FC Voluntari

Fotbal Club Voluntari (Romanian pronunciation: [volunˈtarʲ]), commonly known as FC Voluntari or simply Voluntari, is a Romanian professional football club based in Voluntari, Ilfov County, which competes in the Liga I.

FC Voluntari
Full nameFotbal Club Voluntari
Nickname(s)Voluntărenii
(The People from Voluntari)
Ilfovenii
(The People from Ilfov)
Short nameVoluntari
Founded26 July 2010 (2010-07-26)[1]
GroundAnghel Iordănescu
Capacity4,600
OwnerVoluntari Town
PresidentRobert Frunză
ManagerLiviu Ciobotariu
LeagueLiga I
2020–21Liga I, 13th of 16
WebsiteClub website

Founded in 2010, they have been playing since the 2015–16 season in the Liga I, the highest tier of the Romanian league system. They claimed their first major honour in 2017, after defeating Astra Giurgiu at the penalty shoot-out in the Cupa României final, and went on to win the Supercupa României in the same year.

Voluntari's home ground is the Anghel Iordănescu Stadium, which has a capacity of 4,600.

History

Early years

In the 2012–13 season of the Liga IV, they finished second and promoted to the next league Liga III. This time they won the 2013–14 Liga III and promoted again to Liga II. In Liga II they had notable performances against Farul Constanța and CF Brăila. They qualified via the promotion play-offs to Liga I from the first place.

Promotion to the first division

At the end of the 2014–15 Liga II season, they were promoted for the first time in their club history to Liga I, via the promotion playoffs. The 2015–16 Liga I season was a tough one for FC Voluntari, as many technical and administrative changes took the club to the relegation zone. Finishing 12th, the team faced a promotion/relegation play-off against UTA Arad, 2nd place in Seria II of the 2015–16 Liga II. FC Voluntari won 3–1 on aggregate and remained in Liga I.[2]

With experienced players like Vasile Maftei, Florin Cernat or Laurențiu Marinescu in the lineup, Voluntari improved in the 2016–17 Liga I season, finishing in 9th place and avoiding a second consecutive relegation battle. The biggest achievement for the club was winning the Romanian Cup against Astra Giurgiu, the first major trophy in its short history.[3]

Stadium

The club plays its home matches at the 4,600-seater Stadionul Anghel Iordănescu in Voluntari.

Honours

Leagues

Cups

Players

First team squad
As of 15 February 2022[4][5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF  ROU Cosmin Achim
3 DF  CIV Ulrich Meleke (on loan from CFR Cluj)
5 DF  MDA Igor Armaș (Captain)
6 DF  ROU Marius Briceag
8 MF  ROU Ion Gheorghe
10 MF  ROU George Merloi
11 FW  ISR Idan Golan
12 GK  ROU Victor Rîmniceanu
13 DF  ROU Denis Ciobotariu (on loan from CFR Cluj)
14 MF  CPV Marcelo Lopes
18 MF  CPV Hélder Tavares
21 MF  ROU Alexandru Ilie
22 MF  MDA Vadim Rață
23 DF  ROU Alexandru Vlad
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 DF  POR Ricardinho
27 FW  CIV Muhamed Olawale (on loan from Parma)
28 DF  ROU Vlad Andreș
30 DF  ROU Gabriel Tamaș
33 GK  ROU Valentin Neacșu
35 DF  ROU Alexandru Chilili
36 MF  ROU Florin Bălan
50 MF  ROU Constantin Budescu
66 MF  CZE Lukáš Droppa
71 GK  ROU Mihai Popa
77 FW  SVK Adam Nemec
80 MF  ROU Lóránd Fülöp
98 DF  ROU Cristian Costin
99 MF  ROU Antonio Stan

Other players under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  BRA John Anderson
No. Pos. Nation Player

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
88 FW  ROU Alexandru Stoica (to Unirea Slobozia)
No. Pos. Nation Player
99 MF  ROU Claudiu Borțoneanu (to Metaloglobus București)

Club officials

Domestic records and statistics

Notable former players

References
  1. FOTBAL CLUB VOLUNTARI SA. termene.ro (in Romanian)
  2. "Liga 1: UTA invinge FC Voluntari in returul barajului, dar ilfovenii raman in prima liga". ziare.com.
  3. "FC Voluntari – Astra 1–1 (5–3 d.l.d). Minunea din Ilfov! Claudiu Niculescu, performanță istorică în finala Cupei României". www.digisport.ro.
  4. "Echipa" [Squad] (in Romanian). FC Voluntari. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  5. "FC VOLUNTARI" (in Romanian). Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  6. Board of directors
  7. Technical staff
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