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| Full name | Asociația Fotbal Club Chindia Târgoviște[1] | ||
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| Nickname |
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| Short name | Chindia | ||
| Founded | 11 August 2010; 15 years ago (2010-08-11) | ||
| Ground | Eugen Popescu | ||
| Capacity | 8,400 | ||
| Owners | Marcel Pavel Dâmbovița County Council Târgoviște Municipality | ||
| President | Marcel Pavel | ||
| Head coach | Ilie Poenaru | ||
| League | Liga II | ||
| 2024–25 | Liga II, 17th of 22 | ||
| Website | https://www.afcchindiatargoviste.ro/ | ||
 Current season | |||
Asociația Fotbal Club Chindia Târgoviște (Romanian pronunciation:[kinˈdi.atɨrˈɡoviʃte]), commonly known asChindia Târgoviște or simplyChindia, is a Romanian professionalfootball club based inTârgoviște,Dâmbovița County, that competes in theLiga II.
In 2010, as a result of quarrels between the owner of the original team of the city—last known asFCM Târgoviște—and the Târgoviște Municipality, the latter chose to found a new entity in association with former internationalGheorghe Popescu and formerrefereeIon Crăciunescu.[2] The club retains some elements from the now-dissolved FCM, such as the red and blue colour scheme and the "Chindia" name and crest used between 1996 and 2003.[3]Micul Ajax participated for the first time in the Romanian top flight in the2019–20 season, and thenext year equalled FCM's best result in the competition by finishing seventh.
Chindia Târgoviște mainly inherited the local fanbase of the disbanded side, and continued the football history of the city by playing its home matches at theEugen Popescu Stadium, which was reconstructed and opened in 2023.
Thefirst football team in the city was founded 1948 and had several names throughout its history, includingMetalul Târgoviște (twice),Energia,CS,Oțelul,Chindia andFCM. Despite only spending nine seasons in thetop division of Romanian football, the club had a notable generation of players in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which achieved the best ranking in the history of the club—a 7th place at the end of the1978–79 championship. This "golden generation" included players such asNicolae Dobrin andSilviu Dumitrescu.[4][5], legend of Romanian football and player atCS Târgoviște in the1981–82 season.After being relegated in 1984, the club did not recover and only reached the first division again in 1996 under the name ofCF Chindia. Even if it was probably not as good as Dumitrescu's generation, this squad consisted of local players and earned the nicknameMicul Ajax ("the Little Ajax") for its playing style.[6][7][8]
After the team faced financial issues and almost withdrew from theDivizia B championship in 2004, businessman Ghiorghi Zotic took over as owner. However, Zotic's relationship with the Târgoviște Municipality and supporters started to strain,[3] and in March 2010 theEugen Popescu Stadium rental agreement expired and was not extended. FCM Târgoviște then moved to the Alpan Stadium inȘotânga and started to decline completely; Zotic dissolved the club's senior squad in 2015, keeping only the women's football team. After one year, FCM Târgoviște enrolled in the sixth tier but was dissolved again after two seasons.
On 11 August 2010,[9] after the split between Zotic and the Târgoviște Municipality and supporters, the Municipality, together with Romanian former footballerGheorghe Popescu and in association with former internationalrefereeIon Crăciunescu, set up a new football club namedFC Chindia.[3] The club was first conceived as a football academy, similar to the model of theGheorghe Hagi Football Academy withinViitorul Constanța.
After only one season, the club was promoted to the Liga II, but after a seventh place at the end of the2011–12 edition it relegated back to theLiga III. This relegation resulted in tensions within the club, with Popescu and Crăciunescu choosing to leave the project. Owned by Târgoviște Municipality and Dâmbovița County Council, Chindia returned to the second tier after two seasons, led from the bench by Nicolae Croitoru. After the second promotion to Liga II, Chindia became a more homogeneous team, consisting mostly of local players, as in the previous times of success of its predecessor (late 1970s, early 1980s and mid-1990s). "The Little Ajax" achieved a third place and then a fifth place, before missing out on promotion after a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off againstVoluntari at the end of the2017–18 season.
Finally, Chindia secured its promotion to Liga I at the end of the2018–19 campaign by winning the second division outright. The promotion meant that the supporters were able to see a team from Târgoviște in the top flight again after 21 years of absence, the last time being when the defunct FCM Târgoviște played in the1997–98 Divizia A. Chindia finished itsinaugural Liga I season on the last place in the table, but was spared from relegation after winning the promotion/relegation play-off againstMioveni. Thefollowing year, the club equalled FCM's best result in the league championship by winning the relegation play-outs and coming seventh overall.
In the2022–23 season, Chindia started withAdrian Mihalcea on the bench,[10] but he was dismissed after eleven rounds, the team being last in the standings with only three points and no victories.[11] He was replaced byAnton Petrea.[12] Chindia finished the regular season in 12th place, but ended up in 15th place after the play-out round, thus returning to Liga II after four years in the top flight.
After relegation, Dragoș Militaru was appointed as the new head coach,[13] but was sacked after just three matches and replaced byVasile Miriuță,[14] who led the team until November, when Chindia was 10th with only 17 points, three points away from the last play-off spot. He was succeeded by ItalianDiego Longo,[15] who led the team through the rest of the2023–24 campaign, finishing 9th in the regular season and second in Group B of the play-out round.
The instability within the coaching staff continued in the2024–25 season and was reflected in the team’s results. Chindia started withMarian Vătavu as head coach,[16] but he was replaced in February 2025 byCostel Pană,[17] who led the team to finish in 16th place at the end of the regular season and second-to-last in Group B of the play-out round, avoiding relegation after a play-off match againstCSC Dumbrăvița, winning 1–0 and 3–2, the latter also being the second-to-last team in Group A of the Liga II play-out.[18][19]
The club plays its home matches onEugen Popescu Stadium in Târgoviște, which has a capacity of 6,500 seats. Opened in 1982 and originally having a capacity of 12,500 seats, the stadium is situated 200 meters away from the Chindia Tower.
In 2014, the second stand and half of the east end were closed for safety reasons, significantly reducing the arena's capacity. In the spring of 2019, due to team's performances and a potential (and ultimately secured) promotion to the top flight, the Târgoviște Municipality announced the renovation of the stadium for the amount of€16 million. During the renovation work, the team played its home matches on theIlie Oană andMunicipal stadiums, from the nearby cities ofPloiești andBuzău, respectively.[20]
Chindia Târgoviște has an important group supporters in the city and also in Dâmbovița County, the majority of them being past supporters ofFCM Târgoviște. The Chindia ultras faction is known asCavalerii Cetății ("The Knights of the Fortress").[21]
Chindia does not have many important rivalries, however, a local one between the old FCM andFlacăra Moreni was born before 1989, when the club fromMoreni had the support of thecommunist regime. Tense matches and even incidents were also noted over time in the matches againstPetrolul Ploiești and even if between the two clubs is not a proper rivalry, the supporters are not very friendly with each other.[21]
An unusual rivalry also appeared between 2010 and 2015, when on the occasion of six matches, Chindia played against the original FCM Târgoviște, the first club of the city, moved to Șotânga at the time. This encounter was similar to derbies such asASU Politehnica Timișoara vsACS Poli Timișoara orCS Universitatea Craiova vsFC U Craiova 1948, entities which assert to be successors of the same teams.[22]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Board of directors[edit]
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The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than 100 caps for AFC Chindia Târgoviște.
Mihai AioaniAlexandru BăluțăCătălin CăbuzTiberiu CăpușăCristian CherchezDenis CiobotariuCristian DanciaMarco DulcaDenis DumitrașcuPaul IacobDenis IspasLiviu MihaiSebastian MladenCristian NeguțMihai Neicuțescu Dragoș PătruDaniel PopaSorin RădoiMarian VătavuBobi VerdeșMihai VoduțCostel Pană (2010–2011)Silviu Dumitrescu (2011)Flavius Stoican (2012)Eusebiu Tudor (2012–2013)Viorel Moldovan (2018–2020) Nicolae CroitoruAnton PetreaEmil Săndoi
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Chindia Târgoviște - founded in 2010, is not the successor of the former team from Târgoviște.
