 | ||||
| Full name | SC Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj SA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | ||||
| Short name | CFR | |||
| Founded | 10 November 1907 (as Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club) | |||
| Ground | Dr. Constantin Rădulescu | |||
| Capacity | 22,198[1] | |||
| Owner | Ioan Varga[a] | |||
| President | Cristian Balaj | |||
| Head coach | Dan Petrescu | |||
| League | Liga I | |||
| 2023–24 | Liga I, 2nd of 16 | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj (Romanian pronunciation: [t͡ʃefeˌre ˈkluʒ] or [ˌt͡ʃefere ˈkluʒ]), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club, when Transylvania was part of Austria-Hungary, and the current name CFR is the acronym for Căile Ferate Române (i.e. "Romanian Railways").
Before its latest promotion to the Liga I in 2004, the club had spent most of its existence in the lower divisions. CFR Cluj has since relied increasingly on foreign players for its success, and in the 2005–06 season participated in its first European competition, the Intertoto Cup, where it finished as runner-up. With significant financial support from previous owner Árpád Pászkány, CFR took the national title away from capital-based teams after seventeen years and became national champion for the first time in the 2007–08 campaign.[6]
Between 2017 and 2022, "the White and Burgundies" won five successive championships. In total, CFR has amassed sixteen domestic trophies, all of them in the 21st century—eight Liga I, four Cupa României and four Supercupa României. As well as becoming a highly esteemed figure in Romanian football, the team has secured three qualifications each to the UEFA Champions League and Europa League group stages and two qualifications to the Europa Conference League group stages.
Additionally, CFR has a fierce rivalry with neighbouring Universitatea Cluj, with matches between the two being known as Derbiul Clujului. Several, but minor rivalries also developed in the recent period against teams with which CFR has contended for the league title.
- ^ "Stadion – Info utile" [Stadium – Useful info] (in Romanian). CFR Cluj. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ "El e noul patron din Gruia! A cumpărat 62% dintre acțiunile CFR Cluj: cine e și câți bani a oferit" [He is the new owner in Gruia! He bought 62% stake of CFR Cluj: who is he and how much money he offered]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
- ^ "Campionii din umbră: fețele nevăzute care au făcut-o pe CFR campioană doi ani la rând: dosare, bani publici, teamă, discreție". Gazeta Sporturilor. 15 May 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
Varga is the presumed owner of the fresh champions, a guy with a not-so-happy reputation.
- ^ "Gigi Becali ANUNTA falimentul la CFR Cluj: "Nelutu Varga are de luat 20 de milioane de euro!" Ce s-ar putea intampla cu campioana Romaniei". Sport.ro. 18 January 2020. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ "Visul nebun al lui Neluțu Varga, patronul celor de la CFR Cluj: vrea să câștige Europa League!". Fanatik.ro. 20 February 2020. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ Hafez, Shamoon. "BBC Sport – Champions League: What can Manchester United expect in Cluj?". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
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