 | ||||
| Full name | Asociația Club de Fotbal Gloria Bistrița | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Vampirii albaștri (The Blue Vampires) Alb-albaștrii (The White and Blues) Glorioșii (The Glorious Ones) Echipa lui Dracula (Dracula's Squad) | |||
| Short name | Gloria | |||
| Founded | 6 July 1922; 103 years ago (6 July 1922) | |||
| Dissolved | 2015 | |||
| Ground | Jean Pădureanu | |||
| Capacity | 7,800[1] | |||
| Website | https://www.gloria-bistrita.ro | |||
Asociația Club de Fotbal Gloria Bistrița (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈɡlori.aˈbistrit͡sa]), commonly known asGloria Bistrița, or simply asGloria, was aRomanian professionalfootballclub based inBistrița,Bistrița-Năsăud County founded on 6 July 1922 and dissolved in 2015.
The club was founded on 6 July 1922, and among its founding staff were Simion Sbârcea as president, Teofil Moldovan as secretary, and Ion Bota, Leon Bârsan, Dumitru Hara, Simion Pop, Ioan Archiudean, and others as members of the club's administration committee.[2]
Throughout its earlier history, the club had several other names:Ceramica Bistrița (beforeWorld War II),CS Bistrița (after World War II) andProgresul Bistrița until 1956, when the old name, Gloria, was readopted.[2]
In the1954 season, the team participated in theLiga II promotion playoffs but missed on the promotion, in spite of the fact that, at that time, Progresul had on its team futureRomania national team players,Anton andDumitru Munteanu brothers.[2]
Gloria promoted toDivizia B at the end of the1957–58 season after winning Series IV ofDivizia C. The team also reached the Round of 16 inCupa României, after eliminating first-division sideCS Târgu Mureș 5–2, but lost 2–3 toCS Oradea. The squad included Radu, Kaiser, Ivanenco, Covaci, Țiriac, Vasilescu, Botescu, Ilie Copil, Marin Vasile, Firică,Zeană and Rădulescu.[2][3][4][5]
In the1958–59 season, coached by Gheorghe Nuțescu, Gloria ranked last in Series II of Divizia B but was spared from relegation due to the expansion of the second division. Nuțescu continued to lead the team until mid-season of the1959–60 campaign, when he was replaced byAdalbert Pall,[6] who guided Gloria to a 9th-place finish in Series I.[7]
Pall remained in charge during the first half of the1960–61 season but was replaced midway by Gheorghe Nuțescu,[8] who returned to the bench and led the team until the end of the campaign, which concluded with relegation to the Regional Championship after a 13th-place finish in Series III.[7]
During the 1962–63 season, Gloria Bistrița, once again guided by Gheorghe Nuțescu, won theCluj Regional Championship and promoted to Divizia C, where they competed in the North Series. Gloria ranked 3rd in1963–64, finished as runners-up in1964–65, but unexpectedly relegated at the end of the1965–66 season after finishing 13th.[9]
In the1966–67 campaign, Gloria once again won the Cluj Regional Championship after finishing 1st in the Someș Series and defeatingCFR Cluj, winners of the Mureș Series, in the regional final (1–1 away and 2–1 home). However, they lost the promotion play-off against Știința Târgu Mureș,champions of the Mureș Region, 2–1 at home and 0–2 away.[10]
Gloria returned to Divizia C at the end of thefollowing season, after once again winning the Someș Series of the Cluj Regional Championship and earning direct promotion due to the expansion of the third tier.[11] In Divizia C, Gloria played in Series VII and finished 4th in the1968–69 season.[12]
Thefollowing season, Gloria won the series and qualified for the promotion play-off, finishing 2nd in Promotion Group II held in Arad, behindUM Timișoara and ahead of Minaur Zlatna andTractorul Brașov, thus returning to the second division after nearly a decade. Constantin Popescu had at his disposal the following players Bocșa, Barta, Pădureanu, Cîțu, Rusu, Pantelimon, Moldovan, Greavu, Olteanu, Pop, Iuliu Ciocan, Treabă, Victor Ciocan, Mureșan, Dinu, Schim and Kadar.[13]
After the relegation at the end of the1973–74 season, when the team ranked last in Series III, Gloria finally earned promotion for the third time under Gheorghe Nuțescu’s reign during the1974–75 season. The team then played in Divizia B for fifteen consecutive years, between 1975 and 1990, featuring many valuable players such asDaniel Iftodi, Gheorghe Hurloi, Victor Ciocan, and others.
Gloria earned promotion to theRomanian top league at the end of the1989–90 season by winning Series III of the second division under coachRemus Vlad, and subsequently competed at that level without interruption until 2011. During this time, the club also gaveRomanian football remarkable players such asViorel Moldovan,Gavril Balint,Lucian Sânmărtean,Ciprian Tătărușanu,Emilian Dolha,Cristian Coroian, and others. After beginning somewhat shyly in the top division, in 1993 Gloria finished in fifth place and managed to achieve their premiere qualification for a European international competition, theUEFA Cup. They drew 0–0 withMaribor at home, but were eliminated after a 2–0 defeat on the road in the second leg. In 1994, Gloria Bistrița won theRomanian Cup after defeatingUniversitatea Craiova by a score of 1–0. Despite finishing in seventh place, thanks to their cup final win, Gloria qualified for theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup. They beat the future UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winnersReal Zaragoza 2–1 inBistrița, but were eliminated after losing 4–0 at theEstadio La Romareda. After an absence of one season, although having finished in 12th place, Gloria returned to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup after losing 3–1 in the final of the Romanian Cup against league championsSteaua București. They qualified past the inaugural round after defeatingValletta FC by scores of 2–1 in both legs. In the first round proper, Gloria drew 1–1 inBistrița against Italian giantsFiorentina, but were eliminated by losing 1–0 inFlorence.
In 1997, Gloria made its debut in theUEFA Intertoto Cup. At the group stage, playing in group 10, they finished in fourth place (out of 5 teams), having lost againstMontpellier (1–2),Čukarički Stankom (3–2) andGroningen (4–1) and having won againstSpartak Varna (2–1). In 2000, Gloria wonCupa Ligii, 3–1 on penalties, after having drawn 2–2 after extra time againstFCM Bacau. They then failed to qualify for the second round of the 2001 Intertoto Cup after losing 1–0 toJazz Pori inFinland and winning 2–1 in Bistrița. In 2002, Gloria qualified for the third round for the first time after eliminatingUnion Luxembourg (2–1 in Bistrița and 0–0 in Luxembourg) andTeuta Durrës (3–0 in Bistrița and 0–1 in Albania), but were eliminated byLille (2–0 in both legs). In 2003, Gloria Bistrița finished the league season tied on points with FC Brasov in third place, the club's best ever performance, and qualified for the second round of the Intertoto Cup after eliminatingBangor City (0–1 inWales and 5–2 in Bistrița), but the team was eventually eliminated byBrescia (1–2 inItaly and 1–1 in Bistrița).
In 2005, Gloria earned its best European results ever againstOlympiakos Nicosia: 5–0 inCyprus (its best away European victory) and 11–0 in Bistrița (its best home European victory). In 2007, Gloria finished its business with European competitions. In the 2007 Intertoto Cup, they eliminatedOFK Grbalj (2–1 in Bistrița and 1–1 inMontenegro) andMaccabi Haifa (2–0 in Bistrița and 0–2 inIsrael, 3–2 on penalties), but then lost the Cup final match (in the Southern-Mediterranean region) againstAtlético Madrid. Even though they beat Atlético, 2–1 in Bistrița,[14] they lost 1–0[15] inMadrid, and so, 2–2 on aggregate, the Spanish prevailed on theaway goals rule.
After 2007, Gloria changed its objective, from European competitions to avoiding relegation. In 2011, Gloria was relegated inLiga II after failing to achieve a license for thenext season.
Gloria's funding problems worsened. However, Gloria Bistrița resisted on the pitch, and finished runner-up in the second division, thereby earning promotion toLiga I once again, under the leadership of coachNicolae Manea. In thefollowing season, however, Gloria had the worst record in first division, finishing 18th, and were relegated yet again. After the second relegation, Manea left the club to coachCorona Brașov, taking with him former Gloria strikers,Cristian Coroian andSandu Negrean, as technical director and head coach respectively, with the stated objective of gaining promotion.
On 25 July 2014, Gloria was relegated to Liga III, due to many financial problems, and changed its name from ACF Gloria 1922 Bistrița to Gloria Progresul Bistrița.
On 3 August 2015, the club was relegated to Liga V, due to many financial problems, and went bankrupt.[16]
After the bankruptcy ofACF Gloria 1922 Bistriţa, a new club was formed,AF Gloria Bistrița, also known asAcademia Gloria, club that wanted to continue the football tradition of Gloria and had also a short term rivalry withFC Bistrița, another team that wanted to fight for the supremacy in the town. Eventually FC Bistrița won the battle and promoted toLiga III, but due to lack of funds the team retired in the second part of the season and dissolved soon after.[17] The death of the one who led Gloria for decades, Jean Pădureanu, seemed to be the last hammer blow for the football in Bistrița. Academia Gloria was a disputed project from its beginning, the new logo that depicted an ostrich with a ball at its feet has long been challenged by both media and supporters.[18] Even if the team managed to promote fromLiga V toLiga IV in its first year, has been stuck to this level for next two. The lack of results, the lack of interest in getting the ACF Gloria 1922 Bistriţa brand (to become the official successor) and the lack of professionalism at the level of management have removed both supporters and local authorities from this team, which was finally dissolved in the summer of 2018.[19]
In the summer of 2018 when it seemed the situation had already a note of apathy and resignation, ACS Dumitra, a multiplechampion of the Bistrița-Năsăud County and also the champion of the last season, announced that it changed its name to1. FC Gloria Bistrița. The new president of the club was named Ioan Horoba, who was also the sporting director of ACF Gloria 1922 Bistriţa, in Pădureanu's era.[20] In the squad were found players who have been successful with the old club such as:Sergiu Costin,Alin Chibulcutean,Sergiu Mândrean orAdrian Nalați.Founded on 31 May 2018 under the name of 1. FC Gloria, the team is considered as the unofficial successor of ACF Gloria Bistrița, both by supporters, the media, but also the club itself assuming this status. The team has a similar name, same colors (white and blue), is playing on the same stadium, also having former directors, managers and players of the old club involved in the destiny of the new entity. 1. FC Gloria also announced that in the future would like to buy ACF Gloria 1922 Bistriţa brand and to become its official successor.[21]
The stadium was inaugurated in 1930 and modernized in 2008. It was calledStadionul Municipal Gloria, before being named after the most important person in the club's history, Jean Pădureanu. The stadium has a total capacity of 7,800 seats.[1]
| Competition | S | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup /European Cup Winners' Cup | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 |
| UEFA Europa League /UEFA Cup | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 7 | 28 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 46 | 33 | +13 |
| Total | 10 | 36 | 14 | 6 | 16 | 53 | 44 | +9 |
| Season | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 | First round |  Spain | Real Zaragoza | 2–1 | 0–4 | 2–5 |
| 1996–97 | Qualifying round |  Malta | Valletta | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 |
| First round |  Italy | Fiorentina | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Season | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 | First round |  Slovenia | NK Maribor | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| Season | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Group stage (10) |  France | Montpellier | 1–2 | 4th place | |
 Yugoslavia | Čukarički Stankom | 2–3 | ||||
 Bulgaria | Spartak Varna | 2–1 | ||||
 Netherlands | Groningen | 1–4 | ||||
| 2001 | First round |  Finland | FC Jazz | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 (a) |
| 2002 | First round |  Luxembourg | Union Luxembourg | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Second round |  Albania | Teuta | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | |
| Third round | France | Lille | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | |
| 2003 | First round |  Wales | Bangor City F.C. | 5–2 | 1–0 | 6–2 |
| Second round | Italy | Brescia Calcio | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | |
| 2004 | First round |  Switzerland | FC Thun | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| 2005 | First round |  Cyprus | Olympiakos Nicosia | 11–0 | 5–0 | 16–0 |
| Second round |  Croatia | NK Slaven Belupo | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–4 | |
| 2007 | First round |  Montenegro | Grbalj | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| Second round |  Israel | Maccabi Haifa | (aet) 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 (3–2p) | |
| Third round | Spain | Atlético Madrid | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 (a) |
Augustin Botescu (1956) Gheorghe Nuțescu (1958–1959)Adalbert Pall (1960) Gheorghe Nuțescu (1961)Virgil Mărdărescu (1961–1962) Gheorghe Nuțescu (1962–1963) Constantin Popescu (1968–1974) Gheorghe Nuțescu (1974–1975)Ion Nunweiller (1981–1983)Ilie Savu (1984–1985)Constantin Cernăianu (1987–1988)Remus Vlad (1990–1992)Constantin Cârstea (1992–1993)Remus Vlad (1994)Constantin Cârstea (1994–1996)Remus Vlad (1996–1997)Constantin Cârstea (1997–2002)Remus Vlad (2002–2004)Constantin Cârstea (2004–05)Ioan Sabău (July 2005 – June 2009)Sandu Tăbârcă (July 2009 – Oct 09)Florin Halagian (Oct 2009)Marian Pană (Oct 2009 – Dec 09)Marius Șumudică (Jan 2010 – May 10)Laurențiu Reghecampf (June 2010 – Oct 10)Nicolae Manea (Oct 2010 – April 2011)Florin Halagian (April 2011)Nicolae Manea (April 2011 – June 2013)Sandu Negrean &Cristian Coroian (June 2013 – June 2014)Valer Săsărman &Dorel Zegrean (June 2014 – August 2015)Club records in Liga 1 dating from the past 20 years
Longest winning run
Longest unbeaten run
Biggest wins
Biggest losses
Most played games
Most goals
