The 2010–11 season in Romanian football was held between the summer of 2010 and the summer of 2011. The first division consisted of 18 teams, with CFR Cluj as the defending champions. The men's national team started the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign in Group D, along with France, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Luxembourg.
In Liga I, Oţelul Galaţi won the title for the first time in their history and qualified into the group stage of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League. Runners-up came Timișoara, while the third placed were Vaslui. However, at the end of the season Timișoara were being relegated for accumulated debt and by this not allowed to play in the qualifying round of the Champions League, by the Romanian Football Federation. Top scorer of the league was Ianis Zicu of Timișoara with 18 goals.
Steaua Bucharest gained the Romanian Cup again after eleven years, in a final over archrivals Dinamo Bucharest played in Braşov.
In Liga II, Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ and Petrolul Ploieşti won the two series, with Concordia Chiajna and Bihor Oradea as runners-up. Still, Bihor Oradea were not given a first division license for the following season and were ineligible for promotion.[1] The decision regarding the structure of next season's leagues was still in debate on 20 June.[2]
The champions of the six Liga III series were Bacău, Callatis Mangalia, Chindia Târgovişte, Slatina, Luceafărul Oradea and Maramureş Universitar Baia Mare.
The champions CFR Cluj were drawn directly into the group stage of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League, thanks to a good coefficient of the Romanian association, where they were paired with Basel, Rome and Bayern München. Unluckily they would only achieve a victory over Basel in the first game and a draw with Rome in the last, finishing the group on last place.
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bayern Munich | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 15 |
Roma | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 10 |
Basel | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 6 |
CFR Cluj | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 4 |
15 September 2010 Group stage | CFR Cluj | 2–1 | Basel | Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj-Napoca |
20:45 | Rada 9' Traoré 12' |
Report | Stocker 45+2' | Attendance: 9,593 Referee: Alan Kelly (Republic of Ireland) |
28 September 2010 Group stage | Roma | 2–1 | CFR Cluj | Stadio Olimpico, Rome |
20:45 | Mexès 69' Borriello 71' |
Report | Rada 78' | Attendance: 30,252 Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden) |
19 October 2010 Group stage | Bayern Munich | 3–2 | CFR Cluj | Allianz Arena, Munich |
20:45 | Cadú 32' (o.g.) Panin 37' (o.g.) Gómez 77' |
Report | Cadú 28' Culio 86' |
Attendance: 64,000 Referee: Martin Atkinson (England) |
3 November 2010 Group stage | CFR Cluj | 0–4 | Bayern Munich | Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj-Napoca |
20:45 | Report | Gómez 12', 24', 71' Müller 90' |
Attendance: 14,097 Referee: Serge Gumienny (Belgium) |
23 November 2010 Group stage | Basel | 1–0 | CFR Cluj | St. Jakob-Park, Basel |
20:45 | Almerares 15' | Report | Attendance: 34,239 Referee: Laurent Duhamel (France) |
8 December 2010 Group stage | CFR Cluj | 1–1 | Roma | Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj-Napoca |
20:45 | Traoré 88' | Report | Borriello 21' | Attendance: 12,800 Referee: William Collum (Scotland) |
Runners up of previous season and champions of 2009, Unirea Urziceni, were defeated in the third qualifying round of the Champions League by Zenit St. Petersburg by 0–1 on aggregate. Moving into the play-off round of the Europa League, they were paired with Hajduk Split. They would get eliminated from Europe after a 5–2 defeat on aggregate. Their home games were played at the Steaua Stadium in Bucharest, because Unirea's stadium did not meet the UEFA criteria. Manager at Unirea in 2010 was Israeli Ronny Levy. The team relegated at the end of the season after their owner withdrew financial support and they had to sell most of their players to pay debts.
27 July 2010 Third qualifying round | Unirea Urziceni | 0–0 | Zenit St. Petersburg | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest |
19:30 | Report | Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Bruno Paixão (Portugal) |
4 August 2010 Third qualifying round | Zenit St. Petersburg | 1–0 | Unirea Urziceni | Petrovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg |
18:30 | Danny 33' | Report | Attendance: 21,100 Referee: Mike Dean (England) |
19 August 2010 Play-off round | Hajduk Split | 4–1 | Unirea Urziceni | Gradski stadion u Poljudu, Split |
20:30 | Ibričić 39', 66' Brkljača 78' Čop 85' |
Report | Frunză 34' | Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Antonio Damato (Italy) |
26 August 2010 Play-off round | Unirea Urziceni | 1–1 | Hajduk Split | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest |
19:30 | Bilaşco 2' | Report | Vukušić 88' | Attendance: 918 Referee: Claudio Circhetta (Switzerland) |
Third placed team Vaslui were drawn against Lille in the Europa League play-off round and they were eliminated after losing 0–2 in the away leg.
19 August 2010 Play-off round | Vaslui | 0–0 | Lille | Stadionul Municipal, Vaslui |
19:00 | Report | Attendance: 3,821 Referee: Bülent Yıldırım (Turkey) |
26 August 2010 Play-off round | Lille | 2–0 | Vaslui | Stadium Nord Lille Métropole, Villeneuve-d'Ascq |
20:45 | Cabaye 69' (pen.) Chedjou 80' |
Report | Attendance: 16,876 Referee: Tom Harald Hagen (Norway) |
Steaua Bucharest was the most successful Romanian team in the European competitions this season. They were drawn against Grasshopper in the Europa League play-off round and managed to qualify for the second time in the group stage, after passing the Swiss team on penalty shoot-out. There, they were drawn with Liverpool, Napoli and Utrecht. They managed to gain six points in the group, finishing third. Among the notable matches there was 3–1 home victory against Utrecht, a 1–1 draw at home against Liverpool, but also a slipped away victory after a 3–3 draw at home with Napoli, Cavani scoring the equaliser goal in the 98th minute, followed by a similar scenario in the away game, with Cavani scoring for 1–0 in 93rd minute.
19 August 2010 Play-off round | Steaua București | 1–0 | Grasshopper | Stadionul Steaua, București |
19:45 | Stancu 71' | Report | Attendance: 17,971 Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden) |
26 August 2010 Play-off round | Grasshopper | 1–0 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p) | Steaua București | Letzigrund, Zürich |
19:30 | Salatić 77' | Report | Attendance: 5,200 Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia) | |
Penalties | ||||
Smiljanić Salatić Abrashi Hajrović Adili |
Stancu Surdu Angelov Latovlevici |
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liverpool | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 10 |
Napoli | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 7 |
Steaua București | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 6 |
Utrecht | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 5 |
16 September 2010 Group stage | Liverpool | 4–1 | Steaua București | Anfield, Liverpool |
21:05 | Cole 1' Ngog 55' (pen.), 90+1' Lucas 81' |
Report | Tănase 13' | Attendance: 25,605 Referee: César Muñiz Fernández (Spain) |
30 September 2010 Group stage | Steaua București | 3–3 | Napoli | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest |
19:00 | Cribari 2' (o.g.) Tănase 11' Kapetanos 16' |
Report | Vitale 44' Hamšík 73' Cavani 90+8' |
Attendance: 10,203 Referee: Marcin Borski (Poland) |
21 October 2010 Group stage | Utrecht | 1–1 | Steaua București | Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht |
19:00 | Duplan 60' | Report | Schut 75' (o.g.) | Attendance: 24,000 Referee: Said Ennjimi (France) |
4 November 2010 Group stage | Steaua București | 3–1 | Utrecht | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest |
21:05 | Gardoş 29' Stancu 52', 53' |
Report | Mertens 33' | Attendance: 16,210 Referee: Stanislav Sukhina (Russia) |
2 December 2010 Group stage | Steaua București | 1–1 | Liverpool | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest |
19:00 | Bonfim 61' | Report | Jovanović 19' | Attendance: 13,639 Referee: Bülent Yıldırım (Turkey) |
15 December 2010 Group stage | Napoli | 1–0 | Steaua București | Stadio San Paolo, Naples |
21:05 | Cavani 90+3' | Report | Attendance: 40,631 Referee: Pavel Kralovec (Czech Republic) |
Fifth placed team Timișoara were drawn in the third qualifying round of the Europa League against MyPa from Finland, which they surpassed 5–4 on aggregate, after a spectacular comeback from three goals down in the second leg. However, in the play-off round they were drawn against Manchester City and were defeated twice in a row, 0–1 and 0–2. At the end of the season, although finishing second, the team is relegated for unpaid debts, putting an end to their nine-year spell in the top division.
29 July 2010 Third qualifying round | MYPA | 1–2 | Timișoara | Saviniemi, Anjalankoski |
18:00 | Ricketts 50' | Report | Tameş 34' Axente 74' |
Referee: David Mckeon (Ireland) |
5 August 2010 Third qualifying round | Timișoara | 3–3 | MYPA | Stadionul Dan Păltinişanu, Timișoara |
19:30 | Axente 53' Zicu 80' Čišovský 90+2' |
Report | Äijälä 18' Ricketts 20', 25' |
Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Artyom Kuchin (Kazakhstan) |
19 August 2010 Play-off round | Timișoara | 0–1 | Manchester City | Stadionul Dan Păltinişanu, Timișoara |
21:00 | Report | Balotelli 72' | Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany) |
26 August 2010 Play-off round | Manchester City | 2–0 | Timișoara | City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester |
21:00 | Wright-Phillips 43' Boyata 59' |
Report | Attendance: 23,542 Referee: Manuel de Sousa (Portugal) |
Dinamo Bucharest benefited from the fact that 2010 Romanian Cup winners were placed first and third in the league, so that one more Europa League spot was awarded for the team on sixth place. They started in the second qualifying round with a tie against Moldovan side Olimpia Bălţi. After a 2–0 victory in the away game played in Chişinău, it followed a 5–1 win at home. Next team they were drawn against, in the third qualifying round, were the Croats from Hajduk Split. It was the tie prior to the encounter with Unirea Urziceni and Dinamo were eliminated by 3–4 on aggregate after they won 3–1 at home and lost 0–3 away.
15 July 2010 Second qualifying round | Olimpia | 0–2 | Dinamo București | Zimbru Stadium, Chişinău |
18:00 | Report | Pulhac 41' Ganea 83' |
Attendance: 6,300 Referee: Michael Koukoulakis (Greece) |
22 July 2010 Second qualifying round | Dinamo București | 5–1 | Olimpia | Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest |
19:45 | Orlovski 4' (o.g.) Adrian Cristea 32' N'Doye 45' Munteanu 59' Torje 63' (pen.) |
Report | Adaramola 90' | Attendance: 4,367 Referee: Antonio Damato (Italy) |
29 July 2010 Third qualifying round | Dinamo București | 3–1 | Hajduk Split | Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest |
20:00 | Andrei Cristea 6' (pen.) Garat 40' Koné 70' |
Report | Tomasov 64' | Referee: Lee Probert (England) |
5 August 2010 Third qualifying round | Hajduk Split | 3–0 | Dinamo București | Gradski Stadion, Split |
20:30 | Vukušić 12' Brkljača 23' Tomasov 38' |
Report | Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Carlos Xistra (Portugal) |
On June 4, 2011, Răzvan Lucescu resigned from the helm of the national team, following a two-year term, to take charge at Rapid Bucharest.[3] Victor Piţurcă, the manager before Lucescu, was hired again as the head coach, with a contract valid until November 30, 2015. The aim will be qualification to Euro 2016.[4]
11 August 2010 | Turkey | 2–0 | Romania | Istanbul, Turkey |
21:15 UTC+3 | Emre 82' (pen) Turan 86' |
Report | Stadium: Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Milorad Mazić (Serbia) |
17 November 2010 | Romania | 1–1 | Italy | Klagenfurt, Austria |
21:30 UTC+1 | Marica 34' | Report | Marica 82' (o.g.) | Stadium: Hypo-Arena Attendance: 5,436 Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria) |
8 February 2011 | Ukraine | 2–2 | Romania | Paralimni, Cyprus |
20:30 UTC | Rakitskiy 24' Milevskyi 31' |
Report | Alexa 33' 44' | Stadium: Paralimni Stadium Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Stefan Johannesson (Sweden) |
9 February 2011 | Cyprus | 1–1 | Romania | Paralimni, Cyprus |
20:30 UTC | Konstantinou 84' | Report | Torje 54' | Stadium: Paralimni Stadium Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Viktor Shvetov (Ukraine) |
7 June 2011 | Brazil | 1–0 | Romania | São Paulo, Brazil |
21:55 UTC-2 | Fred 22' | Report | Stadium: Estádio do Pacaembu Attendance: 30,050 Referee: Sergio Pezzotta (Argentina) |
11 June 2011 | Paraguay | 2–0 | Romania | Asunción, Paraguay |
18:00 UTC-4 | Valdez 2' Santa Cruz 28' |
Report | Stadium: Estadio Defensores del Chaco Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Evandro Rogerio Román (Brazil) |
Win Draw Loss
The Romania men's national team were drawn into UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group D. Group D fixtures were negotiated between the participants at a meeting in Luxembourg on 19 February 2010.[5]
3 September 2010 | Romania | 1–1 | Albania | Piatra Neamţ, Romania |
21:00 UTC+3 | Stancu 80' | Report | Muzaka 87' | Stadium: Ceahlăul Stadium Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Robert Schörgenhofer (Austria) |
7 September 2010 | Belarus | 0–0 | Romania | Minsk, Belarus |
20:30 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Dynama Stadium Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Pavel Kralovec (Czech Republic) |
9 October 2010 | France | 2–0 | Romania | Saint-Denis, France |
21:00 UTC+2 | Rémy 83' Gourcuff 90+3' |
Report | Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 79,299 Referee: Pedro Proença (Portugal) |
26 March 2011 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–1 | Romania | Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
19:15 UTC+1 | Ibišević 63' Džeko 83' |
Report | Marica 29' | Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes (Spain) |
3 June 2011 | Romania | 3–0 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bucharest, Romania |
21:00 UTC+3 | Mutu 37' Marica 41', 55' |
Report | Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden) |
The home teams are in the left column; the away teams are in the right column. Win Draw Loss