FC Unirea Urziceni
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Fotbal Club Unirea Urziceni, commonly known as Unirea Urziceni (), was 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 Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...
based in
Urziceni Urziceni () is a municipiu, city in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania, located around north-east of Bucharest. Geography The city is situated at the western edge of the Bărăgan Plain, on the banks of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River ...
,
Ialomița County Ialomița County () is a county () of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Slobozia. Demographics In 2011, the county had a population of 258,669 and the population density was 58.08/km2. Romanians make up 95.6% of the population, t ...
. Unirea became
national champions National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...
in 2009, at the end of their third season in the top-flight. The club was founded in 1954, and spent the majority of its history in the lower tiers of the Romanian league system. In 2006 they reached Liga I for the first time, and received national praise for their results at this level. At the end of their second season in the top division they earned qualification to Europe, and one year later they claimed the domestic title. In 2010, the team's owner withdrew financial support and Urziceni was forced to sell most of its players to pay debts, leading to relegation at the end of the 2010–11 season. In the summer of 2011, owner Dumitru Bucșaru did not file for a licence for the club to play 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 ...
and decided not to enroll the team in any championship. Unirea Urziceni was subsequently dissolved. Currently, there is the football team AS FC Urziceni, established and supported by the local mayorship in 2016, which plays on the Tineretului stadium in the Ialomița county leagues.


History

The first sporting club in
Urziceni Urziceni () is a municipiu, city in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania, located around north-east of Bucharest. Geography The city is situated at the western edge of the Bărăgan Plain, on the banks of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River ...
was a basketball club called "Ialomița". On an improvised pitch at Obor, the football team "Ialomița" played against teams from
Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Ble ...
,
Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...
, and
Slobozia Slobozia () is the capital city of Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania, with a population of 41,550 in 2021. Etymology Its name is from the Romanian "slobozie", which meant a recently colonized village which was free of taxation. The word its ...
. They also played many games against Germans settled around the local lake, from which they took the name "La Nemți" ("At the Germans'"). In 1976, a new stadium,
Tineretului Tineretului is a small () neighborhood in south Bucharest, Romania in Sector 4, close to the city center, named after the nearby Tineretului Park. It is one of the preferred neighborhoods by people seeking to buy an apartment. This is due to th ...
, was inaugurated. In 1988, the club reached the round-of-sixteen phase of the
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 ...
, but lost 3–1 to Corvinul Hunedoara. Prior to their promotion to
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 ...
at the end of the 2002–03 season, the club had spent its entire history playing in the lower leagues of the Romanian football league system, mostly in
Divizia C 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 ...
and Divizia D. In 2003, the club was taken over by a new sponsor, Valahorum. At the end of the 2005–06 season, the club finished second in the Seria 2 of 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 ...
. Following the play-offs, played against
Forex Brașov The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. By trading volume, it i ...
and Bihor Oradea, at Stadionul Național, the club was promoted to 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 ...
for the first time in its history.


Ascension

The club finished 10th in its first season in the top division. In the
Liga I 2007–08 Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Ameri ...
, they finished seventh and reached the cup final. Manager and former Chelsea player
Dan Petrescu Daniel "Dan" Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj. As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and began his career a ...
nicknamed the team ''Chelsea of Ialomița''. The following season the club won the league for the first time, after they beat Timișoara 2–1, and qualified for the Champions League. The club finished 3rd in the
2009–10 UEFA Champions League Group stage The 2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage matches took place between 15 September and 9 December 2009. The draw for the eight groups took place on 27 August 2009, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The group stage featured the 22 automatic ...
, obtaining 8 points. They beat
Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
4–1 in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and
Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...
in Bucharest 1–0 and drew 1–1, with
VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...
and Rangers at Bucharest. In the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League Knockout stage, Urziceni were drawn against English giants
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. In the first round, at
Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...
, Liverpool won 1–0, and at Bucharest, Unirea lost again, 1–3. Unirea finished second in the 2009–10 Liga I season, again qualifying for the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
. In the
third qualifying round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...
, Unirea finished 0–0 against Zenit St. Petersburg at Bucharest. In Russia, they lost 1–0, with
Danny Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾 People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English j ...
scoring the winner. In the Europa League Play-off round Unirea played against
Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...
. They lost in the first game played at
Stadion Poljud Gradski stadion u Poljudu (), better known as Stadion Poljud () or simply Poljud, is a multi-use stadium in Split, Croatia, Split, Croatia, which has been the home ground of HNK Hajduk Split, Hajduk Split football club since 1979. The stadium is ...
in
Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...
4–1, and drew 1–1 in Bucharest.


Decline, dissolution and refounding

In 2010, Unirea Urziceni started to decline. Dumitru Bucșaru sold almost the entire team during the first half of the championship, on account of a debt owed to Steaua owner
Gigi Becali George "Gigi" Becali (; born 25 June 1958) is a Romanian businessman, writer, politician and former convict, mostly known for his ownership of the FCSB football club. Becali was a Member of the European Parliament between June 2009 and Decembe ...
. In the second half of the season, Unirea took players on loan from
Steaua II București Fotbal Club FCSB II (), commonly known as FCSB II was a Romanian football club from Bucharest. The team was founded in 1982 as Steaua Mizil when Colonel Victor Stănculescu received an order from the Minister of Defense to establish a satellite ...
and
Dinamo II București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinb ...
, but only finished the season in 17th place. Although Unirea had avoided relegation, it didn't renew its license and was dissolved in 2011.


Chronology of names


Nickname

Both of the club's nicknames originated during Dan Petrescu's period with the club. Urziceni have been associated with Chelsea by the Romanian media after they quickly evolved from a newly promoted team to a title contender under the management of former Chelsea defender
Dan Petrescu Daniel "Dan" Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj. As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and began his career a ...
. His role was seen similar to that of
Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (born 24 October 1966) is a business oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the primary owner of the private investment com ...
, who started to invest massively in Chelsea in 2003, turning them in one of the best teams in Europe. They are therefore also called the ''Chelsea of Urziceni'' or the ''Chelsea of Ialomița''. Dan Petrescu is also responsible for coining the ''Wolves of Bărăgan'' nickname. During training sessions and official fixtures, he would call his players "wolves" in order to increase their ferocity. Bărăgan refers to the
plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...
in which the town of Urziceni is located. Both of these nicknames were rarely used by the Romanian media, which usually referred to the team as ''Ialomițenii'', after the
Ialomița County Ialomița County () is a county () of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Slobozia. Demographics In 2011, the county had a population of 258,669 and the population density was 58.08/km2. Romanians make up 95.6% of the population, t ...
from where the club was based.


Colors and crest

Unirea Urziceni colors are blue and white. However, the football equipment worn by the "ialomițeni" had over time other than the traditional colors such as orange, green, black or blue. Unirea Urziceni provider of equipment was the Spanish company
Joma Joma Sport, S.A. is a Spanish sports clothing and shoes brand. History Joma was founded in 1965 by Fructuoso López to produce shoes for general use. The brand name comes from the given name of Fructuoso's first born son (José Manuel). In 196 ...
. The club crest contained a lion's head, a symbol of power. After the arrival of coach
Dan Petrescu Daniel "Dan" Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj. As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and began his career a ...
, a former player and admirer of Chelsea, the logo has undergone significant changes. ''Valahorum SA'' sponsor's name was removed from the emblem, being replaced by the number 1954 which is the year of foundation of the club. Logo design has also been modified so that it resemble as much English team emblem . Hence the nickname Team : '' Chelsea of Ialomița'' or '' Chelsea of
Urziceni Urziceni () is a municipiu, city in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania, located around north-east of Bucharest. Geography The city is situated at the western edge of the Bărăgan Plain, on the banks of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River ...
''.


Stadium

The club played its home matches at the Stadionul Tineretului, which has a capacity of 7,000 seats. They played their European matches at the Steaua Stadium in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
because Stadionul Tineretului didn't meet UEFA criteria.


Honours


Domestic

*
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 ...
**Winners (1): 2008–09 ** Runners-up (1): 2009–10 *
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 ...
** Runners-up (1): 2005–06 *
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 ...
**Winners (1): 2002–03 ** Runners-up (1): 1987–88 *
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 ...
** Runners-up (1): 2007–08 *
Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...
** Runners-up (2):
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
,
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...


European record


League history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unirea Urziceni Association football clubs established in 1954 Association football clubs disestablished in 2011 Defunct football clubs in Romania Football clubs in Ialomița County 1954 establishments in Romania 2011 disestablishments in Romania