It is one of Romania's oldest football teams, founded in 1921, although it never reached the Liga I. Unirea's home field, Stadionul Unirea, has 5,000 seats. In 2004 Unirea Dej became the reserve team of CFR Cluj, until the summer of 2007. It has an average attendance of about 300 fans.
History
Unirea Dej was founded in 1921[1] and, for over four decades, played in regional and district championships. In the 1961–62 season, under the guidance of Victor Hușa, Unirea won the Cluj Regional Championship and finished 2nd in Series III of the six-team promotion play-off held in Mediaș, just behind AS Cugir, thus earning promotion to Divizia B for the first time in its history.[2]
Renamed Steaua Dej before the start of the second half of the season, the team coached by Gheorghe Tomescu ended the 1962–63 season in 13th place in Series III, relegating to the re-established Divizia C.
Unirea Dej squad in 1966
In the third division, the team reverted to the Unirea name and competed in the North Series, finishing 4th in the 1963–64 season, 9th in the 1964–65 season, coached by Victor Hușa, and 1st in the 1965–66 season, earning promotion back to Divizia B under the guidance of Eutin Stepan. The squad included Mihai Măglaș, Mihai Silveșan, Francisc Boldiș, Emeric Farcaș, Gavril Butuza, Vasile Negrea, Mircea Gherman, Emil Drăgoi, Mihai Cristof, Alexandru Mardan, Francisc Maghiari, Geza Bandi, Victor Servațius, Ioan Curtu, Iosif Safar, Constantin Neagu, and Iuliu Duca.[3]
Since September 2008 the club has collaborated with AC Milan. The Italian club wishes to build a sports base for young players. "We will be an associated club with AC Milan, and Unirea shorts will have Milan's crest," said a staff member. Eusebiu Şuvagău has been the head coach until summer 2010. He was replaced by Constantin Olariu who left the team in October 2010 being replaced by Ioan Tătăran. When Tătăran became technical director of FC Maramureş Universitar Baia Mare in July 2011, Şuvagău returned as head coach.[4]
In the 2020–21 season, Unirea Dej finished 2nd in Series IX of the third league and reached the promotion play-off. Unirea defeated Minaur Baia Mare (0–0 in Baia Mare and 3–1 in Dej) and SCM Zalău (0–0 at home, 1–1 in Zalău). After 14 years of absence, and exactly when the club celebrated 100 years since its founding, Unirea earned promotion back to Liga II.[5]
The team coached by Dragoș Militaru finished 9th in the 2021–22 regular season of Liga II. In the play-out, the blue-and-whites achieved five victories and suffered only one defeat, ranking in second place.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or significant caps for FC Unirea Dej.
For a list of all former and current FC Unirea Dej players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:FC Unirea Dej players.
↑ "Promovate în Categoria B"[Promoted to Category B](PDF) (in Romanian). Sportul Popular. 3 August 1966. p.3. Archived(PDF) from the original on 8 March 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025– via bibliotecadeva.eu.
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