Asociația Fotbal Club Hermannstadt (), commonly known as FC Hermannstadt, Hermannstadt, or familiarly as Sibiu (), is a Romanian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in the city of

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...

, that competes in the

Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

. The team was founded in 2015 and entered the fourth division, with ''Hermannstadt'' being the equivalent of the city's name in the standard

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

(i.e. Hochdeutsch). Nicknamed ''Roș-negrii'' ("the Red-Blacks"), they achieved successive promotions and reached the Liga I, the top tier of the Romanian league system, in 2018. That same year, Hermannstadt also reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...

, which they lost 0–2 to Universitatea Craiova. They repeated this achievement in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, but again finished as runners-up after a narrow 2–3 defeat to

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

History

AFC Hermannstadt was founded in 2015 to continue the long tradition of football in the city of

, started in 1913 by Șoimii Sibiu and continued through other teams such as

Societatea Gimnastică Sibiu Gymnastics Society Sibiu (, ) was a German sport club based in Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Tra ...

(), Inter Sibiu,

FC Sibiu Fotbal Club Sibiu, commonly known as FC Sibiu or simply Sibiu, was a Romanian professional football club from Sibiu, Sibiu county, founded in 2003 and dissolved in 2007. History FC Sibiu was founded in the summer of 2003, at the initiative o ...

, or Voința Sibiu. Even if Hermannstadt is not a "legal" successor to any of these clubs, it can be considered a moral one, as it is currently the only representative of Sibiu in the first three leagues. ''Hermannstadt'' is the equivalent of the city's name in the

, which has sometimes stirred controversy. Immediately after the 2015 founding, the club was enrolled in the

Liga IV Liga IV is the fourth level of the Romanian football league system and is run in all 41 counties and in the Municipality of Bucharest. It was known as the Regional Championship, County Championship, Divizia C – County Phase and Divizia D. Its ...

. It finished first in the league table and subsequently qualified for the

Liga III The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. It was founded in 1936 and was called Divizia C until 2006. An exception was the seasons 1992–93 to 1996–97, in which the league was call ...

promotion play-offs. Hermannstadt won the phase without major difficulties, after 6–1 on aggregate against the champion of

Gorj County Gorj County () is a county () of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gornji'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolnji (“lower Jiu”). Demographics At the 2011 census, the count ...

, Gilortul Târgu Cărbunești. ''Sibienii'' were also winners of the Liga III – Seria V in the next season and promoted to the

Liga II The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07 football season. It is currently Sponso ...

, the second level of the Romanian league system. Hermannstadt played its first Liga II match on 5 August 2017, a 3–0 home victory over

CS Balotești Clubul Sportiv Balotești, commonly known as CS Balotești or simply as Balotești, is a Romanian football club from Balotești, Ilfov County founded in 2006. At the end of the 2013–14 Liga III season, the team gained promotion to Liga II, f ...

. It finished the campaign as runner-up, and thus achieved promotion to the

after only three years of existence. The club also managed a notable performance in the

, being the first in 36 years to reach the

despite not playing in the top flight. Hermannstadt upset four Liga I teams en route to the last game of the competition—

Voluntari Voluntari () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located at a distance of 1 km from the northern border of Bucharest (on the DN2 road towards Urziceni) and is thus frequently viewed as a suburb of Bucharest. The population ...

, Juventus București,

FCSB Fotbal Club FCSB (), formerly named and still sometimes referred to as FC Steaua București, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the Liga I, the top flight of the Romanian football le ...

and county rival

Gaz Metan Mediaș Gaz may refer to: Geography *Gaz, Kyrgyzstan Iran * Gaz, Darmian, village in South Khorasan province * Gaz, Golestan, a village in Bandar-e Gaz County * Gaz, Hormozgan, a village in Minab County * Gaz, Kerman, a village * Gaz, North Khorasan, a ...

, respectively. It lost the final 0–2 to Universitatea Craiova, on 27 May 2018. On 21 July 2018, Hermannstadt won its first ever Liga I match after Ștefan Blănaru scored the only goal of the opening fixture against Sepsi OSK.

Ground

Hermannstadt's home ground, Stadionul Municipal, was originally built in 1927 and served as the home venue for several other teams from the city. In 2018, it was demolished to make way for a modern version, prompting Hermannstadt to temporarily relocate to the Stadionul Gaz Metan in

Mediaș Mediaș (; , , Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš''/''Medwisch'', ) is the second largest municipiu, town and municipality in Sibiu County, Transylvania, central Romania. Geography Mediaș is located in ...

. The new stadium was inaugurated in 2022.

Support

In its beginnings, Hermannstadt enjoyed the interest of about 4,000 fans. The team also has an ultras group, named ''D'acii'', which appeared for the first time at a match against ASU Politehnica Timișoara in September 2017. Their name is a pun on the words ''dacii'' (" the Dacians") and ''d-aci'', a contraction of ''de aici'' (meaning "from here").

Rivalries

Hermannstadt had a local rivalry with

, referred to as the "Derby of

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

** Runners-up (2): 2017–18, 2021–22 *

**Winners (1): 2016–17 *

–

**Winners (1): 2015–16

Cups

**Runners-up (2): 2017–18, 2024–25

Players

First-team squad

Out on loan

Club officials

Board of directors

* Last updated: 12 November 2024 * Source:

Current technical staff

* Last updated: 1 July 2024 * Source:

Notable former players

;Romania * Claudiu Belu * Ștefan Blănaru * Mihai Butean * Andrei Cordea * Alexandru Curtean * Răzvan Dâlbea *

Alexandru Dandea Alexandru Adrian Dandea (born 23 January 1988) is a Romanian footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga III club SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea, which he captains. Honours ;Astra Giurgiu * Liga I: 2015–16 * Cupa României runner-up: 2016–17, 2 ...

* Lucian Dumitriu * Gabriel Iancu * Srdjan Luchin *

Alexandru Mățel Alexandru Mățel (born 17 October 1989) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played mainly as a right back and currently the chief scout of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Club career Early career and Astra He began his caree ...

Ionuț Năstăsie Ionuț Eugen Năstăsie (born 7 January 1992) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga II club CSM Slatina. Club career Steaua București He made his first team debut on 22 September 2011 against Sănătatea Cl ...

* Raul Opruț * Petrișor Petrescu * Alexandru Răuță * Bogdan Rusu * Daniel Tătar ;Brazil * Jô Santos * Romário Pires ;Bulgaria * Plamen Iliev ;Congo * Juvhel Tsoumou ;Croatia * Gabriel Debeljuh * Karlo Letica ;Côte d'Ivoire * Ousmane Viera ;Ghana * Baba Alhassan ;Japan * Sota Mino ;Portugal * Cristiano * David Caiado * Yazalde ;Switzerland * Goran Karanović

Notable former managers

* Rubén Albés * Liviu Ciobotariu *

Costel Enache Constantin "Costel" Enache (born 11 March 1973) is a Romanian football coach and former player, currently in charge of Liga II club FC Bacău. Coaching career Politehnica Iași Enache was appointed head coach of Liga II club Politehnica Iași ...

* Vasile Miriuță * Eugen Neagoe *

Alexandru Pelici Alexandru Pelici (born 10 January 1974) is a Romanian former professional footballer and currently a manager. He is in charge of Liga III club Unirea Alba Iulia. Player career He started the player career in his hometown, Timișoara, at Prog ...

Statistics and records

League history

References

External links

* * *
Club profile
on UEFA's official website
Club profile
on LPF's official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermannstadt Association football clubs established in 2015 Football clubs in Sibiu County Liga I clubs Liga II clubs Liga III clubs Liga IV clubs 2015 establishments in Romania Sport in Sibiu