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| Full name | Club Sportiv Municipal Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț | ||
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| Nicknames |
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| Founded |
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| Ground | Ceahlăul | ||
| Capacity | 18,000 | ||
| Owners | Anton Măzărianu Piatra Neamț Municipality | ||
| Chairman | Angelo Alistar | ||
| Head coach | Cristian Pustai | ||
| League | Liga II | ||
| 2024–25 | Liga II, 9th of 22 | ||
| Website | csmceahlaul | ||
 Current season | |||
Club Sportiv Municipal Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, commonly known asCeahlăul Piatra Neamț (Romanian:[tʃe̯ahˈlə.ulˈpjatraˈne̯amts]) or simply asCeahlăul, is a Romanianfootballclub based inPiatra Neamț,Neamț County, currently playing in theLiga II.
Originally established in 1919, the team's name stems from the nearbyCeahlău Massif.Nemțenii made their first appearance in theRomanian top division in the1993–94 season.
The club plays its home matches in black and yellow kits at the 18,000-seaterStadionul Ceahlăul.
| Years | Name |
| 1919–1949 | Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț |
| 1949–1951 | Progresul Piatra Neamț |
| 1951–1957 | Avântul Piatra Neamț |
| 1957 | Recolta Piatra Neamț |
| 1958–1961 | CS Piatra Neamț |
| 1961–1978 | Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț |
| 1978–1979 | Relon Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț |
| 1979–1993 | Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț |
| 1993 | Ceahlăul Simpex |
| 1993–present | Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț |
Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț was founded on 20 October 1919 in the town ofPiatra Neamț. The squad of high-school players was strengthened with soldiers from the 15th Infantry Regiment who had returned from theWorld War I. In 1927, most of the club's players went to college and Ceahlăul went into a period of decline. It played inDivizia C during the 1937–38 season, but left the league due to financial problems.[1]
Ceahlăul revived in 1947 with a team which included Vulovici, Bălănescu, Ciciuc (Popovici), Actis, Manoliu, Dăscălescu, Vasiliu, Georgescu, Mata, Butnaru and Chiper.[1] The 1950s were marked by instability, with changes to the team's name, structure and players. Piatra Neamț had three football clubs: Avântul (the present-day Ceahlăul), Hârtia, and Celuloza. All had mixed results, generally in the lower leagues. In 1956, Avântul, Hârtia and Celuloza merged to form Recolta Piatra Neamț. Recolta played one season in the 12-teamDivizia C, finishing 11th. At the end of the season Recolta divided into two teams: Avântul and Rapid. After a poor season, the teams re-merged in 1958 to form CS Piatra Neamț. The team finished third in the 1958–59 Divizia C season.[1][2] CS Piatra Neamț, coached by Tiberiu Căpăţînă, was promoted at the end of the 1960–61 season toDivizia B for the first time in club history.
During the summer of 1961, the club also changed its name back to Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț.[1] It played three consecutive seasons in Divizia B, finishing eighth in 1961–62, 10th in 1962–63 and 13th in 1963–64.[3] Relegated to Divizia C, Ceahlăul was promoted back afterone season; the club finished first, four points ahead of second-placeTextila Buhuși.[2]
It played for many years in the second league, except for a Divizia C season in 1979–1980. Coached byPetre Steinbach, the team finished seventh in 1965–66, ninth in 1966–67, and fifth in 1967–68 and 1968–69.[4] After Steinbach's departure, the team finished 12th in 1969–70, eighth in 1970–71, 10th in 1971–72, 13th in 1972–73 and sixth in 1973–74.[3]
Coached by Al Constantinescu, Ceahlăul finished fourth in 1974–75 – one point behind third-placeGloria Buzău and four points behind second-placeProgresul Brăila.[3] The team finished 13th in 1975–76, 10th in 1976–77 and 12th in 1977–78.
During the summer of 1978, the club changed its name from Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț to Relon Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț and had one of its weakest seasons since its last promotion in 1965. Finishing 15th out of 18 teams, it was relegated to Divizia C after 14 years in the second league;[1] six points separated Divizia B fourth-placeFC Constanța from 17th-placeVictoria Tecuci.[5]
Relon Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț changed its name back to Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț during the summer of 1979.[1] Ceahlăul finished first, seven points ahead of second-placeForesta Fălticeni, and was promoted back to the second league after one season in Divizia C.[2]
Coached byDumitru Dumitriu, the team finished ninth in 1980–81, 10th in 1981–82 and seventh in 1982–83. Dumitriu was replaced by V. Copil in 1983, and the team finished fourth (a club record at the time) in 1983–84.[3] Ceahlăul finished 11th in 1984–85 and 1985–86, eighth in 1986–87, ninth in 1987–88 and 11th in 1988–89. The team finished 14th in 1989–90 during theRomanian Revolution, just avoiding relegation.[3]
The 1989 revolution was the beginning of the end for teams such asVictoria București,Flacăra Moreni andOlt Scornicești, but was a restart for Ceahlăul. Long a mediocre Divizia B team, the yellow-and-blacks finished third in 1990–91 (three points out of second) and 1991–92 (three points behind second-placeFC Baia Mare and 10 points ahead of Metrom Brașov.[3]
Ioan Sdrobiș ("The Father"), a coach known for promoting young players, was hired as manager during the summer of 1992. Gheorghe Ștefan became the club president, andFC Argeș,ASA Târgu Mureș,Gloria Buzău andPolitehnica Iași were rivals for promotion. Two teams were related to the former political regime: Steaua Mizil (aSteaua București satellite team) andFlacăra Moreni. During the winter break, Sdrobiș left the team in first place after disputes with Ștefan and signed withDacia Unirea Brăila. He was replaced by formerDinamo București andFenerbahçe playerIon Nunweiller. The yellow-and-blacks were promoted toDivizia A for the first time in club history with 20 victories, seven draws, seven losses, 54 goals scored and 24 conceded for 47 points, six points ahead of Steaua Mizil,FC Argeș andFlacăra Moreni. The team consisted of coaches Sdrobiș (matches 1–17) and Nunweiller (matches 18–34) and players Anghelinei,Șoiman,Axinia I,Axinia II, Dinu, Alexa, Cozma, Gălan, Coșerariu,Enache, Bârcă, Ghioane, Grosu, Ivanov,Gigi Ion,Ionescu,Lefter,Ov. Marc, Mirea, Nichifor, Pantazi, Săvinoiu, Șoimaru, Urzică, Buliga, Oprea, Breniuc, Apachiței and Vrânceanu; the administrative leadership was ensured by: Gheorghe Ștefan, Gh. Chivorchian, Iulian Țocu, Liviu Tudor, Ioan Strătilă and Luigi Bodo.[6] For six months in 1993, it was known as Ceahlăul Simpex for sponsorship reason.[1]Contributions to the team during this period were also made by I. Iovicin, M. Crețu, Radu Toma, V. Rizea, Tr. Coman, N. Zaharia, T. Anghelini, Toader Șteț, M. Nedelcu, M. Radu and Fl. Hizo (coaches) and C. Acatincăi, Gh. Ocneanu, D. Lospa and M. Contardo (presidents).[1]
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At the start of the1993–94 Divizia A season, Ceahlăul was a well-known second-league team but largely unknown to most of Romania's first-division teams. With former player Mircea Nedelcu as the new coach, the team finished halfway down the table in 10th place. It finished fifth at the end of the1994–95 season and qualified for a European Cup.[7]
The club played in the1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup, winning a group consisting ofFC Groningen,Beveren,Boby Brno andEtar Veliko Tarnovo (2–0 against Etar, 2–0 against Beveren, 2–0 against Brno and 0–0 against Groningen). In the round of 16, thenemțenii lost toFC Metz of France 0–2, with goals scored byJocelyn Blanchard andFranck Meyrignac.[8] The club did less well during the regular season, finishing 15th (six points from the relegation zone).
Under coachFlorin Marin, the yellow-and-blacks revived in the1996–97 season to finish sixth.Florin Marin, Mircea Nedelcu,Nicolae Manea andViorel Hizo coached the team to two consecutive ninth-place finishes in1997–98 and1998–99. Ceahlăul prepared for the1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, eliminating two teams:Ekranas (2–0 on aggregate) andJedinstvo Bihać (5–2 on aggregate). In the third round, Ceahlăul played two home-and-away matches againstJuventus. The team drew 1–1 at Piatra Neamț, with goals by Scânteie in the 28th minute andAlessio Tacchinardi in the 58th. In Italy, atDino Manuzzi Stadium inCesena, they played a scoreless draw and were eliminated.[9] Ceahlăul finished fourth in Divizia A for thebest performance in club history. Coached by Viorel Hizo, its players wereEugen Anghel,Costel Câmpeanu,Radu Lefter –Angelo Alistar, Cristinel Atomulesei,Adrian Baldovin,Dumitru Botez,Codruț Domșa,Costel Enache,Leontin Grozavu,Constantin Ilie,Mihai Dan Ionescu,Ovidiu Marc,Mihai Nemțanu, Gheorghe Pantazi,Dănuț Perjă,Daniel Scînteie,Adrian Solomon,Tiberiu Șerban, Tudorel Șoimaru andLavi Hrib.
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In 2000, Ceahlăul again played in theUEFA Intertoto Cup. After a 9–4 aggregate score against Estonia'sNarva Trans in the first round, the team defeated Spain'sMallorca 4–3. In the third round, thenemțenii drew 2–2 in Piatra Neamț againstAustria Wien before losing 0–3 atFranz Horr Stadium inWien with goals scored byWagner, Leitner andDospel.
During the early 2000s, coaching changes (11 in four years, including from Mircea Nedelcu toFlorin Halagian and fromFlorin Marin toMarin Barbu, Viorel Hizo andMarius Lăcătuș) led to poor results: 11th place in2000–01, eighth in2001–02, and 14th in2003–04. Ceahlăul was relegated in 2004 after 11 years and 10 seasons in the first league, with Hizo coaching the first half and Lăcătuș the second half.[10] The team finished fifth in2002–03 and again played in theUEFA Intertoto Cup, eliminated in the first round byTampere United of Finland.[11]
Club president Gheorghe Ștefan (nicknamed "Pinalti" because of his demands for a penalty inMoldavian) was accused of conspiring with Jean "Tata Jean" Pădureanu (the Gloria Bistrița president), father of the "Football Cooperative": a group of teams known for match-fixing in the 1990s. In addition to Ceahlăul, teams such asGloria Bistrița,FC Brașov,Steaua București andDinamo București were involved. Despite the lack of an official investigation, statements by players, coaches, and presidents and eyewitness reports attest to strange matches during the period. "Reciprocities" included sharing points to win a championship, qualifying for the European Cups or avoiding relegation. Pressure on referees gave the city (and Ceahlăul) the nickname "Kosovo".[12][13][14][15] Another incident during "Ștefan's era" at Piatra Neamț occurred in 2000, before the first match of the third round of theUEFA Intertoto Cup againstAustria Wien, when the president tried to offer prostitutes to the match referees; the club was suspended for a year fromUEFA competitions, but "Pinalti" said that the girls were members of a folk ensemble.[16] The first signs of the "Football Cooperative" were noted in 1993, when it was suspected that Ceahlăul offered suitcases with money for teams in the first series to pull hard against opponents or ease up as desired. Gelu Crăcană, a passionate supporter of the team and a member of its entourage, said in 2016:"Mergeam cu genţi cu bani în majoritatea deplasărilor. Am mai cărat şi eu genţile, ţin minte că am purtat banii la mine când am mers la Autobuzul București" ("We went with money bags in most of the trips. I've also carried these bags; I remember that I took the money with me when we went toAutobuzul București").[17] Iulian Țocu, a director of the club at that time, described how many matches had been fixed that season.[18]
During this time, Ceahlăul was known as an "ABBA team" (a nickname used in Romania for clubs that used to alternate the presences between the first and the second league). After relegation,Florin Marin was hired as the new coach. Although the squad kept most of its players, Ceahlăul finished in fifth place – 18 points from the promotion place (occupied byFC Vaslui) and 22 from the first relegation place, occupied by FC Ghimbav.Marin Barbu replaced Marin the following season; the team was promoted, seven points ahead of second-placeForex Brașov and eight points ahead ofFC Brașov.[3] The club changed its logo, replacing the black goat against theCeahlău Massif background with a Carpathian bear; orange became the primary color, and the team was nicknamed"Urșii carpatini" ("The Carpathian Bears").
With many managerial changes and uninspired play, Ceahlăul finished the2006–07 Liga I season in 15th place and was relegated. During the summer of 2007, however,Delta Tulcea (second place inLiga II) could not obtain a license for the upcoming Liga I season and Ceahlăul was accepted in its place.[19] Coached by Hizo, the club was relegated after again finishing in 15th place.
With Marin again at the helm of a new generation which included players such asAndrei Vițelaru,Alexandru Forminte,Alexandru Ichim,Daniel Barna,Andrei Țepeș,Vlad Achim,Eugeniu Cebotaru,Vlad Achim,Ionuț Bădescu orCristinel Gafița, Ceahlăul was promoted back toLiga I with 69 points (22 victories, three draws, five losses, 52 goals scored and 17 allowed. Second-placeCSM Ploiești, two points behind, was also promoted.[3]
The Carpathian Bears were relegated for the third time in six years, finishing 17th out of 18 with 28 points in 34 matches. The club began the season withFlorin Marin, continued withGheorghe Mulțescu, and ended with ex-Benfica playerZoran Filipović.[7]
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Ceahlăul was again promoted at the end of the2010–11 Liga II season, this time withMarin Barbu as coach. The squad includedAndrei Dumitraș,Andrei Marc andSebastian Chitoșcă.[3] Due to its good financial situation, excellent training conditions, a combination of youth and experience and talented coaches such asCostel Enache,Vasile Miriuță andConstantin Ilie, Ceahlăul remained in the first league for four years and finished 11th in2011–12, 14th in2012–13, ninth in2013–14 and 18th in2014–15.
In 2014, the club began drowning in debt. Ștefan, who was the mayor ofPiatra Neamț between 2004 and 2014, began to have legal problems and was arrested.[20] Without his or the municipality's help, 55 percent of the club's shares were sold to Italian businessmanAngelo Massone in December of that year. Massone brought a number of players from the lower Italian and Spanish leagues, and hired coaches such asZé Maria andVanja Radinović to no avail.[21]
Returned to theLiga II, without money from TV rights, without the help of the municipality and with an owner who did not seem to invest in the team, the media called the club as "Massone's Camp".[22] With uncertain finances, unpaid players, six coaches changed in a season and a policy of transfers from the lower Italian and Spanish leagues, Ceahlăul ended the regular season in 12th place and barely avoided relegation. The club withdrew from the championship with a few matches before the end of the play-out round and was relegated to the county leagues.[23]Its financial problems were unmanageable, and the club began dissolution in the spring of 2016.[24]
On 22 July 2016, the media reported that the club would be re-founded as CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț. Its founders were Mihai Bătrânu and Cătălin Roca, owners of former team sponsors Moldocor and Ro Com Central Companies. The RIFIL Company, another sponsor represented by Luigi Bodo and Ioan Strătilă, has indicated support for the new team.[25][26] On 17 August of that year, the new club was legally registered.[27]
Its logo was also changed, the black goat andCeahlău Massif returning to the foreground in a restyled form, and the club colors returned to the original yellow and black. The team was enrolled inLiga V, and Toader Șteț was hired as the new coach. The squad was formed from players who grew up at the Ceahlăul Football Academy, and after one season it was promoted toLiga IV after a first-place finish: 16 victories, no draws or losses, 136 goals scored and five conceded for 48 points (13 more than second-place Olimpia Grințieș.[28]
In the2017–18 Liga IV season, thenemțenii squad included Teodor Cîmpianu, Alexandru Smău,Marius Rusu, Andrei Apostol, Cristian Copoț-Barb and Andrei Mateiciuc. The team entered the winter break in first place, when Toader Șteț was replaced by Gabriel Rădulescu.[29] In June 2023, seven years after it was relegated, the team returned toLiga II.
Youth academy of Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț is the biggest and most successful inMoldavia, over time from this academy going into big football players such as:Vasile Avădanei,Florin Axinia,Mihai Bordeianu,Lucian Burdujan,Robert Căruță, Gelu Chertic, Lidi CherticSebastian Chitoșcă,Lucian Covrig,Marian Drăghiceanu,Costel Enache,Alexandru Forminte,Alexandru Ichim,Constantin Ilie,Mihai Dan Ionescu,Andrei Marc,Florin Nohai,Doru Popadiuc, Gabriel Rădulescu,Adrian Solomon, Tudor Șoimaru,Andrei Țepeș orAndrei Vițelaru. Among the most important talent finders in Ceahlăul Football Academy were professors Radu Toma and Mihai Radu.[30][31]
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The club plays its home matches onStadionul Ceahlăul fromPiatra Neamț. Originally known asBorzoghean and still nicknamed in this mode by the supporters, the stadium had a capacity of 12,000 seats and the shape of letter "U". Between 2006 and 2007 the stadium was renovated, extended (a new End Sector was built), orange seats were mounted instead of the old yellow and black ones and a floodlight installation was also installed. The capacity reached 18,000 seats after other renovations which took place in the early 2010s. Stadionul Ceahlăul is a 3 star ranked in theUEFA stadium categories.[32]
Ceahlăul has many supporters inPiatra Neamț and especially inNeamț County. They are not exactly the ultras type, but despite this fact some ultras groups were formed over time such as:Brigate Ultras 2009 andTinerii Nemțeni.[33] In 2010 "the Yellow and Blacks" supporters surprised everyone by the fact that they had the first and only ultras leader in Romania, who is a woman, Geanina Ciocoiu.[34]
Ceahlăul does not have important rivalries, most of them being regional, the so-calledDerby-urile Moldovei (Moldavia Derbies) against teams such as:FCM Bacău,FC Politehnica Iași orOțelul Galați and most recently againstFC Vaslui orFC Botoșani.
In 2006, Gelu Crăcană, a fan of Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț created a 420 square meters (500 including the sleeves) Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț jersey shirt withFlorin Axinia's name on it which entered theGuinness World Records Hall of fame.[35][36][37]
| Competition | S | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 4 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 19 | + 12 |
| Total | 4 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 19 | + 12 |
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]
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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 CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț.
Ştefan Coidum (1963–1964)Dumitru Dumitriu (1980–1982)Vasile Copil (1983–1984)Viorel Hizo (1998–2000)Florin Halagian (2000)Marin Barbu (2002)Viorel Hizo (2003–2004)Marin Barbu (2005–2006)Viorel Hizo (2007–2008)
Zoran Filipović (2010)Marin Barbu (2010–2011)Viorel Hizo (2013)Constantin Ilie (2013–2014)Marin Barbu (2014)Constantin Ilie (2021)Florin Marin
Vasile MiriuțăGheorghe MulțescuMircea NedelcuIon NunweillerIoan SdrobişPetre Steinbach
