FC Voluntari

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FC Voluntari
FC Voluntari logo.png
Full name SC Fotbal Club Voluntari SA
Nickname(s)Voluntărenii (The People from Voluntari)
Ilfovenii (The People from Ilfov)
Short nameVoluntari
Founded26 July 2010;12 years ago (2010-07-26) [1]
Ground Anghel Iordănescu
Capacity4,600
OwnerVoluntari Town
General directorBogdan Bălănescu
Head coachvacant
League Liga I
2022–23 Liga I, 9th of 16
Website Club website
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Fotbal Club Voluntari (Romanian pronunciation:  [volunˈtarʲ] ), commonly known as FC Voluntari or simply Voluntari, is a Romanian professional football club based in Voluntari, Ilfov County, which competes in the Liga I.

Contents

Founded in 2010, it has been playing since the 2015–16 season in the Liga I, the highest tier of the Romanian league system. Voluntari claimed its first major honour the following campaign, after defeating Astra Giurgiu in the penalty shootout of the Cupa României final, and went on to win the Supercupa României the same year.

Voluntari's home ground is the Anghel Iordănescu Stadium, which has a capacity of 4,600 people.

History

Early years

FC Voluntari was founded in the summer of 2010 and enrolled directly in the Liga III, after acquiring the berth of Petrolul Berca. [2]

During their debut season in the third league, Ilfovenii finished in sixth place with Romeo Bunică as a head coach, and repeated the performance the next season with Bogdan Andone in charge. The 2012–13 season began with poor performances and after five rounds Andone was replaced by Bunică, who led the team to the seventh place. [3]

Adrian Iencsi led Voluntari to winning the 2013–14 Liga III en fanfare, but despite the Liga II promotion, Iencsi was sacked and replaced for the next year by Ilie Poenaru. [4] There, they had notable performances against Farul Constanța and CF Brăila, and then qualified to the Liga I from the first place via the promotion play-offs.[ citation needed ]

Promotion to the first division

Voluntari earned promotion for the first time in their history to Liga I, the highest tier of Romanian football, at the end of the 2014–15 campaign. Its debut season was difficult, as many technical and administrative changes led the club to the relegation zone. Finishing 12th, the team faced a promotion/relegation play-off against UTA Arad, which it won 3–1 on aggregate and maintained its place in the Liga I. [5]

With experienced players such as Vasile Maftei, Florin Cernat or Laurențiu Marinescu in the starting eleven, Voluntari improved itself in the 2016–17 season, finishing in ninth place and avoiding a second consecutive promotion/relegation play-off. During that year, the club achieved its biggest achievement so far by winning the Cupa României over Astra Giurgiu, being the first major trophy in its brief history. [6]

Stadium

Stadionul Anghel Iordanescu as seen from the First Stand. Anghel Iordanescu Stadium in Voluntari, April 2023.jpg
Stadionul Anghel Iordănescu as seen from the First Stand.
Outside view of the stadium. Anghel Iordanescu stadium seen from outside.jpg
Outside view of the stadium.

The club plays its home matches at the 4,600-seater Stadionul Anghel Iordănescu in Voluntari. Attendances are usually modest, as Voluntari is considered a suburb of Bucharest and many of its citizens are inclined to support clubs from the capital instead.[ citation needed ]

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

Cups

Players

First-team squad

As of 4 June 2023 [7] [8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
2 DF Flag of Argentina.svg  ARG Cristian Paz
3 DF Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  CIV Ulrich Meleke
5 DF Flag of Moldova.svg  MDA Igor Armaș (Captain)
6 MF Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  CZE Lukáš Droppa
7 DF Flag of Albania.svg  ALB Naser Aliji
8 MF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Mihai Răduț
9 FW Flag of Moldova.svg  MDA Vitalie Damașcan (on loan from Sepsi )
10 MF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU George Merloi
11 FW Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Daniel Florea
12 GK Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Victor Rîmniceanu
13 FW Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Andrei Dumiter
14 MF Flag of Portugal.svg  POR Marcelo Lopes
16 MF Flag of Iceland.svg  ISL Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson
17 MF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Doru Andrei
19 MF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Cristian Dumitru
No.Pos.NationPlayer
20 MF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Robert Popescu
22 MF Flag of Moldova.svg  MDA Vadim Rață
23 DF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Alexandru Vlad (Vice-captain)
24 DF Flag of Portugal.svg  POR Ricardinho (3rd captain)
28 DF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Vlăduț Andreș
34 DF Flag of Argentina.svg  ARG Patricio Matricardi
56 GK Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Daniel Paraschiv
71 GK Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Mihai Popa
72 MF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Roberto Voican
77 FW Flag of Slovakia.svg  SVK Adam Nemec
80 FW Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  CIV Aymar Meleke
88 GK Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Jesús Fernández
90 MF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Alexandru Munteanu
98 DF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Cristian Costin
DF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Radu Boboc

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
GK Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Octavian Vâlceanu (to Petrolul Ploiești)
DF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Radu Zamfir(to Progresul Spartac)
MF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Alexandru Ilie (to Afumați)
No.Pos.NationPlayer
MF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Alexandru Stoica (to Afumați)
MF Flag of Mexico.svg  MEX Omar Govea (to Monterrey)
MF Flag of Romania.svg  ROU Robert Dumitru(to Metalul Buzău)

Club officials

Domestic records and statistics

Notable former players

Notable former managers

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References

  1. FOTBAL CLUB VOLUNTARI SA. termene.ro (in Romanian)
  2. "Bunică mai are nevoie de voluntari serioși" [Bunică still needs serious volunteers]. liga2.prosport.ro. Retrieved 14 May 2022.(in Romanian)
  3. "Bunică revine la Voluntari!" [Bunică returns to Voluntari!]. liga2.prosport.ro. Retrieved 14 May 2022.(in Romanian)
  4. "Adrian Iencsi nu mai este antrenor la FC Voluntari" [Adrian Iencsi is no longer the coach of FC Voluntari]. ilfovsport.ro. Retrieved 17 May 2022.(in Romanian)
  5. "Liga 1: UTA invinge FC Voluntari in returul barajului, dar ilfovenii raman in prima liga". ziare.com.
  6. "FC Voluntari – Astra 1–1 (5–3 d.l.d). Minunea din Ilfov! Claudiu Niculescu, performanță istorică în finala Cupei României". www.digisport.ro.
  7. "Echipa" [Squad] (in Romanian). FC Voluntari. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  8. "FC VOLUNTARI" (in Romanian). Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  9. Board of directors
  10. Technical staff