FC Rapid București

FC Rapid București

Full name	Fotbal Club Rapid București
Nickname(s)	Giuleștenii (The people from Giuleşti) Alb-Vișiniii (The White and Burgundies) Feroviarii (The Railwaymen) Vulturii Vișinii (The Burgundy Eagles)
Founded	25 June 1923 (1923-06-25)
Ground	Giulești-Valentin Stănescu
Ground Capacity	19,100
Owner	Valerii Moraru
Chairman	Ovidiu Burcă
Manager	Dan Alexa
League	Liga II
2014–15	Liga I, 16th (relegated)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

Fotbal Club Rapid București (Romanian pronunciation: [raˈpid bukuˈreʃtʲ]) is a Romanian football club. It was founded in 1923 by a group workers of the Grivița workshops under the name of "Cultural and Sporting Association CFR" (Asociația culturală și sportivă CFR). Rapid won the Romanian championship 3 times (1967, 1999 and 2003) and the Romanian Cup on thirteen occasions. In 2006, Rapid became an incorporated company, its largest share-holder being George Copos, a wealthy businessman. In December 2012, the club entered insolvency process and in 2013, Copos sold the club to another businessman, Adrian Zamfir. In July 2014, Rapid changed again its owner, Valerii Moraru buying the club from Zamfir.

History

1923–1945

In June 1923, Teofil Copaci, Grigore Grigoriu, Aurel Kahane, Geza Ginzer and other Romanian railroad workers agreed the fusion of two amateur clubs, "CFR" (ex-"Rampa Militari") and "Excelsior". 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 championship 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 any longer, 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 reorganizations and Rapid won the ”Bessarabia” Cup, in 1942. The strangest of all might be the qualification in the final of the Mitropa Cup (precursor of the UEFA Champions League, ) at a moment when the competition was taking its last breath.

1945–1970

In 1940 Rapid played two ties in the Mitropa Cup semifinals and were drawn to the final, which was never played due to the outbreak of World War II. Rapid managed to secure the Romanian title in 1967.

1970–1990

In the 1970s and 1980s, Rapid reached the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners Cup and won Romanian cup in 1972 and 1975 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 a European level (Steaua played two European Cup finals in 1986 and 1989, winning the first one, and an additional semifinal in 1989, while Dinamo reached the European Cup semifinals in 1984 and the Cup Winners Cup semifinals in 1990 and Universitatea Craiova reached the UEFA Cup semifinals in 1983). They narrowly avoided relegation in 1987 in the last match of the season.

1990–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 Pușcaș) 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 club won the most important official honours (two league titles and four national cups) and had the most important European achievements, especially due to a careful appointment of coaches. The most notable coach that managed Rapid in this period is Mircea Lucescu, the man who transformed the club into a force in the Romanian championship again. Also, his son Răzvan Lucescu has been the manager with the greatest achievements in the European competitions with Rapid. However, the coach who won the most trophies for the club is Mircea Rednic.

After a few years during which their experience in the European competitions was limited, Rapid started to perform better, and for the third time in the post-war history, in the 2005–06 season, the team reached the spring, upper-level, phases of the UEFA Cup, up to the quarter-finals. Rapid was stopped by Steaua Bucharest after a 1–1 draw at home and a 0–0 draw away. After the 2006–07 season, Răzvan Lucescu left Rapid and went to manage FC Brașov. Cristiano Bergodi was named as the main coach, but after winning the Romanian Supercup and an unbeaten run in the championship, he was sacked by the club's owner, George Copos.

In 2008, Fathi Taher became the new owner of Rapid. He named José Peseiro as the new coach and brought an important number of players, investing a considerable sum of money. However Peseiro's performances were poor and he was sacked several months later. Rapid finished the 2008–09 season on the eighth place, missing the European cups. In the 2009–10 season, Viorel Hizo was the coach of Rapid, but the team missed Europe again. In 2010–11, Marius Șumudică came as the new coach and Dinu Gheorghe returned as the club's chairman. Rapid finished fourth and qualified for Europa League again, after two years.

The 2011–12 season started with high hopes as Răzvan Lucescu had returned as coach. Rapid finished fourth at the end season and lost the Romanian Cup final against Dinamo Bucharest, with the score of 1–0. In the summer, Răzvan Lucescu resigned and Ioan Ovidiu Sabău was brought in as the new coach, along with many free agent players. However, after the elimination from the Europa League against Heerenveen (4–0 away and 1–0 at home) and several surprising defeats in the league, Sabău was sacked and Marian Rada was appointed as manager. In December, funding problems became serious and the club entered insolvency. This led to sixteen of the players leaving the club, along with the president Constantin Zotta, during the winter break. Many youth players were brought in from the third league satellite team Rapid II.

Former names

• 1923–37: Asociația culturală și sportivă Căile Ferate Române București
• 1937–45: FC Rapid București
• 1945–50: CFR București
• 1950–58: Locomotiva București
• 1958–present: FC Rapid București

Supporters

Supporters

Rapid supporters make an important part of the club's image. They call themselves Legione Granata(The Crimson Legion). Groups presence is signaled by banners bearing their names:

Peluza Nord: Official Hooligans, Original Ultra', Bombardierii, RHV, Gruppo Autonomo Alcoolica;

T2: Piratii, Radicals, Niste Baieti, Torcida Visinie, Ultra'Stil, Chicos del Infierno, Collettivo, OldSchool;

Dissolved groups: Ultras Unione, Maniacs, Brigada 921, Grant Ultras, Ultras Latina, Legione Titan, DsG 07, Gruppo Pitesti, Alianza, Gruppo Nord, Legiunea Chitila.

Traveling with the team for away matches being a custom since the first years of the club, local derbies being no exception. Immediately after the fall of the communist regime, on 14 February 1990, the Rapid Supporters League (Liga Suporterilor Rapidiști, LSR) was legally established.

A unique organization 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 some of the most impressive shows in Romanian sport singing most of the time during matches and sometimes before the matches start. They often end by being arrested. The most impressive moment in the Giulești 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 colors of the club or displaying a white and crimson scarf.

Rivalries

From the historic point of view, Rapid's traditional rival is Petrolul from Ploieşti. Rapid fans and Ploieşti fans have never ended their rivalry, even if the teams didn't meet (as either would often play in the second tier of Romanian football). On a national basis, Rapid's greatest rivalries are with the two other teams from Bucharest, Steaua Bucureşti and Dinamo Bucureşti. Matches between the three Bucharest rivals often end up with clashes between the rival supporters after or before the match in which the police force is often caught in the middle.

Originally Universitatea Craiova and Rapid fans formed an alliance, but this ended in 1998 when Universitatea refused to concede a match against Rapid in the final round of the league, which would have guaranteed Rapid their first title in over two decades. After that, Rapid fans declared the alliance broken, which might have endedn in 2013, as Craiova's fans supported the rapidists when they started the hunger strike to protest against Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) decision to expel the team from Liga I for the 2013–14 season, demanding the resignations of the leaders of the Romanian football, Mircea Sandu (FRF president) and Dumitru Dragomir (LPF president), and Rapid's fans boycotted the friendly match with CSU Craiova, the main Universitatea's rival.

Rapid supporters consider Politehnica Timișoara supporters to be their allies, as both have nostalgic supporter segments who think they had been "wronged" during the communist regime. Fans of both teams had the opportunity to support the other during matches. Most recently, Rapid fans supported Timişoara during their games in Bucharest, and Timişoara fans supported Rapid during Rapid's Romanian Cup game against Pandurii Târgu Jiu, played on Timişoara's Stadionul Dan Păltinişanu.

Stadium

The second stand

The history of Giulești Stadium begins in the year 1934. On the 31 of March CFR begins the construction of a field on the Giulești 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 systematization 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 architect 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 12,160 seats. Among the guests at the opening ceremony was King Carol II and his son, future King Michael of Romania.

The construction of the north stand was ended in the mid 90's, the capacity being increased to 19,100 seats. The pitch was changed in 2003, being considered the best in Romania at the time.^[1] 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 second championship for Rapid, but it is still commonly known as "Giulești Stadium", by the name of the neighborhood it is located in. Landmarks near the stadium are the Grant Bridge, Giulești Theatre, Gara de Nord (North Station) and the Grivița Railway Yards.

The stadium will be demolished in 2015, making room for a 22-25 thousand seat modern stadium. The renovation will be funded by the Government and UEFA, after Bucharest was announced to be one of the hosts for the 2020 European Championship.^[2]

Players

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 Paul Botaş 3 DF Ondřej Kušnír 4 DF Adrian Avrămia 5 DF Miquel Robusté 7 MF Iulian Popa 9 FW Vlad Morar 10 MF Miguel Ángel Luque 11 FW Patrick N'Koyi 15 MF Răzvan Trandu 17 MF George Ganea 19 DF Nicolae Vasile (captain) 20 MF Jiří Jeslínek 21 FW Cătălin Țîră

No. Position Player 28 MF Cristian Raiciu 70 MF George Tudoran 80 MF Mădălin Martin 90 GK Virgil Drăghia — DF Fran Cruz — DF Nicuşor Fota — DF Răzvan Petre — DF Andrei Pleşa — MF Raul Costin — MF Robert Căruţă — MF Florin Răsdan — FW Alexandru Potecea

Club Officials

Board of directors Role Name Owner Valerii Moraru President Ovidiu Burcă Team Manager Dănuţ Perjă Secretary Cristian Costache

Current technical staff Role Name Technical Director Mihai Ianovschi Manager Dan Alexa Assistant Manager Radu Lefter Goalkeeping Coach Marian Ioniţă Physiotherapist Ionel Colonel Club Doctor Virgiliu Hudici

Honours and achievements

Domestic

Liga I

• Winners (3): 1966–67, 1998–99, 2002–03
• Runners-up (14): 1936–37, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1948–49, 1950, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2005–06

Cupa Eroilor (Heroes Cup) ^[3][4]

• Winners (1): 1942

Liga II

• Winners (5): 1952, 1955, 1974–75, 1982–83, 1989–90
• Runners-up (3): 1979–80, 1981–82, 2013–14

Cupa României

• Winners (13): 1934–35, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07
• Runners-up (6): 1960–61, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2011–12

Supercupa României

• Winners (4): 1999, 2002, 2003, 2007
• Runners-up (2): 1998, 2006

European

UEFA Cup

• Quarter-finals (1): 2005–06

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

• Quarter-finals (1): 1972–73

Balkans Cup

• Winners (2): 1964, 1966

Mitropa Cup / Central Europe Cup

• Semifinals (1): 1940 (The two-legged encounter ended in a tie, and Rapid were drawn to the final, which was never disputed because of the World War II.)

European Railways Cup

• Winners (1): 1968

European record

Top scorers by season in all competitions

Season Winner Goals 1932–33 Vasile Chiroiu 12 1933–34 Unknown - 1934–35 Unknown - 1935–36 Ștefan Barbu 23 1936–37 Unknown - 1937–38 Unknown - 1938–39 Iuliu Baratky 15 1939–40 Ștefan Auer 21 1940–41 Ionică Bogdan 21 1941–42 Florian Radu 19 1942–46 War period 1946–47 Unknown - 1947–48 Bazil Marian 32 1948–49 Ștefan Filotti 16 1950 Andrei Rădulescu 18 1951 Unknown - 1952 Unknown - 1953 Unknown - 1954 Iacob Olaru 12 1955 Unknown - 1956 Iacob Olaru 15 1957–58 Unknown - 1958–59 Gheorghe Ene II 17 1959–60 Titus Ozon 12 1960–61 Unknown - 1961–62 Unknown - 1962–63 Ion Ionescu 20   League topscorer   League winner   Cup winner   Second Division

Year Winner Goals 1963–64 Ion Ionescu 15 1964–65 Unknown - 1965–66 Ion Ionescu 24 1966–67 Ion Ionescu 15 1967–68 Emil Dumitriu II 10 1968–69 Alexandru Neagu 17 1969–70 Alexandru Neagu 16 1970–71 Alexandru Neagu 12 1971–72 Alexandru Neagu 16 1972–73 Unknown - 1973–74 Unknown - 1974–75 Unknown - 1975–76 Unknown - 1976–77 Unknown - 1977–78 Unknown - 1978–79 Unknown - 1979–80 Unknown - 1980–81 Unknown - 1981–82 Unknown - 1982–83 Unknown - 1983–84 Unknown - 1984–85 Unknown - 1985–86 Unknown - 1986–87 Unknown - 1987–88 Unknown - 1988–89 Unknown - 1989–90 Unknown -

Year Winner Goals 1990–91 Unknown - 1991–92 Unknown - 1992–93 Unknown - 1993–94 Iulian Chiriță 12 1994–95 Ion Vlădoiu 18 1995–96 Dumitru Târţău 12 1996–97 Dumitru Târţău 14 1997–98 Lucian Marinescu 16 1998–99 Marius Șumudică 20 1999–00 Sergiu Radu 15 2000–01 Daniel Pancu 17 2001–02 Daniel Pancu 18 2002–03 Florin Bratu 12 2003–04 Sabin Ilie 13 2004–05 Daniel Niculae 14 2005–06 Daniel Niculae 14 2006–07 Ianis Zicu 13 2007–08 Ionuț Mazilu 9 2008–09 Juliano Spadacio 16 2009–10 Alexandru Ioniță 10 2010–11 Ovidiu Herea 11 2011–12 Ovidiu Herea 14 2012–13 Ovidiu Herea 10 2013–14 Mădălin Martin 9 2014–15 Cristian Săpunaru 4 * Season in progress.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FC Rapid București.

• Official website of the club (Romanian)