This article is aboutDinamo 1948 (commercial entity), the football club which competes inLiga I. For the football section of the multi-sport, publicly owned club, seeCS Dinamo București (football). For the football club owned by Nicolae Badea that plays inLiga III, seeACS FC Dinamo București.
FC Dinamo București, commonly known asDinamo București (Romanian pronunciation:[diˈnamobukuˈreʃtʲ]) or simplyDinamo, is a Romanian professionalfootball club based inBucharest that competes in theLiga I, the top tier ofRomanian football.
Dinamo București's traditional home colours are white and red, while the current crest is a modified version of the one adopted in the 1998. Its home venue is the namesakeStadionul Dinamo, although significant matches have also been played atArena Națională. The team is temporarily playing its home fixtures atStadionul Arcul de Triumf, as its home ground undergoes demolition. Its bitter rivals are neighbouringFCSB, with the match being commonly referred to as "the Eternal Derby," while notable rivalries againstRapid București andUniversitatea Craiova also exist.
Until the end of the championship, Dinamo was going to be represented by two teams: "Ciocanul" ("Hammer"), named "Dinamo A" and "Unirea Tricolor MAI", known as "Dinamo B" (this last one relegating, at the end of the football season, into theDivizia B). Starting with 1950, Dinamo A was separated from Dinamo B, the latter being transferred first toBraşov, then toCluj-Napoca, and eventually, in 1958, being moved toBacău, where it becameFCM Bacău.[8]
The "Dinamo" name was used for the first time on 1 May 1948. Nevertheless, the real debut of Dinamo was on the1947–48 Divizia A edition (finishing 8th). Some of the team's players wereAmbru,Angelo Niculescu, Teodorescu,Șiclovan,Bartha and Sârbu.
On 11 July 1948, Dinamo played its first international match againstSK Židenice from Czechoslovakia, and winning 4–1.[9] 22 August will remain a reference date for Dinamo's football, representing the debut of Dinamo Bucharest in the first national Division. The pioneers were, among others,Titus Ozon,Lăzăreanu,Farkaș. The team's first coach wasColoman Braun-Bogdan. A year laterNicolae Dumitru andGheorghe Băcuț join the club. At the end of the 1950 Divizia A edition, Angelo Niculescu retires, dedicating himself to the coaching profession.
In 1955, Dinamo won their first championship with Angelo Niculescu as head coach, Dinamo impressed mainly in the offensive, with an attack formed byEne I,Neagu andSuru. The defense, with players like Băcuț I (Gheorghe),Băcuț II (Ladislau),Szökő,Călinoiu, was the best in the championship – only 19 goals received.[10]
In the fall of 1956, the team makes its debut in theEuropean Cup (competition created a year before). Dinamo was the first Romanian club to play in the competition. The debut game was played on 26 August 1956, in front of 32,000 spectators. Dinamo defeatedGalatasaray with 3–1. In the second leg, Dinamo lost in Istanbul with 1–2, and moved forward.
1950–1981: Domestic success and European competition
The club won their 6th title in 1971. In the 1971–72 European Cup campaign, Dinamo eliminatedSpartak Trnava, the team ofDobias,Kuna andAdamec, and losing in the second round toErnst Happel'sFeyenoord 0–3 and 0–2. The 7th title comes two years later, in 1973, when Dinamo won a game againstCFR Cluj at the exact margins to pass Universitatea Craiova in the standings.[12] In the 1973–74 European Cup, they surpassNorthern Ireland'sCrusaders Belfast (The 11–0 home game against Northern Ireland's team is still the biggest margin of victory in the history of theEuropean Cup), but fail againstAtlético Madrid (0–2 and 2–2), the team ofGárate,Irueta,Heredia andAyala. The next year Dinamo plays in the1974–75 UEFA Cup and after eliminating Boluspor, they lose toF.C. Koln: 1–1 and 2–3.
Dudu Georgescu, the club's all-time topscorer with 207 goals
The 1976–77 season brings the 9th title for the club, and the second 'Golden Boot' for Georgescu (47 goals).[13] In the autumn of 1977 in theEuropean Cup, Dinamo wins a thrilling game against Atlético Madrid 2–1, but loses atMadrid, 2–0.
The1981–82 UEFA Cup season brings some great wins for Dinamo. The red-whites meetLevski Sofia of Bulgaria (3–0 and 1–2). In the second round, a terrifying "double": Dinamo-Internazionale (with Bergomi, Bagni,Prohaska,Altobelli,Baresi,Oriali, Marini and Beccalossi). At Milan, 1–1 (authors: Pasinato and Custov) and back home in Bucharest, 3–2 for the "dogs", in the extra time.[15] Dinamo is eliminated by the Swedish teamIFK Göteborg, which later ends up winning the trophy.
The 10th national title will be obtained in 1982, when Dinamo also conquers the Cup after a 3–2 victory against Baia Mare. After a 5-year absence, Dinamo reappears in theEuropean Cup, meeting (and eliminating)Vaaleregen Oslo. In the next stage, Dinamo faced the team ofDukla Prague which included players such asNehoda andVízek. They win at home, with 2–0, obtaining the qualification at Prague: 1–2. Dinamo is eliminated byAston Villa, club ofCowans,Withe,Shaw andMorley. In 1983, the club win their 11th title.
Cornel Dinu, the player with the most appearances for Dinamo (454)
The 1983–1984 season began with the retirement ofCornel Dinu, winner of 6 national titles and 6 national cups, with 454 appearances in the first league and 75 in the national team. Still the same year Dinamo wins their 12th title. The autumn of1983–84 was going to represent a valuable step into the international arena. The European Cup campaign started with the Finnish team,Kuusysi Lahti (1–0 and 3–0). The second round pushes Dinamo against the current champion,Hamburger SV – team ofKaltz andMagath. At Bucharest,Augustin,Mulțescu andOrac score for 3–0.[16] The thrilling second leg finishes 3–2 (goalsȚălnar and Mulțescu). In order to accede in the semifinals of the European Cup, Dinamo had to defeat the Soviet sideDinamo Minsk, withAleinikov,Zygmantovich andHurynovich. The first leg was 1–1 (Rednic equalizing in the 87th minute), and it was followed by a 1–0 victory at Bucharest (with Augustin scoring). Dinamo was the first Romanian team to reach theEuropean Cup semi-finals,[17] where it metLiverpool. Dinamo lost 1–0 atAnfield in the first leg match whereGraeme Souness had punched captainLica Movila which had set up a tough match back in Romania.[18] In the second-leg Dinamo lost 2–1 to Liverpool who went on to win the competition.[19] In the first round of the next European Cup, in the autumn of 1984, Dinamo meetsOmonia Nicosia: 4–1 and 1–2. Next is the match againstGirondins Bordeaux (club ofTigana,Giresse,Lacombe andBattiston), Dinamo being eliminated after 0–1 and 1–1. In 1986, Dinamo won the Cup against Steaua (1–0). After an 18-year break, Dinamo played again in the Cup Winners Cup in the autumn of 1986. The 1986–87 season brought the 'Golden Boot' forCămătaru (44 goals). The 1988 Romanian cup final was a special one. After Steaua players left the field at the score of 1–1 due to a claim of being robbed by the referee, Dinamo was given the trophy, but later theRomanian F.A. (bowing to pressure from theCommunist Party) awarded the match 2–1 to Steaua. After therevolution of December 1989, Steaua propositioned to return the trophy to Dinamo, which refused to take it. In the1988–89 Cup Winners Cup season, Dinamo again eliminated the Finnish team Lahti, managing to win 3–0. Next is the elimination of
Scottish clubDundee United: 1–0 and 1–1 at Bucharest. However, they fail to qualify for the semifinals after losing on away goals, 1–1 and 0–0 againstSampdoria Genova.
TheCup Winners Cup 1989–90 season brings new success. Dinamo meets Albanian team,Dinamo Tirana 0–1 and 2–0. Next is the Greek champion, Panathinaikos 2–0 and 6–1. In the quarter-finals they meetPartizan Belgrade (withMijatović on the field) eliminating them with 2–1 and 2–0. After six years of break, Dinamo plays a new continental semifinal this time againstAnderlecht Bruxelles, losing twice with 1–0. In the summer of 1990, Dinamo – withMircea Lucescu as coach – conquers a new national title, the 13th. Also the team wins the Cup final, against Steaua: 6–4. The new 1990–91 European Cup season begins with the elimination of Irish clubSt Patrick's Athletic of Dublin (4–0 and 1–1). Dinamo is eliminated in the second round byFC Porto. In the1991–92 UEFA Cup edition, the club facesLuís Figo'sSporting Clube de Portugal, qualifying after a 0–1 loss and a 2–0 victory. The next round Dinamo is eliminated by Italian sideGenoa: 1–3 and 2–2. In 1992, the 14th title was added to Dinamo's record. It was a triumphal march, with 34 matches and no defeat.
The years to come saw Dinamo in theUEFA Cup. However, without any special results, the team leaves the competition in the first qualification round, in1993–1994 losing toCagliari, in1994–95 losing toTrabzonspor, and in1996 losing toLevski Sofia.Among the new players that play for Dinamo are:Catalin Hildan,Florentin Petre,Cosmin Contra. Alongside the goalkeeperFlorin Prunea appearMihalcea andKiriță. With this new team, in the 1998–1999 season Dinamo plays arguably the best football in Romania, though the team loses the title toRapid București. Dinamo ended the dark era of the mid-1990s this way once they started to fight for the title this year, only having to wait one more year to win it with no contender. Dinamo played next season in the UEFA Cup beatingBenfica 1–0 onEstádio da Luz, then losing a suspected game onLia Manoliu 2–0. Dinamo won the title in the 1999–2000 withAdrian Mutu playing for them but lost toPolonia Warszawa in the second qualification round of theUEFA Champions League 1999–00 mostly because they sold most of the players in theSummer Mercato. This affected their next season, when they lost the title toSteaua Bucharest. In 2001–02 Dinamo won the title again after a tight championship run. Dinamo managed to win the title in the last game of the season just in front ofFC National. In Europe, Dinamo played in the2001–02 UEFA Cup eliminatingDinamo Tirana in the Qualifying round but lost in the 1st round toGrasshopper Club Zurich. In the 2002–03 season Dinamo was affected again by the players who left the team, with it becoming a tradition for the leaders of the club to sell players after winning a title, losing the games in theUEFA Champions League and having a hard time inDivizia A. Dinamo changed a lot of managers and lost 7 consecutive games. AfterIoan Andone came to the team, Dinamo played a spectacular semifinal withAstra Ploiesti. After losing 2–1 in Ploiesti in the middle of the crisis the team beat Astra in Bucharest 3–1 after extra time. They then went on to win theRomanian Cup, after beating FC National in the final 1–0 on a goal scored byIulian Tames.
After building up a team again in 2003–04, they eliminatedShakhtar Donetsk in the first round of theUEFA Cup 2003–04 season. They went on to lose toSpartak Moscow in the second round. In the Romanian League Dinamo won the title by defeatingFCSB in a close battle. They also won the Romanian Cup after a 2–0 win overOţelul Galaţi atCotroceni.
2004–05 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round match between Dinamo andManchester United at Lia Manoliu stadium in Bucharest.
For the 2004–05 season Dinamo played a thrilling game vs.Manchester United in Bucharest, at theNational Stadium, in the third qualification round of the UEFA Champions League, but lost 1–2.[20] This game was significant because it showed a lot of progress from the last attempts to qualify for the group phase of the Champions League. The 2nd leg was lost atOld Trafford 3–0.
A highlight in recent times came in theUEFA Cup 2005–06 season when Dinamo thrashedPremier League clubEverton 5–1.[21] Dinamo went on to win the tie 5–2. Also, they managed to beatCSKA Moscow (Cup Holders) 1–0 but they missed the European Spring due to a couple of close games lost in the last few seconds. The most controversial was played atStade Vélodrome, where Dinamo lost 2–1 againstOlympique de Marseille althoughOctavian Chihaia scored the equalizer in the dying seconds, but the referee didn't validate the goal because he was turn towards the center of the field, preparing to end the game.[22]
In the 2006–07 season they did qualify for the European Spring where they were eliminated by Benfica after a 0–1 loss atDa Luz and a 1–2 loss at home. Domestically, the team crushed most of its opponents in the first 19 rounds, ending up autumn champions, 13 points ahead of second place and then they secured their 18th title with four rounds to spare.[23] The Romanian champions could have qualified directly to the Champions League group stage for the 2007–08 season, if Manchester United or Chelsea would have won the competition in the 2006–07 season. ButAC Milan became champions, and Dinamo had to play a preliminary round before the group phase.[24]
Dinamo failed again to enter the Champions League group phase, being eliminated in the third qualifying round byLazio Roma.[25] After four manager changes, Dinamo finished the 2007–08 season on the 4th spot in Liga I. In the summer of 2008,Mircea Rednic returned as coach having the mission to win the title and qualify Dinamo to the Champions League, but after the team finished the first part of the season as leader, they failed at the finish line and ended only third.
Mircea Rednic, the last coach that won the title with Dinamo
In the 2009–10 season, Dinamo played in the playoff forEuropa League against Czech football clubFC Slovan Liberec. In the first leg the supporters invaded the pitch causing the match to be abandoned in the 88th minute when the score was 2–0 for Slovan.[26] The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body awarded a default 0–3 defeat against Dinamo.[27] One week later inLiberec Dinamo managed a memorable comeback and qualified in theEuropa League 2009–10 group stage after winning 3–0 in Liberec after 90 and 120 minutes and winning 9–8 at penalties after 10 series.[28] The domestic season was yet another unsuccessful one, finishing 6th in the championships.
Dinamo finished 6th in the 2010–11 season and qualified for theCup finals against FCSB, but lost due to an own goal. For the 2011–12 season, club started with a new coach, ex-Dinamo playerLiviu Ciobotariu.
At the end of the autumn season, Dinamo was leading the table by one point ahead ofCFR Cluj and started the spring one with a 2–0 win againstGaz Metan Mediaș in the first ever game played by the Red Dogs on theNațional Arena in front of a season record of 20,000 spectators that filled the first tier of the brand new stadium. Even in this circumstances, the team had a very disappointing spring run in the league and finished 5th, with 62 points in 34 matches. Still, Dinamo managed to win 2 trophies, theRomanian Cup, in a final against Rapid, qualifying in the process for theEuropa League Play-off and theRomanian Super Cup against CFR Cluj.
In March 2013, businessman Ionuț Negoiță bought the club from Nicolae Badea.[29] The 2012–13 season ended with the same team as before the changing of the ownership, but after the season, Negoiță started his moves. He appointed former Dinamo gloryGheorghe Mulțescu as head coach, bought a new president, Constantin Anghelache and a new boss for the youth academy, Gabi Răduță. Things didn't work as hoped and in September 2013, Mulțescu was sacked. The decision came because Dinamo won only nine points in the first eight rounds of the Liga I season. Mulțescu's replacement wasFlavius Stoican who was promoted from the second team.[30] With Stoican at helm, Dinamo started to climb and in March 2014, the team was close to the podium. They finished the season on the fourth spot and reached the semifinals of the Romanian Cup, where they were ousted byFCSB.
In May 2014, Ionuț Negoiță announced that the club began the procedures to enter theinsolvency. The Bucharest Court accepted the request in June 2014.[31] Thus, the Licence Committee from the Romanian Federation decided to withdraw Dinamo's rights to enter the Europa League.[32] On 24 September 2015, the Bucharest Municipal Court ruled that Dinamo met the criteria to end the insolvency process.[33] But the club wasn't able to enter the European competitions, thus, despite ending the season on the 4th position, Dinamo didn't participate in the Europa League. In the2016–17 Liga I season, Dinamo finished third in the play-off and qualified for the Europa League. In the2017–18 UEFA Europa League season, Dinamo met the Spanish clubAthletic Bilbao, in the third qualifying round. The first match, in Bucharest, ended 1-1, with the BrazilianRivaldinho scoring for Dinamo.[34] But Athletic won the second match 3-0 and Dinamo was eliminated.[35] The following two seasons in Liga I, Dinamo failed to qualify for the play-off and missed the European cups.
Dinamo failed to reach the play-offs for three consecutive seasons (2018 to 2020) and with each season ended in a lower tier than before. After the ninth place in 2019, Dinamo entered the battle against relegation in the2019–20 Liga I season. The owner, Ionuț Negoiță, wanted to sell the club, but nobody came with a serious proposal and the fans association bought 20% of the club's shares.Adrian Mihalcea was named head-coach in March 2020, but made his debut in June, after theCOVID-19 lockdown ended. Mihalcea began his tenure with four losses in the first four games in charge and Dinamo reached bottom in the championship. On 5 July, Dinamo won against Academica Clinceni and hauled themselves off the bottom position but stayed in the relegation zone. The next game ended in a draw, at home, against Politehnica Iași. Thus, Mihalcea was sacked, after only seven games in charge.Gheorghe Mulțescu came back as Dinamo's head coach, for the fourth time.
On 6 August, the Liga I season was frozen and Dinamo didn't play all its postponed games, finishing the season in 13th place. But the club was spared from relegation after the Romanian Federation decided to increase the number of teams in Liga I from 14 to 16. Thus, only the 14th place played a relegation/promotion play-off against the third place in Liga II.
On 13 August 2020, the club was purchased by Benel International SA, a Spanish company represented by Pablo Cortacero.[36] Dinamo transferred several contract-free players with impressive resumes and big salaries.Cosmin Contra came as head coach and footballers likeBorja Valle,Aleix Garcia, andJuan Camara arrived with salaries of up to 33,000 euros per month. But Dinamo had a poor start of the season and the new owner, Pablo Cortacero, did not transfer any money to the players for several months. Almost all the foreign players submitted their memoirs so that they could leave free. Dinamo was left with huge debts, of approximately 7 million euros, and at the beginning of the 2021–22 season, the club went into insolvency again.[37] The2021–22 season ended with a relegation toLiga II. Dinamo ended 14th the regular season and the play-out, then played the promotion/relegation play-off againstUniversitatea Cluj, third place in Liga II. U.Cluj won the first match, 2–0 atCluj Arena. The second leg, atDinamo stadium, ended 1–1. Thus, Dinamo Bucharest relegated for the first time in its history.[38]
In March 2022, the businessman Dorin Șerdean became the majority shareholder of Dinamo after an agreement to take over the club from Pablo Cortacero.[39] In February 2023, Şerdean accepted the offer received from the Red&White company to sell the club.[40] The owners of Red&White are Andrei Nicolescu, who owns 60% of the company, and Eugen Voicu, who owns 40%. The administrator of Red&White is Eugen Voicu.[41] During the promotion play-off, Dinamo defeatedArgeș Pitești with a whopping 6–1, before they lost 4–2 in the second leg, a record breaking play-off with loads of goals, 8–5 in aggregate, which took Dinamo back to the Liga I after just one season of staying in Liga II.[42]
Dinamo's colours are red and white. The current crest includes the profile of two red dogs and also a gold star above them, representing the club's tenth league title.
The Dinamo Stadium ( The Pit )Dinamo's stadium in front is the statue ofIvan Patzaichin
Dinamo plays its home games at Stadionul Dinamo. The current Dinamo Stadium was inaugurated on 14 October 1951. The first match: Dinamo-Locomotiva Timişoara 1–0.[43] The stadium capacity was planned at 16,000, but the installation of seats decreased it to 15,032. The stadium is part of a larger complex which contains a smaller stadium,Stadionul Florea Dumitrache, where the second team, Dinamo II, would play its matches. It is currently used byCS Dinamo București rugby team. There is also a sports hall and a swimming pool.
The stadium is referred to as "Groapa" (The Pit), as it was dug rather than raising stands. The North stand is named PeluzaCătălin Hîldan, in the honor of a former Dinamo player who died in 2000 at the age of 24.[citation needed]
Dinamo plays significant matches, such as against rivalsFCSB, atArena Națională. From 2022 onward, the team plays its home matches at the newly builtStadionul Arcul de Triumf, as its traditional ground does not meet the requirements for first league games.
Dinamo has an estimated 13% support in Romania, making them the second most supported Romanian club, after FCSB.[44] The largest concentration of fans is in Bucharest, mainly in the northeast and central areas of the city. The club also has important fan bases on other parts of the country and where significant bases of Romanians are found.[citation needed]
The roots of the Dinamo ultras (fans) movement can be found in 1995 when groups like Dracula and Rams Pantelimon appeared in the North End.[citation needed] In 1996 a group called Nuova Guardia was formed, and became the leading group in the stadium and later on in the entire Romanian ultras movement.[45] Following the death of the former captain,Cătălin Hîldan, in 2000, the fans renamed the North End of Dinamo's stadium to Peluza Catalin Hîldan (PCH Stand) in his honor. The majority of supporters are located in the PCH, but several factions have moved to the South End.[citation needed]
Dinamo's significant rivalry is with FCSB, with matches between them dubbed theEternal derby. Both clubs have had the most popularity in Romania with as strong reactions from its respective fans in clashes in the stadium during games and elsewhere. In 1997, Dinamo's fans set a sector of theStadionul Ghencea on fire.[46] On 16 August 2016, during FCSB'sUEFA Champions League 0–5 play-off loss againstManchester City, Dinamo fans unveiled a banner that readDoar Dinamo București ("Only Dinamo Bucharest").[47]
The club's second most important rivalry is againstRapid București. In the 1990s, there was fierce competition between the two in winning the championship title.
Another rivalry is held againstUniversitatea Craiova; both finished with the same number of points in the1972–73 Divizia A, but Dinamo was given the title because of their superior goal difference. A conflict has existed ever since.[48][49] Other smaller rivalries exist, such as the one againstPetrolul Ploiești.[citation needed]
Dinamo's fans have a good friendship withUniversitatea Cluj's fans. The friendship started in the mid-1990s, both ultras groups being linked with "the mentality, fanaticism andnationalist side"[50] and the common hate for FCSB. Dinamo have unofficial friendship with Serbian clubCrvena Zvezda. Friendship between this two clubs, are based onOrthodox Christianity same religion.
Dinamo has an important infrastructure for training professionalism in the sport and developing interest in the youth area. The youth center organises a system based on nine age groups between nine and 18 years. Dinamo has around 180 juniors.[citation needed]
All the groups play in the competitions organised by the Bucharest Football Association and in those created by the Romanian Federation. Youths around 16–18 years old are promoted to the second team,Dinamo II.
The youth center has its base in theDinamo Sports Center, where they have eight dressing rooms for the players, one for the coaches, one for the referees, a medical center and a store room for the equipment. Also, the center has many training grounds, among them the Piți Varga field.[51]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Dinamo's record appearance-maker isCornel Dinu, who made 454 appearances between 1966 and 1983.Ionel Dănciulescu has made the second most appearances with 355.
Nicolae Dumitru is the most successful head coach in Dinamo's history, with five league titles and two Romanian Cups.Ioan Andone won five trophies for Dinamo, winning one title inLiga I, three Romanian Cups and one Supercup.
^SinceUnicul Căpitan (The Only Captain) died, no player will wear the number 11 shirt at Dinamo București, since the club decided to retire the shirt out of respect and posthumous honor for legend Cătălin Hîldan.
^Patrick Ekeng died atFloreasca Hospital after he had gone into a coma in a match on 6 May 2016 againstViitorul Constanța where he joined as a substitute.
^"Zbuciumatul început de an 1990" [The turmoil of the early 1990s] (in Romanian). Wesport.ro. 24 February 2021.Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved20 May 2021.
^Fun Club Dinamo (2009)."Campionat 1955" (in Romanian). fanclubdinamo.freeservers.com.Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved19 November 2012.
^A.G.M.Dinamo (2009)."La multi ani Nuova Guardia" (in Romanian). agmdinamo48.blogspot.com.Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved19 November 2012.
^The goal ofGabi Balint was canceled because of an offside, signalled by assistant referee George Ionescu. Steaua retired from the field (by command ofValentin Ceaușescu, son of presidentNicolae Ceaușescu) but theRomanian Football Federation offered the Cup to Steaua București. In 1990, Steaua renounced this trophy because it was won unjustly.
^"Echipă" [Squad] (in Romanian). FC Dinamo București. 3 October 2022.Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved8 July 2023.
^"FC DINAMO 1948" (in Romanian). Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal.Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved17 July 2023.