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Here is a little bit of history on Sportul Studentesc which,
by the way, is one of the oldest Romanian football clubs still
playing, after more than 90 years of existence. During this
long period of time many great players like G. Popescu, Misu
Constantinescu, Titi Dumitrescu, Botescu, Subaseanu, Robe, J.
Lapusneanu, I. Mihailescu, C. Grecu, N. Dumitrescu III, Val.
Stanescu, D. Nicolae-Nicusor, Mircea Lucescu, Viorel Kraus,
Andrei Speriatu, Mihail Marian, Gino Iorgulescu, Mircea Sandu,
Marcel Coras, Gica Hagi have played for Sportul Studentesc.The
colors of the team are black and white, and are distributed
on the uniform as follows: white jersey with black sleeves and
black stripe on the sides , white shorts and white socks. The
stadium on which the team is playing its home games is known
as "Regie", and has a capacity of 12000 seats.
The club was established on February 11th 1916 as Sporting Cub
Universitar Studentesc Bucharest, having as its founder a brilliant
mathematician and professor by the name of Traian Lalescu. At
first, the club participated only in football and tennis competitions.
Right from the start, the football team participated in the
Bucharest League bringing over lots of student supporters to
all of its games. In the beginning, the club had lots of problems
since they were the only team without a home ground. They used
to play the official games on opponents' fields, and practice
wherever a field was available.
The team changed its name for the first time to Sportul Studentesc
in 1919. From 1921 to 1937 the team played its games in Bucharest's
Regional League as well as in the Romanian Second Division.
Helped by Titel Ursache, who spent all his personal funds in
sponsoring the team, Sportul Studentesc gained enough confidence
and strength, thus promoting itself for the first time to the
First Division in 1937.
In the first Division A season, the "students" as they are often
called, pulled a very good fifth place in the league and remained
for at least one more year in the elite group of Romanian Football.
As a matter of fact, the team played so well back then, so that
it survived in the First Division for a total of four consecutive
years, being able to finish third in the league (1939/1940),
as well as being two times runner up in the the Romanian Cup
(1939,1943).
After finishing 6th in 1940/1941 (the last season before the
war), the team did not relegate. However, once the war ended
the team din not register for the new season, thus having to
start later on in the Second Division. First, the team changed
its name to Sparta (1945). Then, at the end of the 1946/1947
season the team finished 12th in the "Seria 2" of the Second
Division, and for unknown reasons it was terminated, thus ending
the first chapter of its biography.
The second chapter starts in 1948 when a few very enthusiastic
university students built a team (Centrul Universitar Bucharest)
trying with no success to promote it in one of Romania's domestic
leagues. In 1951 the Institute of Agronomy registered a team
in the Regional League of Bucharest which year by year gained
lots of ground, and in 1954 was finally promoted to the Second
Division. The team coached by V. Gain was then taken over by
Centrul Universitar and adopted the name Stiinta.
From 1955 to 1972 the team played in the Second Division with
one exception, the 1958/1959 season when it played in the Third
Division. Also, in 1969 the team changed its name for the last
time to Sportul Studentesc.
The dream of playing in the First Division was finally fulfilled
in 1972 when the team, having Mac Popescu as president, gained
enough strength (and points) to qualify first in the "Seria
1" of the Second Division (Divizia B). As a result, a spot for
the First Division was obtained for the second time around.
From 1972 until 1998 the team played in the First Division.
The best years the club has ever had were the late seventies
through to the mid eighties when the team won the Balkan Cup
(1979), got the second place in the league (1985/1986), and
got to the third round of the UEFA Cup (1987). Internazionale
Milan, Brondby Copenhagen, and Olympiakos Pireus were just few
of the teams which Sportul Studentesc defeated during this period
of time.
After a few tumultuous seasons both in the first and second
league Sportul Studentesc are back in the second league. Having
scored a record best 92 goals in the 2003/2004 season and reached
the Cup semi-finals in 2001 the team is optimistic of rediscovering
past glories.
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