Liga I

"Divizia A" redirects here.
Liga I
Countries Romania
Confederation UEFA
Founded 1909
Number of teams 18
Relegation to Liga II
Level on pyramid Level 1
Domestic cup(s) Cupa României
Supercupa României
International cup(s) Champions League
UEFA Cup
Current champions CFR Cluj
(2007-08)
Most successful club Steaua (23 titles)
Website http://www.liga1.ro Official
Soccerball current event.svg 2008–09 Season

Liga is the official name of the top division of the Romanian football league system. It was established in 1909 and commenced play for the 1909-10 campaign. Until 1932 it had various play-off types. Liga I is part of Romanian Professional Footbal League (LPF). Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trade mark "Divizia A".[1] It was reported that during the 2006-07 season 1,657,602 tickets were sold for the 306 games played, giving an average attendance of 5,417 spectators per match.[2]

Contents

History

The first football club's organization formula was "A Divisional College" ("Colegiul Divizionar A") founded on October 5, 1970 and led by Mircea Angelescu. Until 1990, the "A Divisional College" was formal without remarkable decisions. During the 90's a lot of changes were implemented, reflected in the new names of the organization, e.g. "A Divisional Team's League", " National Football League", "Professional Club's League", etc. On October 10, 1992, the organization's name became "Professional Football A Division League", led by Mircea Angelescu - president, Dumitru Dragomir - vice-president and Daniel Lăzărescu - general secretary. On 22 January 1993, the name of the organization became "Professional Football League of Romania", an A-Division professional football clubs representation. On October 13, 1993, the B Division clubs members were included. On September 30, 1996, Dumitru Dragomir has been elected president of the "Professional Football League of Romania". The headquarters is located on 47 Mihai Eminescu Street (since February 1997). In December the same year it was decided that the league will organize the A-Division Championship starting with 1997-1998 edition.

In October 2000, Dumitru Dragomir has been re-elected president of the "Professional Football League of Romania"

There are currently 18 teams at this level, of which the bottom four are relegated at the season's end. These teams are replaced by the champions of the two divisions that make up Liga 2, the second level of the Romanian football league system.

Starting in 2007-08, the champions and runners-up of Divizia A are eligible to compete in the UEFA Champions League during the following season. The 3rd-placed team is eligible to compete in the UEFA Cup.

The most successful teams over the years have been Steaua Bucureşti and Dinamo Bucureşti, other notable teams being: Universitatea Craiova, Rapid Bucureşti, and UTA. CFR Cluj was the first non-Bucharest team to win the championship (in 2007-2008) since the 1990-1991 season.

Sponsorship

On December 19, 1998, SABMiller bought the naming rights for four and a half seasons, becoming the first sponsor in the history of the competition. SABMiller changed the name of the competition to "Divizia A Ursus", in order to promote the Ursus beer.[3]

Starting with the 2004/05 season, European Food company took over as main sponsor and changed the league's name to "Divizia A Bürger", to promote the Bürger beer.[4]

On May 11, 2008, Realitatea Media bought the naming rights for 5 years and changed the name of the competition to "Liga I Realitatea", to promote their Realitatea TV station.[5]

Broadcasting rights

In 2004, Telesport, a small TV network, bought the broadcasting rights for $28 million. The four seasons contract ends in the summer of 2008. Telesport sold some of matches to other Romanian networks: TVR1, Antena 1, Naţional TV and Kanal D.

On March 31, 2008, Antena 1 together with RCS&RDS outbid Realitatea Media and Kanal D in the broadcasting rights auction with a bid of €102 million for a three seasons contract.[6]

List of champions

Year By Year

Main article: Divizia A Final Tables

Performance by club

Club Winners Runners-up Winning Years
Steaua Bucureşti
23
12
 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
Dinamo Bucureşti
18
20
 1955, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1974-75, 1976-77, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1989-90, 1991-92, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2006-07
Venus Bucureşti
8
0
 1919-20, 1920-21, 1928-29, 1931-32, 1933-34, 1936-37, 1938-39, 1939-40
Chinezul Timişoara
6
0
 1921-22, 1922-23, 1923-24, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1926-27
UTA Arad
6
1
 1946-47, 1947-48, 1950, 1954, 1968-69, 1969-70
Ripensia Timişoara
4
1
 1932-33, 1934-35, 1935-36, 1937-38
Universitatea Craiova
4
5
 1973-74, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1990-91
Rapid Bucureşti
3
12
 1966-67, 1998-99, 2002-03
Petrolul Ploieşti
3
1
 1957-58, 1958-59, 1965-66
Argeş Piteşti
2
2
 1971-72, 1978-79
Colentina Bucureşti
2
2
 1912-13, 1913-14
Olympia Bucureşti
2
0
 1909-10, 1910-11
Colţea Braşov
1
1
 1927-28
CA Oradea
1
2
 1948-49
Juventus Bucureşti
1
1
 1929-30
Prahova Ploieşti
1
1
 1915-16
CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca
1
0
 2007-08
Româno-Americană Bucureşti
1
0
 1914-15
CSM Reşiţa
1
1
 1930-31
Unirea Tricolor Bucureşti
1
2
 1940-41
United Ploieşti
1
1
 1911-12

All-time table (1932 - 2008)

The ranking is computed awarding two points for a win, one for a draw. It doesn't include matches played in the 2008/09 season.[7]

# Team S M W D L GF GA Pts
1 FC Steaua Bucureşti 60 1808 1006 405 397 3500 1865 2417
2 FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti 59 1778 992 383 403 3511 1910 2367
3 FC Rapid Bucureşti 60 1696 769 383 544 2693 2059 1921
4 FC Universitatea Craiova 43 1390 627 300 463 2093 1602 1554
5 FC Argeş Piteşti 43 1370 559 268 543 1804 1750 1386
6 CFM Universitatea Cluj-Napoca 51 1440 498 292 650 1877 2248 1288
7 FCM Bacău 42 1319 489 262 568 1538 1809 1240
8 FC Petrolul Ploieşti 41 1223 466 267 490 1550 1546 1199
9 FC Farul Constanţa 41 1265 465 254 546 1550 1783 1184
10 FC Braşov 39 1191 452 242 497 1502 1579 1146
11 FC Sportul Studenţesc Bucureşti 34 1086 422 242 422 1494 1461 1086
12 FCM UTA Arad 38 1072 420 244 408 1602 1504 1084
13 CS Jiul Petroşani 41 1197 402 250 545 1403 1845 1054
14 FC Politehnica Timişoara 35 1046 382 238 426 1374 1502 1002
15 FC Naţional Bucureşti 32 945 380 189 376 1355 1320 949
16 FC Politehnica Iaşi 26 813 280 170 363 968 1167 730
17 FC Oţelul Galaţi 20 656 270 125 261 836 836 665
18 ASA Târgu Mureş 21 690 251 109 330 817 1025 611
19 CF Gloria 1922 Bistriţa 18 588 237 97 254 781 795 571
20 FC Corvinul Hunedoara 17 562 210 98 254 831 881 518
21 FC Bihor Oradea 18 572 181 118 273 683 893 480
22 FC CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca 13 406 155 107 144 488 537 417
23 CSM Reşiţa 16 482 154 103 225 667 891 411
24 FC Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ 13 426 160 88 178 532 600 408
25 CA Oradea 17 378 145 80 153 630 635 370
26 FC Olt Scorniceşti 11 357 137 64 156 424 498 338
27 Unirea Tricolor Bucureşti

(Dinamo Braşov, Dinamo Cluj)

 16 347 128 78 141 625 669 334
28 CS Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea 10 340 121 64 155 368 533 306
29 FC CFR Timişoara 11 273 104 70 99 406 392 278
30 FC Inter Sibiu 8 272 110 47 115 358 276 267
31 FC Juventus Bucureşti 12 268 102 61 105 501 479 265
32 CF Chindia Târgovişte 9 298 95 64 139 312 469 254
33 Venus Bucureşti 9 180 108 35 37 499 248 251
34 FC Ripensia Timişoara 9 184 110 28 46 512 277 248
35 CS Târgu Mureş 10 241 85 46 110 360 418 216
36 FC Maramureş Baia Mare 7 230 83 35 112 267 370 201
37 FC Timişoara 6 188 74 47 67 232 234 195
38 Vagonul Arad 9 184 76 31 77 318 323 183
39 FC Olimpia Satu Mare 7 222 69 40 113 223 363 178
40 FC Victoria Bucureşti 5 153 70 33 50 242 203 173
41 FC Gloria Buzău 6 204 60 40 104 213 341 160
42 FC Dunărea CSU Galaţi 7 222 57 42 123 236 414 156
43 FC Astra Ploieşti 5 158 59 35 64 195 185 153
44 Gloria Arad 8 156 59 31 66 296 332 149
45 Victoria Cluj-Napoca 8 154 61 23 70 266 294 145
46 FC Extensiv Craiova 5 170 54 36 80 171 213 144
47 Flacăra Moreni 4 136 53 23 60 180 198 129
48 Dacia Unirea Brăila 4 136 46 27 63 141 190 119
49 Chinezul Timişoara 6 120 46 21 53 281 288 113
50 Crişana Oradea 6 110 40 20 50 199 232 100
51 SC Vaslui 3 98 31 33 34 108 115 95
52 FC Unirea Voluntari Urziceni 2 68 29 21 18 72 53 79
53 CS Pandurii Lignitul Târgu Jiu 3 98 30 19 49 84 122 79
54 NC Foresta Suceava 3 98 24 27 47 102 145 75
55 CS Minerul Lupeni 4 101 30 15 56 106 204 75
56 Tricolor Ploieşti 5 102 28 16 58 131 255 72
57 Pheonix Baia Mare 3 62 26 11 25 96 106 63
58 Ciocanul Bucureşti 2 56 24 10 22 100 87 58
59 AS Rocar Bucureşti 2 64 25 6 33 93 107 56
60 CS Gaz Metan Mediaş 3 86 16 19 51 96 189 51
61 FC Apulum Unirea Alba Iulia 2 60 17 16 27 60 109 50
62 FC Oneşti 2 68 21 6 41 94 160 48
63 CA Câmpulung Moldovenesc 2 33 15 10 8 50 31 40
64 Carmen Bucureşti 1 26 14 5 7 90 44 33
65 Metalul Câmpia Turzii 2 48 7 19 22 46 86 33
66 Gloria CFR Galaţi 2 46 13 7 26 54 100 33
67 Ferrar Cluj-Napoca 1 26 13 4 9 44 29 30
68 Dermata Cluj-Napoca 1 30 7 11 12 41 50 25
69 CSM Suceava 1 34 10 5 19 36 69 25
70 FC Craiova 2 50 10 5 35 61 171 25
71 Aurul Brad 1 24 12 0 12 51 43 24
72 CS Dacia Mioveni 1 34 7 10 17 26 43 24
73 CAM Timişoara 1 22 9 5 8 37 52 23
74 Şoimii Sibiu 3 48 5 12 31 42 131 22
75 FC Brăila 2 42 8 3 31 52 138 19
76 Viitorul Bucureşti 1 14 6 3 5 33 26 15
77 Vulturii Lugoj 1 18 6 2 10 24 41 14
78 Metalochimic Bucureşti 1 26 5 4 17 50 80 14
79 UM Timişoara 1 30 3 6 21 24 71 12
80 Aripile CFR Braşov 1 18 4 3 11 26 45 11
81 Prahova Ploieşti 1 26 5 1 20 26 97 11
82 Avântul Reghin 1 24 3 3 18 19 57 9
83 RGM Timişoara 1 12 3 2 7 17 24 8
84 Dragoş Vodă Cernăuţi 1 18 4 0 14 26 57 8
85 Braşovia Braşov 2 26 1 3 22 28 85 5
86 Mureşul Târgu Mureş 1 14 1 2 11 15 53 4

Records

The ranking doesn't include matches played and goals scored in the 2008/09 season.[8]

Costică Ştefănescu
Top Ten Players With Most Appearances[9]
Player Period Club[10] Games
1 Costică Ştefănescu 1969–1988 Steaua Bucureşti, Universitatea Craiova, FCM Braşov 490
2 Florea Ispir 1970–1987 ASA Târgu Mureş 485
3 László Bölöni 1970–1987 ASA Târgu Mureş, Steaua Bucureşti 484
4 Costel Câmpeanu 1987–2005 SC Bacău, Dinamo Bucureşti, Gloria Bistriţa, Progresul Bucureşti, Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ 470
5 Paul Cazan 1972–1987 Sportul Studenţesc Bucureşti 465
6 Cornel Dinu 1966–1983 Dinamo Bucureşti 454
7 Constantin Stancu 1970–1990 Argeş Piteşti 447
8 Ion Dumitru 1967–1988 Rapid Bucureşti, Steaua Bucureşti, Politehnica Timişoara, Universitatea Craiova 442
9 Octavian Grigore 1982–2000 Petrolul Ploieşti 441
10 Nicolae Ungureanu 1977–1993 Universitatea Craiova, Steaua Bucureşti, Rapid Bucureşti 438
Dudu Georgescu
Top Ten Highest Goalscorers[11]
Player Period Club[12] Goals
1 Dudu Georgescu 1970–1986 Progresul Bucureşti, CSM Reşiţa, Dinamo Bucureşti, SC Bacău, Gloria Buzău, Flacăra Moreni 252 (Ø 0,68)
2 Rodion Cămătaru 1974–1989 Universitatea Craiova, Dinamo Bucureşti 198 (Ø 0,52)
3 Marin Radu 1974–1989 Argeş Piteşti, Olt Scorniceşti, Steaua Bucureşti, Inter Sibiu 190 (Ø 0,49)
4 Florea Dumitrache 1966–1983 Dinamo Bucureşti, Jiul Petroşani, Corvinul Hunedoara 170 (Ø 0,47)
4 Ion Oblemenco 1964–1976 Rapid Bucureşti, Universitatea Craiova 170 (Ø 0,62)
6 Ionel Dănciulescu 1993–Present Electroputere Craiova, Dinamo Bucureşti, Steaua Bucureşti 169 (Ø 0,44)
7 Mircea Sandu 1970–1987 Progresul Bucureşti, Sportul Studenţesc Bucureşti 167 (Ø 0,41)
8 Victor Piţurcă 1975–1989 Olt Scorniceşti, Steaua Bucureşti 166 (Ø 0,55)
9 Mihai Adam 1962–1976 Universitatea Cluj-Napoca, Vagonul Arad, CFR Cluj-Napoca 160 (Ø 0,45)
10 Titus Ozon 1947–1964 Unirea Tricolor Bucureşti, Dinamo Bucureşti, Dinamo Braşov, Progresul Bucureşti, Rapid Bucureşti 157 (Ø 0,58)

UEFA Ranking

National League Ranking at the beginning of the 2008-09 season (Previous season rank in italics)

(see UEFA coefficients full list for more information)

Best results by Liga I teams in the international competitions

Notable foreign players

Flag of Albania Albania
  • Sulejman Demollari
  • Albert Duro
Flag of Argentina Argentina
  • Emmanuel Culio
  • Sebastián Dubarbier
  • Cristian Fabbiani
Flag of Armenia Armenia
  • Arman Karamyan
  • Artavazd Karamyan
  • Romik Khachatryan
Flag of Australia Australia
  • Jonathan McKain
  • Josh Mitchell
  • Spase Dilevski
Flag of Belarus Belarus
  • Vasily Khomutovsky
Flag of Brazil Brazil
  • Júlio César Santos Correa
  • Júlio César da Silva e Souza
  • Cesinha
  • Juliano Spadacio
  • Élton
  • Didi
  • Andrey
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria
  • Zhivko Zhelev
  • Stoyan Kolev
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Adnan Gušo
Flag of Colombia Colombia
  • Róbinson Zapata
  • Juan Carlos Toja
  • Dayro Moreno
  • Pepe Moreno
Flag of France France
  • Cyril Théréau
  • Anthony da Silva
Flag of Hungary Hungary
  • Gyula Lóránt
  • István Avar
  • Vasile Miriuţă
Flag of Belgium Belgium
  • Urko Rafael Pardo
Flag of Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast
  • Constant Djapka
  • Emmanuel Koné
Flag of Montenegro Montenegro
  • Vladimir Božović
  • Radomir Đalović
Flag of Nigeria Nigeria
  • Ifeanyi Emeghara
  • Abiodun Agunbiade
Flag of Peru Peru
  • Andrés Mendoza
  • John Galliquio
Flag of Poland Poland
  • Paweł Golański
Flag of Serbia Serbia
  • Ersin Mehmedović
  • Petar Jovanović
  • Marko Ljubinković
  • Ranko Despotović
Flag of Senegal Senegal
  • Ousmane N'Doye
Flag of Slovakia Slovakia
  • Dušan Kuciak
  • Balázs Borbély
Flag of Spain Spain
  • Ibón Pérez Arrieta
Flag of Portugal Portugal
  • Cadú
  • Dani
  • António Semedo
Flag of Lithuania Lithuania
  • Paulius Grybauskas
Flag of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
  • Yssouf Koné
  • Salif Nogo

Notable former foreign managers

  • Flag of Hungary József Kiprich
  • Flag of Hungary Flag of Austria Béla Guttmann
  • Flag of Hungary Alfréd Schaffer
  • Flag of the Netherlands Rinus Israël
  • Flag of Italy Maurizio Trombetta
  • Flag of Italy Cristiano Bergodi
  • Flag of Italy Giuseppe Giannini
  • Flag of Italy Roberto Landi
  • Flag of Italy Nicolò Napoli
  • Flag of Italy Walter Zenga
  • Flag of Serbia Miodrag Ješić
  • Flag of Serbia Momčilo Vukotić
  • Flag of Spain José Ramón Alexanko
  • Flag of Spain Esteban Vigo
  • Flag of Ukraine Oleg Protasov
  • Flag of the Czech Republic Dušan Uhrin, Jr.
  • Flag of Portugal José Peseiro
  • Flag of Portugal Alvaro Magalhaes
  • Flag of Portugal Joaquim Teixeira

Liga I transfers

References

  1. ↑ Cotidianul, Divizia A a fost mitraliată (The "A Division" was gunned down), accessed on February 3, 2007
  2. ↑ "EFS attendances". europeanfootballstatistics.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
  3. ↑ "Un milion de dolari pentru fotbalul romanesc" (in Romanian), Ziua (December 20, 1998). Retrieved on 2008-03-10. 
  4. ↑ "Cum au ajuns Bergenbier, Timisoreana si Burger titulari pe terenul de fotbal" (in Romanian), Ziarul Financiar (June 4, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-10. 
  5. ↑ "Liga I de fotbal se va numi din vară Liga I Realitatea" (in Romanian), Realitatea TV (2008-05-11). Retrieved on 2008-05-12. 
  6. ↑ "Antena 1 da 85 milioane de euro plus TVA si castiga licitatia pentru drepturile de televizare ale partidelor din Liga 1" (in Romanian), Hotnews.ro (2008-03-31). Retrieved on 2008-03-31. 
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ Romania - All-Time Most Matches Played in Liga I
  10. ↑ where player played the most games.
  11. ↑ Romania - Top Scorers
  12. ↑ where player shot the most goals

See also

External links

Flag of Romania
Liga I 2008–09
 Flag of Romania

Argeş • Braşov • CFR Cluj • Dinamo • Farul • Gaz Metan • Gloria Bistriţa • Gloria Buzău
Iaşi • Otopeni • Oţelul • Pandurii • Rapid • Steaua • Timişoara • Unirea • Craiova • Vaslui
Liga I seasons

1900–01 | 1901–02 | 1902–03 | 1903–04 | 1904–05 | 1905–06 | 1906–07 | 1907–08 | 1908–09 | 1909–10
1910–11 | 1911–12 | 1912–13 | 1913–14 | 1914–15 | 1915–16 | 1916–17 | 1917–18 | 1918–19 | 1919–20
1920–21 | 1921–22 | 1922–23 | 1923–24 | 1924–25 | 1925–26 | 1926–27 | 1927–28 | 1928–29 | 1929–30
1930–31 | 1931–32 | 1932–33 | 1933–34 | 1934–35 | 1935–36 | 1936–37 | 1937–38 | 1938–39 | 1939–40
1940–41 | 1941–42 | 1942–43 | 1943–44 | 1944–45 | 1945–46 | 1946–47 | 1947–48 | 1948–49 | 1949–50
1–19509 | 1–19519 | 1–19529 | 1–19539 | 1–19549 | 1–19559 | 1–19569 | 1957–58 | 1958–59 | 1959–60
1960–61 | 1961–62 | 1962–63 | 1963–64 | 1964–65 | 1965–66 | 1966–67 | 1967–68 | 1968–69 | 1969–70
1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80
1980–81 | 1981–82 | 1982–83 | 1983–84 | 1984–85 | 1985–86 | 1986–87 | 1987–88 | 1988–89 | 1989–90
1990–91 | 1991–92 | 1992–93 | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–00
2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10
Liga I venues, 2008–09

Crâng • Dan Păltinişanu • Dinamo • Dr. Constantin Rădulescu • Emil Alexandrescu • Farul
Gaz Metan • Ghencea • Giuleşti - Valentin Stănescu • Gloria • Ion Oblemenco • Municipal (Vaslui)
Nicolae Dobrin • Otopeni • Oţelul • Silviu Ploieşteanu • Tineretului • Tudor Vladimirescu
Football in Romania Flag of Romania
League competitions FRF Cup competitions
Liga I Romania (F) (U-21) Cupa României
Liga II (2 divisions) League system Supercupa României
Liga III (6 divisions) LPF Cupa Ligii
List of clubs
List of stadiums
Foreign players
Top level football leagues of Europe (UEFA)

Albania | Andorra | Armenia | Austria | Azerbaijan | Belarus | Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | Croatia | Cyprus | Czech Republic | Denmark | England | Estonia | Faroe Islands | Finland | FYR Macedonia | France | Georgia | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Republic of Ireland | Israel | Italy | Kazakhstan | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Malta | Moldova | Montenegro | Netherlands | Northern Ireland | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Russia | San Marino | Scotland | Serbia | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey | Ukraine | Wales

Former leagues: Czechoslovakia | East Germany | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia