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| Full name | Asociația Fotbal Club Rocar București | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Bercenarii (The People from Berceni) | ||
| Short name | Rocar | ||
| Founded | 1953 | ||
| Dissolved | 2009 | ||
| Ground | ANEFS | ||
| Capacity | 6,000 | ||
Rocar București was aRomanian professionalfootballclub based inBucharest, founded in 1953 and dissolved in 2009. The club had a meteoric appearance in the forefront ofRomanian football. Promoted in 1999, the club from Drumul Găzarului Street in theBerceni Neighborhood, has made way back two years later. Also, Rocar reached theCupa României final in the2000–01 season.[1]
The club was founded in 1953 under the name of Uzina de Autobuze București, being under the tutelage of theRomanian bus manufacturer with the same name, and competed in theBucharest Municipal Championship.[2][3]
Autobuzul was promoted toDivizia C at the end of the1967–68 season, finishing 1st in Series I of the Bucharest Municipal Championship. However, Autobuzul lost the Municipal Championship final to Voința București.[4][5]
In thefirst season in the third division, ”Bercenarii” finished in 4th place, and in thefollowing season, Autobuzul won Series IV of Divizia C but missed promotion to thesecond division, finishing 4th inthe play-off group held inBrașov. The squad included the following players: Ocea, Pandele, Opriș, Diaconu, Baicu, Ivan, Gerea, Rențea, Tănase, Andrei, Cărbuneanu, Radu, Postelnicu, Popescu, Jipa, Bobin, Vîrban, Constantin Tiniche, Dincă, Petculescu and Pipoi.[3]
After another two seasons in Divizia C, finishing 12th in the1970–71 season and 3rd in the1971–72 season, Autobuzul managed to promote toDivizia B. This promotion was achieved at the end of the1972–73 season, when the team finished in 2nd place. The club’s leadership included engineer Vasile Cornac as association president and C. Băcanu as head of the football division. Coach Emil Samureanu was responsible for this achievement, assembling a squad of players who contributed to the team's success. The team included players such as Matache, Pandele, Diaconu, Gostin, Popescu, Bobin, Radu, Cosma, Maruneac, C. Tiniche, Chiriță, Cațaros, Stănescu, Ivan, Bică, Melencovici, Nicolau, Ion Cățoi, Rențea, Dăncescu, Ghiță, Riocsan, Petculescu, and Ciferidis.[3]
In Divizia B, Autobuzul was assigned to Series II and played three consecutive seasons. The team finished itsfirst season in the second division in 11th place, two points above the relegation line, followed by a 7th-place finish in the1974–75 season. However, Autobuzul was relegated at the end of the1975–76 season, finishing in last place.
Autobuzul returned tosecond division at the end of the1988–89 season, finishing 1st in the Series V ofDivizia C. The squad coached by Gheorghe Pareșcura was composed from following players: Ene,C. Cristescu, Marius Curelea, Roșu, Ursu, Dumitru, Dițu, Virgil Cârstea, Salami, C. Nicolae, Iliescu, Silviu Cristescu, Mihai Dărăban, Iordache, Pantelimon, Butoi,M. Ploaie,R. Voinea and Tănase.[6]
| Name[2] | Period |
|---|---|
| Uzina de Autobuze București | 1953–1968 |
| Autobuzul București | 1968–1993 |
| Rocar București | 1993–2002 |
| Rocar ANEFS București | 2005–2009 |
Rocar played its home matches at theANEFS Stadium in Bucharest, which has a capacity of 6,000 people. Built in 1960, the stadium was previously known as Autobuzul and later as Rocar.[7]
Bucharest Municipal Championship