FCSB

Arena Națională
Location	Basarabia Blvd., Nr. 37-39Sector 2,Bucharest,Romania
Owner	Municipality ofBucharest
Capacity	55,634
Field size	105 m × 68 m (115 yd × 74 yd)
Construction
Broke ground	20 February 2008
Opened	6 September 2011
Architect	Gerkan, Marg and Partners

FCSB
Full name	SCFotbal Club FCSBSA
Nickname(s)	Roș-albaștrii(The Red and Blues);
Short name	FCSB
Founded	7 June 1947;77 years ago; asASA București
Ground	Arena Națională
Capacity	55,634
Owner	George Becali
President	Valeriu Argăseală
Head coach	Elias Charalambous
League	Liga I
2023–24	Liga I, 1st of 16 (champions)
Website	Club website
	Current season

Fotbal Club FCSB(Romanian pronunciation:[fet͡ʃeseˌbe]), formerly named and still sometimes referred to asFC Steaua București,is a Romanian professionalfootballclub based inBucharest.It has spent its entire history in theLiga I,the top flight of theRomanian football league system.

The originalSteaua Bucureștifootball team was founded in 1947 and belonged to theMinistry of National Defence,through the namesakeCSA Steaua Bucureștisports club. In 1998, the football department and its facilities were separated from the latter and taken over by a group of shareholders in apost-Ceaușescuprivatisation scheme, leading toone of the shareholdersacquiring full ownership five years later. However, CSA Steaua București has been in conflict with the football club since 2011, claiming that it was a new and separate entity; this resulted in multiple court cases and the forced change of the name fromFC Steaua BucureștitoFC FCSBin early 2017.^[2]^[3]

Domestically, when taken together with the disputed pre-2003 honours, the club has won the Liga I 27 times,Cupa României24 times,Cupa Ligiitwo times, andSupercupa Românieiseven times—all competition records. Internationally, they have won theEuropean CupandEuropean Super Cup,both in 1986. They reached the European Cup final once again in 1989, when they were defeated byAC Milan.Throughout their history, theRoș-albaștriialso played the final of theIntercontinental Cup,the quarter-finals of theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup,and the semi-finals of theUEFA Cup.

FCSB's home ground isArena Națională,having moved here from the Ministry of National Defence-ownedStadionul Ghencea.Initially, the club played in the colours of theRomanian tricolour,but the team became associated with the red and blue scheme after yellow soon lost its importance. Recently, some kits have begun reintegrating the latter colour.

The club has a long-standing rivalry with neighbouringDinamo București,with matches between the two being commonly referred to as the "Eternal derby"or the" Romanian derby ". Another notable rivalry isthe oneagainstRapid București,while several milder ones are disputed against teams outside the capital, including a recent one againstCFR Clujthat commenced because of the title competitions these teams fought in 21st century.

History

1947–1949: Foundation and early years

ASA București(Asociația Sportivă a Armatei București– "Army Sports Association" ) was founded on 7 June 1947 at the initiative of several officers of the Romanian Royal House. The establishment took place following a decree signed by GeneralMihail Lascăr,High Commander of theRomanian Royal Army.It was formed as asports societywith seven initial sections, including football, coached byColoman Braun-Bogdan.^[4]The decision had been adopted on the ground that several officers were already playing for different teams, which was premise to a good nucleus for forming a future competitive team.

Period	Name
1947–1948	ASA București
1948–1950	CSCA București
1950–1961	CCA București
1961–1998	CSA Steaua București
1998–2003	AFC Steaua București
2003–2017	FC Steaua București
2017–present0000	FC FCSB

With this squad,Coloman Braun-Bogdan,the first coach in the club's history, went to a sustained training camp in the mountain resort ofSinaia.Although shirts, boots and balls were missing, atmosphere inside the team was rather optimistic. Thanks to sustained efforts, in the shortest time possible, the club soon acquired the first training suits, navy green, duck material of, and the first shirts, blue. The big surprise, however, were the 40 pairs of boots the club had purchased for the 20 selected players.ASAwas renamedCSCA(Clubul Sportiv Central al Armatei– "Central Sports Club of the Army" ) in 1948 andCCA(Casa Centrală a Armatei– "Central House of the Army" ) in 1950.^[4]

1949–1984: CCA Golden Team

In 1949,CSCAwon its first trophy, theCupa României,defeatingCSU Cluj2–1 in the final. Under the name ofCCA,the club managed to win threeChampionshiptitles in a row in1951,1952and1953,along with its first Championship–Cupdoublein 1951. During the 1950s, the so-called "CCA Golden Team" became nationally famous.^[5]In 1956, theRomania national team(composed exclusively of CCA players) playedYugoslaviain Belgrade and won 1–0. In the same year, CCA, coached byIlie Savu,became the first Romanian team to participate in a tournament in England, where it achieved noteworthy results against the likes ofLuton Town,Arsenal,Sheffield WednesdayandWolverhampton Wanderers.^[6]After CCA won the1959–60title, they were supposed to play in the1960–61 European CupagainstSpartak Hradec Královéwho was the champion of Czechoslovakia, but asRomania's national teamlost with 5–0 on aggregate againstCzechoslovakiain the1960 European Nations' Cup quarter-finals,when thecommunist authoritiessaw that Steaua had to play with the champion of Czechoslovakia in the European Cup, they withdrew the team from the competition, fearing a shameful elimination in front of the Czechoslovakians.^[7]

At the end of 1961,CCAchanged its name once again toCSA Steaua București(Clubul Sportiv al Armatei Steaua– "Army Sports Club Steaua" ). The club's new name translated toThe Starand was adopted because of the presence of ared star,a symbol of most East European Army clubs, on its crest. A poor period of almost two decades followed in which the club claimed only three championships (1967–68,1975–76,1977–78). Instead, the team won nine national cup trophies, for which matter it gained the nickname of "cup specialists".^[8]Also during this period, on 9 April 1974 Steaua's ground,Stadionul Ghencea,was inaugurated with a friendly match againstOFK Belgrade.^[9]Internally, fierce rivalry with teams likeDinamo București,Petrolul PloieștiandUTA Aradmade it more and more difficult for the military team to reach the title, the 1970s and 1980s seeing them win the title only three times under their new name (1967–68, 1975–76, 1977–78). However, during that same period, Steaua won eight National Cups (1961–62, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76 and 1978–79), ultimately being nicknamedthe cup specialists.

Duckadam

Belodedici

Bumbescu

Iovan (C)

Bărbulescu

Bălan

Bölöni

Balint

Majearu

Lăcătuș

Pițurcă

1986 European Cup Finalstarting line-up.

The first half of the 1980s was a very poor period for the club, as no trophies were won for six years. However, several prodigies were transferred, such asHelmuth Duckadam,Ștefan Iovan,Miodrag Belodedici,Marius Lăcătuș,Victor Pițurcă,Mihail Majearu,Gavril BalintandAdrian Bumbescu,who would set the basis for the future team. However, these years of search and frustration did no less than to foretell the amazing performances of the 1980s and 1990s.

1984–1990: Champions of Europe

Under the leadership of coachesEmerich JeneiandAnghel Iordănescu,Steaua had an impressive Championship run in the 1984–85 season, which they eventually won after a six-year break. What followed was an absolutely astonishingEuropean Cupseason. After eliminatingVejle,Honvéd,Kuusysi LahtiandAnderlecht,they were the first ever Romanian team to make it to a European Cup final. At thefinal,played on 7 May 1986 at theRamón Sánchez Pizjuán StadiuminSeville,Spanish champions Barcelona were clear favourites, but after a goalless draw, legendary goalkeeperHelmuth Duckadamsaved all four penalties taken by the Spaniards being the first ever Romanian to reach theGuinness Bookfor that matter, whileGavril BalintandMarius Lăcătușconverted theirs to make Steaua the first Eastern-European team to conquer the supreme continental trophy.

Gheorghe Hagi,Romanian all-time best footballer, joined the club a few months later, scoring the only goal of the match againstDynamo Kyivwhich brought Steaua an additional European Super Cup on 24 February 1987 inMonaco,just two months after having lost theIntercontinental Cup1–0 to ArgentiniansRiver Platein Tokyo. However, that match was marred with a questionable decision by refereeJosé Martínezwhen he disallowed a clear goal scored byMiodrag Belodedici.^[10]

Lung

Ungureanu

Bumbescu

Petrescu

Stoica (C)

Minea

Rotariu

Iovan

Hagi

Lăcătuș

Pițurcă

1989 European Cup Finalstarting lineup.

Surprisingly for those who thought of these performances as an isolated phenomenon, Steaua remained at the top of European football for the rest of the decade, managing one more European Cup semi-final againstBenfica(1987–88) and one more European Cup final in1989,which was lost 4–0 in front ofMarco van Basten,Ruud GullitandFrank Rijkaard'sMilan.This happened next to their four additional national titles (1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89) and four national cups (1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89). In addition, from June 1986 to September 1989, Steaua ran a record 104-match undefeated streak in the championship, setting a world record for that time and a European one still standing.^[11]

During these last years of the Communist regime in Romania, dictatorNicolae Ceaușescu's son Valentin was involved in the life of the team.Valentin Ceaușescuadmitted in a recent interview that he had done nothing else than to protect his favourite team from Dinamo's sphere of influence, ensured by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.^[12]Though contested by some, their five-year winning streak in the championship between 1984–85 and 1988–89 corroborates the notion that the team was really the best during this period.

1990–2002: Post-Revolution era

TheRomanian Revolutionled the country towards a free open market and, subsequently, several players of the 1980s team left for other clubs in the West. After a short pull-back, a quick recovery followed and Steaua managed a six consecutive championship streak between1992–93and1997–98to equalize the 1920s performance ofChinezul Timișoara^[13]and also three more cups in 1995–96, 1996–97 and 1998–99. At an international level, the club also managed to reach theUEFA Champions Leaguegroup stage three years in a row between1994–95and1996–97.Other records highly regarded by the fans were the eight-year and six-month long undefeated streak in front of arch-rivals Dinamo București, which counted 19 matches in both the championship and theRomanian Cup,and the 17-year and 7-month long undefeated league run at Ghencea against the same Dinamo. At international level, the club managed to reach the Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals in 1993, when they lost on away goals toRoyal Antwerp,and also to make it to the Champions League group stage three years in a row between 1994 and 1995 and 1996–97. In 1998, the football club separated fromCSA Steauaand changed its name toFC Steaua București,^[14]being led by Romanian businessman Viorel Păunescu. Păunescu performed poorly as a president and soon the club was plunged into debt.^[15]George Becali,another businessman, was offered the position of vice-president in the hope that Becali would invest money in the club.

2002–present: Gigi Becali takeover

In 2003, Becali managed to gain control over the club by turning it from non-profit to a public share company.^[16]Because of his controversial character, he has been challenged by the majority of Steaua fans.^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]The team qualified for theUEFA Cupgroup stage in the2004–05 seasonand became the first Romanian team to make it to the European football spring since1993(also Steaua's performance). The next season, Steaua reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals in2005–06,where it was eliminated byMiddlesbroughthanks to a last-minute goal. Steaua thereafter qualified for the following Champions League seasons after a ten-year break, and in 2007–08 Steaua again reached the group stage of the Champions League. Nationally, the club won two titles—in2004–05and2005–06—and theSupercupa Românieiin 2006, the latter being the club's 50th trophy in its 59-year history.^[21] In2013,Steaua won its 24th national title, and also subsequently reached the2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage.It repeated the former performance in each of the next two years, being awarded the championship in2014and2015.

After theMinistry of National Defensesued the club,^[22]claiming that theRomanian Armywere the rightful owners of the Steaua logo, colours, honours and name,^[23]the Executive Committee of theRomanian Football Federationapproved an application to modify the name of the club from "FC Steaua București" to "FC FCSB" on 30 March 2017,^[24]^[25]following morejudiciarysentences.CSA Steaua Bucureștihad previously announced they would refound their football department asCSA Steaua Bucureștiin the summer of the same year.^[26]However, owner Becali announced that his team would retain the original honours and UEFA coefficient, and was also hopeful of recovering the name in the near future.^[27]

Between2016and2019,FCSB finished each time as runners-up in the league, thus becoming the first club in Romania to do so for four consecutive years.^[28]On 5 July 2019, yet another unfavorable ruling was handed out against the team. According to it, CSA Steaua would be the rightful entity to assert the honors up until 2003, however, the decision is not definitive.^[29]

Crest and colours

Crests

During its first season, 1947–48, Steaua wore yellow and red striped shirts with blue shorts, to symbolize Romania's tricolor flag.^[30]Starting with the following season and with the Army's change of identity from the Royal Army to the People's Army, the yellow was gradually given up, so that the official colors remained, up to this day, the red and the blue.

As communists assumed total control of the country on 30 December 1947,^[31]the Royal Army was transformed into the People's Army and ASA automatically with it. Being inspired by theRed Army,the new Ministry of Defence decided to create a crest for the club, along with the change of name to CSCA, consisting in an A-labeledred star(symbol of the Red Army) on a blue disc.

Two years later, the change of name to CCA brought with it a new crest consisting of the same red star labeled CCA surrounded by a crown of laurel. The all-present star motif on the crest finally had its saying over the new name ofSteauaas up 1961. It was opted for a badge which, redesigned, remains up to this day the club's symbol: the red and blue striped background with a golden star in the middle, to symbolize to Romanian tricolour flag. The shape for the emblem was redesigned in 1974, once the team moved toStadionul Ghencea.

Following theRomanian Revolution,the Army decided to break all links to the defunct communist regime, so, in 1991,CSA Steauahad a last change of crest with an eagle also present on theMinistry of Defencecoat of arms and also on Romania's. As FC Steaua appeared in 1998, the club added two yellow stars on top of the CSA Steaua badge signifying its 20 titles of champions won, along with theFotbal Clubspecification.

In 2003, the new Board of Administration run byGeorge Becalidecided to change the crest, which was a return to the old emblem of 1974–1991, redesigned with the two yellow stars on top. The club started to use acronym of the nameFCSBbefore the official change of the name in 2017.

TheMinistry of National Defensesued Steaua in 2011, claiming that theRomanian Armywere the rightful owners of the Steaua logo, among others.^[23]TheSupreme Courtfound in the army's favour, and on 3 December 2014 stripped the football club of its badge.^[23]Steaua were forced to play their next home game, againstCSM Studențesc Iași,without it on the stadium scoreboard.^[23]A new badge was unveiled in January 2015, an eight-sided star containing the letters "FCSB", which would eventually become the official name of the club in 2017.^[32]

Colours

Steaua has never had a standard playing kit. However, the most widely used throughout time was the combination of red shirts, blue shorts and red socks. Other variants have been all-red, all-blue and also shirts in vertical red and blue stripes during the 1960s and 1970s. Other kit colours have very rarely been used. Exceptions were the1986 European Cup Finalin which Steaua wore, for the only time in their history, an all-white kit, the 1999–00 away kit (yellow and red), the 2005–06 third kit (yellow and black), the 2008–2010 away kit (a shade of neon yellow-green), the 2010–12 and 2014–16 away kit (all-yellow), the 2012–14 away kit ( all-sky blue or sky blue shirts with dark navy blue shorts and socks). For the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons, the away kit was all-white. For the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons the away kit was ice blue with a darker shade on sleeves. For the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons, the kit is all-white again.

1976–1977

1986–87

2005–06

2013–14

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Its kit is manufactured byNike,who have held the contract since 2002, after a long partnership withAdidas.^[33]First team shirt sponsors have been betting company Betano since 2022.^[34]Previous sponsors includeFord,^[35]Castrol,Philips,CBS,Bancorex,Dialog,BCR,RAFO,CitiFinancialand City Insurance.^[36]^[34]

Grounds

Stadium

Steaua played the first three matches in its history at the defunctVenusstadium.Opened in 1931, the venue had previously been in the property ofVenus București,a club disbanded in 1949.^[37]After that ground's demolition through order of the Communist regime, Steaua played its home matches at any one of Bucharest's three largest multi-use stadia: ANEF,Republicii(built in 1926 and demolished in 1984 to make room for the erection of theCasa Poporului) and23 August(built in 1953). Of these two, 23 August (later renamedNațional) was mostly used when two matches between Bucharest clubs were scheduled in the same matchday or for important European matches, while Republicii for regular matches in the championship.

From 1974 to 2015, Steaua played its home matches at theStadionul Ghencea,afootballstadium situated in South-Western Bucharest. Part ofComplexul Sportiv Steaua,it was inaugurated on 9 April 1974 when Steaua played a friendly match againstOFK Beograd,^[9]at which time it was the first football-only stadium ever built in Communist Romania, with notrack & fieldfacilities. The stadium was built through order of theMinistry of National Defenceinside a former military base and was long used byCSA Steaua.

The original capacity was 30,000 on benches. A general renovation occurred in 1991; this included installing seats, which dropped the capacity to 28,365.^[38]After a second renovation in 2006,^[39]Ghencea was able to hostUEFA Champions Leagueevents, being a 'Category 3' arena according to theUEFA classification system.^[40]

TheRomania national teamwas also a tenant for numerous fixtures.^[41]

From 2011, Steaua played European games and its most important domestic games at the newly constructedArena Națională,and from March 2015, played exclusively at the Arena Națională.^[42]

Training facilities

Baza Sportivă ARCOM is asports complexinBucharest,Romania. It is currently used only forfootballmatches, is the home ground ofFCSB IIandFCSB Academyand also used for trainings. The football complex was built byGeorge Becalion the place of the former ARCOM Concrete Plant, after his club was kicked out fromSteaua StadiumandGhencea Sports Complexdue to the conflict withMinistry of National DefenceandCSA Steaua București.The football complex has 4 grounds (3 with a grass pitch and 1 with an artificial turf) and holds 1,000 people.^[43]

Support

Steaua has the largest number of supporters of any team in Romania. A survey conducted in June 2007 suggested that the club accounts for approximately 42% of all Romanian football lovers, far greater than the teams ranked second and third,Dinamo București,with 12%, andRapid București,with 9%.^[44]

The largest concentration of fans are in Bucharest, notably in areas adjacent to the arena, covering the whole southern half of Bucharest, a city geographically divided by theDâmbovița River.^[45]Also, the club has an important fan base inside the country, where several towns are renowned for counting vast majorities of Steaua supporters, and outside the borders, among Romanian emigrants.

The SteauaUltrasmovement began in 1995, when the bases ofArmata Ultra(AU), the first Ultras group from Bucharest (and second in Romania afterPolitehnica Timișoara'sCommando Viola Ultra Curva Sud),^[46]were set. The group quickly reached an impressive number of members, but, in 2001, they dissolved due to internal problems. Steaua's supporters then divided into several groups, some of them being located at thePeluza Nord( "North End" –Titan Boys,Nucleo,Insurgenții 1998,Skins 1996,Combat,Armata 47 Vest), while some other ones taking their place at thePeluza Sud( "South End" –Vacarm,Glas,E.R.A.,Hunters,Outlaws,Shadows,Roosters,T.K.,Tinerii Sudiști). Several important groups such asStil Ostil,Ultras,Banda Ultra'andSouth Boysretired from attending Steaua's matches due to the club's constant abuses towards them and, mainly, to the current ownership of Steaua.^[47]

More recently, as of 2006, the supporters have formed their own official association, called AISS (Asociația Independentă a Suporterilor Steliști– "Steaua Supporters' Independent Association" ). AISS was formed as a legal entity with its stated goals of "protecting the interests and image of Steaua supporters", as well as "identifying and promoting the club's perennial values".^[48]

Steaua'sPeluza NordandPeluza Sudfan groups no longer support the current team, as a sign of protest. ThePeluza Sudhave instead started to attend the matches ofCSA Steaua.However, an onlinepollconducted bySport.roin 2017 has shown that of the 120,000 voters, 95% consider FCSB to hold the real Steaua identity.^[49]As soon as the leader of theSkins Bercenigroup left prison, some fans of Peluza Nord returned to support the team inLiga I,FCSB. So far the groups are:Insurgentii Colentina 1998,Skins Berceni 1996,Titan Boys 1996, North boys 2022 and Nucleo 47.

As Steaua is the most popular club in Romania, there are, besidesBucharest,several cities counting a great majority of red and blue supporters among football lovers. Widely speaking, these cities are predominant in the Eastern half of the country, particularly in the regions ofMoldavia,Greater WallachiaandNorthern Dobruja.Cities such asSuceava,Piatra Neamț,Bacău,Galați(insideMoldavia),Constanța(Northern Dobruja),Buzău,Brăila,Târgoviște,Călărași(Greater Wallachia),Râmnicu Vâlcea,Târgu Jiu(Oltenia),Brașov,Oradea,Sibiu,Târgu MureșorPetroșani(Transylvania)enjoy a great majority of Steaua fans which are often well-received even by fans of the local teams.

The club is also popular outside the borders, notably between Romanian emigrants. TheValencian Communityin Spain accounts for an important number of supporters, being the most important area for this matter.

Steaua fans are also maintaining good relations with the fans ofCSKA SofiaofBulgaria,with whom they share the common root of once representing the teams of their national armies. The bases of these relations date from aUEFA Cupencounter in 2004 between the two clubs. Some ultras are also friends with the ultras fromUTA Arad,Corvinul HunedoaraandFarul Constanța,NEC Nijmegen,PAOK FC,CSKA MoscowandPartizan Belgrade.Also, European encounters againstPanathinaikosin 1998 andSlavia Prahain 1999 were premises for setting contacts with rival fans ofOlympiacosofGreeceandSparta PragueofCzech Republicrespectively.

Club rivalries

Eternul Derby

Steaua's most important rivalry is the one againstDinamo București.Eternul derby( "The Eternal Derby" ) has been the leading Romanian football encounter since 1948, as Steaua and Dinamo are the two most successful football teams in the country. There have been more than 150 matches played so far between Steaua and Dinamo in the Romanian League, the Romanian Cup and also the Romanian Supercup.^[50]With 44 titles combined (Steaua – 26; Dinamo – 18), the two sides have won 36 more than the third-most successful Liga I club,Venus București.^[51]

It is also a match between the former clubs of theRomanian Army(Steaua) and theMinistry of Internal Affairs(Dinamo). Several clashes between different factions of supporters have often occurred and still occur inside and outside the stadium. The heyday was reached before a match kick-off in 1997, when Dinamo's fans set a sector ofStadionul Ghencea'sPeluza Sud,where they were assigned, on fire.^[52]On 16 August 2016, during Steaua's Champions League play-off 0–5 loss toManchester City,undercover Dinamo fans displayed a huge message sayingDoar Dinamo București( "Only Dinamo Bucharest" ), which was labelled one of the biggest pranks in football history.^[53]

Between October 1991 and April 2000, Steaua counted 19 undefeated official matches facing their rivals, both in the championship and the cup. Also, a period of 17 years and 7 months^[when?]has been recorded in which Dinamo failed to win away against Steaua in the domestic league.^[54]

Bucharest Derby

The second-most important rivalry was withRapid București,often calledBucharest derby.Several matches throughout the years between Steaua and Rapid have also ended in serious clashes between fans.^{[citation needed]}The two clubs have met over 140 times, starting with Rapid's 1–0 win on 4 November 1947. The conflict has become even fiercer after Steaua outpassed Rapid in an all-Romanian quarter-final of the2005–06 UEFA Cup.The conflict between the fans has become even fiercer since then. The rivalry also extends to other sports. The local sports newspapers said that the two teams were linked up in this quarter-final by the line of the number 41 tram which links the Ghencea Stadium to theValentin Stănescu Stadium.The rivalry also extends to other sports.

Milder and historical rivalries are also with non-Bucharest-based teams, such asCFR Cluj,Universitatea Craiova,Politehnica Timișoara,Petrolul Ploiești,Universitatea Clujand a recent one withAstra Giurgiu.^[55]

Ownership and finances

Steaua has previously been known as the club of theRomanian Army,which founded it in 1947 as asports society.^[4]The Army continues to own the sports society, namedCSA Steaua București.The football department, however, separated and turned private in 1998, owned and financed by a non-profit organization called AFC Steaua București, chaired by businessman Viorel Păunescu.^[14]

In January 2003, the team turned public under the leadership of investor and former politicianGeorge Becali,who had already purchased 51% of the society's shares and later on acquired the rest to become the owner of the club. At present, Becali has no official links with FCSB, as he gradually renounced his shares. However, the facts that the current shareholders, that include several nephews of his,^[56]are people loyal to him and that he is still in charge of FCSB are obvious.^[57]An unofficial explanation for this situation is represented by the heavy amount of unpaid taxes added up by the former governing company, AFC Steaua București, whose payment towards the tax authority was avoided this way by transferring its assets to the new-formed company, with the old association going on liquidation bankruptcy.^[58]

George "Gigi" Becali is a highly controversial figure at FCSB, whose involvement in the life of the club and the team has often been described as authoritarian and dictatorial by both the media and the fans.^[59]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]

Statistics and records

FCSB currently boasts itself with the most impressive pedigree in Romania. With 75 seasons spent inLiga I,they are one of only two teams to have played only in the first national league, along withDinamo București(71 seasons). At the same time, the club is the current record holder for the number of national championships (27),national cups(24),national super cups(6) and thenational league cup(2). Between 1993 and 1998, its run of six consecutive national titles won equaled the one ofChinezul Timișoarafrom the 1920s. Internationally, it is the only Romanian club to have won continental trophies (theEuropean Champions Cupin 1986 and theEuropean Super Cupin 1986) and to have played in the final of the European Cup (in1986and1989). It is the only Romanian club that from 2002 to 2018 managed to qualify in the groups of a European competition

For three years and three months (June 1986 – September 1989), FCSB counted a number of 104 unbeaten matches in the league, establishing, at that moment, a world record and a European one still standing.^[60]Also inside the national league, the club counted 112 matches between November 1989 and August 1996 of invincibility atStadionul Ghenceain Liga I. Its run of 17-straight wins in 1988 is another record, equal to the one held by Dinamo as of one year later.^[61]

Tudorel Stoicais the player with the most appearances for FCSB in Liga I, a record unlikely to be broken in the nearby future, as none of the current players have entered the top-ten so far. The club's all-time top scorer in the league isAnghel Iordănescuwith 146 goals, a record that also looks solid, out of the same reason as above-mentioned. Other records are currently owned by former players such asDorinel Munteanu(most nationalcaps– 134) orGheorghe Hagi(most goals scored forRomania– 35; most appearances of a Romanian player in the European cups – 93).^[62]FCSB's longest serving manager isAnghel Iordanescu,with four consecutive years in two spells (1986–1990) and (1992–1993), andEmerich Jeneiis the club's most successful manager winning theEuropean Cupin 1986. The most successful FCSB player isMarius Lacatuswith 21 trophies, surpassingTudorel Stoica,with 14 trophies.

FCSB'sArena Nationalais the largeststadium in Romania.The club's highest home attendance was 50,016 in aEuropa Leaguequarter-final againstChelseain2012–13 season.The modernisation ofGhencea stadiumduring the 2018–20 and the build of a new stadium make theGhencea stadiumone of the biggest in Romania with a capacity of 31,254 being inaugurated on 7 July 2021, with a match betweenCSA SteauaandOFK Beograd,the same team with whom they had inaugurated the previous stadium back in 1974. It ended with a 6–0 win for the home team. In August 2018, FCSB signedFlorinel ComanfromFC Viitorul Constantafor €3 million, the highest transfer fee in club's history. In January 2021, FCSB playerDennis Mantransferred toParma Calcio 1913for a romanian record transfer fee of €13 million. Other records were set by former playerGheorghe Hagitransfer set the record for thetransfer feefrom the domestic league to a foreign club, with $4,300,000 paid byReal Madrid CFin 1990. On 18 September 2014, in a2014–15 UEFA Europa Leaguegroup stage match against Danish sideAalborg BK,FCSB set two competition records:Claudiu Keșerüscored three goals in a span of only 12 minutes, this being the fastest hat-trick in the history of the competition, and with the 6–0 victory overAalborg BK,Steaua achieved the highest score in the history of theUEFA Europa League,also being the first team to manages to score 6 goals in one match.

Popular culture

As Steaua is currently the most popular football team in Romania,^[44]a good number of musicians or TV and film directors have inspired themselves from ideas linked to the Ghencea-based club. Popular reference, however, appeared only after the Romanian Revolution, as before, mass-media programmes were mostly being controlled by the former communist regime. The 2002 Romanian filmFuriadepicts scenes in which Steaua and Dinamo gangs of supporters are fighting on the streets after a direct match between the two sides.^[63]Prima TVcomedy showMondeniioften airs sketches parodying Steaua owner George Becali, the players and other representatives around the club.^[64]Pro TVseriesLa blocaired an episode in which characters Nelu and Costel are displayed as representing Steaua in a parking lot match against two other neighbours representing Dinamo.^{[citation needed]}

Several other examples from music can be attributed as Steaua-related. Apart from club anthems played throughout time byMarcel Pavel,Bere Gratis,Gaz pe Foc,an album was released in 2006 as a compilation byMircea Vintilă,Chicanos,Bogdan Dimaand several other artists.^[65]DeliktandUltrasare two formerhip hopbands whose members ranked the defunct Armata Ultra' brigade and would always show up displaying fan materials. Also,Voltaj,in their song 'MSD2', make reference to the fans in the line "Poți să fii câine sau poți fi stelist"(" You can be a dog^[66]or you can be a Steaua fan ").^[67]

One of the most famous pop-culture references about the club is the association withScooter's songMaria,first sung spontaneously in 2003 by the fans in Peluza Nord after the team would score. Ever since, it has been adopted as an unofficial club anthem and is being played at the stadium at every match, sung together by the supporters. Nonetheless, the song is beginning to lose popularity, mainly because it has become too commercial and many fans do not feel bonded with it any more.^[68]

Honours

Note:As of June 2018,^[update]UEFAandLPFregard FCSB as the continuation of historical FC Steaua București and attribute all honours since 1947 to this entity.^[69]^[70]However, the ownership of the many trophies won between 1947 and 2003 is disputed, with the restartedfootball departmentof former parent clubCSA Steauaalso claiming them^[71]following legal disputes between the two organisations.^[72]^[73]^[74]In July 2019, CSA Steaua won a first court decision regarding the record dispute. However, the ruling is not definitive.^[75]^[76]In June 2021, the Bucharest Court of Appeal decided that CSA Steaua only holds the record from 1947 to 1998 (and not from 1947 to 2003). However, FC FCSB has the right to appeal within 30 days.^[77]

Type	Competition	Titles	Seasons
Domestic	Liga I	27	1951,1952,1953,1956,1959–60,1960–61,1967–68,1975–76,1977–78,1984–85,1985–86,1986–87,1987–88,1988–89,1992–93,1993–94,1994–95,1995–96,1996–97,1997–98,2000–01,2004–05,2005–06,2012–13,2013–14,2014–15,2023–24
	Cupa României	24	1948–49,1950,1951,1952,1955,1961–62,1965–66,1966–67,1968–69,1969–70,1970–71,1975–76,1978–79,1984–85,1986–87,1987–88,1988–89,1991–92,1995–96,1996–97,1998–99,2010–11,2014–15,2019–20
	Supercupa României	7	1994,1995,1998,2001,2006,2013,2024
	Cupa Ligii	2	2014–15,2015–16
Continental	UEFA Champions League	1	1985–86
Continental	UEFA Super Cup	1	1986

Record
^SShared record

Players

Current squad

As of 18 July 2024^[78]^[79]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ROU	Mihai Udrea
2	DF	ROU	Valentin Crețu
3	DF	ROU	Ionuț Panțîru
5	DF	CMR	Joyskim Dawa
6	DF	ROU	Denis Haruț
8	MF	ROU	Adrian Șut(vice-captain)
10	MF	ROU	Octavian Popescu
11	FW	ROU	David Miculescu
12	DF	BEN	David Kiki
15	FW	ROU	Marius Ștefănescu
16	MF	ROU	Mihai Lixandru
18	MF	FRA	Malcom Edjouma
19	FW	ROU	Daniel Popa
20	DF	GHA	Nana Antwi
21	DF	ROU	Vlad Chiricheș(3rd captain)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
22	MF	ROU	Mihai Toma
23	MF	ROU	Andrei Pandele
24	MF	BEL	William Baeten
25	FW	ROU	Alexandru Băluță
27	MF	ROU	Darius Olaru(captain)
28	DF	ROU	Alexandru Pantea
29	MF	ROU	Alexandru Musi
30	DF	RSA	Siyabonga Ngezana
32	GK	ROU	Ștefan Târnovanu
33	DF	MNE	Risto Radunović(4th captain)
42	MF	GHA	Baba Alhassan
70	FW	BRA	Luis Phelipe
98	FW	ROU	David Popa
99	GK	ROU	Andrei Vlad

Out on loan