FC Hermannstadt

Summary

Asociația Fotbal Club Hermannstadt (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛʁmanʃtat]), commonly known as FC Hermannstadt, Hermannstadt, or familiarly as Sibiu (Romanian pronunciation: [siˈbiw]), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Sibiu (German: Hermannstadt), Sibiu County, that competes in the Liga I.

Hermannstadt
Full nameAsociația Fotbal Club Hermannstadt
Nickname(s)Roș-negrii (The Red and Blacks)
Sibienii (The Sibiu People)
Founded29 July 2015; 8 years ago (2015-07-29)[1]
GroundMunicipal
Capacity12,363
OwnerSibiu Municipality
ChairmanDănuț Coman
Head coachMarius Măldărășanu
LeagueLiga I
2022–23Liga I, 11th of 16
WebsiteClub website
Current season

The team was established in 2015 and introduced in the fourth division, with Hermannstadt being the equivalent of the city's name in the standard German language (i.e. Hochdeutsch). Roș-negrii achieved successive promotions and in 2018 reached the Liga I, the highest level of the Romanian football league system.

During the same year, Hermannstadt also played a Cupa României final, which they lost 0–2 to Universitatea Craiova.

History edit

 
Hermannstadt's badges throughout time

AFC Hermannstadt was founded in 2015 to continue the long tradition of football in the city of Sibiu, started in 1913 by Șoimii Sibiu and continued through other teams such as Societatea Gimnastică Sibiu (German: Hermannstädter Turnverein - HATV), Inter Sibiu, FC Sibiu, or Voința Sibiu. Even if Hermannstadt is not a "legal" successor to any of these clubs, we can consider it a moral one, as it is currently the only representative of Sibiu in the first three leagues. Hermannstadt is the equivalent of the city's name in the German language, which has sometimes stirred controversy.[2]

Immediately after the 2015 founding, the club was enrolled in the Liga IV. It finished first in the league table and subsequently qualified for the Liga III promotion play-offs.[3] Hermannstadt won the phase without major difficulties, after 6–1 on aggregate against the champion of Gorj County, Gilortul Târgu Cărbunești.[4] Sibienii were also winners of the Liga III – Seria V in the next season and promoted to the Liga II, the second level of the Romanian league system.[5]

Hermannstadt played its first Liga II match on 5 August 2017, a 3–0 home victory over CS Balotești.[6] It finished the campaign as runner-up, and thus achieved promotion to the Liga I after only three years of existence.[7] The club also managed a notable performance in the Cupa României, being the first in 36 years to reach the final despite not playing in the top flight.[8] Hermannstadt upset four Liga I teams en route to the last game of the competition—Voluntari, Juventus București, FCSB and county rival Gaz Metan Mediaș, respectively. It lost the final 0–2 to Universitatea Craiova, on 27 May 2018.[9]

On 21 July 2018, Hermannstadt won its first ever Liga I match after Ștefan Blănaru scored the only goal of the opening fixture against Sepsi OSK.[10]

Ground edit

Hermannstadt's home ground, Stadionul Municipal, was built in 1927 and previously used by several other teams from the city. Its demolition started in 2018 to make room for a modern stadium, with Hermannstadt having since played matches at the Stadionul Gaz Metan in Mediaș.[11]

Support edit

In its beginnings, Hermannstadt enjoyed the interest of about 4,000 fans. The team also has an ultras group, named D'acii, which appeared for the first time at a match against ASU Politehnica Timișoara in September 2017.[12] Their name is a pun on the words dacii ("the Dacians") and d-aci, a contraction of de aici (meaning "from here").

Rivalries edit

Hermannstadt had a local rivalry with Gaz Metan Mediaș, referred to as the "Derby of Sibiu County".

Honours edit

Domestic edit

Leagues edit

Cups edit

Players edit

First-team squad edit

As of 8 February 2024[13][14]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   ROU Alexandru Uțiu
2 DF   MEX Paolo Medina
4 DF   ROU Ionuț Stoica (Captain)
5 DF   ROU Florin Bejan (Vice-captain)
6 DF   ROU Paul Antoche
7 FW   ROU Ianis Stoica
9 FW   FRA Kablan N'Goma
10 FW   ROU Gabriel Iancu
11 MF   ROU Dragoș Iancu
14 MF   JPN Sota Mino
16 MF   ITA Alessandro Murgia (on loan from SPAL)
17 DF   ROU Mihai Butean
21 FW   ROU Cosmin Bucuroiu
22 GK   ROU Ionuț Pop
No. Pos. Nation Player
25 GK   ROU Cătălin Căbuz (on loan from CFR Cluj)
26 FW   ROU Cristian Neguț
27 DF   ROU Valerică Găman (4th captain)
28 DF   ROU Raul Opruț (on loan from Kortrijk;3rd captain)
29 MF   ROU Ciprian Biceanu
30 FW   ROU Daniel Paraschiv
31 GK   ROU Vlad Muțiu
51 MF   ROU Alexandru Oroian
77 MF   ROU Ianis Gândilă
96 MF   ROU Silviu Balaure
97 MF   ROU Alexandru Jipa
98 DF   ROU Kevin Ciubotaru
99 FW   POR Rúben Fonseca

Other players under contract edit

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   ROU Luca Mitrică

Out on loan edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   ROU Călin Grecu (at Voința Sibiu until 30 June 2024)
DF   ROU Vlăduț Popa (at Metalurgistul Cugir until 30 June 2024)
DF   GHA Saeed Issah (at Metaloglobus until 30 June 2024)
DF   ROU Benjamin Hanzu (at ACS Mediaș until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   ROU Petrișor Petrescu (at Argeș Pitești until 30 June 2024)
MF   GHA Baba Ayinie (at 1599 Șelimbăr until 30 June 2024)
MF   ROU Alexandru Luca (at ACS Mediaș until 30 June 2024)
FW   ROU Bogdan Rotar (at ACS Mediaș until 30 June 2024)

Club officials edit

Notable former players edit

Romania

Notable former managers edit

Statistics and records edit

League history edit

References edit

  1. ^ "ASOCIATIA FOTBAL CLUB HERMANNSTADT, SIBIU" (in Romanian). Pagini Aurii. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Fotbal cosmopolit la Sibiu: Nu era suficient FC Hermannstadt, există și CS Sion!" [Cosmopolitan football in Sibiu: FC Hermannstadt was not enough, there is also CS Sion!] (in Romanian). Justitiarul. 2019.
  3. ^ "F.C Hermannstadt Sibiu" (in Romanian). Asociația Județeană de Fotbal Sibiu. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  4. ^ "FC Hermannstadt a defilat la Cărbunești și va juca în Liga a III-a în noul sezon. Întăriri masive pentru sibieni" [FC Hermannstadt won by a big difference at Cărbunești and will play in the Liga III next season. New transfers for the Sibiu People] (in Romanian). SbSport.ro. 26 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Fotbalul renaşte ca Pasărea Phoenix la Sibiu! Clubul cu 19 conducători vrea să devină o legendă: "Acum e un proiect mult mai bine organizat"" [Football comes back to life like the Phoenix bird in Sibiu! The club with 19 managers wants to become a legend: "This time is a better organized project"] (in Romanian). ProSport. 19 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Debut perfect pentru AFC Hermannstadt la primul meci în Liga 2. Sibienii au trecut cu scor de neprezentare de CS Baloteşti şi au avut şi două goluri anulate" [Perfect debut for AFC Hermannstadt at their first Liga 2 match. Sibienii easily surpassed CS Baloteşti and also had two goals canceled] (in Romanian). ProSport. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  7. ^ "AFC Hermannstadt a promovat în Liga I după 1-1 cu Chindia; Echipa din Târgovişte va juca la baraj" [AFC Hermannstadt promoted to Liga I after 1–1 with Chindia; the Târgoviște-based team will participate in the promotion play-off] (in Romanian). News.ro. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  8. ^ "AFC Hermannstadt intră în istorie " Ce s-a întâmplat în precedentele 14 finale de Cupa României în care au evoluat formații din eșaloanele inferioare" [AFC Hermannstadt makes history " What happened in the previous 14 finals involving teams from the lower leagues]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 10 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Toată lumea știe, Cupa-i în Bănie!" [Everyone knows, the Cup is in Bănie!] (in Romanian). CS Universitatea Craiova. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Hermannstadt - Sepsi OSK 1-0. Nou-promovata a triumfat la debutul în Liga 1. Blănaru a decis partida" [Hermannstadt - Sepsi OSK 1–0. The newly promoted team prevailed at its Liga 1 debut. Blănaru decided the match] (in Romanian). ProSport. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  11. ^ Hermannstadt pleacă din Sibiu!
  12. ^ "Liga 2 / FC Hermannstadt - ASU Poli Timişoara: Galerie pentru lider" [Liga 2 / FC Hermannstadt - ASU Poli Timișoara: Support for the leader] (in Romanian). Tribuna. 7 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Echipa" [Team]. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  14. ^ "AFC HERMANNSTADT" (in Romanian). Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Top management". Archived from the original on 2018-07-14. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  16. ^ "Echipa I".

External links edit

  • Official website
  • FC Hermannstadt on Facebook
  • FC Hermannstadt's channel on YouTube
  • Club profile on UEFA's official website
  • Club profile on LPF's official website