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| Full name | Club Sportiv LPS HD Clinceni | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Academicienii (The Academics) Ilfovenii (The People fromIlfov County) | |||
| Founded | 2005; 20 years ago (2005) asCS Buftea 2022; 3 years ago (2022) asLPS HD Clinceni | |||
| Ground | Clinceni | |||
| Capacity | 4,500 | |||
| Owner | Clinceni Commune | |||
| Chairman | Sorin Parancea | |||
| Manager | Paul Pîrvulescu | |||
| League | Liga III | |||
| 2024–25 | Liga III, Seria IV, 6th | |||
 Current season | ||||
Club Sportiv LPS HD Clinceni, commonly known asClinceni and formerly asAcademica Clinceni, is a Romanianfootballclub based inClinceni,Ilfov County, currently playing in theLiga IV -Ilfov County. In the summer of 2022 formerAcademica Clinceni went bankrupt, but the club was refounded asLPS HD (Liceul cu Program Sportiv Helmuth Duckadam) Clinceni.
Academica Clinceni was founded inBuftea in 2005, following a merger between two clubs, and enrolled directly in thethird division. It promoted to theLiga II at the end of the2007–08 season, but participated in the competition for only one year after it sold its place and returned to the third tier. After several yearsBuftea promoted again, but following the withdrawn of their financial support the club had to relocate three times—The first time in 2013, when it was bought by the authorities fromClinceni, also in Ilfov County, one year later when it moved toPitești, and finally when it returned to Clinceni and settled on the current name in 2015.
In 2017, Academica started a partnership withFCSB, loaning a number of youth players from the latter's academy, and achieved a surprising promotion to the Liga I in 2019. The team represents the smallest locality to ever participate in the Romanian first league, thecommune of Clinceni only having a population of roughly 5,000 people.[1]
FC Academica Clinceni was founded in 2005 under the name ofCS Buftea, being originally based in the town ofBuftea,Ilfov County.[2] CS Buftea was formed following a merger between a local team fromBuftea, which was playing in the fourth division andCimentul Fieni, first colors of the club were red, white and blue and as a peculiarity, the senior squad of the club was enrolled directly in the third tier (Liga III) and assigned to the third series, on the place occupied by Cimentul, where it was ranked 6th at the end of the season.[3][4] Next season (2006–07) was a better one for the club located only 20 km north-west ofBucharest, finishing on the podium and achieving the bronze medal, but pretty far from the championsConcordia Chiajna (13 points) and runners-upJuventus București (8 points).[5] The ascension of the club continued and at the end of the2007–08 season has advanced a place, finishing this time as runners-up, in a third series totally dominated byFC Ploiești which had an advance of 19 points in front of "the red-white-blue team".[6] After a promotion play-off tournament held on neutral ground, atCâmpina onPoiana Stadium,CS Buftea promoted for the first time in its history in theLiga II. The promotion was obtained after winning the first group of the play-off tournament, a group consisting ofJuventus București,Aerostar Bacău and "the red-white-blue team".[3]
| Name[7] | Period |
|---|---|
| CS Buftea | 2005–2009 |
| ACS Buftea | 2009–2013 |
| FC Clinceni | 2013–2014 |
| Academica Argeș | 2014–2015 |
| Academica Clinceni | 2015–2022 |
| LPS HD Clinceni | 2022–present |
In the summer of 2008, after the promotion, the football club led at that time by president Sorin Dumitrescu and general manager Dumitru Tudor, realized that it would be quite difficult to manage by itself in the second tier and started a collaboration with the top-flight squadPolitehnica Timișoara.[8] Through this collaboration atBuftea arrived, on loan, a number of important players such asCristian Zimmermann,Ioan Mera,Alin Rațiu,Marian Chițu,Adrian Popa,Cristian Scutaru,Artur Pătraș,Alexandru Popovici,Florin Sandu,Adrian Poparadu,Gueye Mansour orMircea Axente, among others. With this dream team in which more than half of the players were on loan from Politehnica Timișoara, the club was quickly perceived as a satellite of "the white and violet" club. The technical bench has been completed with Ion Balaur (head coach),Daniel Iftodi andVasile Caciureac (assistant managers), Nicolae Ciocănișteanu (goalkeeping coach) and the club nearBucharest ended the autumn season on an honorable seven place, with 23 points, over teams such asPetrolul Ploiești,Sportul Studențesc,Concordia Chiajna,FC Botoșani orFCM Bacău. During the winter break the collaboration withPolitehnica Timișoara was broken, the club from the banks ofBega choosingGloria Buzău as the new informal satellite, president Sorin Dumitrescu left the club, in his place being named Constantin Niță, all the important players were redirected toBuzău and the technical staff resigned.[8][9] In January 2009 executive president was named Anamaria Prodan, a football agent, and Cristian Țermure was hired as the new head coach, the results were far below expectations, the squad accumulating only 10 points and avoiding the relegation mostly due to the points made in the first part of the season.[10][11]
The tough spring of 2009 was clear evidence for the town ofBuftea that the club could not sustain itself financially at this level and in July 2009 mayor of Buftea announced that the team sold its place in theLiga II toSăgeata Stejaru for 500,000€ and that the club will continue to play in theLiga III, in Săgeata's place, the two clubs practically swapping their places.[12][13] After "the self-relegation" episode, the club started the Liga III season with a small name change, now being known under the name ofACS Buftea (Asocția Club Sportiv Buftea), but with the same logo and colors. A 5th place at the end of the season, followed by a 9th place at the end of the2010–11 campaign put the club in the shadow, now being only a mid-table team in the third tier of theRomanian football league system.
In the summer of 2011,Buftenii has gathered the ranks and under the leadership of president Sorin Dumitrescu (also the former president of the club during the 2007–08 campaign) and head coachLavi Hrib obtained a promotion against the odds, a promotion that was disputed until the last rounds of the season, the main rival, Viitorul Domnești, finishing at the same number of points, 51.[14] After the promotion, the same financial problems, as at the previous one, appeared, this time much more serious. In summer 2012, the town of Buftea decided that it could not sustain financially the club in the second division and ordered the football club to withdraw before starting the season. Meanwhile, a group of businessmen fromSnagov showed interest in taking over the club, but the negotiations were in progress when the squad should have played aRomanian Cup preliminary round against third division sideACS Berceni.[15] So, in order not to be excluded, the team sent on the pitch a first eleven composed mostly of youth players, registering not only the biggest defeat in the history of the club, but probably the biggest defeat in the history of theRomania football, 0–31.[16][17] Finally bought by a group of private sponsors,ACS Buftea was enrolled in the championship,Lavi Hrib, the head coach which promoted the club in theLiga II, was sacked after a few rounds being replaced byGiani Kiriță, who was then replaced during the winter break byValentin Bădoi. Surprisingly the squad had good results being ranked 6th at the end of the season, the best result ever for the club nearBucharest.
On 2 August 2013 the club was sold, by its private owners, to commune ofClinceni, a locality that had at that time a team in theLiga III, named Inter Clinceni. The procedures moved quickly,ACS Buftea changed its name toFC Clinceni, the red, white and blue colors were changed in black and blue, Inter Clinceni was kept in the third tier, but its best players, together with a group from ACS Buftea made the new squad,Valentin Bădoi being named as the head coach.[18] The club was ranked 6th at the end of the2012–13 edition, equaling their best performance, achieved only one season before.
In the summer of 2014, it seemed that the good results of the club do not provide also the financial security, the commune ofClinceni choosing to sell the club, at only one year after buying it. The new buyer was Constantin Moroianu, a businessman and owner ofCafea Fortuna, the largest Romanian coffee maker.[19] Moroianu chose to move and rebrand the club, this time the base was set outside theIlfov County, more exactly inPitești,Argeș County, 115 km from Clinceni; the club was renamed asAcademica Argeș, the black and blue kits were replaced by the new white and purple ones and as manager was hiredMarius Baciu. Academica Argeș started as a project which was supposed to replaceFC Argeș Pitești, the traditional club of the city and double champion of Romania, football club which was declared bankrupt in the same year.[20] The new project, however, did not attract the supporters' sympathy or the financial support of the local authorities and after a2014–15 season in which "the Academics" fought for promotion until the end, finally losing it in front ofFC Voluntari, Moroianu withdrew and sold the club back to commune ofClinceni.[21]
Back toClinceni in the summer of 2015,Academica Argeș was renamed asAcademica Clinceni, the colors were changed back from white and purple to black and blue and the logo also suffered some transformations.[22] Former footballersBogdan Apostu andLászló Balint were named as general manager, respectively head coach.[23] In the winter of 2016 financial problems were back to "the Academics" and after a difficult period, during the winter break, the club was sold again. At a short time after the transaction, in the Romanian press started to appear many articles about the fact that the club was bought by aChinese company.[24] At the end of the season "the black and blues" finished on a well deserved six place, away from any worries.
In the summer of 2017, local authorities from Clinceni have returned to the club's ownership, former footballerSorin Paraschiv was named as general manager andErik Lincar as head coach. "The Academics" also returned to the old methods and started a collaboration with a top-flight club, this timeFCSB, club which loaned some young players in theIlfov County.[25][26] During the winter break Lincar left the club, being replaced byIlie Poenaru and "the black and blues" finished the championship on the 6th place.2018–19 season was a fantastic one for the club, which under the led of Ilie Poenaru and with a squad composed of young players coming on loan fromFCSB, others who grew up atSportul Studențesc Academy and some of them with first league appearances such asVasile Olariu,Paul Pîrvulescu or captainRăzvan Patriche, managed to promote in theLiga I, for the first time in its history, surpassing teams such asUniversitatea Cluj,Petrolul Ploiești,Argeș Pitești orUTA Arad.ACS Buftea was previously in collaboration withPolitehnica Timișoara.
After being directly relegated toLiga III due to financial problems,Academicienii made the decision to take it from the bottom, more precisely fromLiga IV.[27]Starting with the 2022–2023 season,Ilfovenii will participate in Seria 2 of theLiga IV -Ilfov County, using the name of formerSteaua's goalkeeper, Helmut Duckadam.
Youth academy of FC Academica Clinceni is still a project in development, currently in the academy of the club that represents the smallest locality that ever had a football team in the first tier, are no less than 700 kids and youth players.[28]
Clinceni Stadium, located inClinceni,Ilfov County is the current home ground of Academica Clinceni. Opened in 2011 and with a capacity of 4,500 seats,[28] the stadium, also known asClinceni Arena, is the main ground of a modern complex that consists of many other football pitches. The stadium was between 2011 and 2015 the home ground of Inter Clinceni and during the2013–14 season, then again from 2015, the home ground of Academica. In the autumn of 2018 started a renovation process that included, among others, the pitch modernization, capacity expansion to 4,500 seats and the installment of a floodlight system.[29] The second ground of the Clinceni Complex is approved to hostLiga II matches, having a capacity of 1,000 seats.
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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The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than 50 caps for FC Academica Clinceni/LPS HD Clinceni.
Marin Radu (2007–2008)Lavi Hrib (2009–2011)Ionel Augustin (2011)Lavi Hrib (2011–2012)Giani Kiriță (2012)Costel Pană (2012)Emil Ursu (2012)Valentin Bădoi (2012–2014)Marcel Abăluță (2014) (caretaker)Marius Baciu (2014–2015)László Balint (2015–2016)Mugur Bolohan (2016)John Ene (2016–2017)Erik Lincar (2017)Ilie Poenaru (2018–2021)Ionuț Chirilă (2021)John Ene (2021) (caretaker)Adrian Falub (2021–2022)John Ene (2022) (caretaker)Constantin Giurescu (2022)Florin Stângă (2022)
