FC Petrolul Ploiești

FC Petrolul Ploiesti is a Romanian football club based in Ploieşti. He plays since 2011 in Liga 1, the first Romanian football league. The club was three times national champion and three times Cup winners.

History

Petrolul Ploiesti was founded when the team of Flacara Bucharest (under the name Juventus Bucharest, Romanian Champion in 1930 ) from Bucharest to Ploiesti moved. They first played under the name Flacara Ploieşti and even increased in the first year of the Divizia A from.

After chances of promotion to Flacara developed (1956 renamed Energia Ploieşti and from 1957 under the name Petrolul Ploiesti playing ) in Romania to a top team. Highlights in this phase were the championships in 1958, 1959 and 1966 as well as winning the cup in 1963. International reached Petrolul the quarter-finals of the exhibition Cup in 1962/ 63, while the participations were completed at the European Champions Cup in each of the first round.

After the third title win in 1966, the heyday of the club was over. After several years in a relegation battle Petrolul rose at the end of the season 1974/75 as in Table B from the Divizia. In the 1970s and 1980s, Petrolul developed to lift team and could never keep a long time the class.

Only at the beginning of the 1990s Petrolul could reconnect to our historic success. After the rise in 1989, the team moved the following year for the first time in the UEFA Cup. After the club to the 1992/93 FC Ploiesti had briefly mentioned, succeeded in 1995 with the Cup victory against Rapid Bucharest the penultimate success. In the European Cup Winners Petrolul difference but already in the first round against the eventual finalists SK Rapid Wien.

After descending from the Divizia A at the end of the season 2001/ 02 Petrolul merged in 2003 with the local rival Astra Ploiesti to Petrolul Astra Ploiesti, changed the name but shortly afterwards returned to Petrolul Ploieşti. The merger Petrolul returned to the Divizia A, but increased in 2004 under coach Florin Marin, who was replaced by Virgil Dridea in July 2004, again in the Divizia B from. There, the club finished in the following six seasons, four times the third and fourth place twice in each season. After Eusebiu Tudor was released in April 2009, was Valeriu RACHITA new coach of the team in June 2009. With him back in the Bundesliga in 2011, the League 1, he was replaced on 28 March 2012 by Gheorghe Mulţescu, as there was the club after 23 matchdays of the relegation zone.

In the season 2006/ 07 Petrolul wore its home games due to the transformation of Ilie - Oană Stadium in Mogoşoaia, 50 km away.

2013 was won under coach Cosmin Contra for the third time the Cup. Contra left the club on 10 March 2014 to sign a contract with the Spanish side Getafe. The next day, Razvan Lucescu was introduced as the new coach.

Squad of the first team (2013 /14)

Achievements

• Romanian champion: 1958, 1959, 1966
• Romanian Cup Winners: 1963, 1995, 2013
• Quarterfinals in the Fairs Cup: 1963

Selecting a former player

• Bujorel Mocanu
• Anton Munteanu
• Ion Neacşu
• Ştefan Preda
• Valeriu RACHITA

Former coach

• Romania Florin Marin ( until summer 2004)
• Romania Virgil Dridea ( July 2004 to )
• Romania Octavian Grigore (May 2007 to summer 2008)
• Romania Eusebiu Tudor (2008 to April 2009)
• Romania Valeriu RACHITA (June 2009 to 28 March 2012)
• Romania Gheorghe Mulţescu (28 March 2012 to May 2012)
• Romania Mircea Rednic ( May 2012-October 2012 )
• Romania Cosmin Contra ( October 2012 to 10 March 2014)
• Romania Razvan Lucescu ( since March 11 2014)