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| Full name | Asociaţia Club Sportiv FC Corvinul Hunedoara 1921 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames |
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| Short name | Corvinul | |||
| Founded | 1921; 104 years ago (1921) asFero Sport Hunedoara | |||
| Ground | Complexul Sportiv Corvinul | |||
| Capacity | 16,500 (3,000 seated) | |||
| Owners | Hunedoara Municipality Hunedoara County Council | |||
| Chairman | Sorin Cimpoca | |||
| Head coach | Florin Maxim | |||
| League | Liga II | |||
| 2024–25 | Liga II, 7th of 22 | |||
| Website | fccorvinul1921 | |||
 Current season | ||||
Asociaţia Club Sportiv FC Corvinul Hunedoara 1921 (Romanian pronunciation:[huneˈdo̯ara]), commonly known asCorvinul Hunedoara or simplyCorvinul, is aRomanian professionalfootball club based in the city ofHunedoara,Hunedoara County, that competes in theLiga II.
Founded in 1921 asFero Sport Hunedoara, the club bore various names over time, but stuck withCorvinul, inspired by the history of theHunyadi family (Romanian:Familia Corvinilor) and the localCorvin Castle. Under this name, the team achieved its best performances during the 1980s, when it was a constant appearance in thetop flight. Between 1979 and 1982, Corvinul was coached byMircea Lucescu, who would go on to become one of the most successful Romanian managers.
Following thefall of communism, Corvinul relegated to theDivizia B in 1992 and have not yet returned to the top flight. The club faced financial and identity issues in the 20th century, but in 2021 its brand was recovered by the Municipality of Hunedoara.
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Football has been practiced inHunedoara, in an unorganized way, since the early 1900s, being brought by young locals which were studying in the big cities of the country or abroad, as happened with most of the football beginnings inTransylvania.[1][2]
The year 1921 will be the first one in which aFootball Championship was organized between the borders of theKingdom of Romania, a championship which was running as a tournament with regional leagues and a national final stage. In the same year, in Hunedoara, on the initiative of several sports enthusiasts, led by Ludovic Rimbaș was established the first organized football team,Fero Sport Hunedoara. The new football club operated under the patronage of the local Iron Plant. Iosif Onciu (then director of the Iron Plant) was elected president, and Ludovic Rimbaș held both the position of secretary of the club and the manager of the team. The company's headquarters were in the former premises of the "Red Union" in Severin Street.[2]
Hunedoara's first organized football team aroused great enthusiasm among the locals, but especially among the employees of the Iron Plant, who agreed to each contribute 1% of their salary to support the new football team. At the same time, the footballers were regularly awarded by the management of the Plant and had priority in employment. Thus, from the very beginning, the football team had a close connection with the local Iron Plant, which later became a Steel Plant.[2]
From 1924, the team changed its name to U.F.H (Uzinele de Fier Hunedoara) and in 1936, toIancu Corvin Hunedoara. During theWorld War II the situation was very difficult, the team played on various makeshift grounds, more or less arranged. The club's financial situation was particularly difficult, but the club survived. In 1943, the team's name returned to U.F.H. (Uzinele de Fier Hunedoara). With the reorganization of Romania under the communist regime, the team took over the new name of the old Iron Plant, I.S.S. Hunedoara (Întreprinderile Siderurgice de Stat Hunedoara). In the same year, the football team played in the third tier (Divzia C) under the name I.M.S. Hunedoara (Întreprinderea Muncitorească Siderurgică Hunedoara) and a year later, the club's management was taken over by the union within the steel unit, the name changed again and becameMetalul Hunedoara.[2]
In 1953, Metalul was promoted to the top-flight (Divizia A) for the first time, a moment that remained in history as the first time when a football club based in the “Steel City” crossed the threshold of the first tier.[3] In that season, Hunedoara finished on the first place in the 2nd Series, 4 points away from the runners-up, another team financially supported by the Steel Industry of Romania,Metalul Câmpia Turzii.[4]
Metalul fought proudly in its first top-flight season (1954), but finally relegated after it was ranked 11th of 14, first team placed under the relegation line. The 1950s continued with five consecutive appearances in theSecond Division: (1955 – 6th,1956 – 2nd,1957–58 – 2nd,1958–59 – 4th and1959–60 – 1st).[3] In 1956Metalul Hunedoara was renamed asEnergia Hunedoara, but in 1958 the named was changed again, this time inCorvinul Hunedoara.[2] The football club based in Hunedoara frequently changed its name between 1921 and 1958 in order to create a personalized identity, something more special, that will remain in people's minds and be directly associated withHunedoara. Even if the nameCorvinul did not catch on immediately, the later performances and its uniqueness in the Romanian football landscape stuck it to the football club based inHunedoara.
Corvinul promoted toDivizia A in the summer of 1960, and it seemed that a new era was starting "under the blast furnaces", but again, the team relegated after only one season in the top-flight after it was ranked the last, out of 14 teams. The situation began to become dramatic after another year, when Corvinul made one of its worst seasons and was ranked the last in theDivizia B, relegating down to the third tier, for the first time in the last decade. After the relegation, the local authorities decided to change again the name, becauseCorvinul was an unlucky choice and renamed the club as Siderurgistul Hunedoara, again financially supported by the Iron Plant. Iron Plant of Hunedoara was not as big asGalați steel works, so automatically had less financial strength. As a result, Siderurgistul (againMetalul Hunedoara since 1964) played for no less than five consecutive seasons in theDivizia C. Finally, the Steelworkers earned promotion back to the second division at the end of the1966–67 campaign, finishing top of the table in the West Series, four points ahead of another factory team,Tractorul Brașov. The squad, coached by Gheorghe Bărbulescu and Abagiu Pîrvu, included Dobîndă, Stainer, Mercea,Vlad, Szekely, Tătaru, Ceaușu, Grozescu, Olaru, Homeghi, Pîrvu, Păunescu, Popa, Găceanu, Ciocănaru, Socol, Cristescu, Molnar, and Hristos Iorgos.[5][6]
From the middle 1960s to the middle 1970s,Metalul Hunedoara, then renamed again asCorvinul Hunedoara (in 1970) settled as an importantDivizia B side, ranking between 4th and 13th place, but never with really important chances of promotion.
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At the end of the1975–76, Corvinul promoted back toDivizia A, after 15 years of absence and struggles. It was the very beginning of Hunedoara ascension in the Romanian football. In the first half of the season, the team was managed byLadislau Vlad and Constantin Toma, then in the second half byIlie Savu, Victor Cojocaru andRemus Vlad. The squad was composed of the following players: Gheorghe Bologan, Romulus Cocu and Emeric Moritz – Ioan Stan, Nicolae Jurcă,Remus Vlad, Vasile Ghiță, Dorin Nicșa,Ioan Petcu, Alexe Lazăr, Marian Deacu, Octavian Cojocaru, Virgil Stoica, Ilie Ologu, Clemen Șureghin, Eremia Șumulanschi, Ioan Bucur, Ioan Năstase, Petre Șchiopu, Gheorghe Albu, Vasile Dina, Gheorghe Georgescu,Florea Văetuș and Dan Pintilie.[7]
In 1975 the football section was separated from the Corvinul Sports Club and the team was renamed asFC Corvinul. It was the third football club in Romania that adopted the "FC" abbreviation in its name, afterFC Argeș Pitești andFC Bihor Oradea. During the 1970s, Hunedoara's people passion for football grew up at the same time with the city's development. The Steel Plant was a force in the national industry. Starting with the spring of 1976, young footballers of the club such as Dorin Nicșa,Ioan Petcu,Florea Văetuș, Gheorghe Albu or Mihai Viespe begin to be summoned to the national groups of juniors and youth. A natural fact, especially since, at the end of the1976–77 season, Corvinul Reserves Squad was ranked on an honorable 3rd place in the championship.[7]
In the same year 1976, Gelu Simoc (one of the 28 founding members ofFC Corvinul Hunedoara, at that time head of the Personal Service within the Hunedoara Steel Plant) managed to convinceRadu Nunweiller (a star of the Romanian football at that moment) to come toHunedoara, thinking that, if, for years in a row, theRomania national football team was built, practically around him, the same could have happened in Hunedoara. However, the experience of the Dinamo player would have been extremely useful for the team in its third appearance in theFirst Division. A year later, also at the end of his career,Mircea Lucescu was also persuaded to come to Hunedoara.[7] The director of the Steel Plant at the time, Sabin Faur, led the final negotiations. However, the main merit for Lucescu's arrival in Hunedoara had the same man, Gelu Simoc. After a 14th place (1976–77) and an 8th place (1977–78), Corvinul relegated back to the second tier, at the end of the1978–79 season. After the match in which "the Steelworkers" lost any chance of remaining in the top-flight,Mircea Lucescu had one of the most pleasant "shocks" of his life when he was taken out from the stadium on arms and led in cheers and encouragement to his home by the fans, like a hero, although the team had just relegated.[7]
That moment remained in Hunedoara's history as the moment when a memorable team was born. Even if Corvinul relegated, the club's youth teams performed at a high level, thenMircea Lucescu assumed the role of manager and convincedFlorea Dumitrache, another legend of theRomania national football team of the 1970s, to sign with Corvinul. In the following years, the "square" formed ofRadu Nunweiller –Florea Dumitrache –Remus Vlad –Mircea Lucescu served as a support for the extraordinary rise of young footballers, among them:Michael Klein,Romulus Gabor,Ioan Andone,Mircea Rednic and others. Corvinul promoted back toDivizia A after only one season in the second league, winning its series.[7] At the end of the1980–81 season, Corvinul was ranked 6th, then in the following season "the Ravens" achieved their best performance, a 3rd place. During that season, the team based inHunedoara was also the leader of the league for a period and in the first squad 9 players were born inHunedoara County. The squad was managed byMircea Lucescu (player and manager) and was formed by following players: Niculai Alexa, Marian Ioniță –Ioan Andone,Mircea Rednic,Ioan Bogdan, Dumitru Gălan, Florin Dubinciuc,Michael Klein,Constantin Dumitriu, Victor Oncu, Dorin Nicșa,Dorin Mateuț,Ioan Petcu,Romulus Gabor,Florea Văetuș,Florea Dumitrache andMircea Lucescu.[8]
As a result of this performance, FC Corvinul qualified for the1982–83 UEFA Cup season. "The White and Blues" beatAustrian sideGrazer AK (3–1 on aggregate) in the First Round, but in the second round lost to Yugoslavian sideFK Sarajevo (4–8 on aggregate). During the 1980s, Corvinul became a force in the Romanian football, a name to be feared, but also to be highly respected. "Hunedorenii" were well known as a very good and offensive team on their home ground, where over this decade obtain some shocking results, among them: 9–0 vs.Rapid București, 8–0 vs.Politehnica Iași or 3–1 vs.Steaua București, this last one was obtained weeks before Steaua achieved its best performance, winning the1986 European Cup Final, againstFC Barcelona. During"Jackie" Ionescu tenure as manager of the team (1984–1986), was born a phrase that stuck with Corvinul over time, "norma hunedoareană" (Hunedoara's standard), phrase that appear from Corvinul's offensive style of football, "the Ravens" scoring in general at least three goals on their home ground.[9][10] As good as it was on its home ground, Corvinul was in generally a mediocre team on away ground, when also registered its biggest defeat, 0–11 vs.Steaua București, in 1988.[11]
In 1988 the flame began to go out, even though the reputed manager and teacher Constantin "Titi" Ardeleanu tried a refreshment of the squad. Ardeleanu's words from that time, remained deeply inscribed in the history wall of the club:"Corvinul is an important name in the Romanian football. Its contribution to the latest great international successes is undeniable! Present in many national teams, the footballers of Hunedoara gave the exact measure of their value, and Corvinul is one of the first teams in the country!" Between 1982 and 1990, the team based in Hunedoara obtained the following rankings:1982–83 – 6th,1983–84 – 12th,1984–85 – 8th,1985–86 – 5th,1986–87 – 9th,1987–88 – 7th,1988–89 – 15th and1989–90 – 8th.[12]
The 1990s represent the fall ofcommunism in Romania and the start of a new beginning for the country, but for the iron and mining industries, two of the engines of the 1970s and 1980s economy was the beginning of the end.Hunedoara County was one of the most affected regions due to its economy, which was based exactly on this two sectors of activity. The downfall of the economy affected directly the two most important clubs of the countyCorvinul andJiul Petroșani. If Jiul continued to struggle between the top two leagues for the next approximately 15 years, Corvinul played in the top-flight for only two more seasons:1990–91 and1991–92, but with result below expectations, ranking 14th and 18th, this latest result meant automatically the relegation toDivizia B, for the first time in the latest 12 years.[12]
Back in the second division, "the Ravens" accused the shock of relegation and obtained two weak rankings, in the middle and second half of the table, then the1994–95 season it seemed to be their chance to save and relaunch the club. "The White and Blues" finished the championship as runners-up in their series and qualified for the promotion play-off, where they lost 0–1 againstSportul Studențesc București. In the same period, the productive Youth Center of Corvinul gave to the Romanian football a new important name,Bogdan Lobonț, who will be sold toRapid București, two years later. Back in the second division, Corvinul results were modest and the financial support of the Iron Plant less and less consistent, thus between 1996 and 1999, the team settled in the middle of the table, between 7th and 10th place.[13]
Apart from its financial and sportive situation, Youth Center of Corvinul continue to "produce" important players, among themBogdan Andone,Decebal Gheară orBogdan Apostu, thus, with a new generation and some financial support from the Municipality ofHunedoara, Corvinul fight for a new promotion, but end the1999–2000 season only on the 3rd place, behindGaz Metan Mediaș andARO Câmpulung. This was the last season in which the team based in Hunedoara fought for promotion to the top-flight. Next season, "the Ravens" relegated toDivizia C, for the first time in the last 34 years, but promoted back after one season. For the next four seasons, Corvinul played in the second division, but at its best was ranked 7th, finally in the autumn of2004 the club was excluded from all competitions by theRomanian Football Federation because of the debts accumulated over the years.[14]
Between 2004 and 2016 the club had no senior squads registered to play in anyRomanian Football Federation competition, and was kept alive only by one youth squad that played in the County Championship.[15] In 2016, Hunedoara Court decided that FC Corvinul will be dissolved for a debt of approx. 160,500$, even though the club has managed to postpone this sentence since 2008, in the light of a lawsuit won againstRapid București regardingBogdan Lobonț transfer toAjax. Corvinul should have collected the amount of 900,000$, but Rapid also entered in bankruptcy, so Hunedoara Court considered that Corvinul has no way to collect the money and must enter in liquidation.[16]
In 2005, the last president of FC Corvinul, Mircea Alic, registered Corvinul's brand and subsequently sold it to Octavian Marian, a businessman fromBucharest, for approx. 45,000€.[17] In the same year, Municipality of Hunedoara foundedSC Corvinul 2005 Hunedoara, the club bought its place in the second division fromCS Deva, but it had a short life, the financial problems appeared again and in 2008, the new club was also dissolved.[18] In the summer of 2009 a new successor club was founded,FC Hunedoara, a club which played many consecutive seasons in theLiga III and for four years in a row missed promotion toLiga II by a slight margin. In the summer of 2016, this entity was excluded as well fromLiga III due to financial problems. Relegated in the County League, FC Hunedoara was re-organized asCS Hunedoara and promoted back.
Between 2005 and 2021, no one of the successor clubs could useFC Corvinul brand, despite the fact that the original club was a dormant one, until 2016 when Hunedoara Court decided that FC Corvinul must enter in liquidation, officially. The main issue was that Mircea Alic registered the brand, then sold it to Octavian Marian for 47.000 EUR. Competition wise, Corvinul 2005, FC Hunedoara and CS Hunedoara were the successors of FC Corvinul. These entities used the white and blue colors,Michael Klein Stadium as a home ground and were also cheered by the fans and ultras groups dedicated to the original FC Corvinul.[19]
In the summer of 2021, on the occasion of Corvinul's Centenary, the original brand, "FC Corvinul 1921" was bought for 47,000€ from Octavian Marian. For the brand acquisition, legendary names of the club were involved, among themIoan Andone,Mircea Lucescu,Bogdan Apostu orMircea Rednic, also with the support of Municipality of Hunedoara. Corvinul's Ultras groups collected more than 12,000€ and also contributed as volunteers in the campaign for Corvinul's brand acquisition. Now, it is expected that in the summer of 2022,CS Hunedoara will be merged withFC Corvinul, in order to bring back to life the old club, but also to give legal continuity for the last 17 years of struggles. CS Hunedoara already uses Corvinul logo on his shirts and marketing campaigns, as well as the official website.[17]
In the summer of 2022,CS Hunedoara was officially renamed asCS Corvinul 1921 Hunedoara (due to merge between CS Hunedoara and Corvinul Hunedoara brand). As a result, CS Hunedoara became the official successor of FC Corvinul.[20] One of the club's greatest performances in the past 30 years was that it qualified for theRomanian Cup Quarter-Finals in December 2023. The last time it reached this stage was inJune 1988, over 35 years ago.On Wednesday, 15 May 2024, Corvinul played Oțelul Galați in the Municipal Sibiu Stadium, in which the score ended 2-2, but on penalties they have won by 3–2. Getting Corvinul their first ever Romanian Cup, also being a 2nd league team while doing so, now they are to look forwards to the Europa League qualifiers.
In its first years of existence,Fero Sport Hunedoara played its home matches on thePoarta Zgurii Stadium, a ground with a capacity of only 400–500 people, two locker rooms, a warehouse and a few small annexes. Enough for a town that, at the time, had only about 4,000 inhabitants. During theWorld War II, the stadium was occupied by theSoviet Army, thus the football team moved its home matches onHășdat Stadium, considered for many organizational reasons to be inappropriate. The locker rooms were in some annexes near theCorvin Castle, and the footballers were transported to the Hășdat Stadium by carts or trucks.[2]
During the 1950s, the Iron Plant was already transformed into a real Steel Plant and a new city was "raising" in the eastern zone of the old town. The new city needed a new sports base, a stage built mainly for the football team, the old stadium, known during this period asMetalul Stadium orEnergia Stadium was considered obsolete.[21]
On 2 May 1960,Corvinul Sports Complex was opened with a football match between Corvinul andCFR Arad, won by the hosts with 1–0. The new stadium had a capacity of 16,000 people.[21] In the mid-1990s, the stadium was renamed asMichael Klein Stadium, in the honour ofMichael Klein, former footballer of "the Ravens" andRomanian national team, who died at only 33 years old, during a training of his team from that moment,Bayer Uerdingen. In 2006 the stadium was renovated and 3,000 seats were mounted.
| Competition | S | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Europa League /UEFA Cup | 2 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| UEFA Conference League | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | –6 |
| Total | 3 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 20 | –6 |
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Agg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–83 | UEFA Cup | 1R |  Grazer AK | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| 2R |  Sarajevo | 4–4 | 0–4 | 4–8 | ||
| 2024–25 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR |  Paks | 0–2 | 4–0 | 4–2 |
| 2QR |  Rijeka | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | ||
| 2024–25 | UEFA Conference League | 3QR |  Astana | 1–2 | 1–6 | 2–8 |
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]
| Current technical staff[edit]
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| Name | Period |
|---|---|
| Corvinul Hunedoara | 1921–1943 |
| Uzinele de Fier Hunedoara | 1943–1948 |
| I.M.S Hunedoara | 1948–1950 |
| Metalul Hunedoara | 1950–1956 |
| Energia Hunedoara | 1956–1958 |
| Corvinul Hunedoara | 1958–1962 |
| Siderurgistul Hunedoara | 1962–1964 |
| Metalul Hunedoara | 1964–1970 |
| Corvinul Hunedoara | 1970–2004 |
| Corvinul 2005 Hunedoara | 2005–2008 |
| FC Hunedoara | 2009–2016 |
| CS Hunedoara | 2016–2022 |
| Corvinul Hunedoara | 2022–present |
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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 Corvinul Hunedoara.
Ștefan Wetzer (1949–1950) Ștefan Wetzer (1953)Rudolf Kotormány (1953–1954)Ilie Savu (1959–1960)Colea Vâlcov (1960–1961) Gheorghe Bărbulescu (1965–1967) Nicolae Voinescu (1972–1973)Nicolae Szoboszlay (1973–1974) Gheorghe Bărbulescu (1974–1975)Ilie Savu (1975–1976)Ladislau Vlad (1976–1977)Ilie Savu (1978)Mircea Lucescu (1979–1982)Remus Vlad (1982–1983)Ladislau Vlad (1983)Gheorghe Ene (1983)Ion Nunweiller (1984–1985)Ion V. Ionescu (1990–1991)Dudu Georgescu (1992)Robert Cosmoc (1992–1993)Ioan Petcu (1995)Gabriel Stan (1995–1996)Petre Gigiu (1999)Victor Roșca (1999–2000)Romulus Gabor (2004–2005)Ioan Petcu (2005–2006)Florea Văetuș (2008)Ioan Petcu (2008)Ioan Petcu (2010–2011)Erik Lincar (2011–2012)Romulus Gabor (2014–2015)Florin Maxim (2021–) Dumitru Pătrașcu Mircea Pătrașcu
