AFC Unirea Slobozia explained

Clubname:Unirea Slobozia
Fullname:Asociația Fotbal Club Unirea 04 Slobozia
Short Name:Unirea
Nickname:Galben-albaștrii
(The Yellow-Blues)
Founded:
as Combil Slobozia
(refounded)
as Unirea 04 Slobozia
Ground:1 Mai
Capacity:6,000
Owner:Slobozia Municipality
Chairman:Ilie Lemnaru
Mgrtitle:Head coach
Manager:Adrian Mihalcea
League:Liga I
Season:2023–24
Position:Liga II, 1st of 20 (promoted)
Current:2024–25 AFC Unirea Slobozia season
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Asociația Fotbal Club Unirea 04 Slobozia, (in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan pronounced as /uˈnire̯a sloboˈzi.a/), commonly known as Unirea Slobozia or simply as Unirea, is a Romanian professional football club based in Slobozia, Ialomița County, which competes in the Liga I.

The team was founded in 1955 and reestablished in 2004, being for the most part of its history a participant in the third tier of the Romanian league system, the Liga III. Unirea Slobozia has also spent several seasons in the Liga II, first in the early 1980s and then between 2012 and 2015, when it also obtained its best ranking in the competition, namely a third place behind top flight regulars Politehnica Iași and Rapid București.

"The Yellow-Blues" play their home games at the Stadionul 1 Mai, which can host 6,000 spectators.

History

The club was founded in 1955 under the name Combil Slobozia, being under the tutelage of Combil (the Ialomița Combine for the production and industrialization of pork meat) and played fifteen seasons in the Regional and County Championships, having during this period several names such as Avântul, Voința and Energia.[1]

In the 1969–70 season, Energia promoted to Divizia C winning the Ialomița County Championship and the promotion play-off against ITA București, the Bucharest Municipal champion (0–0 at home and 2–1 away).

Meanwhile, the club was taken over by the Slobozia Chimical Combine - Amonil and, after promotion to third division was renamed as Azotul Slobozia. Azotul continued to play in third division, being overall a mid-table team and finishing twice on 3rd position, in 1974–75 season and 1975–76 season, and 2nd in the 1978–79 season.

In the 1979, the club was renamed as Amonil Slobozia spent the following seasons in Divizia C, finishing 2nd in 1979–80, 9th in 1980–81 and 7th in 1981–82.

In the summer of 1982, the club was renamed as Unirea Slobozia, and under the guidance of Ion Păciulete, took the 1st place in Seria IV of the 1982–83 season promoting for the first time in Divizia B. The squad was composed of following players: Dumitru Soare, Ion Ionescu, Tache, Săndel Drăguț, Dan Cristea, Vasile Borș, Gogan, Mateiu, N.Nicolae, Gheorghe Nicolae, Lazăr, Ion Lupu, Păun, Liviu, Nini Vintilă, Constantinescu and Iosif Damaschin.[1]

Unirea Slobozia has been for most of its history a classic Liga III team, as it only promoted to the Liga II for the first time in 1989. In the early 2000s, the club encountered financial isses and was dissolved, being refounded in 2004 as AFC Unirea 04 Slobozia.

The new entity also reached the second tier of the Romanian football league system, where it spent three years between 2012 and 2015. In the 2013–14 season, the team obtained a third place in its series, behind top flight regulars Politehnica Iași and Rapid București

Since the start of the 2020–21 campaign, Unirea Slobozia has been again competing in the Liga II.

Honours

Liga II

Liga III

Liga IV – Ialomița County

Players

First team squad

[2]

Out on loan

Club officials

Board of directors

RoleName
Owner Slobozia Municipality
President Constantin Prepeliță
Executive President Ilie Lemnaru
Sporting director Laurențiu Radu
Head of Youth Center Ion Ionescu
Team Manager Marian Nohai

Current technical staff

RoleName
Head coach Adrian Mihalcea
Assistant coaches Enache Costea
Romeo Soare
Goalkeeping coach Dănuț Harnagea
Fitness coaches Bogdan Hetco
Club Doctor Vitalie Suvac
Masseur Gabriel Basarab
Store man Andrei Vizireanu

League history

See also: Romanian football league system.

SeasonTier DivisionPlaceNotesCupa României
1 TBD TBD
2 align=center bgcolor=gold1st (C) Promoted Play-off round
2 Liga II 7th Group Stage
2 Liga II 6th Round of 32
2 Liga II 16th Play-out winner Third Round
3 Liga III (Seria II) align=center bgcolor=gold1st (C) Promoted Third Round
3 Liga III (Seria II) 4th Fourth Round
3 Liga III (Seria II) align=center bgcolor=#BF8D5B3rd Round of 16
3 Liga III (Seria II) 5th Third Round
3 Liga III (Seria II) 4th Fourth Round
2 Liga II (Seria I) align=center bgcolor=#FFCCCC11thRelegated Round of 32
2 Liga II (Seria I) align=center bgcolor=#BF8D5B3rd Fourth Round
2 Liga II (Seria I) 7th Fourth Round
3 Liga III (Seria II) align=center bgcolor=gold1st (C) Promoted Fourth Round
3 Liga III (Seria II) align=center bgcolor=silver2ndRound of 32
3 Liga III (Seria II) align=center bgcolor=#BF8D5B3rd
SeasonTier DivisionPlaceNotesCupa României
3 Liga III (Seria II) 4th
3 Liga III (Seria II) 8th
3 Liga III (Seria II) 6th
3 Divizia C (Seria II) 7th
3 Divizia C (Seria III) align=center bgcolor=#FFCCCC16th Relegated
3 Divizia C (Seria II) 14th
3 Divizia C (Seria II) 12th
4 Divizia D (IL) align=center bgcolor=gold1st (C) Promoted
3 Divizia C (Seria II) align=center bgcolor=#FFCCCC19th Relegated
2 Divizia B (Seria I) align=center bgcolor=#FFCCCC18th Relegated
2 Divizia B (Seria I) 9th
2 Divizia B (Seria I) 8th
2 Divizia B (Seria I) 13th
3 Divizia C (Seria IV) align=center bgcolor=gold1st (C) Promoted
2 Divizia B (Seria I) align=center bgcolor=#FFCCCC16th Relegated
2 Divizia B (Seria I) 7th

Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or significant caps for AFC Unirea Slobozia.

Romania

Former managers

Notes and References

  1. Mihai Ionescu & George Tudoran, Fotbal de la A la Z – Editura Sport-Turism 1984.
  2. Web site: AFC UNIREA 04 SLOBOZIA. Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. ro. 12 July 2024.