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 name	SC Fotbal Club Voluntari SA
Nickname(s)	Voluntărenii (The People from Voluntari) Ilfovenii (The People from Ilfov)
Short name	Voluntari
Founded	26 July 2010; 12 years ago (2010-07-26)[1]
Ground	Stadionul Anghel Iordănescu
Capacity	4,600
Owner	Voluntari Town
General director	Bogdan Bălănescu
Head coach	Liviu Ciobotariu
League	Liga I
2021–22	Liga I, 4th of 16
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Founded in 2010, it has been playing since the 2015–16 season in the Liga I, the highest tier of the Romanian league system. Voluntari claimed its first major honour the following campaign, after defeating Astra Giurgiu in the penalty shootout of the Cupa României final, and went on to win the Supercupa României the same year.

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

History

Early years

FC Voluntari was founded in the summer of 2010 and enrolled directly in the Liga III, after acquiring the berth of Petrolul Berca.[2]

During their debut season in the third league, Ilfovenii finished in sixth place with Romeo Bunică as a head coach, and repeated the performance the next season with Bogdan Andone in charge. The 2012–13 season began with poor performances and after five rounds Andone was replaced by Bunică, who led the team to the seventh place.[3]

Adrian Iencsi led Voluntari to winning the 2013–14 Liga III en fanfare, but despite the Liga II promotion, Iencsi was sacked and replaced for the next year by Ilie Poenaru.[4] There, they had notable performances against Farul Constanța and CF Brăila, and then qualified to the Liga I from the first place via the promotion play-offs.

Promotion to the first division

Voluntari earned promotion for the first time in their history to Liga I, the highest tier of Romanian football, at the end of the 2014–15 campaign. Its debut season was difficult, as many technical and administrative changes led the club to the relegation zone. Finishing 12th, the team faced a promotion/relegation play-off against UTA Arad, which it won 3–1 on aggregate and maintained its place in the Liga I.[5]

With experienced players such as Vasile Maftei, Florin Cernat or Laurențiu Marinescu in the starting eleven, Voluntari improved itself in the 2016–17 season, finishing in ninth place and avoiding a second consecutive promotion/relegation play-off. During that year, the club achieved its biggest achievement so far by winning the Cupa României over Astra Giurgiu, being the first major trophy in its brief history.[6]

Stadium

The club plays its home matches at the 4,600-seater Stadionul Anghel Iordănescu in Voluntari. Attendances are usually modest, as Voluntari is considered a suburb of Bucharest and many of its citizens are inclined to support clubs from the capital instead.

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

• Liga II
  • Winners (1): 2014–15
• Liga III
  • Winners (1): 2013–14

Cups

• Cupa României
  • Winners (1): 2016–17
  • Runners-up (1): 2021–22
• Supercupa României
  • Winners (1): 2017

Players

First team squad

As of 9 November 2022[7][8]

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 (Vice-captain) 3 DF  CIV Ulrich Meleke 5 DF  MDA Igor Armaș (Captain) 6 MF  CZE Lukáš Droppa 7 DF  ALB Naser Aliji 8 MF  ROU Mihai Răduț 9 FW  MDA Vitalie Damașcan (on loan from Sepsi OSK) 10 MF  ROU George Merloi 11 FW  ROU Daniel Florea 12 GK  ROU Victor Rîmniceanu 14 MF  POR Marcelo Lopes 16 MF  MEX Omar Govea 17 MF  ROU Doru Andrei 18 MF  CPV Hélder Tavares 19 DF  ROU Salvatore Marrone 20 MF  ROU Robert Popescu 21 MF  ROU Alexandru Ilie

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF  MDA Vadim Rață 23 DF  ROU Alexandru Vlad (3rd captain) 24 DF  POR Ricardinho (4th captain) 28 DF  ROU Vlăduț Andreș 34 DF  ARG Patricio Matricardi 35 DF  ROU Alexandru Chilili 36 MF  ROU Florin Bălan 56 GK  ROU Daniel Paraschiv 71 GK  ROU Mihai Popa 72 MF  ROU Roberto Voican 77 FW  SVK Adam Nemec 88 GK  ESP Jesús Fernández 90 MF  ROU Alexandru Munteanu 97 MF  ROU Nicolas Popescu 98 DF  ROU Cristian Costin 99 MF  ROU Antonio Stan — DF  ROU Mario Pavel

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 — GK  ROU Octavian Vâlceanu (to Petrolul Ploiești)

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ROU Radu Zamfir (to Progresul Spartac)

Club officials

Board of directors Role Name Owner Voluntari Town President Robert Frunză Vice-president Bogdan Nicolae General Director Bogdan Bălănescu Economic Director Diana Istrate Sporting Director Florin Cernat Technical Director Walid Al-Bitar Administrative Director Ionuț Bogaciu Youth Center Manager Mircea Rădulescu Youth Center Coordinator Cătălin Bârleanu Organizer of Competitions Emil Badea Secretary Florin Verigeanu Responsible for Order and Safety Iulian Ghirie Press Officer Radu Oprișan Last updated: 6 September 2022 Source:[9]

Current technical staff Role Name Head Coach Liviu Ciobotariu Assistant Coaches Adrian Iordache Cătălin Munteanu Goalkeeping Coach Mihai Ștețca Fitness Coach Lucian Păun Club Doctor Dan Costin Kinethotherapist Dan Sarivan Masseurs Florin Onosă Florin Dragne Storeman Dumitru Radu Last updated: 6 September 2022 Source:[10]

Domestic records and statistics

Notable former players

References

External links

• Official website (in Romanian)
• FC Voluntari on Facebook
• FC Voluntari on Instagram
• Club profile on UEFA's official website
• Club profile on LPF's official website

На других языках

[de] FC Voluntari

[es] FC Voluntari

[ru] Волунтари (футбольный клуб)