League 1 (Romania)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
League 1
Association Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal
First edition 1932
Teams 14th
master CFR Cluj (5th title)
Record champions Steaua Bucharest / FCSB Bucharest (26)
Current season 2019/20
Website lpf.ro
Qualification for UEFA Champions League , UEFA Europa League

The League 1 is the highest division in Romanian football . It was founded in 1932 as Divizia A and began playing in the 1932/33 season . Before that, after the establishment of the Romanian Football Association in 1909, the Romanian soccer champions were determined in cup tournaments and from 1921 with regional qualifying tournaments and a nationwide final in the knockout system .

Before the 2006/07 season , Divizia A was renamed Liga 1 , as the name had to be changed due to the registration as a trademark.

regulate

Currently (2018/19) 14 teams play in League 1. The number has been reduced by four compared to the previous season. The teams in the last two places are relegated directly, while the top two of the two seasons of League 2 are promoted . The third from last has to go into relegation . The league 1 champions are entitled to participate in the UEFA Champions League qualification. The teams in second and third place start in the UEFA Europa League . Depending on who wins the cup, it is possible that the fourth-placed may also take part in the Europa League.

If two or more teams are tied at the end of the season, the goal difference is not decisive, but the direct comparison .

history

Football came to Romania at the end of the 19th century through foreign workers who earned their money during industrialization in factories in large Romanian cities such as Bucharest , Ploieşti or Craiova . At the beginning of the 20th century they began to organize themselves in clubs. Olympia Bucharest was founded in 1904 by German and Romanian workers, United Ploieşti in 1909 by Dutch and American workers and Bucharest FC by German workers. Later, in addition to workers, students also joined the clubs, so that in 1909 the idea arose to found their own association, The Association of Football Clubs .

Romantic era (1909–1921)

season master competition Teams
1909/10 Olympia Bucharest Cupa Asociațiunii Române de foot-ball 3
1910/11 Olympia Bucharest Cupa Asociațiunii Române de foot-ball (Hans Herzog) 3
1911/12 United Ploieşti Cupa Alexandru Bellio 3
1912/13 Colentina Bucharest Cupa Hans Herzog 6th
1913/14 Colentina Bucharest Cupa Hans Herzog 3
1914/15 Româno-Americană Bucharest Cupa Jean Luca P. Niculescu 6th
1915/16 Prahova Ploieşti Cupa Jean Luca P. Niculescu 4th
1916-1919 Interruption due to the First World War
1919/20 Venus Bucharest Cupa Harwester 4th
1920/21 Venus Bucharest Cupa Harwester 7th

The period before the First World War and the period up to 1920 is known as the romantic era . At that time, the game was not played in league operations, but regular cup tournaments - mostly one in spring and one in autumn - instead. One of these cup tournaments was chosen to determine the Romanian football champions. Since the territory of Romania at that time essentially comprised the historical region of Wallachia , the tournaments are now known as Wallachia Cup tournaments .

The first tournament organized by the Football Association was the Cup of the Romanian Football Association ( Cupa Asociațiunii Române de foot-ball ), which was held in 1909/10 and 1910/11. In 1910/11 it was also known as the Hans-Herzog-Pokal ( Cupa Hans Herzog ) and its winner was chosen as Bucharest's champion in order to subsequently be used to name the Romanian champion. In the spring of 1912, 1913 and 1914 it was held again, with only the last two competitions being designated as championships by the later historians. In the 1911/12 season , the Alexandru Bellio Cup ( Cupa Alexandru Bellio ), which was held again in autumn 1913, was used to determine the champion. Since the working hours at the beginning of the 20th century were often twelve hours a day, six days a week, there were not many opportunities for sporting competition between the clubs, so that the few games lasted over a period of several months and meetings were sometimes not due to lack of time could be carried out.

From 1915, two new cup tournaments replaced the two previous competitions. The Jean Luca P. Niculescu Cup ( Cupa Jean Luca P. Niculescu ) took place in the spring of every year until 1921 (from 1916 to 1918 there were no tournaments at all because many foreigners had left Romania ). This was used in 1915 and 1916 to determine the Romanian master. The Harwester Cup ( Cupa Harwester ) was held in autumn and used in 1919 and 1920 to determine the champion (of the following year).

Only teams from Ploiesti and Bucharest took part in the tournaments - apart from the sporadic participation of Oltenia Craiova . This was due to the fact that traveling at that time was associated with great effort, since the only means of transport available was the railroad . While Bucharest and Ploieşti are only 60 kilometers apart, Craiova already had to cover 250 kilometers.

Romanian Football Championship (1921-1932)

season master Teams
1921/22 Chinezul Timișoara 7th
1922/23 Chinezul Timișoara 8th
1923/24 Chinezul Timișoara 9
1924/25 Chinezul Timișoara 10
1925/26 Chinezul Timișoara 11
1926/27 Chinezul Timișoara 10
1927/28 Colțea Brasov 12
1928/29 Venus Bucharest 12
1929/30 Juventus Bucharest 12
1930/31 UDR Reșița 5
1931/32 Venus Bucharest 5

Through the treaties of Trianon and St. Germain , Romania was granted Transylvania , Bukovina and part of the Banat in 1920, thus doubling its national territory. This also made it necessary to reform the game operations, as league operations were not yet possible due to a lack of infrastructure. Beginning with the 1921/22 season , the Romanian football champions were determined according to a new mode: First, the best teams in a region were determined in regional tournaments. These masters determined the Romanian master between July and September. This final round took place in a knockout system , with a replay being played on the opponent's court in the event of a tie.

After the participants in the final round in seven regions had been determined in the first edition, more and more teams were added year after year, so that more and more qualifying tournaments were set up in order to keep the distances covered. From 1926 a further level was drawn in between the regional tournaments and the national finals, in that in some regions the winners first had to compete against the winners from neighboring regions in order to be allowed to participate in the finals. In this way, the expenses for trips were reduced. From 1930, the regional tournaments were combined into five geographical groups, which their masters could send to the final round of the Romanian championship:

The 1920s were dominated by Chinezul Timișoara , who won the championship six times in a row - a record that was only set by Steaua Bucharest in the 1997/98 season and is still unmatched today. After Chinezul had lost its best players due to financial problems and could no longer maintain its level, the years from 1927 to 1932 were determined by constant changes at the top. Due to the mode (regional eliminations, no second legs), many champions failed early. It was not until 1932 that a reigning champion, UDR Reșița , managed to reach the final again.

Professional League (1932-1945)

season master Teams
1932/33 Ripensia Timișoara 14th
1933/34 Venus Bucharest 16
1934/35 Ripensia Timișoara 12
1935/36 Ripensia Timișoara 12
1936/37 Venus Bucharest 12
1937/38 Ripensia Timișoara 20th
1938/39 Venus Bucharest 12
1939/40 Venus Bucharest 12
1940/41 Unirea Tricolor Bucharest 13
1941-1946 Interruption due to World War II

Only amateurs were allowed to take part in the Romanian football championship . As a result, the best players migrated abroad or could not participate in the game with their professional clubs such as Ripensia Timișoara . This, and the fact that more and more clubs were founded and participated in the game, meant that the system was abandoned in 1932 and a league system was introduced. All teams were allowed to participate - regardless of whether they consisted of amateurs or professionals .

The professional league started in 1932 with Divizia A, which was held in two groups of initially seven and the following year eight teams. In 1934, Divizia B was introduced as the second highest national league , so that at the end of the 1933/34 season there were relegated for the first time. After the founding of Divizia C in 1936, the system of three national leagues that still exists today existed for the first time, with Divizia C only being carried out irregularly until 1963.

From 1934, the Divizia A was carried out in a group, whereby the previously conducted playoff for the championship was omitted. There were no direct relegations, the last placed played relegation games against the first placed Divizia B. With the exception of the 1937/38 season , the number of teams was left at twelve, only the relegation regulation was changed in favor of Divizia B by relegating several teams directly from the 1938/39 season .

With the outbreak of the Second World War , gaming operations were increasingly restricted from 1940 onwards. After the clubs from the north-west had to leave the league due to the Second Vienna Arbitration in 1940, games were initially interrupted in 1941 due to the fighting, and from 1942 onwards again with regional eliminations and a national final. These tournaments, known as the Bessarabian Cup , do not count as official championships. In 1944 the game was finally stopped completely.

The 1930s were dominated by Ripensia Timișoara and Venus Bucharest , who won all championships from 1932 to 1940. Of the changing competitors, only Rapid Bucharest should be mentioned here, which won the Romanian Cup six times in a row during this period.

Communist Era (1946–1990)

After the Second World War, the game was continued in 1946 in the same line-up as had resulted from the decisions of the 1940/41 season , with the teams from the areas previously given to Hungary ( Kreischgebiet and Transylvania ) reintegrated into those leagues in which they had played in the 1939/40 season.

In the post-war period Romania came under the influence of the Soviet Union and received a communist government. As a result, all companies were nationalized - including the professionally run football clubs, all of which had to join a ministry, a public institution or a union. Associations that refused were forcibly dissolved. As a result of this procedure, the club landscape in Romania suddenly changed and the former professionals became state amateurs . New clubs were formed so that each facility had its own club.

In this way, many associations came into being in the 1940s and 1950s or were passed on from one institution to the next, resulting in a large number of name changes. Romanian army clubs such as Steaua Bucharest or AS Armata Târgu Mureş , interior ministry clubs such as Dinamo Bucharest or Dinamo Piteşti (now FC Argeş Piteşti), state railroad clubs such as Locomotiva Bucharest (now Rapid Bucharest) or Locomotiva Timişoara , clubs of scientific institutions such as Universitatea Craiova or Politehnica Timișoara , light industry clubs such as Progresul Bucharest (later Național Bucharest at times) and oil industry clubs such as Petrolul Ploieşti dominated Romanian football for decades.

Due to the central control, small clubs had to repeatedly hand over players to the top clubs so that they could also achieve success in the European Cup - a company that only succeeded in 1986 when Steaua Bucharest won the European Cup . Due to this principle, it was not uncommon for smaller clubs to establish themselves quickly in the league, but outstanding results were followed by a rapid crash.

In the first years after the war, the number of teams was initially gradually reduced to twelve. From 1950 to 1956 Romania, like many Eastern Bloc countries, took over the calendar year as the game year from the Soviet Union, but returned to the 1957/58 season at the end of the summer season. Starting with the 1959/60 season , Divizia A was initially played with 14 teams, from 1968 the league size was 16 teams and with the beginning of the 1973/74 season , 18 teams were finally played.

The communist era was dominated by Dinamo Bucharest and Steaua Bucharest, which were the only uninterrupted associations of Divizia A at this time. Dinamo won the championship 13 times and the runner-up 16 times and is just as successful as Steaua, who was 14 times champion and 7 times runner-up. In contrast to Steaua, which could hardly win any titles in the 1960s and 1970s, Dinamo was the only Romanian club to always be among the top national teams. At the end of the 1980s, both teams dominated the league at will, so that in 1987/88 and 1988/89 they scored as many points as never before.

Outstanding successes in international football were not recorded until the 1980s. It started Universitatea Craiova by reaching the semi-finals in the UEFA Cup in 1982/83 before Dinamo Bucharest later the semi-finals in one year European Cup champions reached. In the second half of the 1980s, Divizia A was one of the best in Europe. Steaua Bucharest not only won the European Cup in 1986, but also made it to the final in 1988/89 and reached the semi-finals in 1987/88 . Dinamo achieved this in the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1990 .

season master Teams
1946/47 ITA Arad 14th
1947/48 ITA Arad 16
1948/49 ICO Oradea 14th
1950 Flamura Roșie UT Arad 12
1951 CCA Bucharest 12
1952 CCA Bucharest 12
1953 CCA Bucharest 12
1954 Flamura Roșie UT Arad 14th
1955 Dinamo Bucharest 13
1956 CCA Bucharest 13
1957/58 FC Petrolul Ploiesti 12
1958/59 FC Petrolul Ploiesti 12
1959/60 CCA Bucharest 12
1960/61 CCA Bucharest 14th
season master Teams
1961/62 Dinamo Bucharest 14th
1962/63 Dinamo Bucharest 15th
1963/64 Dinamo Bucharest 14th
1964/65 Dinamo Bucharest 14th
1965/66 FC Petrolul Ploiesti 14th
1966/67 Rapid Bucharest 14th
1967/68 Steaua Bucharest 14th
1968/69 UTA Arad 16
1969/70 UTA Arad 16
1970/71 Dinamo Bucharest 16
1971/72 FC Argeş Piteşti 16
1972/73 Dinamo Bucharest 16
1973/74 FC Universitatea Craiova 18th
1974/75 Dinamo Bucharest 18th
season master Teams
1975/76 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1976/77 Dinamo Bucharest 18th
1977/78 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1978/79 FC Argeş Piteşti 18th
1979/80 FC Universitatea Craiova 18th
1980/81 FC Universitatea Craiova 18th
1981/82 Dinamo Bucharest 18th
1982/83 Dinamo Bucharest 18th
1983/84 Dinamo Bucharest 18th
1984/85 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1985/86 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1986/87 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1987/88 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1988/89 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1989/90 Dinamo Bucharest 18th

Present (since 1990)

season master Teams
1990/91 FC Universitatea Craiova 18th
1991/92 Dinamo Bucharest 18th
1992/93 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1993/94 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1994/95 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1995/96 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1996/97 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1997/98 Steaua Bucharest 18th
1998/99 Rapid Bucharest 18th
1999/00 Dinamo Bucharest 18th
2000/01 Steaua Bucharest 16
2001/02 Dinamo Bucharest 16
2002/03 Rapid Bucharest 16
2003/04 Dinamo Bucharest 16
2004/05 Steaua Bucharest 16
2005/06 Steaua Bucharest 16
2006/07 Dinamo Bucharest 18th
2007/08 CFR Cluj 18th
2008/09 Unirea Urziceni 18th
2009/10 CFR Cluj 18th
2010/11 Oțelul Galați 18th
2011/12 CFR Cluj 18th
2012/13 Steaua Bucharest 18th
2013/14 Steaua Bucharest 18th
2014/15 Steaua Bucharest 18th
2015/16 Astra Giurgiu 14th
2016/17 FC Viitorul Constanța 14th
2017/18 CFR Cluj 14th
2018/19 CFR Cluj 14th

After the end of communist rule in the winter of 1989/90, Romania became a democratic market economy . The Divizia A was not spared from this development either. In 1990, numerous national players and other top players moved abroad and joined not only the leading European clubs, but also second division clubs abroad, as there was much more to be earned there than in Romania. This led to a great loss of strength in the Romanian league, which could not hold its value in European comparison. It wasn't until the mid-2000s that the trend reversed and League 1 is now one of the ten best leagues in Europe again.

In the 1990s, the majority of the formerly state-owned associations were taken over by domestic and foreign investors. Many fell by the wayside or were disbanded because of their close involvement with the communist system. Initially, the clubs could not meet the expectations of the investors and were on the verge of financial collapse or could no longer prevent it at the expense of a few years in lower leagues. This brought clubs into League 1 in the 2000s that were a long way from it ten years earlier.

The leading clubs from Bucharest, such as Dinamo, Steaua and Rapid, made the transition from the planned to the market economy the fastest. Because of their connections with the strong men of Romania, they quickly gained the financial means to ensure long-term survival. Apart from the 1990/91 season , they have dominated Romanian football since then and made all championship titles among themselves until 2007. It was also two of these three clubs (Rapid and Steaua) that reached the quarter-finals and semi -finals of the 2005/06 UEFA Cup and thus brought Romanian football back to mind internationally.

The 1990s were dominated by Steaua Bucharest, who won six championship titles in a row and set the record for Chinezul Timișoara from 1922 to 1927. In the 2000s, the leading clubs take turns as champions, which is also due to the fact that the best players keep moving abroad. Only in the last few years has local investors and patrons succeeded in retaining top players or luring them to Romania, so that the quality of the leading clubs continues to improve.

In 1992 the name of the Divizia A in was Divizia Naţională changed while the Divizia B immediately Divizia A said. In 1997 the name changes were reversed.

In 2006, Divizia A had to drop its name after 74 years because it had been otherwise protected as a trademark and could therefore no longer be used. The highest Romanian league has been called Liga 1 since then . She played with 18 teams again until the 2015/2016 season after being reduced to 16 in 2000.

After the champions came from Bucharest 16 times in a row in the 1990s and 2000s, in 2008, with CFR Cluj , a team that is not based in the capital was able to prevail again for the first time. Since then, record champions Steaua and his local rivals Dinamo and Rapid have tried in vain to win the championship despite high financial investments. While CFR Cluj and his successor Unirea Urziceni were still supported by strong donors, in 2011 an outsider won the title with Oțelul Galați. From 2013 the championship title went back to Bucharest and Steaua became champions three times in a row. Since the 2015/16 season, the league has only consisted of 14 teams.

Clubs 2019/20

League 1 teams

Most successful clubs

The most successful teams in League 1 are FCSB Bucharest (26 titles) and Dinamo Bucharest (18 titles). 62 of the 101 titles so far have been won by teams from Bucharest.

society master Vice-
champion 		Cup
winners 		earlier names
FCSB Bucharest 26th 19th 24 AS Armata Bucharest, CSCA Bucharest, CCA Bucharest, Steaua Bucharest
Dinamo Bucharest 18th 20th 13
Venus Bucharest 8th 0 0
UTA Arad 6th 1 2 ITA Arad, Flamura Roșie UT Arad
Chinezul Timișoara 6th 0 0
CFR Cluj 5 0 4th
CS Universitatea Craiova 4th 5 7th Știința Craiova, FC Universitatea Craiova
Ripensia Timișoara 4th 2 2
Rapid Bucharest 3 14th 14th CFR Bucharest, Locomotiva Bucharest
Petrolul Ploiesti 3 2 3 Flacăra Ploieşti, Energia Ploieşti, FC Ploieşti
Colentina Bucharest 2 2 0
Prahova Ploieşti 2 2 0 United Ploieşti
FC Argeş Piteşti 2 2 0 Dinamo Pitesti
Olympia Bucharest 2 0 0
Clubul Atletic Oradea 1 2 1 Libertatea Oradea, ICO Oradea, Progresul Oradea
CSM Școlar Reșița 1 1 1 UDR Reșița, Metalul Reșița, Energia Reșița, FCM Reșița
Astra Giurgiu 1 1 1
Juventus Bucharest 1 1 0
Colțea Brasov 1 1 0
Unirea Urziceni 1 1 0
FC Viitorul Constanța 1 0 1
Româno-Americană Bucharest 1 0 0
Unirea Tricolor Bucharest 1 0 0
Oțelul Galați 1 0 0
Progresul Bucharest 0 3 1 Progresul Vulcan Bucharest, Național Bucharest
Bucharest FC 0 3 0
Victoria Cluj 0 3 0 România Cluj
FC Timișoara 0 2 2 Știința Timișoara, Politehnica AEK Timișoara, Politehnica Timișoara
Tricolor Bucharest 0 2 0
Universitatea Cluj 0 1 1 Știința Cluj
Jiul Petroșani 0 1 1 UCAS Petroșani, Minerul Petroșani
Jiul Lupeni 0 1 0
Gloria CFR Arad 0 1 0
Sibiu gymnastics club 0 1 0
AMEF Arad 0 1 0
Carmen Bucharest 0 1 0
CFR Timișoara 0 1 0
FC Brasov 0 1 0 Steagul Roșu Brașov, FCM Brașov
AS Armata Târgu Mureș 0 1 0
Sportul Studențesc Bucharest 0 1 0
FC Vaslui 0 1 0
CFR Turnu Severin 0 0 1
Arieșul Turda 0 0 1
Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea 0 0 1
Gloria Bistrița 0 0 1

Audience numbers

In the regular 2018/19 season, the average attendance was 3,466 people per game.

season cut Games total
2009/10 4,822 306 1,475,481
2010/11 5,034 305 1,535,393
2011/12 4,962 304 1,508,388
2012/13 4,977 306 1,522,864
2013/14 3,682 306 1,126,626
2014/15 3,465 306 1.060.209
2015/16 3,273 182 595,654
2015/16 championship 5,509 29 159,751
2015/16 relegation 2,364 56 132,368
2016/17 2,578 180 464.044
2016/17 championship 8,806 29 255.373
2016/17 relegation 1,141 55 62,762
2017/18 3,313 174 576.412
2017/18 championship 9,170 30th 275.093
2017/18 relegation 1,460 56 81,763
2018/19 3,466 181 627.373
2018/19 championship 6,645 30th 199,346
2018/19 relegation 1,460 56 81,776

UEFA five-year ranking

Placement in the UEFA five-year ranking ( previous year's ranking in brackets ). The abbreviations CL and EL after the country coefficients indicate the number of representatives in the 2019/20 season of the Champions League and the Europa League .

  • 27. −9( 18 ) Israel ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 18,625 - CL: 1, EL: 3IsraelIsrael 
  • 28. −4( 24 ) Bulgaria ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 17,500 - CL: 1, EL: 3BulgariaBulgaria 
  • 29. −9( 20 ) Romania ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 15,950 - CL: 1, EL: 3RomaniaRomania 
  • 30. +2( 32 ) Slovakia ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 15,625 - CL: 1, EL: 3SlovakiaSlovakia 
  • 31. −1( 30 ) Slovenia ( league , cup ) - coefficient: 15,000 - CL: 1, EL: 3SloveniaSlovenia 

Status: end of the European Cup season 2018/19

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cotidianul on 15 May 2006 , accessed 6 March 2010 (Romanian).
  2. ^ Romaniansoccer.ro
  3. ↑ digisport.ro
  4. ↑ FCSB beat Sepsi to win Romanian Cup. July 22, 2020, accessed on July 22, 2020 .
  5. ↑ League 1 2018/2019 - spectators. Retrieved August 21, 2019 .
  6. ↑ UEFA rankings for club competitions. In: UEFA. Retrieved July 14, 2019 .