FC Petrolul Ploiești

Petrolul Ploiești

Full name	Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploiești
Nickname(s)	Lupii Galbeni (The Yellow Wolves) Galben-Albaștrii (The Yellow-Blues) Petroliștii (The Oilmen)
Founded	1924 (1924) as FC Juventus București
Ground	Ilie Oană
Ground Capacity	15,500[1]
President	Daniel Capră
Coach	Constantin Schumacher
League	Liga I
2014–15	Liga I, 6th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

Fotbal Club Petrolul Ploiești (Romanian pronunciation: [peˈtrolul ploˈjeʃtʲ]), commonly known as Petrolul Ploiești, or simply as Petrolul, is a Romanian professional football club based in Ploiești, Prahova County, currently playing in the Liga I.

It was founded in 1924 as Juventus București, following the merger of Triumf București and Romcomit București. The Latin tradition cultivated by Juventus was illustrated by its emblem, which was based on the history of the foundation of Rome, where a she-wolf nursed Romulus and Remus.^[2] The team's current home colors are yellow and dark blue. Accordingly, the players are nicknamed "The Yellow Wolves".

Petrolul have won the Liga I four times and the Cupa României three times since its establishment.

In February 2015 the club became insolvent, therefore participation in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League is denied.^[3]

History

Petrolul fans are best known in Romania for their 3D choreographies

The fans during the 2013 Romanian Cup Final in Bucharest

Early years

Their first national title came after six years, as Juventus were champions in the 1929–30 season. After the reorganisation of the Romanian football's division structure, Juventus played 7 consecutive seasons in Liga I, from 1933 to 1940. Following World War II, the club was promoted once again to Liga I, having finished in 1st place in the final Liga II season prior to the outbreak of war. From 1946–1952 Juventus had 6 consecutive seasons in Liga I;

They also changed their name numerous times, being known as Distribuția, Competrol, Petrolul, Partizanul and Flacăra. In 1952 the club moved to Ploiești, and changed its name to Flacăra Ploiești accordingly.

They have won the Romanian top division 4 times, the last time in the 1965–66 season.

Their best European performance to date was reaching the quarter-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1962–63. After eliminating Spartak Brno (Czechoslovakia) and Leipzig XI (German Democratic Republic), they were finally defeated by the Hungarian side Ferencvárosi TC. In the 1995-1996 season they also managed to defeat Welsh side Wrexham FC narrowly over two games.

Recent history

Petrolul won the 2010–11 Liga II, and were promoted to Liga I following a 7-year absence.

2012–13 season

They finished third in the 2012–13 Liga I, as well as winning Cupa României for the third time in their history. The third-place finish earned Petrolul a spot in the second qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, with the club playing a European match following an 18-year absence.

2013–14 season

After defeating Víkingur Gøta and Vitesse, they were eliminated in the Europa League play-off round by Swansea City. During the winter transfer window, the team brought Adrian Mutu, a former Romanian international, which attracted media attention.^[4] In January 2014, German automobile manufacturer Opel became Petrolul's shirt sponsor.^[5] In April, Petrolul had the chance to qualify for their second consecutive Cupa României final, but lost the second leg of the semi-final against rivals Astra Giurgiu (2–1), after a 0–0 result at home.^[6] The fans blamed Petrolul's administration for selling two of their best players (Hamza Younés and Damien Boudjemaa), and bringing Adrian Mutu and Ianis Zicu, who did not live up to expectations. Some also considered that the new manager, Răzvan Lucescu, wasn't a suitable replacer for Cosmin Contra, who left the club for Getafe in March.^[7] Petrolul came third in the Liga I for a second successive season, thus again participating in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.

2014–15 season

Petrolul signed a one-year kit deal with American sportswear company Nike, after the association with Puma came to an end.^[8] The club confirmed on its official website that Opel will continue being the shirt sponsor until the end of the season.^[9] Acıbadem Healthcare Group also became the medical sponsor until the end of the season, with an extension option being available.^[10] Using many players that would normally be substitutes and having a player sent off in the second half, Petrolul was beaten by Universitatea Cluj in the Cupa Ligii (English: League Cup) round of 16, a competition which was reenacted after fourteen years of pause.^[11] After eliminating Flamurtari Vlorë, "The Yellow Wolves" confronted Czech side Viktoria Plzeň in the Europa League third qualifying round, a club which in the previous season took part in the Champions League group stage. After a draw at Ploiești (1–1), Petrolul impressively beat Viktoria scoring four goals and conceding only one.^[12] The Romanian side's captain, 35-year-old Adrian Mutu, played a big role in his team's qualification, scoring both home and away.^[13] However, losing both of the play-off legs against Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia, Petrolul yet again missed the chance of advancing to the group stage. On 16 September, coach Răzvan Lucescu was sacked.^[14] Gheorghe Mulțescu took his place one day later.^[15] After many rumours, Adrian Mutu eventually broke his contract with "The Oilmen", on the 26th.^[16] He was the best paid footballer, and was often criticised for playing bad. Cosmin Contra, Petrolul's coach from October 2012 to March 2014, said that the signings of Adrian Mutu and Ianis Zicu (both joined in January 2014) were a "failure".^[17] On 25 November, president Daniel Capră, general director Marius Bucuroiu and five other persons faced preventive detention for 24 hours, being suspected of tax evasion and money laundering.^[18] The loss would amount to 15.4 million euros. The press suggested that these criminal matters could cause serious financial problems for Petrolul and important players might want to leave the club.^[19] On 10 January 2015, ex-Standard Liège coach Mircea Rednic replaced Gheorghe Mulțescu on the bench.^[20] At the beginning of February, due to president Capră still being under detention, the club faced financial problems and entered insolvency, meaning that the participation in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League is denied.^[3] During the winter transfer window, five footballers left Petrolul, including important ones like Juan Albín and Soni Mustivar. However, among others, Mircea Rednic convinced 31-year-old striker Mohamed Tchité, who spent most of his professional career in Belgium, with Standard Liége, Anderlecht and Club Brugge, and in Spain with Racing de Santander, to be part of the team until the end of the season at the least.^[21] He made his début on 5 March in the first leg of the Romanian Cup semi-final against rivals Steaua București, scoring his team's only goal in a 1–1 draw.^[22] On 3 April, Petrolul missed the qualification to the Cupa României final for the second year in a row, losing the semi-final second leg against Steaua at Arena Națională.^[23] However, only a week later, "The Yellow Wolves" defeated them in the championship, after more than 15 years.^[24] Curaçaoan winger Gevaro Nepomuceno netted the only goal of the match.^[25] On 5 May, it was announced that manager Mircea Rednic left "The Yellow-Blues".^[26] Assistant coach Valentin Sinescu continued as the caretaker of the team. Eventually, Petrolul finished the season on a disappointing place six.^[27]

2015–16 season

Due to the financial problems, the club had to terminate or not extend the contracts of seventeen players, including Pablo de Lucas, Victoraș Astafei and Jean Sony Alcénat.^[28] On 3 June 2015, Tibor Selymes became the head coach of "The Oilmen".^[29] On the 11th, the club's reorganisation plan was voted, therefore bankruptcy was avoided for the time being.^[30] Nike remained the kit manufacturer, while Superbet, a gambling company, replaced Alexandrion as the main sponsor of the team.^[31] "The Yellow Wolves" settled their pre-season training stage at Zlatibor, in the neighbouring country Serbia. The stage started on June 21 and ended on July 4.^[32] The club tested and signed new footballers during this period, generally ones who played in the French lower divisions, like Abdellah Zoubir, Ismail Hassan or Nicolas Farina. Ex-Dynamo Moscow midfielder Adrian Ropotan returned to Romania, six years after he left Dinamo București.^[33] Petrolul also convinced Brazilian goalkeeper Peterson Peçanha to extend his contract.^[34] On 11 July, Petrolul played its first official game of the season against Steaua București, in the Liga I. The match ended goalless.^[35] However, the next seven matches brought three defeats, three draws and only one victory. Being last in the league table, also due to a deduction of six points for failure to comply with licensing requirements, Petrolul sacked Selymes and replaced him with its former player Eusebiu Tudor.^[36]

Grounds

Petrolul plays its home matches on the Ilie Oană Stadium. It can host UEFA Europa League semifinals and UEFA Champions League group matches, and is ranked as a UEFA Category 4 stadium.^[37] It was inaugurated in September 2011 and has a current capacity of 15,500 spectators.^[1] The construction is built on the site of the former Ilie Oană Stadium, which was completed in 1937. It is named after Ilie Oană, a famous player and coach.

Milestones

• The first match to be played at the stadium was an exhibition game between a team of former Petrolul Ploiești players, the generation which won the Romanian Cup in 1995, and a selection of former Romanian internationals, amongst which Gheorghe Hagi, Gheorghe Popescu, Viorel Moldovan, Ovidiu Stângă and Daniel Prodan. The former internationals won the match 4–3.^[38] The first goal scored on this stadium belonged to Cristian Zmoleanu.
• Petrolul's first competitive match at the stadium was a Liga I game against Dinamo București on 25 September 2011, which ended 5–1 for the Bucharest team. Dinamo player Cosmin Moți scored the first goal of the game and thus the first official goal at new Ilie Oană Stadium.
• The Romania national football team played its first official match at the Ilie Oană on March 29, 2015, against Faroe Islands.

Rivalries

Main article(s): Former Ploiești derby

Petrolul's traditional, historic rival is Rapid București. Petrolul and Rapid fans have maintained a strong rivalry, despite long periods of not meeting when one or the other were playing in the second division. Petrolul won the 1965–66 Divizia A, while Rapid finished second. The following season, Rapid won its first national title after a match played on the Ilie Oană Stadium. These events are said to have started the rivalry.^[39]

Petrolul maintains a mild rivalry with Astra Giurgiu, its former local enemy. Astra promoted for the first time to the Divizia A in 1998. It played in Ploiești until September 2012, when it was moved to Giurgiu by its owner, Ioan Niculae. Even after the move, the rivalry continues between the governances of the clubs.^[40]

Rivalries with Steaua București and Dinamo București also exist.

Honours

Domestic

Liga I:

• Winners (4): 1929–30, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1965–66
• Runners-up (3): 1925–26, 1955, 1961–62

Liga II:

• Winners (8): 1940–41, 1954, 1976–77, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1988–89, 2002–03, 2010–11
• Runners-up (1): 1980–81

Cupa României:

• Winners (3): 1962–63, 1994–95, 2012–13
• Runners-up (1): 1952

Supercupa României:

• Runners-up (2): 1995, 2013

Players

First team squad

As of 1 February 2016.^[41]

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 Alberto Cobrea (Captain) 3 DF Romain Inez 5 MF Dan Bucșa 6 DF Giuseppe Prestia 8 MF Karim Ziani 9 FW Michele Paolucci 10 MF Laurențiu Marinescu 11 FW Marcos Michael 12 GK Iustin Popescu (on loan from Dinamo București) 13 DF Fabrice Begeorgi 14 DF Cristian Pulhac 15 FW Janko Pacar 16 DF Alexandru Benga

No. Position Player 17 MF Abdellah Zoubir 20 GK Mirel Bolboașă 21 MF Ludovic Guerriero 22 DF Dean Beța 23 MF Daniel Stana 25 DF Constantin Mișelăricu 30 MF Dacian Varga 37 DF Alexandru David 40 DF Roberto Alecsandru 42 FW Victoraș Astafei 77 MF Bogdan Gavrilă (on loan from Dinamo București) 90 FW George Mareș

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player — FW Cheick Alan Diarra (at Oțelul Galați)

No. Position Player

Transfers

Club officials

As of 13 February 2016.^[42]

Board of directors Role Name President Daniel Capră CEO Marius Bucuroiu Chief executive Alexandru Crângu Director of marketing Iuliano Ene Secretary general Valentin Mateescu Economic department Gabriel Toma Communication with supporters Octav Preda Ticket office manager Ionuț Dumitrache Director of youth academy Claudiu Toader Safety officer Florian Radu

Current technical staff Role Name Coach Constantin Schumacher Assistant coach Dragoș Radu Goalkeeping coach Cătălin Grigore Fitness coach Michele Bon Team manager Cristian Vlad Youth coach (Under 20s) Bogdan Zahiu Youth coach (Under 18s) Cristian Iordache Youth coach (Under 17s) Claudiu Toader Youth coach (Under 15s) Iulian Cojocaru Youth coach (Under 13s) Marius Manolache Storeman Bebe Ionița Storeman Vlad Ionița Club Doctor Romeo Popescu Masseur Iulian Samoilă Masseur Răzvan Negoiță

European record

As of 9 August 2015

The club have participated in 8 editions of the club competitions governed by UEFA, the chief authority for football across Europe, and 12 editions of European competitions overall.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Managers

References

External links

• Official website
• Official Facebook profile
• Official Twitter profile
• Club profile on UEFA's official website
• Club profile on LPF's official website