FC Voluntari

FC Voluntari

Full name	SC Fotbal Club Voluntari SA
Nickname(s)	Voluntărenii (The People from Voluntari) Ilfovenii (The People from Ilfov)
Short name	Voluntari
Founded	26 July 2010; 14 years ago (2010-07-26)[1]
Ground	Anghel Iordănescu
Capacity	4,600
Owner	Voluntari Town
General director	Bogdan Bălănescu
Head coach	Claudiu Niculescu
League	Liga II
2023–24	Liga I, 15th of 16 (relegated)
Website	fcvoluntari.ro
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Fotbal Club Voluntari (Romanian pronunciation: [volunˈtarʲ]), commonly known as FC Voluntari or simply Voluntari, is a Romanian professional football club based in Voluntari, Ilfov County, that competes in the Liga II, the second tier of the Romanian league system.

Founded in 2010, Voluntari played in the Liga I between the 2015–16 season and the 2023–24 seasons. It claimed its first major honour the 2016–17 campaign, after defeating Astra Giurgiu in the penalty shootout of the Cupa României final, and went on to win the Supercupa României the same year.

Voluntari's home ground is the Anghel Iordănescu Stadium, which has a capacity of 4,600 people.

FC Voluntari was founded in the summer of 2010 and enrolled directly in the Liga III, after acquiring the berth of Petrolul Berca.^[2]

During their debut season in the third league, Ilfovenii finished in sixth place with Romeo Bunică as a head coach, and repeated the performance the next season with Bogdan Andone in charge. The 2012–13 season began with poor performances and after five rounds Andone was replaced by Bunică, who led the team to the seventh place.^[3]

Adrian Iencsi led Voluntari to winning the 2013–14 Liga III en fanfare, but despite the Liga II promotion, Iencsi was sacked and replaced for the next year by Ilie Poenaru.^[4] There, they had notable performances against Farul Constanța and CF Brăila, and then qualified to the Liga I from the first place via the promotion play-offs.^{[citation needed]}

Voluntari earned promotion for the first time in their history to Liga I, the highest tier of Romanian football, at the end of the 2014–15 campaign. Its debut season was difficult, as many technical and administrative changes led the club to the relegation zone. Finishing 12th, the team faced a promotion/relegation play-off against UTA Arad, which it won 3–1 on aggregate and maintained its place in the Liga I.^[5]

With experienced players such as Vasile Maftei, Florin Cernat or Laurențiu Marinescu in the starting eleven, Voluntari improved itself in the 2016–17 season, finishing in ninth place and avoiding a second consecutive promotion/relegation play-off. During that year, the club achieved its biggest achievement so far by winning the Cupa României over Astra Giurgiu, being the first major trophy in its brief history.^[6]

The club plays its home matches at the 4,600-seater Stadionul Anghel Iordănescu in Voluntari. Attendances are usually modest, as Voluntari is considered a suburb of Bucharest and many of its citizens are inclined to support clubs from the capital instead.^{[citation needed]}

• Liga II
  • Winners (1): 2014–15
• Liga III
  • Winners (1): 2013–14

• Cupa României
  • Winners (1): 2016–17
  • Runners-up (1): 2021–22
• Supercupa României
  • Winners (1): 2017

As of 29 October 2024^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ROU Alexandru Maxim (on loan from FCSB) 2 DF  ROU Florinel Mitrea 5 DF  MDA Igor Armaș (Captain) 6 MF  CZE Lukáš Droppa 7 MF  ROU Daniel Toma 8 MF  ROU Andrei Pandele 9 FW  ROU Alberto Călin 10 MF  ROU George Merloi (3rd captain) 11 MF  ROU Doru Andrei 12 GK  ROU Bogdan Ștefan 13 DF  ROU Cătălin Alexe 15 MF  CZE Antonín Fantiš 17 DF  ROU Andrei Pițian

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 FW  ROU Marvin Schieb 20 DF  ROU Alexandru Gîț 23 FW  ROU Nicolae Carnat 25 MF  ROU Angelo Cocian 26 FW  ROU Denis Bujor 27 DF  ROU Radu Crișan 28 DF  ROU Vlăduț Andreș 30 DF  ROU Alexandru Șuteu 31 MF  FRA Mickaël Panos 33 GK  ROU Iustin Chirilă (on loan from Universitatea Cluj) 44 MF  ROU Mihael Onișa 77 FW  SVK Adam Nemec (Vice-captain) 99 FW  ROU Eduard Lambrinoc

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ROU Mario Bărăitaru (to CSM Slatina) — DF  ROU Cătălin Ploeșteanu (to Olimpia Satu Mare)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  ROU Alexandru Munteanu (to Popești-Leordeni) — FW  ROU Robert Popescu (to Hermannstadt)

Board of directors [edit] Role Name Owner Voluntari Town President Vladimir Cohn Advisory Board President Gheorghe Nețoiu Board President Robert Frunză Vice-president Bogdan Niculaie General Director Bogdan Bălănescu Executive Director Robert Gherghe Economic Director Diana Istrate Sporting director Florin Cernat Technical director Walid Al-Bitar Administrative Director Ionuț Bogaciu Youth Center Manager Ion Moldovan Youth Center Coordinator Cătălin Bârleanu Organizer of Competitions Emil Badea Secretary Florin Verigeanu Responsible for Order and Safety Iulian Ghirie Press Officer Radu Oprișan Last updated: 6 September 2022 Source:[8]

Current technical staff [edit] Role Name Head coach Claudiu Niculescu Assistant coach Iulian Tameș Goalkeeping coach Florin Matache Fitness coach Andrei Antoce Club doctor Ovidiu Dontu Kinethotherapist Ionuț Stoica Physiotherapist Dan Sarivan Masseurs Florin Onosă Florin Dragne Storeman Dumitru Radu Last updated: 20 September 2024 Source:[9]

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than signifiant caps for FC Voluntari.

Romania

• Official website (in Romanian)
• FC Voluntari on Facebook
• FC Voluntari on Instagram
• Club profile on UEFA.com
• Club profile on LPF.ro