Cupa României

The Cupa României (English: Romanian Cup) is a football cup competition for Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the country's main cup competition, being open to all clubs affiliated with the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) and the county football associations regardless of the league they belong to. Currently, the winner of the competition is granted a place in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers and plays the Supercupa României.

Cupa României
Founded1933
RegionRomania
Number of teams202
Qualifier forUEFA Europa League
Domestic cup(s)Supercupa României
Current championsFCSB (24th title)
Most successful club(s)FCSB (24 titles)[note 1]
Television broadcastersDigi Sport
Telekom Sport
Look Plus
Look Sport
Websitecuparomaniei.frf.ro
2020–21 Cupa României

Most finals have been held at the Stadionul Național (formerly known as "23 August"), and occasionally at other stadiums in Bucharest. During the construction of the new Stadionul Național, the final was staged each year in a different major city of the country. In 2007, the final was held in Timișoara at the Dan Păltinișanu stadium, this being the second occasion when the last game was played outside Bucharest (the first occurrence took place in 1989, when Brașov hosted the event). Then, the next three finals were staged in Piatra Neamț, Târgu Jiu, Iași and again in Brașov.

The competition has been dominated by Bucharest-based teams, the most successful performers being FCSB with twenty-three trophies,[note 1] followed by Rapid București and Dinamo București with thirteen each. The record for the most consecutive Cups won is held by Rapid București, who won the Romanian Cup 6 times in a row, between 1937 and 1942.

Sponsorship
Former logo between 2006 and 2016

On 22 July 2005, FRF and Samsung Electronics signed a one-year sponsorship deal. The name of the competition was changed to Cupa României Samsung.[1]

On 9 October 2006, FRF and Ursus Breweries (part of the SABMiller group) signed a sponsorship agreement for the next three seasons. Ursus Breweries changed the name of the competition to Cupa României Timișoreana, after the Timișoreana beer brand.[2][3]

On 16 May 2016, FRF announced the rebranding of competition and the signing of contracts with new sponsors like Kaufland, UPC Broadband and Stanleybet.[4][5]

On 20 October 2017, FRF announced that the new main sponsor of the competition is the betting company Casa Pariurilor.[6]

Competition format

The competition has undergone minor changes in format over the years. The following format came in use in the 2009–10 season. The main differences between the current system and the last one are the dates at which rounds take place, and the two-legged format of the semifinals.[7]

County phase

The competition at this phase is organized by the county football associations. Forty-two teams (one from each county) advance to the next phase.

National phase

The competition at this phase is organized by the Romanian Football Federation (FRF). For the first five rounds, teams are paired using geographical criteria in order to avoid long travel distances. The teams from a lower division or with a lower ranking in the last league season host the games.

  • First round – 140 teams (42 teams qualified from the county phase and 98 Liga III teams)
  • Second round – 80 teams (70 winners from the first round and the remaining 10 Liga III teams)
  • Third round – 40 teams (winners from the second round)
  • Fourth round – 56 teams (20 winners from the third round and all 36 Liga II teams)
  • Fifth round – 28 teams (winners from the fourth round)
  • Round of 32 – (14 winners from the fifth round and all 18 Liga I teams)
Starting with this round a seeding system is used for the draw, as follows:
    • Pot A: Teams 1–6 from last season's Liga I final table (6 teams)
    • Pot B: The remaining Liga I teams (12 teams)
    • Pot C: Teams from the lower divisions (14 teams)
Teams from pot A are paired with teams from pot C, then the eight remaining pot C teams are paired with pot B teams, with the lower league clubs hosting the games. The four remaining pot B teams will play each other, with the host club determined by means of a draw.
  • Round of 16 (winners from the Round of 32)
  • Quarterfinals
  • Semifinals
  • Final

Every year, based on the national and international football calendar, FRF's executive committee may choose a two-leg or one-leg system for the round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals.[8] Games at these stages are, when played using a one-leg system, hosted by a neutral venue. The final is held at a pre-established venue, normally in Bucharest.

Results of the Finals
Main article: List of Cupa României finals

Performances

Performance by club

The performance of various clubs is shown in the following table:[9]

Club Winners Runners-up Winning years
FCSB
24
8
 1948–49, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88,[10][11] 1988–89, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2019–20
Dinamo București
13
9
 1958–59, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2011–12
Rapid București
13
6
 1934–35, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07
Universitatea Craiova
7
4
 1976-77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1990–91, 1992–93, 2017–18
CFR Cluj
4
1
 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2015–16
Petrolul Ploiești
3
1
 1962–63, 1994–95, 2012–13
FC Politehnica Timișoara
2
6
 1957–58, 1979–80
Ripensia Timișoara
2
2
 1933–34, 1935–36
UTA Arad
2
2
 1947–48, 1953
Progresul București
1
4
 1959–60
Universitatea Cluj
1
4
 1964–65
Progresul Oradea
1
1
 1956
Jiul Petroșani
1
1
 1973–74
Gloria Bistrița
1
1
 1993–94
Astra Giurgiu
1
1
 2013–14
CFR Turnu Severin
1
–
 1942–43
Metalul Reșița
1
–
 1954
Arieșul Turda
1
–
 1960–61
Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea
1
–
 1972–73
Voluntari
1
–
 2016–17
Viitorul Constanța
1
–
 2018–19
Sportul Studențesc București
–
3
 –
Unirea Tricolor București
–
2
 –
Baia Mare
–
2
 –
CAM Timișoara
–
1
 –
Venus București
–
1
 –
CFR Timișoara
–
1
 –
Flacăra Mediaș
–
1
 –
Energia Câmpia Turzii
–
1
 –
Dinamo Obor București
–
1
 –
Siderurgistul Galați
–
1
 –
Dinamo Pitești
–
1
 –
Foresta Fălticeni
–
1
 –
Constructorul Galați
–
1
 –
CSU Galați
–
1
 –
Olimpia Satu Mare
–
1
 –
Bacău
–
1
 –
Dacia Unirea Brăila
–
1
 –
Rocar București
–
1
 –
Oțelul Galați
–
1
 –
Farul Constanța
–
1
 –
Unirea Urziceni
–
1
 –
Vaslui
–
1
 –
Hermannstadt
–
1
 –
Sepsi OSK
–
1
 –

Performance by city

The following table sorts cities by the number of Cups won by local teams. Bucharest, hosting the three most decorated sides in the competition and having staged the majority of the Cup finals, is easily the most prolific city.

City Cups Winning clubs
Bucharest
51
 FCSB (24), Dinamo (13), Rapid (13), Progresul (1)
Craiova
7
 Universitatea Craiova (7)
Cluj
5
 CFR (4), Universitatea Cluj (1)
Timișoara
4
 FC Politehnica (2), Ripensia (2)
Ploiești
3
 Petrolul (3)
Arad
2
 UTA (2)
Oradea
1
 Club Atletic (1)
Petroșani
1
 Jiul (1)
Bistrița
1
 Gloria (1)
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
1
 CFR (1)
Reșița
1
 Metalul (1)
Turda
1
 Arieșul (1)
Râmnicu Vâlcea
1
 Chimia (1)
Giurgiu
1
 Astra (1)
Voluntari
1
 Voluntari (1)
Ovidiu
1
 Viitorul (1)

Records
As of 16 July 2015. [12][13]
Top five goalscorers
Player Club Goals
1 Ionel Dănciulescu Electroputere Craiova, Dinamo București, Steaua București 41
2 Florea Voinea Steaua București, Prahova Ploiești 40
3 Gyula Barátky Rapid București, Crișana Oradea 37
4 Ion Alecsandrescu Steaua București, CA Câmpulung Moldovenesc 34
5 Ștefan Dobay Ripensia Timișoara 33

References
  1. UEFA and LPF attribute the historic Steaua București records and honours up to 2003 to FCSB. The CSA Steaua sports club, which refounded their football department in 2017, also asserts the ownership of the 20 Cupa României trophies won during that period—This would leave FCSB with only three titles. Also note that Steaua/FCSB is sometimes credited as the winner of the 1987–88 Cupa României, which it renounced.
  1. "Cupa și Supercupa României – Samsung". Gazeta de Nord-Vest (in Romanian). 2005-07-23. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. Tudor, Diana (2007-07-04). "Cum au ajuns Bergenbier, Timisoreana si Burger titulari pe terenul de fotbal". Ziarul Financiar (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. "Parteneriat FRF-Timișoreana" (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. 2010-02-23. Archived from the original on 2015-11-22. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  4. "FOTO Cupa României s-a rebranduit – Cum arată noul logo și noile medalii ale competiției". GSP.ro. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  5. "Federația Română de Fotbal lansează noul brand al Cupei României, cu ocazia finalei numărul 78 a competiției". FRF. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  6. "Casa Pariurilor este noul sponsor al Ligii 2 și al Cupei României" [Casa Pariurilor is the new sponsor of Liga II and Romanian Cup] (in Romanian). FRF. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  7. "Regulament" (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  8. "Regulamentul de desfasurare a activitatii fotbalistice" (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  9. Stokkermans, Karel (4 June 2015). "Romania Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  10. "Romanian Cup: Season 1987-1988". Romanian Soccer History & Statistics. Retrieved 26 October 2015. The goal of Balint was anulated because of off-side, at signalling of assistant referee George Ionescu. Steaua retired from the field (after the command of Valentin Ceaușescu, the son of president Nicolae Ceaușescu) but Romanian Federation of Football offered the Cup to Steaua București. In 1990, Steaua renounced at this trophy because it was won unjust.
  11. "Mircea Lucescu despre Steaua - Dinamo: 'Rivalitatea a existat mai mult între mine și Valentin Ceaușescu'". Dolce Sport (in Romanian). Telekom Romania. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  12. Muresanu, Catalin; Toma, Razvan (22 April 2011). "La trântă cu recordurile și în Cupă!". ProSport (in Romanian). Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  13. "Ionel Dănciulescu e cel mai bun marcator din istoria Cupei României" [Ionel Dănciulescu is the best scorer in the history of the Romanian Cup] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
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