The history of Romanian football

In 1909, the first governing body for football activities was established: the Association of Sports Societies in Romania. It later became the “Association of Football Clubs”, headquartered in Bucharest. That same year, the first domestic football championship was held, won by “Olimpia” Bucharest. This was the first Romanian football team to be founded (1904).

In 1912, the “Association of Football Clubs” would affiliate with the Association Football Commission. The president was Mario Gebaur, who was also a member of the Federation of Sports Societies in Romania (FSSR), established in the same year.

Meanwhile, teams such as Venus Bucharest and Prahova Ploiești (1915), Sportul Studențesc Bucharest (1916), CA Oradea and Chinezul Timișoara (1910), AMFA Arad (1911), and CFR Cluj-Napoca (1907) were founded.

The national team’s first match – the first victory

In 1922, in Belgrade, the first match of the Romanian National Football Team took place against Yugoslavia, ending with a Romanian victory, with a score of 2–1. Then, in 1923, the FSSR Association Football Commission was admitted in Zurich as a FIFA member. Thus, Romania participated in the 1924 Olympic Football Tournament in Paris.

The establishment of the Federation

In 1930, the Central Association Football Commission became the Romanian Association Football Federation (FRFA). The domestic championship, Divizia A, debuted with the 1932–1933 season. The Romanian Cup was inaugurated in 1933.

Up to the outbreak of the Second World War, Romania’s champions were: Ripensia, Venus, and Unirea Tricolor. The Romanian Cup, in turn, entered the trophy cabinet of teams such as Ripensia, CFR Cluj-Napoca, Rapid Bucharest, and CFR Turnu Severin.

International competitions

On the international stage, Romania participated, up to the outbreak of the Second World War, in three FIFA World Cup final tournaments: Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), and France (1938).

In 1945, football resumed activity; however, the socio-political conditions of the period led to its politicization.

Old teams, new teams

After the end of the war and the resumption of football activity, new teams were founded, such as: UTA Arad (1945), Steaua (1947), Dinamo, Universitatea Craiova (1948), Dinamo Pitești – FC Argeș (1953), and ASA Târgu-Mureș (1962).

On the other hand, teams such as Carmen Bucharest, Ripensia, Venus, Ciocanul Bucharest, Gloria Arad, Chinezul Timișoara, and Unirea Tricolor disappeared.

Up to 1970, Romania’s champions were: Steaua, UTA Arad, Dinamo, Petrolul, IC Oradea, and Rapid.

Other notable achievements

In the period that followed, Romanian football recorded outstanding achievements, such as: qualification for the final tournament in Mexico (1970), winning the Balkan Cup for youth teams (1974) and seniors (1980), the awarding of the “Golden Boot” to Dudu Georgescu (the most prolific continental footballer), and Steaua’s qualification for the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

The 1980–1990 years were truly remarkable. The junior national team won the bronze medal at the World Championship in Australia (1981), and the senior national team qualified for the final tournament of the European Championship in France (1984). In 1990, the national team achieved another appearance at a FIFA World Cup, this time in Italy.

At club level, the start of these achievements was set by Universitatea Craiova, which reached the semi-finals of the European Champions Cup (ECC) in 1982–1984. In 1983–1984, Dinamo reached the semi-finals of the same competition. In 1986, Steaua became the first and only team to win the trophy, following the memorable match in Seville. After this match (2–0 against FC Barcelona), goalkeeper Helmuth Duckadam entered the Guinness Book of Records after saving all four penalties. Steaua also qualified for the ECC semi-finals (1987–1988) and the final (1988–1989). It won the European Super Cup in 1987.

At the FIFA World Cup in the USA (1994), Romania achieved its best performance in history —reaching the competition’s quarter-finals and ranking 6th in the world. It also qualified for the European finals in England (1996) and for the World Cup finals in France (1998).

After the remarkable performance of the “Golden Generation” at EURO 2000 in the Netherlands and Belgium, Romania has recorded, to date, only one further qualification, in 2008.

It is also worth noting the performance of Romanian teams Steaua and Rapid, which in 2006 played a two-legged tie in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals; after this clash, Steaua qualified for the competition’s semi-finals.