| Clubname: | Viitorul Minerul Lupeni |
| Fullname: | Clubul Sportiv Viitorul Minerul Lupeni |
| Founded: | as Jiul Lupeni as Viitorul Minerul Lupeni |
| Ground: | Minerul |
| Capacity: | 5,000 |
| Owner: | Lupeni Municipality |
| Chairman: | Emil Lumperdean |
| Manager: | Dan Voicu |
| League: | Liga III |
| Season: | 2023–24 |
| Position: | Liga IV, Hunedoara, 1st of 12 |
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| Pattern So1: | _hoops_red |
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| Pattern La2: | _jomatoletum3wb |
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Clubul Sportiv Viitorul Minerul Lupeni, commonly known as Minerul Lupeni, is a Romanian football club based in Lupeni, Hunedoara County which competes in Liga IV – Hunedoara County, the fourth tier of the Romanian football league system. Established in 1920 as Jiul Lupeni, the club changed its name several times to Partizanul (1950), Flacăra (1951), Minerul (1953 and 1957) and Energia (1956). Dissolved in 2010, the club from Jiu Valley was re-founded as Viitorul Minerul Lupeni in 2021.
| Period | Name | |
| 1920–1936 | Jiul Lupeni | |
| 1936–1950 | Minerul Lupeni | |
| 1950–1951 | Partizanul Lupeni | |
| 1951–1953 | Flacăra Lupeni | |
| 1953–2011 | Minerul Lupeni | |
| 2011–2021 | Inactive* | |
| 2021– | Viitorul Minerul Lupeni |
In the 1927–28 season, the Jiu Valley team managed to won the Arad Regional Championship qualified for the national tournament of the Divizia A and managing to reach the final of the competition, where lost in front of Colțea Brașov with 2–3. The lineup from the final with Adalbert Szabo as coach: Ioan Kiss – Eugen Szabados, Rupp – Alexandru Berkessy, Szüle, Gentl – Kertesz, Aurel Guga, Bognar, Joseph Kilianovitz, Meszner.[2]
Renamed as Minerul, the club played for the first time in Cupa României in the 1935–36 season, but was eliminated in the quarter-finals by the strong team of Ripensia Timișoara 2–9, the team that won the trophy in that season.[3] Also, The Miners played in the first season of the third division finishing as runners-up in the Western League and promoted to second division at the end of the 1937–38 season of Divizia C. The team was composed of Sepreny – Sebok, Baki – Maior, Peter, Racolțea – Comsloșan, Ilieș, Zelenak, Sorger and Băcilă.[4]
The Red-Blacks played the next three seasons in the second division championship finished 4th in 1938–39, 2nd in 1939–40 and 6th in 1940–41.
After the Second World War, Minerul continued to evolve in Divizia B, finishing the 1946–47 season on 12th place in the second series.
The Miners played the next decade in the second division often finishing at mid-table or fighting to save from relegation: 6th (1947–48), 5th (1948–49), 4th (1950) as Partizanul, 11th (1951) as Flacăra, spared from relegation due to the move of Flacăra București at Ploiești and disappearance of former Flacăra Ploiești (Prahova Ploiești), 10th (1952), 14th (1953) renamed as Minerul, 6th (1954), 9th (1955), 9th (1956), 6th (1957–58).
At the end of the 1958–59 season, Minerul finished 1st in the Serie I of the second division and promoted in Divizia A after fifteen seasons in Divizia B. The squad managed by Vasile Lazăr as head coach and Adalbert Pall as assistant coach was composed of: Ioan Kiss II, Simion Plev, Alexandru Coman, Vasile Keresteș, Ștefan Szöke, Ioan Groza, Carol Mihaly, Constantin Cotroază, I.Pall, Mircea Onea, Tudor Paraschiva, Carol Creiniceanu among others.[5]
With some new players such as Teodor Mihalache, Daniel Peretz, Ion Leahovici, Alexandru Dan II, Milea, Alexandru Nisipeanu, Virgil Mihăilă, Mihai Țurcan, D.Cucu, N.Stanciu among others, Minerul played four years in the first division finishing three seasons in a row on 11th place, before being relegated at the end of the 1962–63 season when finished on the last place. The Red-Blacks reached the quarter-finals of the 1959–60 Cupa României, losing 3–1 to Dinamo Obor București.
Followed four more seasons in the second tier, finishing 10th (1963–64), 4th (1964–65), 11th (1965–66) and 13th (1966–67) surprising relegating in Divizia C.[4]
Followed nine seasons in the third tier until Minerul returned to Divizia B; 5th place in 1967–68, 1968–69 runners-up, 3rd place in 1969–70, 1970–71 seasons and 1971–72, 7th place in 1972–73 and qualified to the first round proper of Cupa României, the team coached by Teodor Mihalache was eliminated by Steaua București 0–1 and was composed of; Șarpe - Iosif Rus, Șvedak, Gheorghe Burdangiu, Adrian Serafim - Ioan Polgar, Cristache II - Gheorghe Voicu, Lucuța, Constantin Cotroază, Turbatu (83’ Moldovan),[6] 1973–74 runners-up, 3rd place in 1974–75 and 1st place the 1975–76 season ― the squad that achieving the promotion, under the leadership of Gheorghe Kotormány, was composed among others of the following players; Budușan, Adrian Dodu, Constantin Roșu, Tudor, Alexandru Naidin, Nicolae Boloș, Ioan Dosan, Lucuță, Rusu, Nicșa, Stoinică, Lucian, Gheorghe Voicu and Gheorghe Burdangiu.[4]
Minerul withdrew from the championship during the 2010–11 Liga II season and dissolved after ninety years of existence.[7]
In the fall of 2021, the former captain of Minerul, Adrian Lumperdean, together with his brother, Emil Lumperdean and their nephew, Lucu Lumperdean, decided to bring back to life the football tradition from Lupeni, laying the foundations of Viitorul Minerul Lupeni.[8]
In the beginning, the three members of the Lumperdean family, along with the local authorities of Lupeni, revived the groups for children and youths and later enrolled the seniors team in the 2022–23 season of Liga IV – Hunedoara County.
The footballers mentioned below have played at least 1 season for Minerul Lupeni and also played in Liga I for another team.
Ion Bălănescu (1960–1961)