FC Dinamo București

This article is about the football club. For the sports club, see CS Dinamo București.

Dinamo 1948, commonly known as Dinamo București (Romanian pronunciation: [diˈnamo bukuˈreʃtʲ]) or simply Dinamo, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest, which competes in the Liga II.

Dinamo București

Full name	SC Dinamo 1948 SA^[1]
Nickname(s)	Câinii roșii (The Red Dogs) Alb-roșii (The White and Reds) Spartanii (The Spartans)
Short name	Dinamo
Founded	14 May 1948; 74 years ago (1948-05-14)
Ground	Dinamo / Arcul de Triumf
Capacity	15,032 / 8,207
Owners	Red&White Management (80.77%) DDB Supporters Association (12.06%) CS FC Dinamo (7.03%) Cornel Dinu (0.01%)
General Manager	Vlad Iacob
Head coach	Ovidiu Burcă
League	Liga II
2021–22	Liga I, 14th of 16 (relegated via play-offs)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Founded in 1948, it has spent almost its entire history in the Liga I, the top tier of the Romanian league system. Domestically, Dinamo București is one of the two most successful teams in the country, having won 18 Liga I titles, 13 Cupa României, two Supercupa României, and one Cupa Ligii. In the 1983–84 season, it became the first club in Romania to reach the semi-finals of the European Cup.^[2]

Dinamo București's traditional home colours are white and red, while the current crest is a modified version of the one adopted in the 1998. Their home venue is the namesake Stadionul Dinamo, although significant matches have also been played at Arena Națională. Their bitter rivals are neighbouring FC Steaua București, with the matches between the two being commonly referred to as "the Eternal Derby".^{[note 1]}

History

Main articles: History of FC Dinamo București and List of FC Dinamo București seasons

 

The Dinamo București team in 1953.

Dinamo București was founded on 14 May 1948, when Unirea Tricolor MAI, newly entered in January 1948 under the umbrella of the Communist regime's Internal Affairs Ministry, merged with Ciocanul București. The people who contributed at the foundation of the club were the Minister of Internal Affairs, Teohari Georgescu and the Jewish brothers Alexandru and Turi Vogl.^[3][4][5][6] The sporting club represented the above-mentioned institution.^[7] The "Dinamo" name was used for the first time on 1 May 1948. Nevertheless, the real debut of Dinamo was in the 1947–48 Divizia A edition, finishing eighth. The squad included Ambru, Angelo Niculescu, Teodorescu, Șiclovan, Bartha, and Sârbu. In 1955, Dinamo achieved its inaugural league championship. With Angelo Niculescu as head coach, Dinamo had a strong offensive power, with an attack formed by Ene I, Neagu and Suru. The defense, with players like Băcuț I, Băcuț II, Szökő, Călinoiu, was the best in the championship, with only 19 goals conceded.^[8]

In the fall of 1956, the team achieved Romania's inaugural presence in European competition in the European Champion Clubs' Cup, created in 1955. On 26 August 1956, with 32,000 spectators, Dinamo defeated Galatasaray, 3–1. In the second leg, Dinamo would lose in Istanbul 1–2. Other teams Dinamo would compete in Europe, were Real Madrid (a team with Di Stefano and Gento – the game played in Bucharest took place at 23 August Stadium, and established a new record for this arena: 100,000 spectators^[9]), Inter Milan and Feyenoord: 0–3 and 0–2. In 1973, Dinamo won a European Cup home match against Northern Ireland's Crusaders Belfast with 11–0. The game continues to be the largest margin of victory in the history of the European Cup.^{[citation needed]}

The autumn of 1983–84 was going to represent a valuable step into the international arena. The "European Champions Cup campaign" started with Finnish team Kuusysi Lahti, which they defeated 1–0 and 3–0. The second round pushed Dinamo against the current champion, Hamburger SV – team of Stein, Kalz and Magath. At Bucharest, Augustin, Mulțescu and Orac scored for 3–0.^[10][11] The thrilling second leg finished 3–2, with goals from Țălnar and Mulțescu). In order to accede to the semi-finals of CCE, Dinamo had to defeat another top team—Dinamo Minsk. The first leg was 1–1, Rednic equalizing in the 87th minute, and it was followed by a 1–0 victory at Bucharest with Augustin scoring. Dinamo was the first Romanian team to reach the European Champions Cup semi-finals,^[12] where it met Liverpool. Dinamo lost 1–0 at Anfield and 2–1 in Bucharest, as Liverpool progressed to the 1984 European Cup Final.^[13] In 1986 Dinamo won the Cup against Steaua, the team that only a few days before won the European Cup final.

In the summer of 1990, Dinamo—with Mircea Lucescu as coach, they conquered a new national title, its thirteenth. Also the team won the Cup final 6–4, against Steaua. Dinamo won the league title in 1992, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2007, but failed to reach the final phases of European competitions during those years.

In 2013, the team changed ownership, as businessman Ionuț Negoiță bought the club.^[14] Instead, the club was declared insolvent and started a period of poor results. Even after the club got out of insolvency, the results didn't improve and Dinamo failed to qualify for the Liga I championship play-off for four seasons in a row (2017–18 through to 2020–21). In August 2020, Negoiță sold the club to a Spanish company, Benel International SA, represented by Pablo Cortacero. On 26 June 2021, the club filled for insolvency for the second time in its history.

On 29 May 2022, Dinamo was relegated for the first time in their 74-year history to the Liga II, having lost in the relegation play-off against Universitatea Cluj with 3–1 on aggregate.^[15]

Crest and colours

Dinamo's colours are red and white. The current crest includes the profile of two red dogs and also a gold star above them, representing the club's tenth league title.

Stadium

 

The Dinamo Stadium

Dinamo plays its home games at Stadionul Dinamo. The arena was built in 1951, and for the official inauguration Dinamo played a game against Locomotiva Timișoara. The stadium capacity was planned at 16,000, but the installation of seats decreased it to 15,032. The stadium is part of a larger complex which contains a smaller stadium, Stadionul Florea Dumitrache, where the second team, Dinamo II, would play its matches. It is currently used by CS Dinamo București rugby team. There is also a sports hall and a swimming pool.

The stadium is referred to as "Groapa" (The Pit), as it was dug rather than raising stands. The North stand is honors Peluza Cătălin Hîldan, a former Dinamo player who died in 2000 at the age of 24.^{[citation needed]}

Dinamo plays significant matches, such as against rivals FCSB, at Arena Națională.

Support

Dinamo has an estimated 13% support in Romania, making them the second most supported Romanian club, after FCSB.^[16] The largest concentration of fans is in Bucharest, mainly in the northeast and central areas of the city. The club also has important fan bases on other parts of the country and where significant bases of Romanians are found.^{[citation needed]}

 

Dinamo fans paying homage to Cătălin Hîldan in 2005.

The roots of the Dinamo ultras (fans) movement can be found in 1995 when groups like Dracula and Rams Pantelimon appeared in the North End.^{[citation needed]} In 1996 a group called Nuova Guardia was formed, and became the leading group in the stadium and later on in the entire Romanian ultras movement.^[17] Following the death of the former captain, Cătălin Hîldan, in 2000, the fans renamed the North End of Dinamo's stadium to Peluza Catalin Hîldan (PCH Stand) in his honor. The majority of supporters are located in the PCH, but several factions have moved to the South End.^{[citation needed]}

Rivalries & Friendships

Main article: Eternal derby

Dinamo's significant rivalry is with FCSB, with matches between them dubbed the Eternal derby. Both clubs have had the most popularity in Romania with as strong reactions from its respective fans in clashes in the stadium during games and elsewhere. In 1997, Dinamo's fans set a sector of the Stadionul Ghencea on fire.^[18] On 16 August 2016, during FCSB's UEFA Champions League 0–5 play-off loss against Manchester City, Dinamo fans unveiled a banner that read Doar Dinamo București ("Only Dinamo Bucharest").^[19]

The club's second most important rivalry is against Rapid București. In the 1990s, there was fierce competition between the two in winning the championship title.

Another rivalry is held against Universitatea Craiova; both finished with the same number of points in the 1972–73 Divizia A, but Dinamo was given the title because of their superior goal difference. A conflict has existed ever since.^[20][21] Other smaller rivalries exist, such as the one against Petrolul Ploiești.^{[citation needed]}

Dinamo's fans have a good friendship with Universitatea Cluj's fans. The friendship started in the mid-1990s, both ultras groups being linked with "the mentality, fanaticism and nationalist side"^[22] and the common hate for FCSB. Dinamo have unofficial friendship with Crvena zvezda, famous Serbian club. Friendship between this two clubs, are based on Orthodox Christianity same religion.

Youth program

Main article: Dinamo II București

Dinamo has an important infrastructure for training professionalism in the sport and developing interest in the youth area. The youth center organises a system based on nine age groups between nine and 18 years. Dinamo has around 180 juniors.^{[citation needed]}

All the groups play in the competitions organised by the Bucharest Football Association and in those created by the Romanian Federation. Youths around 16–18 years old are promoted to the second team, Dinamo II.

The youth center has its base in the Dinamo Sports Center, where they have eight dressing rooms for the players, one for the coaches, one for the referees, a medical center and a store room for the equipment. Also, the center has many training grounds, among them the Piți Varga field.^[23]

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

• Liga I
  • Winners (18): 1955, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2006–07
  • Runners-up (20): 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1992–93, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2004–05

Cups

• Cupa României
  • Winners (13): 1958–59, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2011–12
  • Runners-up (10): 1954, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1986–87, 1987–88,^[24][25][26] 1988–89, 2001–02, 2010–11, 2015–16
• Cupa Ligii
  • Winners (1): 2016–17
• Supercupa României
  • Winners (2): 2005, 2012
  • Runners-up (4): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007

Continental

• European Cup
  • Semi-finalists (1): 1983–84
• Cup Winners' Cup
  • Semi-finalists (1): 1989–90

Players

First-team squad

As of 30 January 2023^[27][28]

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   BRA Gabriel 4 DF   FRA Quentin Bena 6 MF   ROU Iulian Roșu 7 DF   ROU Alin Demici (on loan from Rapid) 9 FW   ROU Cătălin Țîră 10 MF   ESP Dani Iglesias 12 GK   ROU Denis Oncescu 13 GK   ROU Alexandru Stoian 18 MF   ROU Valentin Borcea 19 MF   ROU Cristian Ionescu 20 MF   ROU Antonio Bordușanu 22 MF   ROU Andrei Bani 23 DF   ROU Răzvan Patriche (Captain) 24 DF   ROU Deniz Giafer (Vice-captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 25 DF   ROU Yanis Cune 26 DF   ROU Marius Tomozei 27 FW   ROU Ionuț Bobea 28 DF   ROU Marius Dragomir 30 MF   ROU Neluț Roșu (3rd captain) 31 DF   ROU Costin Amzăr 33 MF   ROU Alin Șerban (on loan from Mioveni) 77 DF   ROU Alin Buleică 88 MF   ESP Gorka Larrucea 91 GK   BIH Filip Dujmović 93 FW   ROU Alexandru Pop 96 MF   ROU Cristian Delciu 98 MF   ROU Andrei Florescu 99 MF   FRA Lamine Ghezali

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 17 MF   ROU Geani Crețu (to Argeș Pitești) — MF   ROU Andrei Stelea (to Muscelul Câmpulung Elite)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ROU Mario Șutru (to Popești-Leordeni) — FW   ROU Daniel Dinu (to CS Dinamo)

Retired numbers

Main article: List of retired numbers in association football

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 11 MF   ROU Cătălin Hîldan (1994–2000) – posthumous honor)^[a] 14 MF   CMR Patrick Ekeng (2016) – posthumous honor)^[b]

Club officials

Board of directors Role Name Owners   Red&White Management – 80.77 %   DDB Supporters Association – 12.06 %   CS FC Dinamo – 7.03 %   Cornel Dinu – 0.01 % Board Members   Cornel Dinu   Adrian Alexandrescu   Cristian Hîldan   Nicolae Achim Special Administrator   Vlad Iacob Sporting director   Mihai Matei Organizer of Competitions   Sabin Ghiță Marketing Director   Dan Giuraniuc International Relations   Adrian Alexandrescu Economic Director   Doinița Stoica Head of Youth Development   Iulian Matei Head of Security   Cristea Cojocaru Press officer   Ionel Culina Photographer   Octavian Cocoloș Last updated: 13 March 2023 Source: Board of directors

Current technical staff Role Name Head coach   Ovidiu Burcă Assistant coaches   Sorin Colceag   Iulian Mihăescu Goalkeeping coach   Alessandro Caparco Fitness coach   Mădălin Udrea Club doctor   Mircea Miu Physiotherapist   Gabriel Niculescu Masseurs   Daniel Covaciu   Constantin Covaciu Last updated: 13 March 2023 Source: Technical staff

Statistics and records

European cups all-time statistics

Main article: FC Dinamo București in European football

Updated 3 August 2017.

Competition	S	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
UEFA Champions League / European Cup	18	66	24	10	32	96	106	–10
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup / European Cup Winners' Cup	5	20	8	4	8	25	18	+7
UEFA Europa League / UEFA Cup	23	90	37	14	39	147	127	+20
UEFA Intertoto Cup	1	4	1	0	3	4	6	–2
Total	47	180	70	28	82	272	257	+15

Records in the league:

• Consecutive winning games: 17 games (12 June 1988 – 27 November 1988)
• Best unbeaten run: 47 games (26 May 1991 – 20 September 1992)
• Player with most appearances:   Cornel Dinu (454)
• Top scorer:   Dudu Georgescu (207)
• Player with most appearances in international games:   Claudiu Niculescu (43)
• Top scorer in international games:   Claudiu Niculescu (18)

Records in the European competition:

• Biggest home win: Dinamo 11–0   Crusaders F.C. (1973–74) (still the biggest margin of victory in the history of the European Cup)
• Biggest away win:   Alki Larnaca F.C. 0–9 Dinamo (1979–80)
• Heaviest home defeat: Dinamo 0–3   Feyenoord (1971–72), Dinamo 0–3   Galatasaray (2009–10)
• Heaviest away defeat:   PFC CSKA Sofia 8–1 Dinamo (1956–57)

Notable former players

For a list of all former and current FC Dinamo București players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:FC Dinamo București players.

For a list of FC Dinamo București players by caps and goals, see List of FC Dinamo București players.

Dinamo's record appearance-maker is Cornel Dinu, who made 454 appearances between 1966 and 1983. Ionel Dănciulescu has made the second most appearances with 355.

Notable former coaches

For a list of all former and current FC Dinamo București coaches with a Wikipedia article, see Category:FC Dinamo București managers.

For a chronological list of all former and current FC Dinamo București managers, see List of FC Dinamo București managers.

Nicolae Dumitru is the most successful head coach in Dinamo's history, with five league titles and two Romanian Cups. Ioan Andone won five trophies for Dinamo, winning one title in Liga I, three Romanian Cups and one Supercup.

Notes

1. Since Unicul Căpitan (The Only Captain) died, no player will wear the number 11 shirt at Dinamo București, since the club decided to retire the shirt out of respect and posthumous honor for legend Cătălin Hîldan.
2. Patrick Ekeng died at Floreasca Hospital after he had gone into a coma in a match on 6 May 2016 against Viitorul Constanța where he joined as a substitute.

References

Notes

1. There is currently a legal debate over the identity of the other club—CSA Steaua owns the name and brand, while FCSB claims the ongoing top-division history.

Citations

1. "SC Dinamo 1948 SA" (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
2. "the first Romanian club". from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
3. "Dinamo, nume blestemat! Decăderea unui brand din Europa de Est: retrogradări, uitare, dezamăgiri!" [Dinamo, damned name! The decline of an Eastern European brand: relegations, forgetfulness, disappointments!] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
4. "Editorial Cornel Dinu. Tristeți istorice de ziua lui Dinamo. Paralelă dureroasă cu statul Israel, fondat la aceeași dată, 14 mai 1948" [Editorial Cornel Dinu. Historical sadness for Dinamo's birthday. Painful parallel with the state of Israel, founded on the same date, May 14, 1948] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 14 May 2021. from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
5. "Zbuciumatul început de an 1990" [The turmoil of the early 1990s] (in Romanian). Wesport.ro. 24 February 2021. from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
6. ""I-am scris o scrisoare lui Florentino Perez!" Cornel Dinu, dezvaluiri despre super-parteneriatul dintre Dinamo si Real Madrid" ["I wrote a letter to Florentino Perez!" Cornel Dinu, revelations about the super-partnership between Dinamo and Real Madrid] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 15 April 2021. from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
7. Dinamo (2009). "O POVESTE MEREU FRUMOASA" (in Romanian). fcdinamo.ro. from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
8. Fun Club Dinamo (2009). "Campionat 1955" (in Romanian). fanclubdinamo.freeservers.com. from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
9. Lucian Ionescu (2007). (in Romanian). sportm.ro. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012.
10. fcdinamo.ro (2008). "VIDEO / Dinamo – Hamburg 3 – 0" (in Romanian). fcdinamo.ro.^{[permanent dead link]}
11. mysport.ro (2008). (in Romanian). dinamovisti.mysport.ro. Archived from the original on 22 October 2009.
12. fcdinamo.ro (2008). (in Romanian). fcdinamo.ro. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
13. "Dinamo București 1 – 2 Liverpool". UEFA. from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
14. . Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
15. "Dinamo a retrogradat după 74 de ani de istorie extraordinară! Ultimul meci în Liga 1, ultima reprezentație în "Groapă"". DigiSport (in Romanian). 29 May 2022. from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
16. Centrul de Studii si Cercetari Infopolitic (2016). "Studiu: 49% dintre români ţin cu Steaua. Câți au optat pentru Dinamo sau Astra" (in Romanian). dolce-sport.ro. from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
17. A.G.M.Dinamo (2009). "La multi ani Nuova Guardia" (in Romanian). agmdinamo48.blogspot.com. from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
18. Ziare.com (2009). "Dinamovistii sarbatoresc 12 ani de la incendierea peluzei din Ghencea" (in Romanian). ziare.com. from the original on 31 October 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
19. "Steaua Bucharest display sabotaged by Dinamo Bucharest fans". The Guardian. 16 August 2016. from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
20. "CRAIOVA-DINAMO. Titlul pierdut dubios în '73 a generat ura oltenilor" [CRAIOVA-DINAMO. The title lost in a strange way in '73 generated the hate of "the People of Oltenia"] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 22 April 2017. from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
21. "CS U Craiova – Dinamo, orgoliul a rămas, obiectivele s-au schimbat" [CS U Craiova – Dinamo, the pride remains, the objectives have changed] (in Romanian). Telekom Sport. 16 September 2017. from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
22. "Frăţia Cu Dinamo, Povestea Care Uneşte Şi Dezbină Deopotrivă!". 27 April 2014. from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
23. fcdinamo.ro. "CENTRUL DE COPII SI JUNIORI. Viitorul fotbalului dinamovist" (in Romanian). fcdinamo.ro. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
24. "Steaua gave up the trophy in 1990". from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
25. http://www.dolce-sport.ro/fotbal/fotbal-intern/steaua-dinamo-1988-cupa-mircea-lucescu-anghel-iordanescu-44101/ 12 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine^{[bare URL]}
26. The goal of Gabi Balint was canceled because of an offside, signalled by assistant referee George Ionescu. Steaua retired from the field (by command of Valentin Ceaușescu, son of president Nicolae Ceaușescu) but the Romanian Football Federation offered the Cup to Steaua București. In 1990, Steaua renounced this trophy because it was won unjustly.
27. "Echipă" [Squad] (in Romanian). FC Dinamo București. from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
28. "FC DINAMO 1948" (in Romanian). Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.

Further reading

• Anghelache, Constantin (2015). Dinamo în fotbalul românesc. Editura Economica. ISBN 978-973-709-714-9.

External links

• Official website (in Romanian)
• FC Dinamo București on Facebook
• FC Dinamo București on Instagram
• Club profile on UEFA's official website
• Club profile on LPF's official website — 26 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine (in Romanian)