-Giuleşti!
[edit] Notable former players
Year of debut at Rapid in parenthesis
- 1930s: Ştefan Wetzer II (1931), Nicolae Roşculeţ (1932), Attila (1932), Francisc Theimler (1932), Vintilă Cossini (1932), Ştefan Barbu II (1933), Alexandru Cuedan (1933), Gheorghe Răşinaru (1935), Petrică Rădulescu (1936), Ion Costea (1936), Ladislau Raffinsky (1936), Iosif Lengheriu (1936), Ştefan Auer (1936), Ionică Bogdan (1936), Iuliu Baratky (1937), Dănuţ Gavrilescu (1938), Wilim Sipoş (1939).
- 1940s: Robert Sadowski (1940), Remus Ghiuriţan (1941), Ştefan Asbiceanu (1942), Ştefan Filote (1942), Ion Lungu (1944), Ion Mihăilescu (1945), Valentin Stănescu (1946), Alexandru Apolzan (1946), Bazil Marian (1946).
- 1950s: Ion Langa (1955), Vasile Copil (1956), Ilie Greavu (1957), Nicolae Georgescu (1957), Augustin Todor (1958).
- 1960s: Titus Ozon (1959), Ion Ionescu (1960), Ion Motroc (1960), Viorel Kraus (1961), Teofil Codreanu (1961), Constantin Dinu (1961), Constantin Năsturescu (1962), Dan Coe (1962), Nicolae Lupescu (1963), Emil Dumitriu II (1963), Constantin Jamaischi (1963), Necula Răducan (1965), Alexandru Neagu (1965), Ion Dumitru (1967), Ion Pop (1967), Iordan Anghelescu (1968).
- 1970s: Marin Stelian (1969), Alexandru Boc (1971), Nicolae Manea (1972), Florin Marin (1972), Marian Ioniţă (1973), Ion Manu (1976), Bratu Pârvu (1976), Florin Cojocaru (1977).
- 1980s: Ion Ion (1979), Ştefan Popa (1980), Marian Rada (1983), Leontin Toader (1984), Gheorghe Cârstea (1984), Ioan Bacoş (1984), Ion Goanţă (1984), Fănel Ţâră (1984).
- 1990s: Adrian Matei (1987), Florin Constantinovici (1989), Nicolae Stanciu (1989), Romulus Bealcu (1991), Ştefan Nanu (1996), Marius Şumudică (1996), Bogdan Lobonţ (1997), Mircea Rednic (1997), Adrian Iencsi (1997), Dănuţ Lupu (1997), Constantin Schumacher (1998), Marius Măldărăşanu, Ioan Ovidiu Sabău (1998), Ioan Viorel Ganea (1999), Constantin Barbu (1999).
- 2000s: Daniel Pancu (1996), Constantin Schumacher (2001), Florin Bratu (2002), Răzvan Raţ (2002), Manuel Godfroid (2002), Sabin Ilie (2003), Noureddine Ziyati (2003), Robert Ilyes, Valentin Bădoi, Daniel Niculae (2000), Dănuţ Dumitru Coman (2005).
[edit] Squad list
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[edit] Trivia
- The crimson color was chosen when Grigore Grigoriu's wife hand-made the first jerseys. She had to wash them and the other option, white, meant too much work for her.
- Rapid qualified in the 1940 final of the Mitropa Cup only through a draw, after both games against Gradjanski HSK Zagreb ended 0-0. The penalty shoot-out wasn't invented yet.
- On 15 May 1938, Rapid qualified in the finals of the Romanian Cup, after defeating Venus Bucureşti 2-1. In the evening, after the celebration, four players from Rapid were retained by police, supposedly on the orders of Gabriel Marinescu, honorable chairman of Venus and chief of the Bucharest police force. The next day, Rapid manager Bauer Ardeleanu asked for a replay, claiming that Rapid won only because referees were unfair. Venus accepted and the jailed players were freed. Baratki and Auer, two of the four, pledged to score two goals each. On 21 May they fulfilled their promise, and Rapid won again, 4-2.
- Rapid is the team holding the record of audience for a second league match in Romania. It happened in 1980, against Progresul Bucuresti (today FC National), when Rapid lost 1-3 in front of over 50000 fans. That year, Rapid missed promotion by two points, just behind the same Progresul Bucuresti.
- When Rapid promoted in 1983, its first goal was announced as "After six years and 38 minutes, Rapid scores!". This reflected the common view that Rapid was unfairly relegated and they wished to blank-out the six years spent in second league.
- Rapid is the first Romanian team to reach an European inter-club cup final. Rapid went undefeated up to the 1940 Mitropa Cup final (an early precursor of the European Cup), which was never played because of the World War II.
[edit] External links
- (Romanian) Official website of the FC Rapid
- (Romanian) The official supporters' website
- (Romanian) The club's largest online supporter community
- (Romanian) Rapid fans website
- (Romanian) The club's history, from a fan's point of view
- (Romanian) The club's anthem lyrics: Adrian Păunescu, music: Victor Socaciu
- Rapid - Liga 1
- (Romanian) Rapid all time results in LIga 1
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Romanian Liga 1 | |
| 2006/07 Season |
FC Argeş Piteşti | Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ | CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca | Dinamo Bucureşti | Farul Constanţa | Gloria Bistriţa | Jiul Petroşani | FC Naţional Bucureşti | Oţelul Galaţi | Pandurii Târgu-Jiu | FC Politehnica Iaşi | FCU Politehnica Timişoara | Rapid Bucureşti | Steaua Bucureşti | Unirea Urziceni | Universitatea Craiova | UT Arad | FC Vaslui | |
