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CFR's History

Founded in 1907, C.F.R. Cluj is the oldest football club from Romania still in existence. It was the third team founded in Cluj and the tenth in what is now modern Romania. The club’s original name was K.V.S.C., meaning Kolozsvari Vasutas Sport Club in Hungarian. The team was the official sport club of the local railway workers.

 

    K.V.S.C. was founded in October 1907 and joined the Municipal Championship. The first result was a disastrous one: 0-23 against K.K.A.C. (the team of the Commercial Academy from Cluj). In 1911, in only their fourth participation in the Municipal Championship, K.V.S.C. won the league. The team defeated the local students’ squad, K.E.A.C., 3-2 in the final. One year later, in 1912, they managed to repeat this performance. The winning line-up of 1911 was: Herner – Walter, Grimm – Mate, Herschovits, Mike – Tuzson, Deak, Orsolyak, Koncz, Czinner.

             In 1912, the club underwent a name-change. Thus, K.V.S.C. became K.T.C. (Kolozsvari Torna Club, meaning Cluj Gymnastics Club). The following year, the club had the honour to play against then Hungarian champions, Ferencvaros, losing the game 0-7! After the war, in the 1918-1920 period, K.T.C. triumphed in two successive district championships! In the meanwhile, Universitatea Cluj, C.F.R.’s greatest rival, was founded in 1919.

 

            In 1922, a comical and yet tragic happening occurred amid the local derby against Victoria Cluj. All 22 players on the field were under the influence of alcohol! Later that autumn, altercations between C.F.R. and Victoria fans provoked the collapse of a corner of the stands. As a result, several fans were injured. Two years later, in the district finals, C.F.R. lost to the “students” 1-2, after a match ripe with tension. The fixture ended badly, with the fans being evacuated in the 75^th minute.

 

C.F.R.’s first important result materialized in 1924 when they held three-time Romanian champions, Chinezul Timisoara, to a 2-2 draw. The match against Chinezul was also the event inaugurating C.F.R.’s new stadium, situated near the railway workshops. C.F.R.’s squad at the time was composed of: Boga, Walasz, Bazga, Szilaghi, Vegh, Hegh, Kabuzovsky, Kiniszi II, Nagy, Ujvari, Takacs I, Takacs II, Curteanu, Barabas, Tocson, Heresz, Micu, Deak, Neagu, Oros, Olteanu, Moraru, Radu, Sandor, Merceanu, Krostadter, Szanislo, Juhasz.

 

            In 1926, one year before the club celebrated its twentieth birthday, C.F.R. was forced to withdraw from the championship. This was because the new railway executives from Cluj refused to finance the team anymore. Still, C.F.R. successfully made its comeback in the 1928/29 season, beating “U” Cluj, as well as F.C. Romania Cluj. And yet, they were again forced to withdraw again in 1931. The cause of this inconsistent existence was the same: a lack of funds. As a result, the “railway workers” were caught off guard when the National Division was set up in 1932. For this reason, C.F.R. could not enroll in this competition. The club could not even qualify a year later, when they fought with C.A. Cluj for promotion, a fight that they lost. Thus, the club continued to take part in the district championship. However, two years later, in 1934, C.F.R. managed to promote from the “district” to the newly-formed Divizia B, playing there until 1936, when relegation back to the “district” became a reality.

 

In 1940, due to the dissolution of Divizia C, C.F.R. promoted directly to the second league, after defeating Cimentul Turda in the play-off. At the time, the team’s players were: Maklari – Marton, Ghiuritan – Curta, Kiss, Tataru – Muresan, Moraru, Nicusor, Rotaru, Roman. Nevertheless, the rise of C.F.R.’s young footballers was halted by the Vienna Award and the Second World War. In spite of everything, the railway workers’ team continued to play in the Hungarian championship as Kolozsvar A.C. In fact, during the 1943/44 season the club finished in third place and lost in the cup final to Ferencvárosi T.C. Budapest. The war’s end in 1945 led to the return of Transylvania to Romania. Due to this the team’s name was reverted back to C.F.R. If truth be told, C.F.R. was indeed the first team in the country who got back on the field, winning on the 1^st and 2^nd of April against Simeria (9-4) and Brasov (6-0). That autumn, the team joined the district division. The teams finishing in first and second were to be Cluj’s representatives in the newly organized Divizia A. C.F.R. finished only 3^rd in one of the two series, thus earning promotion, but merely to Divizia C. Ferarul Cluj and “U” Cluj were the lucky duo that promoted to Divizia A. Even so, C.F.R. brought in some fresh talent from Victoria Cluj. These reinforcements propelled the team to a 1^st spot finish in the third series of Divizia C and advancement. By the end of the 1947/48 season, C.F.R. was situated in 3^rd in Divizia B, but with virtually no chance of promoting. The preceding year hadn’t been a complete disappointment, though, since the team won it’s greatest ever victory: 7-0 against Otelul Resita.

However, two months later, C.F.R. was hosting Divizia A football. This incredible reversal of fortune was due to the precarious financial situation at first league side Ferarul Cluj. The club’s officials managed to fuse the two organizations into one, with the name C.F.R. Cluj. Right at their debut in Romania’s highest tier of football, the team fought champions I.T. Arad to a memorable 2-2 standstill. Despite a series of oscillating results, C.F.R. easily avoided demotion. The next season the team from Cluj found itself in 1^st place by the end of the 3^rd and 9^th rounds! Then, in 1949, a football federation decision resulted in the relegation of four teams, including C.F.R. Hence, a very strong Cluj side, with 4 Romanian internationals, disappeared from the top flight of Romanian football. This was the perfect time for six players to arrive from local rivals, Universitatea Cluj. Vigu, Radulescu, Negrutiu, Coracu, Cristea and Tomescu were the newcomers, all six being doctors by profession. And yet their attempts to “resuscitate” the squad were in vain. By 1950, the club had even changed its name to Locomotiva Cluj due to political reasons (although this modification was reverted several years later).

             Until 1957, C.F.R. was a team characterized by mediocrity, finishing every season at the middle of the Divizia B table. Not even the arrival of former international Stefan Dobai helped the team to avoid a disaster. The disaster, in the form of demotion, befell the club exactly as it was celebrating its 50-year anniversary. As a result, C.F.R. found itself wallowing in the mean depths of Divizia C alongside unknown teams like Dermata (Dermata would later produce some great talents in the form of C.F.R. player Arpad Soos and “U” player Remus Campeanu). During the direct fixture between the two teams on the newly-inaugurated Municipal Stadium, 8000 spectators showed up, an absolute record for a third tier match in Romania up until the 1990s. In the end, the game was lost 0-1, with the only goal-scorer being an ex-C.F.R. player, Silviu Avram!

 

In 1960, C.F.R. earned the chance to play in Divizia B due to an opportune increase in the number of teams. This, together with success in the local Congressional Cup, generated great satisfaction among the team’s supporters. That same year one of the darkest chapters in the team’s history unfolded. C.F.R. was forced to fuse with Rapid Cluj by local high-ranking Communist Party officials. So, the two clubs synthesized into one: C.S.M.C. (“Clubul Sportiv Muncitoresc Cluj” or “Cluj Workers Sport Club”), where the best of both teams were selected to play. Unfortunately, the fusion of two strong teams paradoxically resulted in a weak one. This was owing to major conflicts not only between the club’s officials, but also between C.F.R. and Rapid fans.

 

Regionala C.F.R., the local railway organization, foresaw C.S.M.C.’s eventual failure and thus founded another team, Depoul de Locomotive, at an amateur level, thus continuing the railway team’s tradition in Cluj. During the 1964/65 edition of the National Championship, C.F.R. halted its support of C.S.M.C. and also managed to promote to the regional championship with Depoul, which one year later came very close to promoting to Divizia C, losing dramatically in the decisive match against Gloria Bistrita. Anyway, right after the match, the amateurs from the regional championship found themselves elevated directly to the Divizia B. This is due to Depoul’s fusion with Clujeana, the 5^th in the club’s history.

 

In 1967, the team began the 1967/68 championship under the name of C.F.R. Cluj! After an inconsistent first season, C.F.R. performed well one year later. The team, led by Dr. Constantin “Jumate” Radulescu, won promotion to Divizia A, finishing in 1^st place with 40 points, 5 points ahead of their nearest rivals, Politehnica Timisoara. The squad that memorable year included the following players: Naghel (Hasmasan) - Tegean, Dragomir, Soos, Roman - Alexandru Vasile, Uifaleanu (Stincel) - Bretan, Petru Emil, Mazurakis and Petrescu.

 

            In the coming autumn campaign, C.F.R. confirmed the overly pessimistic views of most analysts, who saw the team from Cluj as the perfect candidate for relegation. Only poor form on the part of the other teams kept the fans’ hopes for a miracle alive. That miracle took place in the last few games of the championship, when because of the extraordinary efforts of its new players, C.F.R. managed to achieve some memorable victories. The next season did not go much better. Due to poor team chemistry, as well as a general lack of talent, C.F.R. found itself in the same situation as in the preceding year. Salvation from the drop zone would be decided in the last game of the championship. C.F.R. obtained salvation dramatically, acquiring the point needed to remain in the first division against U.T.A. in a spectacular 2-2 stalemate. Results were also abysmal in the 1971/72 championship. By the winter break, the team placed dead last, with only one victory. However, with 8 victories, 2 draws and only 5 losses, CFR rose from its ashes that spring. The final verdict, though, was yet again to be determined during the last game. A stunning 4-2 away success against Politehnica Iasi, combined with favourable indirect results, assured C.F.R.’s continued existence in Divizia A.

           

During the 1972/73 Romanian championship, C.F.R. achieved its best spell up to that moment: 5^th position in Divizia A, with the same Dr. Constantin Radulescu as coach. The team in those years was composed of: Gadja - Lupu, Dragomir, Penzes (Szoke), Roman - Marius Bretan, Cojocaru (Visan) - Sorin Bretan, Tegean (Pripici), Adam, Petrescu (Bucur).

 

    The summer of 1973 brought along a great event in the Cluj suburb of Gruia! C.F.R.’s stadium was officially inaugurated. Dr. Constantin Radulescu (after whom the stadium is named today) had a very big merit in finalizing this project! To celebrate this achievement, a friendly match against the Cuban National Team was organized, a game that resulted in a 2-1 success. The next season, when everybody expected more from the team, the team finished only in a mediocre 14^th out of 18. Yet again, C.F.R. barely avoided demotion. Still, not all was in shambles. Mihai Adam was the top goalscorer in Divizia A that season. Plus, the team from Cluj won the match against Craiova “Maxima” who had a squad made up of several top Romanian players like Deselnicu, Beldeanu, Balaci and Oblemenco. The next year was to be the last in the Divizia A. Even though C.F.R. started the season with a fantastic victory, beating Dinamo Bucharest (with players like Dinu, Dudu Georgescu or Mircea Lucescu) 3-1, the plunge to inferiority was inevitable. The team tumbled down slowly, but surely to last place in the standings. The miracles of 1970-1972 did not materialize any more and at the end of the season C.F.R. fell alongside local rival, Universitatea. Those were the darkest days for football in Cluj. To add to the misery, the club performed so poorly that in 1982 a further fall, this time to Divizia C, took place.

In 1982, the club fused with the local army team and changed its name to Steaua-C.F.R., a name that it would keep for the next 7 years. At first this adjustment seemed beneficial, as in the 1982/83 championship, C.F.R. finished in 1^st, and made its way back to Divizia B under the leadership of the same qualified and ever-faithful, Dr. Constantin Radulescu. The players were: Panita, Ferestean, Olteanu, H. Popa, Olariu, Toth, A. Muresan, Tuta, Jucan, Pop, Rau, Furnea, O. Muresan, Tegean, Tatu, Sipos, Rus, I. Popa, Csudom, Berindei and O. Albu. What followed was another lost season, and one year later the white-maroons were back in Divizia C. They earned advancement to the second league yet again with Marius Bretan, C.F.R.’s former captain in the 1970s, as head coach. During the 1985/86 season, the club does not even manage to get the minimum number of points required to avoid deductions in the next season. 1987 was a new black year for C.F.R., the squad battling for survival on the muddy, uneven fields of the third league. Even so, the team battled with some important names in the roster: Olariu, Trusca, Iepure, Miszti, Vadana and Corpodean (a future FIFA referee). The 1989 revolution came and went, and all the while C.F.R. had no tangible organizational structure. Hence, the final quarter of the 20^th Century was the longest period of anonymity in the club’s history.

 

After the Romanian Revolution of December 1989, C.F.R. Cluj did not have any notable results, not even with the ambitious Constantin Radulescu as coach. The club could not achieve much even with talented players like Sabin Paglisan, Cristi Dulca, Ilie Lazar, Horia Carlan (now the goalkeeper coach for the reserves), Cristi Coroian and Alin Minteuan. Marius Bretan’s appointment as coach did not prove to be of much help. Accordingly, the team that began the 2000/01 season did so with the added pressure of a complete lack of funds. For this reason, the club found itself on the threshold of bankruptcy. However, in January 2002, one of the most important events in C.F.R.’s history occurred. Local tycoon, Arpad Paszkany, decided to invest in the Gruia-based club, saving it from liquidation. The new and ambitious owner announced that he wanted to reach the first league in a mere four years! This project was greeted with ironic laughs and virtually nobody believed that it could be achieved, not knowing what was about to happen…

Also, in 2002, after the resignation of president Mircea Balas, Iuliu Muresan was chosen as the new president of the Sport Commercial Society C.F. C.F.R. ECOMAX CLUJ S.A. at the general shareholders’ meeting.

 

            George Ciorceri was named coach. Under his command, he had a really valuable group made up of: Cosmin Tilinca, Catalin Bozdog, Mircea Rus, Sorin Oncica, Dorin Toma, Florin Dan and ex-Steaua player Mihaita Szekely.

 

            After Paszkany’s arrival, C.F.R. reached Divizia B in only half a season. Although the next season began in disappointment due to a 0-4 home loss to F.C. Bihor, the team managed to rapidly come back in force defeating two first league teams, Sportul Studentesc and F.C. Brasov, in the Romanian Cup. This exciting giant-killing run was abruptly halted by F.C. National, then coached by Walter Zenga, a team participating in the U.E.F.A. Cup. At season’s end, C.F.R. placed 6^th in the standings, but the club’s board members weren’t done yet. They made some very important transfers in order to obtain promotion in the 2003/04 season. Players brought to Cluj included Catalin Bozdog (the top goal-scorer of Olimpia Satu Mare, a rival in the race for first spot), the “symbol” Adrian Anca, Cristian Turcu, and ex-“U” footballers Laur Astilean and Sabin Paglisan. They started the season with a victory that won’t be repeated in the near-future: 10-0 against Minaur Zlatna. In fact, the scoreboard in Gruia wasn’t large enough to show the final score, blocking at 9-0! C.F.R. managed to win 13 consecutive matches, including a triumphant 4-0 butchery of rivals U.T. Arad. However, three losses with Corvinul, Olimpia and Deva led to George Cioceri’s sacking, and Adrian Coca’s appointment as his replacement. Yet, unspectacular game-play, as well as a draw with I.S. Campia Turzii resulted in another resignation. That was the moment when Aurel Sunda, who at that time was not bound to any team, was brought to C.F.R. as head coach. Sunda had already secured promotion with 3 different teams over the course of his career, so he was recommended as a specialist in that field. With their new coach, the “white-maroons” did not lose virtually any points, and they also defeated local rivals Universitatea (1-0 in Gruia and 2-0 on “Ion Moina” Stadium). The last round saw C.F.R. only one point behind Jiul Petrosani. Jiul was set to play Gaz Metan Medias, needing a victory to assure promotion, while C.F.R. was scheduled to compete in Gruia against C.S. Deva and needed the victory in order to hold any hope for a miracle. The miracle happened: Jiul could not defeat Ioan Ovidiu Sabau’s team, the game ending in a 0-0 draw after a dramatic game. On the other hand, C.F.R. squashed Deva with 3-0, with a goal scored by the goalkeeper Paglisan from a spot kick at the insistence of the fans. The end of the match at Petrosani was anxiously awaited by the C.F.R. players who got down on their knees on the middle of the field, while the fans inside the stadium, numbering about 10,000, were deathly silent waiting for the last three minutes from the other match to pass. For many of them, those were the longest three minutes of their lives…

 

            This was the group of footballers that obtained promotion to Divizia A after a 28-year pause: Paglisan, Stef ,Mircea Rus, Goia, Toma, Astilean, Vasiie, Oncica, Florin Dan, Bozdog, Turcu, Anca, Mircea Stanciu, Tilinca, Ghenti, Ghiorma and Bacnean.

 

 That summer, the club’s board members decided to sign the team up for the U.E.F.A. Intertoto Cup, as well as to search for Aurel Sunda’s replacement. In the first round they had as an opponent Vetra Vilnius of Lithuania, a team beaten easily (3-2 and 4-1). Then, a massive shock! Former Steaua player, Dorinel Munteanu, is intrigued by C.F.R.’s project and accepts to both coach and play for Cluj! Munteanu brought a certain freshness to the team, and that showed right away in the form of a great surprise for the football world: C.F.R. eliminated well-known Spanish powerhouse Athletico Bilbao (1-0 at Cluj and 5-3 at Bilbao after penalties). Anca, Oncica, Tilinca and the new comers, Coroian and Minteuan, managed to qualify their club to the final of the competition after eliminating Saint-Etienne from France (1-1 at Cluj and 2-2 in France) and also Zalgiris Vilnius (2-1 in Lithuania and 5-1 in Cluj). During the 5-1 victory with Zalgiris the fans celebrated with the famous “waves”. In the final, C.F.R. met R.C. Lens, and the team obtained a 1-1 home draw (Turcu scoring for C.F.R. from a free kick 25 meters out), but one regret remained after that match because of a clear, yet unawarded penalty kick due to a foul on Adrian Anca. The dream continued…everybody hoped a miracle would happen in the small city of Lens. Unfortunately, the dream did not come true. C.F.R. lost 3-1, but the players, and also the 150 fans that had followed their idols to France, were very happy at the team’s performance! C.F.R.’s only goal was scored by the player-coach Dorinel Munteanu at the end of the game. That was the unique goal scored by the most-capped Romanian international in the competition. After an exhausting summer, few gave the “white-maroons” any real chance for a high position in the championship, but they still finished 5^th place in the 2005/06 season. Martin Tudor (Turcas) – Panin (Cotolan), Jula, Milosevic, Miclaus - Minteuan, Munteanu, Coroian (Florin Dan) - Tilinca, Anca, Surdu were the heroes on everyone’s lips.

           

            The ambitions of the team grew in time, and in order to play in Europe by the club’s centenary, the owner, Arpad Paszkany, decided to bring in “first class” foreign players, despite their being labelled as “second-hand”. He considered the Portuguese championship the most compatible to C.F.R. in terms of playing style. The president, Iuliu Muresan, travelled to Portugal to “shop” and came back with a large “legion” of players: Manuel Jose, Cadu, Semedo, Oliveira were the “unknown” players who were about to impress everyone in Divizia A, which by that time had been re-baptized “Liga 1”. In the debut of the new 2006/07 season, C.F.R. Cluj obtained 5 consecutive victories. However, the massive pressure on the team’s shoulders, Dorinel Munteanu’s irascibility, and the impatience of the club’s board, led to the resignation of the young player-coach who left the club right during a training camp and, attacted by the large salary offered by Cornel Penescu, signed a contract with last-placed team, F.C. Arges! Virtually overnight, the team’s managers convinced the ex-F.C. National coach, Cristiano Bergodi, to accept their offer to coach C.F.R. Bergodi, who was one of Lazio’s greatest ever defenders, was attracted by the project and took the offer. Thus, the team began to appear more often in the sporting press all over the world and even on U.E.F.A.’s official website.

 

 

            That winter, the management brought in several more E.U. players from Portugal, the number of imports reaching 13! In return, the “white-maroons” played almost perfectly in their away matches, but not in Gruia. Any chances to play in the Champions’ League in the centenary year were squandered when C.F.R. Cluj lost the match against Steaua during the last rounds, a game which also led to a certain coldness between some of the players and the management. Anca, Jula, Coroian and Minteuan were accused of selling the match. This scandal was considered by many to have originated from the Bucharest clubs in order to weaken a team which had become far too dangerous…

 

            Qualification to the U.E.F.A. Cup brought about a good opportunity to purchase the contracts of new players, so the foreign legion grew. Portuguese players Amoreirinha, Leao and Nuno Claro, Swedish international Sandberg, Nigerian Ogbonna, Argentines Culio and Fabbiani, ex-Gloria Bistrita player Gabriel Muresan and ex-Steaua player Eugen Trica all arrived at Cluj. In fact, Fabbiani was the most expensive transfer ever realized up to that point by any Romanian team! The board members also decided to end their collaboration with Cristiano Bergodi and Renzo Rossi. Their replacement was Ioan Andone, who used  to be a great player at Dinamo Bucharest, and at that time was a free agent after coaching Cypriot team Omonia Nicosia. Andone was interested in their project and accepts their ambitious designs, forming a “team” with Paszkany and Muresan. Thus, together this triumvirate targeted the title and direct qualification to the group stages of the Champions’ League in the 2007/08 season!

 

Translated by Melania-Nicoleta Boros  – Galeria KVSC 1907

Edited by Alexandru Veresezan – www.cfrcluj.net owner

 

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