ACS Rapid CFR Suceava

Rapid CFR Suceava

Full name	Asociaţia Club Sportiv Rapid CFR Suceava
Nickname(s)	Feroviarii (The Railwaymen)
Founded	1946 (1946)
Ground	Areni
Ground Capacity	12,500
Owner	Costel Bujoreanu Ionuş Boghiu
Chairman	Gabriel Clim
Manager	Constantin Ilie
League	Liga II
2014–15	Liga II, Seria I, 5th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Rapid CFR Suceava is a professional football club from Romania, based in Suceava and founded in 1946 as Locomotiva Ițcani. Previously, the club changed its name to A.S. C.F.R. Ițcani as well.

They currently play in the Liga II, Seria I in the 2015-16 season after finishing on the 5th place in the same competition, at the end of the 2014-2015 season.

History

Rapid Suceava was founded to continue the football tradition in the city of Suceava after the dissolution of FC Cetatea Suceava, CSM Suceava (Bucovina Suceava) and Foresta Suceava. In the 2011-2012 season the club managed to win Liga III and as such to gain promotion to Liga II. Thus, since the 2011-2012 season A.C.S. C.F.R. Rapid Suceava plays in Liga II, the second tier of the Romanian football system.

Rapid started the 2014-2015 Liga II season with exceptional results in the first 5 matches, being able of emerging victorious 3 times and also managing to draw twice, thus at the end of September they topped the Seria I of Liga II on the first places. The most notable performance from those fixtures was the home match against AFC Săgeata Năvodari, a club which previously played in Liga I for the very first time in its history during the 2013-2014 season, when Rapid got twice leaded by their opponents but managed each time to score the equalizers. Mircea Negru and Marius Matei managed to score the goals for Rapid in that respective match.^[1] Another remarkable play took place during the 5th fixture of the second tier when Rapid encountered CS Balotești. Rapid was leaded 1-0 until the 88th minute, but only to ultimately turn the tables over CS Balotești in the last minutes with two goals scored by Cătălin Golofca and Sascha Marinkovic. Along with this win, Rapid ascended to the second place in Seria I of Liga II with 11 points after 5 matches.^[2]

In the 2014-2015 season the club additionally managed to qualify in the Round of 16 of the domestic cup competition Cupa României following a 1-0 win over Liga I side Gaz Metan Mediaș in the Round of 32 on September 23, 2014.^[3] After the Round of 32, Rapid Suceava alongside Dacia Mioveni were the only two football clubs from the second division to qualify in the next phase after both having managed to obtain their qualifications from blowout results with teams higher rated than them from the first tier. Nonetheless, beforehand defeating Gaz Metan Mediaș, Rapid did also win two other domestic cup matches against Liga III sides CS Știința Miroslava (3-0) and FC Cetatea Târgu Neamț (1-0), both away, which made the club obtain a flawless performance with 7 consecutive positive results in both competitions.

Colours and badge

Rapid Suceava uses a similar home kit to that of CFR Cluj, namely a white-burgundy one. During away matches they play wearing a black and blue kit.

Stadium

View of the Areni stadium. The stadium is located in downtown Suceava.

Rapid Suceava plays its home matches on the Areni Stadium. The stadium has a total capacity of 12,500 seats and was opened in 1963 as the Municipal Stadium. Additionally, the stadium was also renovated between the periods 1976-1977, 1980-1982 and 2002 respectively. It is currently ranked 31st in the all time ranking table of stadiums from Romania.^[4]

Supporters

The ultras of Rapid Suceava are organised in two galleries: Cavelerii Nordului (the oldest one) and Cohors Dacorum (a new one founded in 2015).

Current squad

As of 12 February 2016

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Toma Niga 2 DF Daniel Bălan (Vice-captain) 4 DF Cătălin Tăutianu 6 DF Ionuţ Mihai 8 FW Eduard Sandu 11 DF Dorin Semeghin (Captain) 10 MF Adrian Gheorghiciuc 15 MF Constantin Aeroaiei 16 MF Lucian Jitariuc 17 MF Dragoș Sfrijan 18 DF Claudiu Velescu 20 FW Mircea Negru (Vice-captain) 22 DF George Apostol 23 MF Alexandru Dănilă 24 FW Tudorel Tudorache (on loan from Botoşani)

No. Position Player 28 MF Răzvan Bîgu 30 GK Vlad Hînţescu (on loan from Viitorul) 95 FW Tudor Gălan — GK Denis Cojocariu — GK Jan Turiţă — DF Andrei Alecsandru — DF Daniel Ciobanu — DF Paul Mateciuc — MF Bogdan Botezatu — MF Marius Ihnatiuc — MF Eduard Julei — MF Ştefan Păvăluc — MF Ionuţ Plămadă — MF Armand Şvichi (on loan from Botoşani)

Club officials

Board of directors Role Name Owner Costel Bujoreanu Owner Ionuș Boghiu President Gabriel Clim Executive Director Dumitru Moldovan Sporting Director Mihai Pilat Organizer of Competitions Neculai Grosu

Current technical staff Role Name Manager Constantin Ilie Assistant Manager Mihai Guriță Assistant Manager Dorin Semeghin Masseur Ion Armeanca Masseur Constantin Bosânceanu Club Doctor MD Edgar Schächter

League history

Honours

Liga III

• Winners (1): 2011–12

Liga IV Suceava County

• Winners (1): 2007-08

External links

• Rapid's page at frf.ro
• Rapid's page at liga2.ro
• Rapid's page at campionate.ro
• Rapid CFR Suceava (official website)
• Facebook page
• Rapid a incheiat campania de transferari (Romanian)
• Rapidistii vor intra pe gazonul de pe Areni odata cu adversarii din prima etapa (Romanian)

References