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| Full name | Fotbal Club Astra II | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | Astra II | ||
| Founded | 2013 | ||
| Dissolved | 2021 | ||
| Ground | Astra /Conpet | ||
| Capacity | 9,000 / 1,732 | ||
Fotbal Club Astra II, commonly known asAstra II Ploiești (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈastradoiploˈjeʃtʲ]),Astra II Giurgiu, or simply asAstra II, is the reserve squad ofRomanian second league side,Astra Giurgiu. The team was founded in 2013 to serve as a "launch pad" to the first team, for the young players from the club's youth center.
The history of Astra's reserve team began in 2010, whenIoan Niculae, the owner ofAstra Ploiești, purchasedDunărea Giurgiu, a club founded in 1963 and competing inLiga II at the time. Following the acquisition, Dunărea was renamed Astra II Giurgiu, becoming the reserve squad of Astra Ploiești.[1][2] In the summer of 2012, the club was dissolved after the owner decided to reduce expenses.
In September 2012, the first team moved from Ploiești to Giurgiu and was renamedAstra Giurgiu.[3] The relocation applied only to official matches, while the youth academy and training sessions remained in Ploiești. Meanwhile, the reserve team, Astra Ploiești III, competed inLiga IV – Prahova County.[4]
During the2012–13 season, the reserve team established its camp inCiorani, Prahova County, approximately 40 km from Ploiești, and was renamed Astra II Ciorani through the involvement of the local municipality and businessman Ion Mihai. The team attempted to avoid relegation with the help of former top-division players who had previously played forPetrolul Ploiești –Laurențiu Dumitru,Florin Pancovici, and Valentin Iordache – along with Valeriu Aristan, serving as player-coach. Later in the season, Adrian Peiu took over as head coach in April 2013, guiding the team to a 13th-place finish.[5][6]
Astra II achieved promotion toLiga III at the end of the2013–14 season under Valeriu Aristan’s leadership, after winning the Prahova County title and the promotion play-off againstFC Aninoasa, theLiga IV – Dâmbovița County champions. The squad for the decisive match comprised A. Catană – R. Catană, I. Neagu, Iordache, Zegheru – Bărăgan (cpt) – Petculescu (61’ Chiși), Butufei, Munteanu (83’ Răileanu), Petrescu (51’ Aristan) – Ciobanu.[7][8][9]
After the promotion Astra II moved toPloiești, on theAstra Stadium and started to be known as Astra II Ploiești, even if in some situations media refers to the team, as Astra II Giurgiu, due to name of the mother club, Astra Giurgiu. In theLiga III Astra II finished last in the first season and relegated. Afterone season in thefourth league, where it finished 9th of 16, Astra II entered back in theLiga III at the start of the2016–17 Liga III season, taking advantage of the new rule through which the first league teams could enroll their reserve squads directly in the third tier. Further, with managers such asConstantin Schumacher,Marius Măldărășanu orAdrian Senin, Astra II obtained comfortable results: 10th (2016–17) and 4th (2017–18).[10]
During the2017–18 season, Astra II had the opportunity to bring back to life thePloiești derby, againstPetrolul Ploiești. The matches ended with two draws, 0–0 onIlie Oană Stadium and 2–2 onAstra Stadium.[11][12]
In 2010, when the first reserve squad was founded, it played the home matches onMarin Anastasovici Stadium inGiurgiu,Giurgiu County. From 2012 on this stadium plays its home matches the first squad of the football club,Astra Giurgiu.
In 2013, after the re-foundation, in the current format, Astra II started to play its home matches on Ionuț Trandafir Stadium inCiorani,Prahova County, with a capacity of 1,500 seats.[13]
In 2014 after the promotion toLiga III, Astra II moved its home matches onAstra Stadium inPloiești,Prahova County, the former stadium of the mother club,Astra Giurgiu. Astra Stadium has a capacity of 9,000 seats and is still used also by the first squad for training.
In the autumn of 2018, Astra II started to play some home matches onConpet Stadium inStrejnicu, with a capacity of 1,732 seats.
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Constantin Schumacher (2015)Marius Măldărășanu (2016–2018)Adrian Senin (2018–2019)
