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; 13 years ago (2010-07-26) [1]
Ground	Anghel Iordănescu
Capacity	4,600
Owner	Voluntari Town
General director	Bogdan Bălănescu
Head coach	Florin Pârvu
League	Liga I
2022–23	Liga I, 9th of 16
Website	Club website
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, which competes in the Liga I.

Founded in 2010, it has been playing since the 2015–16 season in the Liga I, the highest tier of the Romanian league system. Voluntari claimed its first major honour the following 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.

History

Early years

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]}

Promotion to the first division

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]

Stadium

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]}

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

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

Cups

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

Players

First-team squad

As of 25 March 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 Octavian Vâlceanu 2 DF   ARG Cristian Paz 4 MF   CRO Ljuban Crepulja 5 DF   MDA Igor Armaș ( Captain) 6 MF   CZE Lukáš Droppa 7 DF   ALB Naser Aliji 8 MF   ROU Mihai Răduț 9 FW   ROU Andrei Dumiter 10 MF   ROU George Merloi 11 FW   ROU Daniel Florea 12 GK   ROU Bogdan Ștefan 14 MF   POR Marcelo Lopes 17 MF   ROU Doru Andrei 19 FW   ROU Robert Mustacă 20 FW   ROU Robert Popescu 21 FW   ROU Andreas Niță

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF   MDA Vadim Rață ( 4th captain) 23 FW   ROU Nicolae Carnat 24 DF   POR Ricardinho ( Vice-captain) 25 MF   ROU Angelo Cocian 26 DF   ROU Grigore Turda 27 DF   ROU Radu Boboc 28 MF   ARG Bautista Cascini 29 FW   ROU Eduard Lambrinoc 34 DF   ARG Patricio Matricardi 38 MF   SUR Yahcuroo Roemer 72 MF   ROU Roberto Voican 77 FW   SVK Adam Nemec ( 3rd captain) 80 MF   ROU Andrei Ciobanu 88 GK   ESP Jesús Fernández 90 MF   ROU Alexandru Munteanu 99 FW   ROU Andrei Dima

Other players under contract

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ROU Victor Rîmniceanu

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ROU Valentin Mărgărit (to Tunari) — GK   ROU Daniel Paraschiv (to Progresul Spartac) — DF   ROU Radu Zamfir (to Gloria Buzău) — DF   ROU Vlăduț Andreș (to Unirea Slobozia) — DF   ROU Mario Bărăitaru (to CSM Deva)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ROU Alin Lazăr (to Afumați) — MF   ROU Florin Bălan (to Gloria Bistrița) — FW   ROU Alexandru Stoica (to Vedița Colonești) — FW   ROU Antonio Stan (to Vedița Colonești)

Club officials

Board of directors 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 Role Name Head coach Florin Pârvu Assistant coach Eugeniu Cebotaru Goalkeeping coach Dumitru Hotoboc Fitness coaches Alexandru Petcu Carlos Menéndez Club doctor Ovidiu Dontu Kinethotherapist Ionuț Stoica Physiotherapist Dan Sarivan Masseurs Florin Onosă Florin Dragne Storeman Dumitru Radu Last updated: 19 March 2024 Source: [9]

Domestic records and statistics

Notable former players

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

Notable former managers

References

External links

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