FC Vaslui

FC Vaslui
Full name Fotbal Club Vaslui[1]
Nickname(s)
  • Galben-verzii (The Yellow-Greens)
  • Vasluienii (The Vaslui People)
Founded
  • 1 January 2002 (2002-01-01)
    as FCM Vaslui
  • 21 August 2014 (2014-08-21)
    as FC 2002 Vaslui
Ground Municipal
Capacity 9,240[2]
Owner FC Vaslui Supporters Association
Chairman Marcel Chiriac
Manager Cristian Ungureanu
League Liga IV
2017–18 Liga IV, Vaslui County, 3rd
Website Club website

Fotbal Club Vaslui (Romanian pronunciation: [vasˈluj]), commonly known as FC Vaslui or simply Vaslui, is a Romanian football club based in the city of Vaslui, Vaslui County, currently playing in the Liga IV.

The team was formed in 2002 as Fotbal Club Municipal Vaslui, and became one of the most prominent in the country after its promotion to the top division three years later. Vasluienii earned a European spot in five consecutive seasons, lost a Cupa României final in 2010 and narrowly missed the league title in 2012, before being relegated in 2014 because of financial issues.

The official club colours are yellow and green, hence the nickname "the Yellow-Greens".

History

On 20 July 2002, the newly promoted Divizia C side Victoria Galați moved to Vaslui, after an agreement between Marius Stan and the Vaslui Municipality to use the Municipal Stadium. Ioan Sdrobiș was appointed as team manager, and the main squad was formed from Dunărea Galați players.[3] The club also changed its name to Fotbal Club Municipal Vaslui, or FC Vaslui for short. Their main objective was to achieve the promotion in Divizia B.[4] Soon after their foundation, Adrian Porumboiu took over the club and immediately changed the colours of the team's strip from white and blue to yellow and green, the same as those used by his company.[5] At the end of the season, despite the achievement of promotion, Marius Stan, the club president, resigned and Adrian Porumboiu, the club owner, opted to stop sponsoring the team because of what he perceived as the Vaslui Municipality's lack of interest in the side.[6] With an entirely new management team, the objective for the newly promoted Divizia B team was to avoid relegation.[7] With a strong start to the season and with Adrian Porumboiu back at the club, the objective was changed from avoiding relegation to promotion to Divizia A. The club managed to secure promotion the following season, setting a new record by being the club promoted to Divizia A in the quickest time, only three years after their foundation.[8]

With his club in Divizia A, Adrian Porumboiu set an impressive budget for a newly promoted team in the top flight. Despite signing Claudiu Răducanu, Sabin Ilie, Nana Falemi and Cătălin Cursaru, Vaslui had a poor record in the top flight, failing to register a single victory by the end of the first part of the season.[9] During the winter break, Mircea Rednic changed Vaslui's transfer policy.[10] The club went on a solid run and had one of the best records for the second half of the season. However, the club was embroiled in controversy when they faced Steaua București on matchday 30. In order to secure the championship, Steaua had to win at Vaslui. Steaua duly won by four goals and therefore secured the league title, but Steaua's easy win was questioned not only by officials at Steaua's rivals Rapid București, but also by Adrian Porumboiu, who decided the following day to give up ownership of Vaslui.[11] With no sponsorship and with no squad, the media speculated that Vaslui would sell its Divizia A spot, although the club president denied those rumours.[12]

With a completely different team from the previous season, Vaslui had the same poor season start as before.[13] Despite this, Vaslui finished eighth at the end of the campaign, the club's best performance at the time. Fortunes had changed markedly under new team manager Viorel Hizo, who has been appointed on 24 September after Mulțescu was sacked.[14] However, despite his solid performances, Hizo resigned at the end of the season because of Vaslui's poor infrastructure.[15] Porumboiu, who had returned to the club after his earlier departure, opted to invest the club's budget in improving the crumbling infrastructure, instead of signing new players.[16]

After Dorinel Munteanu was revealed as the new team manager, the main objective was set: qualification for European competition.[17] The season was one with ups and downs for the Moldavian team, Vaslui securing the final spot for European competition thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Vaslui contested Oțelul Galați's decision to include two players, both of whom had been sent off in the previous matchday, in a league match between the two clubs. The CAS awarded Vaslui the three points and as a result, Vaslui finished in seventh position, ahead of Oțelul.[18]

With his side in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, Adrian Porumboiu invested a significant amount of money in new players.[19] Viorel Hizo had also been reinstated as the team manager.[20] After defeating Azerbaijani club Neftçi, Vaslui qualified for the UEFA Cup,[21] but failed to qualify for the group stage after they were eliminated by Slavia Prague on the away goals rule.[22]

The championship was one with ups and downs for the team, Vaslui sitting in ninth place for almost the entire season. After a win against Universitatea Craiova in the final round, and thanks to the other results, Vaslui finished in fifth position to secure a spot in the UEFA Europa League for the second-straight year (the UEFA Cup rebranding as the UEFA Europa League for 2009–10).[23] The team also reached the Cupa României semi-final, where they were beaten by CFR Cluj after a number of errors by the referee.[24]

In its second season in the European competitions, despite winning in the first leg, Vaslui failed to qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stage for the second time, after they lost to AEK Athens.[25] Despite its unsuccessful European season, Vaslui had an excellent domestic season, finishing third in the championship[26] and reaching the Cupa României final.[27]

Because Vaslui failed to qualify for the Europa League group stage, Adrian Porumboiu appointed Spaniard Juan López Caro as club manager.[28] However, the appointment was not a success, as he not only failed to get the side into the group tage,[29] but he also won only three matches in the first ten rounds, and the team was eliminated from the Cupa României by Liga III side Alro Slatina.[30] Because Caro's contract had a $1 million release clause, Porumboiu opted to suspend the Spanish manager,[31] with the club sitting sixth in the league, only seven points behind the leader, and reinstate Viorel Hizo for Hizo's third stint as manager.[32] Hizo not only managed to revive the team, but he turned it into a real title contender.[33] Meanwhile, on 4 January 2011, Vaslui received a nine-month transfer ban from FIFA following a complaint by former player Marko Ljubinković.[34] Despite Porumboiu appealing to the CAS, the decision was upheld, with the ban expiring on 6 September 2011.[35] At the end of the 2010–11 season, despite having made no transfers in the winter break, Vaslui finished third for the second-straight year.[36]

After the Romanian Football Federation denied a licence to Timișoara for 2011–12, therefore barring their participation in European competitions,[37] Vaslui took their place in the UEFA Champions League's third qualifying round.[38] However, Vaslui were eliminated from the competition, consequently dropping to the play-off.[39] Vaslui faced Sparta Prague with major squad problems, as nine players were unable to play: Kuciak and Pouga refused to return to the team; Papp, Canu, Adailton, Wesley and Gladstone were injured; and Milisavljević and Pavlović were excluded from the squad.[40] Despite this, Vaslui earned arguably their most important victory, a 2–0 home win against Sparta.[41] Despite losing in the second leg, Vaslui managed to qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stage for the first time.[42] The side managed to play some great matches in the group stage against clubs like Sporting CP, Lazio and Zürich. In the same season, Vaslui finished second in Liga I.

Stadium

Municipal Stadium

The Municipal Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Vaslui. It was opened in 1972 and is owned by the Vaslui municipality. In 2002, when Victoria Galați (as they were then known) moved to Vaslui, they reached an agreement with the Vaslui municipality, and since then host their home matches at this ground. The stadium has a capacity of 18,000 spectators and has a natural grass playing surface. The Municipal Stadium also has an official stand, covered cabins for the guests and the press, a drainage and automatic irrigation system, Internet access for the media and a new club headquarters. The floodlighting system, with a density of 2000 lux, was inaugurated in 2008, this stadium being the 11th in Romania with a floodlighting system. It is rated at two stars by UEFA.

Municipal Stadium Entry

Support

Rivalries

Vaslui's eternal rival is other team from the Moldovan region, CSMS Iași. Matches between the two sides are known as the Derby of Moldova, which at times has seen violent clashes between supporters of both sides. Despite CSMS Iași being a new club, founded in 2011, it has significant pride as CSMS inherited this rivalry from Iași's former club, Politehnica Iași. The rivalry between Vaslui and Poli Iași began in 2004, when Vaslui was promoted to the top division of Romanian football, the rivalry being the result of the demographic and political rivalries between the cities of Iași and Vaslui. Poli Iași was dissolved in 2009 and CSMS Iași was founded as its successor.

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

Cups

European

Friendly

  • Football without Owners Tournament
    • Fourth place (1): 2015

Individual

Liga I Foreign Player of the Year

Romanian Golden Shoe

Current squad

As of 26 September 2018

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

No. Position Player
— Romania GK Dan Albescu
— Romania GK Florin Bădiț
— Romania DF Vlad Alexa
— Romania DF Alexandru Bădiț
— Romania DF Flavian Butnaru
— Romania DF Andrei Călmățui
— Romania DF Victor Cumpănă
— Romania DF Cosmin Frij
— Romania DF Cristian Sonea
— Romania MF Alin Abuzătoaie
No. Position Player
— Romania MF Robert Chirilă
— Romania MF Andrei Chipcea
— Romania MF Petronel Cumpănă
— Romania MF Vlad Dudău
— Romania MF Pavel Mănălău
— Romania MF Ionuț Miron
— Romania MF Andrei Sărițanu (Captain)
— Romania FW Adrian Caragea
— Romania FW Alexandru Ciolacu
— Romania FW Cristian Ungureanu

Club officials

Captains

The first Vaslui captain was Cătălin Popa, who previously captained Sportul Municipal Vaslui. Sorin Frunză took over the captaincy following Popa's departure in 2003. He was team captain until his departure in 2008, when vice-captain Bogdan Buhuș took over the captaincy, but only for a short spell, since Gabriel Cânu was appointed captain by new manager, Viorel Moldovan. During Cânu's first long-term injury, Buhuș was team captain while during his second long-term injury, team captain was Wesley. During 2012–13 season, the captaincy swang between N'Doye, Sânmărtean and Coman until Sânmărtean's permanent appointment.

# Name Years Years captain Notes
1. Romania Cătălin Popa 2003–04 2003–04
2. Romania Sorin Frunză 2002–08 2003–08 Vice-captains: I. Badea, Buhuș.
3. Romania Gabriel Cânu 2008–13 2008–11 Vice-captains: Buhuș, Wesley.
4. Brazil Wesley 2009–12 2011–12
5. Romania Lucian Sânmărtean 2010–14 2012–14
6. Zimbabwe Mike Temwanjera 2007–14 2013–14

Managerial history

Vaslui's last manager was Liviu Ciobotariu, who was in charge from 8 October 2013 until 24 April 2014, when he resigned due to the financial problems. Costinel Botez was interim until 19 May, when Vaslui officially relegated from Liga I.

Records and statistics

Vaslui's first competitive game was a 3–1 victory in Divizia C against Viitorul Hârlău. Mike Temwanjera holds Vaslui's overall appearance record – he played 202 matches over the course of 7 seasons from 2007 until 2014, and he also holds the record for League appearances with 174.

Vaslui's all-time leading scorer is Wesley, who scored 77 goals while at the club from 2009 to 2012. He also holds the record for the most goals in a season with 37 in 2011–12. The most goals scored by a player in a single match is four, Valentin Badea achieving this feat. Cătălin Andruș holds the club record for the fastest hat-trick, where he scored three goals in five minutes against CFR Pașcani in the 2002–03 season. Wesley is also Vaslui's all-time leading goalscorer in European competition, with six goals.[44]

Vaslui's biggest victory is 9–0 against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț II in 2003. Vaslui's heaviest defeat, 2–5, came against UTA Arad in 2006. Vaslui's 3–1 win against Liepājas Metalurgs in the UEFA Cup was the largest victory in Europe competition for the club.

Liga I

SeasonPositionWinsDrawsLossesGoalsPoints
2005–06146111323–3729
2006–07813111041–4450
2007–08712111144–3447
2008–0951761144–3757
2009–103188844–2862
2010–1131811551–2865
2011–122224858–2970
2012–1351610850–3358
2013–1451561338–3251

European Cups history

Season Competition Round Club Home Away
2008–09 UEFA Intertoto Cup Third round Azerbaijan Neftçi 2–0 1–2
UEFA Cup Second qualifying round Latvia Liepājas Metalurgs 3–1 2–0
First round Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1–1 0–0 (a)
2009–10 Europa League Third qualifying round Cyprus Omonia 2–0 1–1
Play-off round Greece AEK Athens 2–1 0–3
2010–11 Europa League Play-off round France Lille 0–0 0–2
2011–12 Champions League Third qualifying round Netherlands Twente 0–0 0–2
Europa League Play-off round Czech Republic Sparta Prague 2–0 0–1
Group Stage Portugal Sporting CP 1–0 0–2
Italy Lazio 0–0 2–2
Switzerland Zürich 2–2 0–2
2012–13 Champions League Third qualifying round Turkey Fenerbahçe 1–4 1–1
Europa League Play-off round Italy Internazionale 0–2 2–2

Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for FC Vaslui.

Player of the year

Year Winner
2002–03Romania Sorin Frunză
2003–04Romania Sorin Frunză
2004–05Romania Valentin Badea
2005–06Romania Valentin Badea
2006–07Romania Cristian Hăisan
2007-08Serbia Marko Ljubinković
2008–09Bulgaria Stanislav Genchev
2009–10Brazil Wesley
2010–11Brazil Adaílton[45]
2011–12Brazil Wesley
  
Year Winner
2012–13Poland Piotr Celeban
2013–14Romania Liviu Antal

References

  1. ↑ "A.S.S. Fotbal Club Vaslui" (in Romanian). Asociația Județeană de Fotbal Vaslui. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  2. ↑ "Stadium". Vaslui FC. Archived from the original on 2 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "Victoria Galati se muta la Vaslui" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2002-07-20.
  4. ↑ "Cu ganduri mari spre promovare" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2002-07-29.
  5. ↑ "Colurile echipei" (in Romanian). Kamikaze. 11 January 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011.
  6. ↑ "Marius Stan si Adrian Porumboiu se retrag" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2003-06-09.
  7. ↑ "Obiectiv: salvarea de la retrogradare" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2003-08-18.
  8. ↑ "Promovare istorica" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2005-06-13.
  9. ↑ "Apel la divinitate" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2005-11-26.
  10. ↑ "Nu vreau nume, ci fotbalist" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2005-12-10.
  11. ↑ "Hotarat sa se retraga" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2006-06-10.
  12. ↑ "Vasluiul nu-si vinde locul din Divizia A" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2006-06-16.
  13. ↑ "Un esec" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2006-09-25.
  14. ↑ "Dulau pe banca vasluienilor" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2006-09-27.
  15. ↑ "Hizo pleaca" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2007-05-23.
  16. ↑ "Stadionul din Vaslui va avea nocturna din sezonul urmator" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 2007-02-02.
  17. ↑ "Dorinel Munteanu prezentat oficial la Vaslui" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2007-06-08.
  18. ↑ "CAF: Vaslui merge in Intertoto" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2007-05-19.
  19. ↑ "FC Vaslui se pregateste de atac la Intertoto" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2008-06-21.
  20. ↑ "Viorel Hizo, din nou la Vaslui" (in Romanian). Realitatea. 10 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012.
  21. ↑ "FC Vaslui merge in Cupa Uefa" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2008-07-26.
  22. ↑ "FC Vaslui 1–1 Slavia Praga" (in Romanian). Prosport. 2008-10-02.
  23. ↑ "FC Vaslui pentru al doilea an in Europa" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2009-06-10.
  24. ↑ "Serea califica CFR-ul in finala" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2009-04-30.
  25. ↑ "Vasluienii eliminati din Liga Europa" (in Romanian). Realitatea. 2009-08-27.
  26. ↑ "Vasluiul prinde podiumul" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2010-05-22.
  27. ↑ "CFR castiga cupa" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2010-05-27.
  28. ↑ "Antrenor galactic la Vaslui" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2010-06-11.
  29. ↑ "Vasluiul scos din Europa de Lille" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2010-08-26.
  30. ↑ "ALRO Slatina elimina Vasluiul din Cupa" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2010-09-23.
  31. ↑ "Lopez Caro suspendat de FC Vaslui" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2010-10-08.
  32. ↑ "Hizo a condus primul antrenament al Vasluiului" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2010-10-08.
  33. ↑ "Vasluiul schimba prefixul si aspira la titlu" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 2011-04-19.
  34. ↑ "FIFA pune lacat Vasluiului: Interzis la transferuri!" (in Romanian). Obiectivul. 2011-01-04.
  35. ↑ "TAS mentine decizia" (in Romanian). Vremea Noua. 2011-06-22.
  36. ↑ "FC Vaslui a terminat pe podium campionatul" (in Romanian). Adevarul. 2011-05-22.
  37. ↑ "13 cluburi din Liga I au primit licența pentru sezonul 2011–2012". FRF. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013.
  38. ↑ "Oficial: UEFA a scos Timisoara din Europa". Onlinesport. 2011-06-14.
  39. ↑ "Twente muta Vasluiul din Liga Campionilor in Liga Europa". Onlinesport. 2011-08-03.
  40. ↑ "Vasluiul intr-un picior". Vremea Noua. 2011-08-16.
  41. ↑ "V-am Sparta!". Vremea Noua. 2011-08-19.
  42. ↑ "Sanmartean si ai lui in Liga Europa". Vremea Noua. 2011-08-26.
  43. ↑ The UEFA Intertoto Cup: Past Winners. Listed are all 11 teams that won the Intertoto Cup, qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
  44. ↑ "Profile". UEFA.
  45. ↑ "Meseriasul" (in Romanian). Vremea Noua. 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2011-09-01.


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